Welcome (back) to VA!
Ahhhhh… Hampton.
Was born there. Graduated from Bethel High. Lived in Hampton for 27 years. My Mom, one sister and one brother still do.
Hampton is EXPLODING growth-wise. There’s almost nothing that one would want for that isn’t available there.
Traffic during rush-hour is a nightmare.
But there’s the beach.
106.9FM, mid-days. Listen to Mike Arlo. The old-man of local airwaves. Cool dude.
Otherwise, I pretty much agree with catnoe.
I’ll have to let y’all know when I’m down there again. Maybe have a Tidewater Dope Fest.
GrizzRich Arlo just celebrated his 30th year on air earlier this month. It was a week of special broadcasts and such during his shows during the week.
I live in Va Beach right now, and work in Chesapeake (Greenbriar). I’ll probably be moving to the Deep Creek area of Chesapeake later this summer. Roundboy, one of the guys that works with me, lives in Newport News. He takes the Monitor Merrimac tunnel twice a day with no more complaints than anyone else has with traffic.
Oh, and I’m up for a Tidewater Dopefest too. If anyone is taking notes.
I’d be up for it as long as I can bring the Monkey Boy. 1010011010 and I are free anytime other than Memorial Day weekend.
Anyone have any suggestions on where to go or what to do?
By the way kids, you’re all welcome to get involved whenever MADs are having an event. Although it’s a bit of a hike, we’d love to have you-check out the Gettysdope II thread in MPSIMS.
Geez, I think I did this once before with another incoming immigrant. But oh well, here’s the deal. There is no traffic problems in the Tidewater area. Except for accidents. Spent my formative years in NoVA, and let me tell you, when it takes an hour to get to a mall ten miles away, then we’ve arrived.
Straight up, Hampton is just across the HRBT, Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. It is the main artery between the Peen-insula, and the Southside, ie, VA Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake. Generally, housing prices are lower in Newport News, Hampton, Yorktown, but then you get what you pay for.
Portsmouth is really not that bad, there are outlying regions (Churchland, etc.) that have some really low crime rates, but unfortunately, just like everybody else(relatively speaking), their school system sucks.
From your OP, I’m assuming your office will be near Mercury Boulevard and the Mercury Mall. Major, and I mean MAJOR, traffic crap is going on around there right now. Besides the HUGE mixing bowl thing going on in NoVA, the I-64 stuff happening here is the biggest thing in the state.
Suffolk and Chesapeake are really raging with new homes, etc., and you can get to Hampton from there via the Monitor-Merrimac tunnel lickety-split. However, you have to deal with the almost out of control growth with the utilities, etc., trying to catch up.
I’ll give a shout out to VA Beach, where I’ve lived about 16 years now. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, and no I’m not going to look up the cite. We have a population of over 450,000(largest city in VA), but yet within 15 minutes of any direction, you’re in farm country. Housing is still decent, but it’s house assessments are going through the roof (about 15-25% increase in the last year, about par with Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Portsmouth).
I’ll end it there. Welcome to the area, email me if you’re a clay shooter or gun enthusiast. I’ll point you in the right direction.
I have to agree in general with your opinion of many of the residents of Virginia Beach- heck, I can’t wait until I’m off away at college. I’m all in for a Hampton roads DopeFest too, athough I can only participate if it’s before late August (when I leave for college.) We could all go to a non-touristy part of the beach, bring lots of food, or whatever.
I might have been once, but with the 9 million other things I have to do there probably is no time. Give me a chance to be dead a couple years, and I’ll catch up to it.
The Hammerwife is right now looking at a townhouse in Hampton. The map I’m looking at has it northeast of the Elizabeth Lake area. If they approve our application, that’s probably it. Any comments?
Up around Fox Hill Road area? Found some geocaches up that way but don’t remember enough to comment on the area, sorry.
Okay, went back and studied the Yahoo Map. That’s the route we take to Grandview Beach. The areas along Fox Hill, if memory now serves, seem to be fairly pleasant. But that’s all I got.
Missed the story on the news last night, so I have to ask here since I can’t find the story on either of the newspaper sites or the WAVY10 site…And you folks are local.
What did they determine the ‘brown blobs’ found on the Ocean View beaches to be?
According to VunderWife, no news yet. I kep saying that they’re the same dead croaker, just more decomposed…
Congrats, VunderBob, on 2500 posts…
Thanks. I actually had not noticed…
Another Tidewater Area Doper chiming in here. For the most part you’ve pretty much gotten the information you’ll need. Listening to where is sounds like you’ll be working I don’t actually think it’ll matter which side of the water you’re on. Traffic sucks getting to that exact area no matter what. I live in Chesapeake myself, and it takes me about 12 minutes to get from my place to the Coliseum. Suffolk and Chesapeak are both going through a housing boom, so prices are on the rise. I’d suggest that you try and find the major highways that will get you to where you’re working, then look for places not too far off of them. For instance I’m right off 664, I can be at the beach in 45 minutes, and to work in 7. But I made sure that I was close to a major highway so that I could jump on it. Right now 664, isn’t used as much as 64, so it’s not that bad. So you could live a fair distance down 17 towards Isle of Wight, and still be able to hit either the James River Bridge, or the Monitor Merrimack tunnel in about 15 minutes.
Immediate advice for you would be to not lock yourself into anything right now. Find someplace that you can live in for 6 months to a year, and then spend that time getting to know the area, where you work, and how best to get around. Prices out towards Yorktown are reasonable, so you might be able to live a bit farther out, and get a nicer place.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
I lived in Virginia Beach for 12 years and I never thought this at all. The area I live in now? Hoo. Boy. I’m sure they do seminars here on how to make a tempest out of a teapot - we’ve sure got some experts.
hammerbach, Atrael makes a good point. Your traffic situation will be easier if you live near an exit of the highway you need to take to work. The city streets can be nuts-to-butts during busy times, and I was often very glad I lived right by an expressway exit, and the Navy base was right off I-64.
Also, here’s the thread catnoe started about Hampton when she knew they were moving. Lots more info about it.
Senility creeps in…I had forgotten about that thread.
So when/where do we have the Southeastern Va./Hampton Roads-Peninsula dopefest?
I like the idea of a picnic/barbeque at a park or on the beach. I need something that I can take an infant to.
Finally had enough info to see how close you are, you’re closer than you think most mornings around 7. Starbucks is a fairly regular stop for me.
You don’t happen to have this written on the rear of your car do you? Or something like it?
Hmmm. Tomorrow you may have to deal with a fat, bald guy charging in and asking for Catnoe.
Sorry. A VA handicap plate for the wife…