Norfolk, VA
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Anonymous
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Hello. I know this forum is mostly for DC/Nova but I am looking to see if anyone has experience living in Norfolk, VA. We are being relocated and are quickly scrambling to find an area to live in. We plan to rent for a year but ideally would like to rent in a neighborhood we would eventually buy in since our child is entering 1st grade. We have been told the Larchmont-Edgewater area is very family friendly. Has anyone lived here and can share your opinions? The local elementary school looks Ok - do most families send to private? I worry if we go the private route, there is very little chance of securing a spot for this school year. And what about flooding? The research I've done so far is frightening; is my house going to be under water in 10 years? Ah!
Any info or advice you can share on the Norfolk area would be great. Spouse will be working at Norfolk Naval base and for once, we'd love as short a commute as possible. We have looked at Chesapeake but feel like it's not really for us. We'd love to be able to walk to some restaurants, parks, school, etc. Any other areas we should consider? Thank you! |
Anonymous
| Parchment is a beautiful area. The schools are better in Va Beach (and the parks/sports, etc. are better there too), and it’s a short commute from VB to Norfolk. But Ghent and Larchmont are both nice areas of Norfolk. |
Anonymous
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What's your budget? Our family has done several moves and I'm not sorry to say that the schools will always be more important than walkability or commute. That said, we liked Floyd Kellam High cluster in VB a lot!
It's closer to NAS Oceana though. You might want to give Greenbrier a chance. I know lots of people who loved it and the schools are very good. Norfolk does have some interesting and nice pluses, but the water and need for private did it in for us. |
Anonymous
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I live in Norfolk. In Larchmont-Edgewater, in fact. It’s a great neighborhood for families/kids. Check out West Ghent, also. Maybe Lochhaven—not as many kids over there and almost all of them are in private schools, but it’s the closest to the naval base.
We’ve sent our kids to public schools and while they’re not perfect, our kids are happy there. We’ve looked into private schools here in the past and none of them seem quite right to us, but many, many families go that route. If you live in either Larchmont or West Ghent, there are tons of kids who walk to the neighborhood elementary schools. West Ghent has the added bonus of a pool within walking distance (although it takes a few years to get off the waitlist) and is closer to the shops/restaurants/grocery stores of Ghent. The flooding factor can be a bit shocking to newcomers, but you get used to sunny day flooding eventually and you learn to prepare for the big events. Learn to read a flood map before house hunting. There can be dramatic differences in flood vulnerability between houses that are next door to each other, or across the street. Ask the neighbors! People tend to think waterfront=highest risk, but this is often not true. Learn to spot the low points (if there’s a storm drain directly in front of your house and the street dips there, run!) Overall, the living is pretty easy here. With the constant coming and going of military people, it’s generally very welcoming to newcomers. Pretty liberal politically, but we get along with neighbors of all persuasions for the most part. The aforementioned neighborhoods are the kind where people will bring you baked goods when you move in. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| PP again. OP, if you post links to any rentals/houses you’re considering in Larchmont-Edgewater, I can tell you if it floods or not. Or at least consider finding a local to advise you—I wouldn’t trust a realtor on this matter. |
Anonymous
Thank you, thank you for this wonderful information! The neighborhood sounds exactly what we’re looking for. The flooding does scare me a bit. If you had to do it again, would the flooding deter you from buying in the neighborhood? And thank you for the pointers on what to look out for! We’re looking at signing a short lease at CovePointe at the Landings while we get our bearings. Do you know anything about this apartment? We don’t need perfect since it will hopefully be short term. Thank you again! |
Anonymous
You’re welcome! CovePointe is a great place to get your bearings. They have a pool there, I think, and you’ll be directly next to a couple of playgrounds and large playing fields, and Larchmont Elementary is about a 30-second walk. (There’s also a Catholic school across the street, but I doubt they have openings right now.) Around the corner on Colley Ave. is a brewery with good pizza, a little market with local produce/meats/wine, a bike repair shop, a hair salon and there’s an ice cream shop coming soon. As for your flooding question, no, it wouldn’t deter me from buying here again. I’ve owned a few different houses in this city and learned how to find the ones that are high and dry—I don’t even have flood insurance on my house. (Look for a house situated in zone X on the flood map. If you see a few houses on a block that have been raised up to a ridiculous height in the air, that’s where the worst of it is. And I personally would avoid any house with a basement. If you fall in love with a house with a basement that’s not in zone X, prepare to pay really high flood insurance premiums.) There are more than a few highly coveted blocks that sit in low spots, though, and people keep buying there, so some people really brush it off as nbd. Some years are worse than others as far as flooding goes and people tend to forget when we have a few good years in a row, without any huge nor’easters or tropical storms. Hope this helps, and hope you all love it here! It can be a bit of an adjustment from typical DCUM-land. People are pretty low-key and laid back here for the most part, which is a plus overall, but can take a little getting used to. It’s sort of an underdog city—a land of low expectations, but not necessarily in a bad way. |
Anonymous
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NP - DH's Navy HQ were moving from Washington Navy Yard to Norfolk in 2017, and Navy was going to pay to sell our house and move us. We actually really like Norfolk, but didn't do it because of climate change. I would rent in Larchmont, but never buy there. Or Ghent. Both are charming, and Ghent especially is my favorite neighborhood there. I also like Rodgers Park in Baltimore and have friends there, so if it were between the two, while overall I like Norfolk and being by the water better, in terms of wanting to buy property, Rodgers Park would be it. It's a great community, lush green space and super family friendly. Kind of a more spacious and affordable Fairlington, which I also used to live in.
