eurotramp

Hi...anybody living close by and can tell me a little bit about it?
Would be grateful for anything

texas_ranger

I do know some expats from Chantilly VA, but not Norfolk unfortunately.

I do hear though that Norfolk is not the best place to be at the present moment (especially if you are in the care of Mr Bernard Matthews Esq.).

C

eurotramp

Sorry don't get that

texas_ranger

I was talking Norfolk, England - where Bernard Matthews (the turkey guy) is from.
You may have heard on the news about a little bird flu incident involving Mr Matthews?

C

Elvira

Norfolk has a US Navy Base - so be prepared for lots of military. Some nice houses near the Chrysler Art Museum - I suspect they may be a little pricy though! The Chrysler is really nice, btw - superb art deco glass collection and a lovely Renoir.

Very close to Virginia Beach, which is a bit tacky and crowded, though there are some nice beaches if you go to the outskirts.

Then there is the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel - a marvel of engineering and definitely worth a visit - which takes you to Virginia's Eastern Shore and from there up to Maryland.

If you cross the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel from Norfolk you get to Hampton and Newport News. Britvic lives in NN and thinks it's the pits. I didn't think it was too bad - there is a lovely museum - the Mariner's Museum, I think - surrounded by a lovely wooded area perfect for hiking (NOT in the summer of course - it gets very hot and humid there!!!)

There may be the odd hurricane, but nothing to frighten the horses...

Hampton has an extremely interesting Air & Space Museum, and not much else. Okay, there's Buckroe Beach (mind the jellyfish!), and Fort Monroe, which is rather lovely.

Close to Hampton is Yorktown - think historical War of Independence battle fields, complete with 4th of July 're-enactments'. Then there is Colonial Williamsburg - over-restored to the extent that there is very little real history left, and far many locals dressed up in period costumes.

Then there's Busch Gardens, also in Willimasburg.

Richmond is quite close (probably best avoided once you've seen the Capitol - which as the same statue of George Washington as outside the National Gallery, except this one is marble). Washington DC is about 4 hours from Norfolk.

So, there's lots to see and do... but why are you asking? Still looking for a place to hand your hat?

eurotramp

Yepp..we just cant seem to settle down here..we like it here..ever though I would rather live a bit more outside..but I had pretty much enough of the shitty and run down semis for 350.000..
Hubby works for NATO and could maybe get transfered over there..or in many other country's..but we came here to settle down for good..but whats the point if you cant buy a house...the rental is dump and we still live between unpacked boxes....

Not really sure about the US though....was never really crazy about the Americans I have meet ..but then they were military..

Just getting ideas and info together...

Elvira

Well, you wouldn't be able to get away from the military in Norfolk! Apart fromthe Navy in Norfolk itself, there is the Airforce Base in Hampton, the Amry base on Fort Monroe (though not sure whether that's closed down now...), and more Navy in Newport News. Everywhere you go there is military and more military. Everyone is either in the military, married to someone inthe military, or working for the military...

Neathborn

Hi, Eurotramp, hope all is going well! If I can help with any questions, please feel free to PM me. A good starting point would be to check out the following website:

http://www.norfolk.gov/

You might also want to look at the cities of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach since they are within reasonable commuting distance and in general their public schools are better than Norfolk's.

http://www.chesapeake.va.us/

http://www.vbgov.com/

Below are a couple of websites for real estate:

http://www.williamewood.com/

http://www.judyboonerealty.com/

Cheers,
Sara

TouristTrap

Keep reading the USA and Trailer Park forums for some ideas on life here....

Neathborn

[QUOTE=Elvira;4363799]the Amry base on Fort Monroe (though not sure whether that's closed down now...), /QUOTE]

It is going to be closed down; don't think it is at the moment. There's a lot of controversy over what to do with Fort Monroe once the military has left.

Neathborn

I can't believe you forgot Norfolk's Harrison Opera House

eurotramp

[QUOTE=Neathborn;4363887] Hi Neathborn,

It seems to be that I'm cursed..never be able to settle down
Do you know by any chance were the NATO headquarter in Norfolk is??
How far would you have to commute to get to the nicer areas to live??

eurotramp

Scary..but you could always live away from it..or not?

Elvira

Neathborn

[QUOTE=eurotramp;4363937] Yes, it's on the grounds of Norfolk Naval Station, which located in northwest Norfolk. ACT (NATO) is situated near International Terminal and Hampton Boulevards on the southernmost part of the base.

Here's the NATO website:

http://www.act.nato.int/

While some of the areas around the base are not so great, there are some really nice areas in Norfolk, particularly the downtown area (Ghent and West Ghent) though houses are on the expensive side and it can sometimes flood! Other nice areas in Norfolk that come to mind are Larchmont and East Ocean View, both of which are within a fairly short commute from NATO. A commute from Va Beach or Chesapeake would probably take anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on where in these cities you lived.