Portsmouth VA info
 

I'm getting transferred at work to Portsmouth VA this June. Any members in the the area? Anybody have some good links to info on the area? I was looking online for house rentals and it seems almost every house only has a 1 car garage. Anybody know a Realtor or is a Realtor in the area?
Thanks
Jason

There are a few members in the Hampton Roads area. They should chime in shortly. TONS and TONS of great boating down there. Make sure you sign up for the Poker Run for a Cure (Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research) which has a thread here in the PR section of OSO.

There are some terrible areas down there, so make sure you do your homework before you commit. Also, I would highly advise not LIVING and WORKING on OPPOSITE sides of a bridge and/or tunnel. A commute which relies on such can make your life miserable with traffic complications.

That's great to hear about the boating! So the bay is mostly salt water? Should I invest in closed cooling this winter?

I'm looking at a Google map and are you talking about the bridges and tunnels that run to the north areas like Newport News and Cape Charles? I think I have seen a Discovery channel episode on one of those bridges/tunnels.

Thanks
Jason

The bay is completely saltwater. Alot of members boat without it but flush the engine throughly after every use.
What Sydwayz is refering to is those tunnels and bridges are huge constriction zones for traffic. Without an accident your going to crawl during rush hour. If anyone wrecks you might as well swim for it. You simply want to live where you don't have to cross any of those major waterways to get to work.

Where exactly are you going to be working? I work in Portsmouth, Va and actually live in Northeastern NC. 40 min drive, no tunnels/bridges and a big river that opens up into the sound that opens to the ocean is readily accessable. Alot cheaper to live in NC also.

North Suffolk is a very nice area with short commute to Portsmouth.....also Chesapeake would be an option with really good schools if that is a concern

Where are you NC?.....I own a business in Gates county.....sweet looking ride.......how long have you had it?

I will be at the working at the big Coast Guard base, 4000 Coast Guard Boulevard. NC could be an option if the savings on housing is big enough. I have had a 45min commute the last 3 years and its starting to get old.

There are some nice neighborhoods in Portsmouth but there are also plenty of bad ones, Portsmouth schools also would be bad. North Suffolk is nice, you could also look around Great Bridge or Greenbrier in Chesapeake, the commute wouldnt be too bad, anything in Norfolk or Virginia Beach and you will dealing with bad tunnel traffic to get to the base. If your single then Norfolk or Virginia Beach is where it's at in my opinion,

Just flush your boat after each time and you'll be fine,closed cooling would be nice but not necessary.

You don't want to have to go across ANY of those tunnels. Trust me my father has been doing it for 30 years and it is a miserable existence over the last 15 years for him.

It's all salt.

Welcome to the area!!

I'm married but we don't have kids so we are not worried about schools. We do want to live in a nice neighborhood and have an easy commute would be great! Going to try to stay away from those tunnels and bridges!

Welcome to the area when you get here.

Hi Jason, there is a nice neighborhood of west Norfolk road.

Check the commute and the street view images here.

or this one

Im not a realtor but I know a great one and a great mortgage lender. :thankyouthankyou:

I just checked in with an old girlfriend & good friend who is in real estate down there. She is out of the business at the moment, but she highly recommended Kelly May. Her cell number is 7five7.650.01eight3

Tell her the recommendation came through Sonia.

Thanks for the all the info and welcomes everyone!

Sydwayz thanks for the Realtor info!

Khoas thanks for the links! The wife and I already have one rental house and will be putting our current house up for rent when we leave here. So we are just looking to rent at first. If there is money to be made in the real estate market down there that might change after the first year, and we might look to buy.

How hard is the salt water on your trailers? I just got a painted steel trailer.

Steel trailer will be toast, you may want to rack store it or buy an aluminum trailer

+1000

You have time. Sell your trailer while you are still in MI to someone who will want and use it there in freshwater. You won't even sell that thing down here. Have Manning build you an aluminum one or you will be fine with an aluminum bolt together trailer for that size boat.

I had a steel trailer years back, never had a problem with it, I kept paint on it and always washed it after every use, it lasted over 20 years and was in good shape when I sold it.

Seems I have been spoiled here in MI with the fresh water. My house is on the Clinton River leading into Lake St Clair with a dock in my back yard and the boat launch is 2 miles down the street. I have a Air Dock that is currently for sale in the swap shop that I was using at my house but didn't really want to drag it with me. On average how much is rack storage there? Or would it be worthwhile to bring the Air Dock and rent a well? Whats the average well cost per season?

Trailers are so cheap right now I'd just buy a nice used aluminum trailer and make your life easier - you'll get it back on resale....

Ocean marine or top rack would be your closest to rack store, don't know the cost but neither is full so they shouldnt be too much for a 24' . Yes fresh water is nice but warmer weather is nicer, IMO

The wife and I are looking forward to the warmer weather, the older we get the more we hate winter!

I grew up in Rochester, NY so I know cold, typical winter days down here are 40-50, we usually get 1-2 snow storms a yr with 4-6", by mid march it's getting into the 60's, summer is hot and humid though, be prepared to sweat

40's and 50's winter and 60's in March, sweet!! Never been in that area in the winter. Been to Yorktown in the summer before and it was hot and humid but not too bad.

Trailer option for you, ran across on CL by chance; not mine.

http://richmond.craigslist.org/boa/3508221114.html

Thanks for the link! I've been looking at prices for trailers the last few days. Back in September I redid my current trailer new paint, wheels, tires, lights etc. So I should be able to get some decent money for my trailer to help offset the cost of a aluminum trailer.

I have a buddy that has a house in P town ( Portsmouth ) for rent and I know that he has an agent for all his rentals. I will call him in the am and ask. Hope to see you on the water soon. By the way Chesapeake has some very good schools and not far from P town !!!

Joby


P.S. There is fresh water around the area to run in ( North landing river, currituck sound (brackish), Northwest River,

Thanks 382,
I'm going to fly down in early May and look for houses, will be moving down late June so if he has something nice available for end of June/July 1 that might work.

Sent you a Pm !!!

Elizabeth City area. Thanks for the kind words, I've had the boat a year or so, didnt run much until this past summer, been playing with engines. Im familiar with Gates, I use to have a trucking co and through there all the time. thats a sharp OL you have also, just saw a 37 OL at YPM and they really are built nice.

Come and run with us the end of June !!!:party-smiley-004:

Joby

Sorry to take so long to provide some input. I also would think Chesapeake would be your best bet. Also, there are several places to boat, however some are divided by some natural barriers. Lots of places to put over if you trailer. The 2 places mentioned for dry storage is in Portsmouth and in Chesapeake. If you want to boat south on the ICW, you will have to go thru 1 lock system and wait for 2 bridges. This could take 1-2 hours. Personally, I would like to keep my options open and have a trailer. Too many places to go and see!

Oh yeah.....and some killer Poker Runs!

Take me.....take me!!!!

I really appreciate all the help, advice, and contacts from everyone! I can't wait to move down and enjoy more than 4 months of boating per year :D

Thanks........look forward to meeting you this boating season

Thanks I'm planning on it if I can work it in my schedule.

Me too, hoping to get up to va a little more this summer.

welcome to the area! look forward to meeting you out on the water this year. As people have stated the poker run that is at the end of june will be a blast! there is some pretty fun boating areas around here, im sure youll like it

How does a galvanized trailer hold up in salt water? Found one right around the corner from my house.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/3476600331.html

They do fine most of the trailers down here are galvanized !!!