My husband is being promted to the Virginia Beach area?

My husband is being promoted to the Virginia Beach area. However, we really don't want to live in the city. I was wondering if anyone knew of any small towns that were close or at least with in a 50 mile radius of Virginia Beach that were family friendly, safe with a ';hometown'; feel. Also any input on the Virginia Beach, Newport news or Hampton areas.





P.S. Is Williamsburg a decent commute??My husband is being promted to the Virginia Beach area?
I personally think Williamsburg would be a horrible commute to VA Beach. Traffic is awful in the mornings and afternoons, and you'd be traveling through the Hampton Roads Bridge tunnel. Although mapquest says it would be a 1 hour and 12 minute commute, you can add an extra half hour or more to that during rush hour.





Hampton and Newport News aren't known to be the safest cities in Hampton Roads, but you can find nice and bad parts of each city. Portsmouth has a bad rap, but there are a few areas that are decent (Churchland). The Ghent area of Norfolk is great, but it's probably not the hometown feel you're looking for (more of a college feel). Chesapeake has some wonderful neighborhoods. I would look into the Western Branch, Hickory, and Deep Creek areas of Chesapeake. Suffolk is also beautiful - probably more of the hometown feel you're looking for (lots of rural areas as well as a Downtown district).





Your best bet may be to actually visit the areas and check out each neighborhood. If you have children, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake have some of the highest rated schools in the area. I would really try to avoid having to commute through the tunnel for work, although I know sometimes it's unavoidable.My husband is being promted to the Virginia Beach area?
There's a tiny town (really tiny) on the outskirts of va Beach called Pungo. It's very country with lots of open fields, but it's only about 5 min from WalMart, 15-20 from Oceana and Dam Neck, and about 15-20 from the beach. But you'll be hard pressed to find a place to rent there. There's a few places for sell, though, if that's the route you're planning on going. To me, that whole area between Va Beach and Chesapeake is nice, but I'm from a country town with a population of 500, so my idea of a hometown feel may be a little different than yours...lol. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I can give you info on some of the other areas around.
You really do not have to live 50 miles away. There are many areas that are family friendly. Chesapeake is really nice and Suffolk is nice, country and safe. I have lived in VA Beach(not impressed), Norfolk(wouldnt recommend) Suffolk and Chesapeake. I was stationed in the Hampton roads area for 13 years and left as recent as a year ago. Very familiar with the area. Still have friends that live there.
Williamsburg to Virginia Beach is about 60 miles. Travel time is about 1 hr 15 minutes (not allowing for traffic).





You're the only one who can decide if that's a ';decent'; commute or not.
Look in the Portsmouth area, it's about a 30 minute commute.