Things to look for and things to look out for? I have a job prospect that would be based in the Virginia Beach area but would take me all over the state. I did some temp work out there a couple years ago and it is a beautiful state. I have a Sister-in-Law there in Virginia Beach and have talked to her but wanted to get feedback from like-minded people about the state. What are some things I would need to look for when finding a home? Areas to look in for homes? No HOA's!!! Areas to avoid? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Dailey

 

A beautiful state with lots to see and do. The Tidewater area is very congested and local driving can be a pain. i've always liked the area around Luray and also Lynchburg. Sorry, can't contribute anything about housing, was only there in the VA Beach area as active duty Navy guy stationed at Dam Neck, slightly south of VA Beach. I do know that housing was developed in the Dam Neck area on top of old pig farms if that makes any difference.

 

I live in Chesapeake and as with any city, there are areas to stay away from.. Lots to see and do in the area, just do your research. As far as housing, VA Beach is expensive. I would look for something farther out. Chesapeake is probably one of the lower regions with Norfolk coming in second. They're both about a 30-40 min drive from VA Beach depending on traffic. And speaking of traffic, as noted above, it's a bear. Just plan accordingly for your drive to work.

 

Would you have to live in VB?

All in what you want but anything east of Richmond and north of Charlottesville has become 1)expensive to live and 2)politically and temperamentally an extension of New York and California. Lynchburg is dominated by Liberty University.

If you can deal with that, the Commonwealth is a nice place to live. Moderate weather and old-car-friendly. Good universities and healthcare.

 

I would look out for Virginians. I hear they're all over the place.

 

Be afraid...be very afraid!😈

Ask the Trade Center bombers. They thought they were getting 72 virgins. Instead they got 72 Virginians, who didn't think too highly of what they'd done to the country the Virginians had worked hard to establish!😄

'Course the further north of Charlottesville and Richmond you go the less likely the inhabitants are to be native Virginians. Which isn't a bad thing except when they bring all the crap they were trying to get away from with them and then try to impose it in the Commonwealth.🙄

 

I would watch out for the Governor, his college yearbook pics aren't too good.

 

The state bird is a mosquito the humidity is oppressive and it's way too close to the cesspool district swamp. Stay in New Mexico....nice n dry far less buggy.
Not sure if you have guns. Virginia ranks 33 out of all the states. NM is 36...go figure? AZ ranks #1 for that. All bets are off everything now with the recent political shift.
Virginia ranks 25 in taxes not much different that NM which is at 20.

Do your homework on the cost of living compared to where you are. Add the tax & housing cost increase to what your wage increase will be. Is it a +/- or a wash? If it's a wash do you really want to go through the trouble of a relo? Been there several times....Giant PITA. Lived in many states. Wisconsin and Arizona win from my exp. Cali was nice but that was 40 years ago. I like a state that leans towards pro-freedom, pro-gun, pro-constitution lower taxes. I know, it looks like I need to move to international waters.

Also, look at the general taxes fuel food energy bills. Look at vehicle tax & registration, insurance cost for all things you want to insure, School, and property tax. Might make you sick?

 

School district taxes are one thing the not-from-heres haven't managed to impose yet. I figure it's only a matter of time since the legislature has yet again failed to fund schools properly, while wasting tons of money renaming schools and public buildings and tearing down monuments. Money that should have gone to rehabbing school buildings and building high-speed internet infrastructure statewide.

West of I-95 and south of I-64 is still decent to live and affordable. Northern Virginia, Richmond and the Tidewater have better paying jobs but it's offset by the costs of living there and the congestion.

Don't get me wrong, I love living here and being a native Virginian with a family tree that goes back to Jamestown. But gawdamighty I often don't understand what goes thru the minds of the powers that be in this state.

 

Positives for New Mexico
1. Climate - less humidity, rain
2. Lower taxes (generally, although due to the tilt of the state is uncertain)

Negatives for New Mexico
1. Lack of opportunity - employment wise, is largely based on government and it's attendant cronyism. Tilt due to continued influx from west coast, as well as Government dependence
2. Some of the worst roads in country - design and construction quality is in the Toilet

 

My branch of the family (Lee) got out of Virginia shortly before the War of Northern Aggression, with my 3xgreat grandfather Henry. His cousin Robert did well though. Henry moved to southern Indiana where his son John headed up a local company for the Union side in that conflict. My folks have stayed here since.

I don't mind other people having other opinions in their states, but I want them to do like I do, which is not impose them on others, either from there, or when they move locally. If you want to eat soy, own a bicycle and an electric car, live in a studio apartment in a "relevant" neighborhood, and common law marry a hairy woman, that's fine by me, just please don't take my tax dollars and enact your lifestyle on me.

