Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads...Thoughts
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7/31/2007
My wife and I lived in the Hampton Roads area for 4 years, and here is what we found....the good and the bad...
GOOD
If you like the water and the beach, great place for boating, fishing, surfing and hanging out at the beach; many miles of oceanfront nearby
Lots of Christian churches of many denominations, my wife and I found a great non-denominational church in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake; most of the friends that we made in the area were people we met at our church
Good public schools in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and many choices for private/Christian schools
Lots of stuff to do...the Virginia Marine Science Museum, Nauticus (the Naval Museum)...lots of nice restaurants...and, of course, going to the beach
THE BAD
The cost of living has risen sharply in the last several years, due to the housing boom; between the time we arrived, in 2003, till now, housing assesments have been going up around 20%(YIKES!) a year on average, with higher property taxes following in its wake (even though tax RATES are low, the tax you pay will be higher based on assessments); my wife and I were able to take out a home-equity loan ONE YEAR after purchasing our house. Many people in the area maxed out on home equity loans and lines-of-credit, and many people took out ARM mortgages, thinking that they would be able to sell their houses at a profit before their rates jumped; these people are now stuck in a market that has softened and there is a downward push on prices. Even with this downward push, however, prices for a 4-bed, 2 bath house in an area with good schools (Va Beach or Chesapeake) are well over $250-300K
TRAFFIC...the area is hemmed in by water, and you wind up taking tunnels to get to some areas...the roads to these tunnels get terribly backed up during rush hour; downtown streets overall get terribly backed up; 2-3 million tourists go to Va Beach during the summer, adding to the problem; drivers are aggressive compared to many places (though not as bad as, say, Boston, Wash D.C., or Raleigh) with people cutting each other off, passing on the right, etc; noticed quite a few cars with glass paks while I lived here, and lots of people who like to crank their music way up...overall, driving in this town put me on edge a good deal of the time
Jobs...When we moved here my wife had a terrible time finding a job earning more than $10/hour (she made about $15/hour in Harrisburg,PA); if you're in a high-paying field you may do well; but
alex | Bowling Green, OH