Anybody live in Norfolk, VA?

Bump for the day crowd

shamrockmommy,

Welcome to the "South side Hampton Roads"!  The "south side" consists of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk.  From your post I am guessing that DH is in the Navy if so thanks for his and your service!  As for the area, there are not a lot of unusual pet regulations here, many people own 3-4 dogs so that should not be a problem with the laws but you may find that a homeowners association could have their own regs so check before you buy or lease!  It would be difficult to find a place in Norfolk that has 1/2 acre lots so I would suggest either Chesapeake or Suffolk for places with larger lot sizes.  Although all of the cities like to put large houses on postage stamp sized lots there are still areas of Chesapeake and Suffolk that are a bit more rural and therefore have larger lots.  Be sure to check on the schools that cover the area you would live in all the cities have some districts that are not as good for their schools as other districts.  Your husbands new unit's housing office should be able to give recommendations as far as the individual school districts and there are some private schools that some choose to use.  I hope that helps and if there is any other info I can get you please do not hesitate to ask!

Mark 

Thank you, Mark.

 We are not sure if we'll rent or buy (only a 2 yr assignment) but both dh and I and the hu-kids have our hearts set on adding a Bernese Mtn. Dog to the family, which would make it 4 dogs with our exsisting minpin and 2 bichon girls.  Plus we've lived in the postage stamp neighborhoods and they are full of noisy, disrespectful people, so it's nice to have some land inbetween homes.  We're currently on a 1/2 acre lot in a neighborhood where that's the minimum lot size. It's AWESOME here!  But we rent and they don't want us to have a puppy in here. 

Anyway, our ultimate goal is to live in a nice neighborhood with a large lot and a great school system (ds will be starting fall after next).

Thanks for the help!

 Whenever I'm dreaming of moving somewhere that seems better than here, I love this site for info from residents and for real numbers on the area.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/virginia/

http://www.city-data.com/city/Norfolk-Virginia.html 

I'm told the traffic is murder, best to live very close to where you work or deal with horrible traffic jams, especially during the summer when we pesky tourists head for the ocean!  :) 

There's a dog training club in that area that puts on events in the area and I have spent a good deal of time near Suffolk.  Very quiet - which drives some people crazy but I like it.  I wouldn't mind living around there.  A friend of mine has a farm and has a trial once a year, on the other side of the Chesapeake.  It's quite beautiful, if, uh, amazingly flat, country. 

Another friend lives in South Hampton and works in DC, and he says you just get used to when you can and can't get across the bridges/tunnels without a hitch.  As someone who grew up in the Bay Area, CA, I understand what he means.  You know that a drive that takes 15 minutes at 2 PM or 11:30 AM, will take closer to an hour or more during peak drive times.  And any trip could potentially be delayed by an accident on or near a toll collection point, bridge, or tunnel. 

A big thanks to you and your husband for your sacrifice to this country!  Families like you give up a lot so that the rest of us can do stuff you aren't allowed to do - choose where to live, when to move, where to raise our kids, even little things like how many pets we can have.  I could never own a farm and have all these dogs if we were a military family.  We are grateful to you!