 

I used to live in Virginia Beach when I was stationed in Norfolk many, many moons ago and have been back several times over the years for work. There are lots of homes down there. But you would need to give alot more info (maybe more than your comfortable with).

Where would you be working?
How far and how long do you want your commute to be?
How much are you willing to spend?
Schools?

Just as a warning, there is also all of the taxes to consider. Virginia is home to the Personal Property Tax. Think of it as giving the state the sales tax value of each car, bike, RV, and boat that you own, and doing that every year.

For example, your Olds is worth $20,000.00. 5.3% of that is $1,060. Congrats. Every year you get to give them a grand for your Olds.

 

Not any more. The personal property tax formula is completely different, and it is based on blue book value. I pay zero on all of my cars, from the 1962 F85 through the 1985 D88s. You DO have to pay a $25/year "registration" fee on each of the vehicles, but the tax is gone.

 

Y'all are killin' me! I grew up in California and left there for personal reasons. I moved to Arizona for 20 years and left there for economical reasons among others. I now live in the Albuquerque area.
Taxes are not really a fear after Cali, and traffic is absolutely brutal in the Bay Area.
Heat of any kind is not an issue and again, brutal traffic in the greater Phoenix area.
I currently cover about 50% of the state of New Mexico when I am on-call and the job I am looking at in Virginia would be much the same. Company vehicle and start work from home. I'm not positive what the exact area would be yet, but the area of work will be large and likely not confined to Metropolitan or Rural areas, both are likely.
Politics aside, are you happy with Virginia? Why?
Unhappy? Why?

 

I've spent two summers in Phoenix. I'll take Phoeinx in the summer over the humidity of the mid-Atlantic any day. Granted NoVA is not the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area, but expect traffic in the metro areas and suburbs. I'm about 50 miles west of DC, so it's relatively rural, but rapidly turning into suburbia.

The biggest problem I have is that no one builds anything here in NoVA, so finding supplies or support shops is tough. The nearest radiator shop is an hour each way. The only good automotive machine shop with a real hot tank is about 45 min away. Heck, it's a half hour each way to the nearest Home Depot and Lowes.

 

Were you there for the Monsoon? 118° and raining? The rain actually cools things a degree or two but when it stops, the city turns into a steam basket! Working out in the middle of a blacktop parking lot, the temps can reach as high as 140°. One guy I did some work for was at the Caterpillar dealership in Mesa and the surface temp of the mine truck he was working on was 158°! I flew to Raleigh in July for training once and with the heat index, it was 103°. It was 115° when I left Phoenix so the heat was not a problem. Everywhere has their good weather and bad. It's all about what you are willing to put up with. Where I live in New Mexico gets to -20° during the winter and I'm about tired of that. People in Minnesota and North Dakota probably laugh at that, but growing up in SoCal, I'm not good at being cold. The saying goes, "If you don't like your circumstances, change them." I'm willing to try something different.

 

Yeah, I've been there for the monsoons. I was also sitting in a 737 on the tarmac at Sky Harbor without A/C the day they set the record at 121 deg in the mid-1980s. The 737s were not allowed to take off because the Boeing temperature/density charts stopped at 120 deg and the FAA wouldn't let them extrapolate.

 

Been watching Virginia go downhill quickly due to the DC suburbs voting block. You may want to consider northern NC.

 

LOL! I was at a pool party the night they set the record at 123°, at 1 o'clock in the morning. Couldn't even cool off in the pool 'cause the water was too warm.

 

I hadn't heard that, I'm glad that they finally amended that idiotic tax.

 

I'll still take dry desert SW over the oppressive humidity west of the ole miss.

There are days here (emperor cuomo land of taxes) where the humidity is 90% PLUS. You have to cut a hole through it to walk.. I sweat in 40* F with 75% RH....give me dry any day, for me and all things metal.

Virginia is buggy as hell too, Comes with the humidity and the DC swamp.

The thing I loved in AZ is you don't see a single bug flying around the exterior lights at night maybe 1 or 2.

 

If job is based in VB, how close does the employer want you to live to the office? Or how often would you have to go in to the office? How about family needs and expectations? Your own desired demographics?

 

Put some 26s on your "cutty" to fit in.

 

That's a Hampton Roads thing! 😺

 

I think southern Louisiana has by far the worst Summers. Can’t swim in your pool in July or August (because of the heat - not the gators) . Used to be an ice company that would deliver 80 pound blocks of ice for your pool. Well, too many Crown & Sevens, forgetfulness and diving boards put an end to that. Sometimes those blocks of ice didn’t melt fast enough.