Choosing a neighborhood in north vs. south Virginia Beach

Choosing a Neighborhood in North vs. South Virginia Beach

 Chick's Beach, circa 2005“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Do you know who said this? One of the smartest people I never met, Albert Einstein. So let’s start out by making this simple. North Virginia Beach is more expensive because it is closer to everything that makes Virginia Beach a desirable place to live. South Virginia Beach is more affordable and the place to go if you want a newer home. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

So, which is better for you? For the vast majority of us, there is no right or wrong answer. The answer becomes clear to me after identifying your wants and needs, but two couples with the same budget are equally likely to choose either the north or the south. Most buyers with budgets over $800,000 are going to choose the north because they will be able to afford the house they want. And most buyers with budgets under about $300,000 will choose the south because they won’t be able to find the house they want in the north. For everyone in between, which is many of you reading this right now, it becomes a big confusing mess. At some point everyone says, “If I only I could have this house in that neighborhood.” I completely understand how you feel! The good news is you can have the exact house you want in any neighborhood you want. The bad news is that it is going to cost more.

North Virginia Beach provides easy access to I-264, the Chesapeake Bay, and the oceanfront. If you go boating, this is where you will start. Want to go out to a nice restaurant? You will find the best ones here. Driving over the Lesner Bridge in Chick’s Beach or through the North End is unique. There is no question that you are the beach. Nowhere else in Virginia Beach will you be able to find a $500,000 brick ranch built in the 1960’s. The price doesn’t come from the house, it comes from being close to awesomeness! Need a better house? Look to the south.

Heritage Park, Virginia Beach neighborhoodsSouth Virginia Beach is where the newer homes are found. There is also a new sportsplex, several new shopping centers, new roads, and new developments. Do you have the need for the excitement of a Buffalo Wild Wings? You will find it here. Many of the neighborhoods are more established, but the newest developments, like Ashville Park and Heritage Park, can be characterized by strikingly beautiful homes with brand new trees staked in the front yard. Your $500,000 is going to buy you an amazing house in suburbia. Need to live closer to the awesomeness? Look to the north.

Back in my Navy days, I was sitting around the ready room with six of my buddies discussing the “goods and others” of living in the north vs. the south. Three lived in the north and three lived in the south. They segregated themselves in this way and began battling it out. The spirited discussion ended with the three in the north convinced they had made the right choice and the three in the south convinced they had made the right choice as well. Let this be a lesson to all of us. Six guys with the same education, uniform, haircut, cultural views, and incomes made different decisions on where to live. The decision is unique to each of us. No one can tell you where to live. But you have come to the right place to learn about the neighborhoods so that you can figure it out on your own (with my help, of course).

Questions, comments, and smart remarks are encouraged.    

 

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