We moved to St. Paul, MN on our own dime to be closer to family, and have a house the kids could come home to once they leave the nest. We didn't see that as likely in Norfolk long-term. The land is sinking and the sea is rising. I applaud the current resident, and would have been happy there short term, but flooding worries would nag at me. Flood insurance is only going up, and it's possible to get stuck in a dangerous situation like Hurricane Matthew where you might not be able to evacuate. Norfolk is highly underrated in my view, and I was bummed that we didn't see a future there. If we didn't have kids, we would have gone and probably just rented. |
Anonymous
| Whoops - PP above and meant to post on similar thread. |
Anonymous
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Reviving this thread since I'm hearing rumors that they might move our team to Norfolk in 2023. It's too early to be calling a realtor but DH and I are starting to have discussions about whether it's a move that would even be on the table or if I need to prepare to job hunt.
Kids would be 6th and 8th grade if/when we move. Good middle and high schools are important, open to private schools either single sex or coed. Ideal housing budget would cap at $1M. Prefer a SFH with yard. Family-friendly is important, kids are deeply connected to their soccer and swim teams here so we'd need to find teams or leagues. I don't know the area at all to know what neighborhoods to consider, school pyramids are preferable, or anything else. We are really starting from scratch in preliminary research. |
Anonymous
I’m the 10:10 poster from above (I spend way too much time on this site). If you’re looking at Norfolk-proper (as opposed to Va. Beach or Chesapeake), with $1M budget, I would focus on Larchmont, West Ghent, Lochhaven, and maybe Ghent if you want a denser, semi-urban feel. You could get a very nice house for that much, possibly even waterfront. It’s very slim pickings on the market right now, but just for examples: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5325-Rolfe-Ave-Norfolk-VA-23508/79205935_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7820-N-Shore-Rd-Norfolk-VA-23505/79231354_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare In Norfolk, by the time you get to middle school, we don’t really have pyramids, but rather specialty programs. Many public school kids in 5th grade apply to one of a few specialty programs in different schools throughout the city, and then again when they go to high school. I’m not sure how it would work coming from elsewhere for 6th grade, to be honest. Many people opt for private school for 6-8 and high school, although a fair number do K-8 in private and then go public for high school. (Either Maury High School or the IB program at Granby High School.) I expect many will tell you to avoid Norfolk at all costs and look at Virginia Beach, which is closer to the NoVa vibe. Just depends on what lifestyle you prefer. |
Anonymous
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Thank you! Can you share about Virginia Beach as well? We literally know nothing about where to start and why to prefer one over the other. DCUM is always a wealth of information so I started here.
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Anonymous
Norfolk is the only real city, per se, in the area. We have an actual downtown, and a few old, charming neighborhoods, with houses predominantly from the 1920s/30s/40s, sidewalks, things you can walk to. It is home to Old Dominion University and Naval Station Norfolk, so many, many people who live here are affiliated with one of those two. We have the same problems that virtually all cities are dealing with these days—crime, poverty, failing schools—and many people in Virginia Beach are scared to come to Norfolk. (Don’t be scared.) Then, there’s the flooding issue, which may or may not affect you very much depending on precisely where you live, but can catch people who aren’t familiar with the area by surprise. Virginia Beach covers a much larger area, has newer housing stock (typical suburban cul de sac-style living), lots of big box store strip malls, and public schools that get much higher Great Schools numbers. Depending on where you work in Norfolk, you could find yourself dealing with a lot of traffic commuting from Va Beach, but maybe it won’t seem like much compared to DC-area. There’s flooding in Va Beach, too, but maybe slightly less than Norfolk. A lot of Norfolk people hate going to Virginia Beach because it feels pretty soulless, but general amenities are probably a little more accessible if you live there. I’m partial to Norfolk—it has issues, but it also has character and the living’s pretty easy here, particularly if you have $1M housing budget. I find myself having to drive out to Va Beach maybe once a week for this or that, and it takes about 20-30 minutes. Hope that helps! |
Anonymous
Same PP from above here. Just adding that all the private schools are coed here. I’m not very familiar with the private options in Va. Beach, but in Norfolk, most go to Norfolk Academy (which is technically in Va. Beach) or Norfolk Collegiate, which go up to 12th grade, and K-8 options would be the Williams School or St. Patrick’s Catholic School. |
Anonymous
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In Norfolk, East Beach, East Ocean View and parts of West Ocean View & Willoughby Spit are also great. Both are close to the bay beach; East Beach does not flood, but do some research on Ocean View / Willoughby Spit communities, as parts of that area do flood (i.e., tidal flooding or storm related). The beach community here is great, and there are a growing number of coffee shops & restaurants nearby. In the summer, there are weekly outdoor beach concerts. I've had nothing but good experiences with the elementary school (Ocean View elementary), and echo the comments on selecting a middle school / HS program that is a fit with the child's interests. I also sent my children to preschool at Willoughby, a public preK, and was very impressed -- it was like having my children attend a private pre-K; a wonderful experience for them.
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