Norfolk, VA Reviews

Norfolk is a great place to live. - 1/28/2019
I've lived in Norfolk for most of my life, and I love it here.

I love the maker scene, and the new breweries. The arts scene, especially the theater side is always fun. In the Spring, summer and Fall there are always festivals, and events downtown.There is a lot to do and the city has changed a lot over the years. Taken as part of the overall region, Norfolk, and Hampton Roads really are like a major city, but a few months later. We get everything that comes to DC, but just a bit later.

The city I grew up in has grown a lot. It's not something you see if you haven't lived elsewhere for a long time before coming back. Crime is down, the city is cleaner, and people actually want to be in downtown.

The people who hate Norfolk tend to be from one of two groups. They are either people from Virginia Beach, or Chesapeake who hate everything that isn't a suburb, and believe the old stories about Norfolk being nothing but a crime ridden slum. Or Read More

Year 2018 - 7/24/2018
I have lived in Norfolk VA for 11 months and,I cant wait to leave.It is full of crime ,homeless and undeveloped city.Public transportation is terrible and its wet and humid and full of every kind of bug or rodent you can imagine. Look elsewhere. Read More

It's a harbor town - 7/18/2018
I was born in Norfolk, and lived in Norfolk and Virginia Beach until my early 20s. Here are 10 things that are 100% true about Norfolk you may have heard before: 1) It's a Navy town. A very large percentage of people are either active duty, veterans, or defense contractors. Most people are, at a minimum, related to someone who falls into one of those categories. It's neither a pro or a con, in my opinion, but it is part of the fabric of Norfolk. Its culture, history, and economy are centered around the Navy. 2) If it's not the Navy, it's the private shipyards. Norfolk's biggest economical asset is its harbor, so there are also large amounts of commercial shipyard activity such as Lambert's Point and Norfolk International Terminals. 3) It has a blue-collar, working class vibe, but city officials are working around the clock to attract more young professionals and artists. I know this to be true because my first job out of college was with the City's Community Engagement division, and I Read More

Norfolk - 7/7/2014
Great place to Read More

Garbage - 4/30/2014
This place is horrible. Well, I tend to be negative, so I'll try to start with positive: spring time is nice. Ok, now on to the rest of the truth. Taxes. There are taxes at every turn. Taxes on your property (to include your car), sales taxes, etc. Sure, that's anywhere you go, but what do you get for your tax dollars here in Norfolk? The police, who are quick to pull you over and cite you, will do nothing if you actually need them. How about the roads? They are terrible. From side walks to freeways, the "roads" are nothing but a long series of patches. Poorly-done patches. These patches destroy the car you pay good money for, along with the taxes, only to take in for your yearly inspection for the crooked shop to claim all the money you spent last year to fix it was spent in vain because all of the work done to it has been undone by the terrible roads (whether it's true or not). Drainage is like a bad STD. The very hint of rain calls for flooding. Maybe that's because Norfolk uses a Read More

Hampton Roads - 1/6/2014
The Hampton Roads area is a very close knit military town. There are very few good areas of town, it is pretty much street by street, it is a pretty consistent mix, you pretty much have to take street by street. You have to look,mut there are "Hidden Gems" everywhere...take the time and look around. Read More

Living in Norfolk by the Sea - 3/21/2013
I have lived in Norfolk since 1983. It's the city at the center of the "Hampton Roads" region, which consists of roughly 7 competing cities all within a stone's throw of each other in Southeastern Virginia, the "city" of Virginia Beach being the largest by population and the "city" of Suffolk being the largest by land area. In actuality, Norfolk really is the only that looks or feels like a city to me, and that would be a smaller city. There is a bit of a skyline with some tall buildings in the downtown area. The other cities are more suburban in flavor and indeed many people choose to live in them and commute to Norfolk for work. The largest employers are the military, shipbuilding and the port.

As in any place, there are pros and cons to living here. Here are a few generalizations: many people who live here, are not originally from here. They have ended up here mainly because of the military - and many have stayed to make a life here. This means that people Read More

A Disappointing, mediocre military town - 10/2/2012
I have lived here in Norfolk for over 16.5 years and I would highly recommend that(if you are not a military service member,dependent, retiree, civil servant or DOD contractor) you think twice about moving here for the following reasons below:

1.) Increasing cost of living especially in the real estate market. You pay more for what the home is "worth"(coming from a former homeowner).

2.) High state and local property taxes(i.e.your vehicle(s), business, housing)

3.) Low wages in the private sector outside the military, civil servant or defense contractor markets.

4.) Mediocre school system (some schools are better than others depending on where you live)

5.)The local roads are horrible, not to mention damaging to your vehicles and it seems like construction can never be completed on the interstate (64 and 264) in a timely manner. Traffic has become extremely congested throughout the seven cities almost daily.
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tranportation - 9/1/2012
I grew up in this area and have seen many changes but the thing that I have really noticed is the traffic along with people driving habits. The traffic is really getting busier every year with accidents putting everything at a stand still. Driving up to New York on the Jersey Parkway no longer bothers me. They have builts all these new homes without considering the roads and extra traffic. This may be a common problem in most cities I don't Read More

Norfolk - 10/16/2011
I liked the living on the beach in Willoughby, but the cost of living sucks, if you're not in the military, then you're feeling the effects of the inflation. I was a nurse living up there, they don't pay the nurses well at all. the cost of living does not match the pay scale. Read More