Things have been pretty grim in offshore Oil and Gas, so I have been sending out resumes and applications far and wide.

I did finally get selected for the Master's position with US Fish and Wildlife Service in Green Bay/Kewaunee, WI. (about which I recently started a different thread).
Simultaneously,
I also got selected for a Master's position with the Dept. of the Navy, based out of Little Creek, VA. I will likely be relocating up there as soon as my interim clearance paperwork is complete. (This week?) I have two daughters, one in will be entering 1st grade and one starting pre-K, I have been looking at renting in the Thoroughgood neighborhood in VA Beach.
I lived in Norfolk in the late 80's early 90's while active duty and vowed to never return to that craphole. What has changed? What remains the same? Places to frequent? places to avoid? Any decent rifle ranges? I need to be close to Little Creek, so living on isolated rural land and commuting in won't fly with my new command unfortunately.
(I can't say much about the job other than the primary mission will be training, and no, it's not a bigger boat, I'm actually stepping down from my current 320' boat)

Any and all information is welcome

Agree with you about Norfolk.

Someone with more up to date info would be best, but have you seen this? link

Traffic is awful, so it's a good choice to live close to work.

I'm not up to speed on all the good places to live, but my friends in the area live around Lynnhaven Bay. There are tons of neighborhoods and I find those areas quieter and more relaxing than south (Oceana Jet noise / traffic) or West (Norfolk NAS / Airport / general malaise that is Norfolk). Schools are also usually good up there.

Did I mention traffic sucks? Yeah, it does. I'm supposed to go back several times a year for work and I do my best to avoid those trips. I think it has been 9 months so far, but I'll likely have to go up before I hit a year.

Rifle ranges close by? Man, you are outta luck. All you are going to get is 25 yard (TOPS) indoor ranges that may let you shoot a rifle. BUT, If you have the ability to get on military bases outside of Little Creek, go to MCCS Camp Allen (just south of Navy Norfolk) - http://www.mccscampallen.com/shooting_range.htm

They have a nice indoor range and being that it's military, you get to avoid the standard mount breathers that frequent public ranges in the area. It was well run, clean, and efficient last time I was there (a couple of years ago). There is no drama in getting on the Camp with weapons, you just tell the Marine at the gate you are going to the shooting range.

There is a good rifle range down south, but it's probably 1+15 drive for you, if not more. https://c2shootingcenter.com/

quote:

Originally posted by ChuckFinley:

That link is tainted with a virus warning popup/beep malware thing.

captain mike, I don't have a whole lot of info on VB. I revently moved from ct to Central VA. If you need help, i have a truck and a very large trailer. simply drop me an email.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
captain mike, I don't have a whole lot of info on VB. I revently moved from ct to Central VA. If you need help, i have a truck and a very large trailer. simply drop me an email.

Thanks for the offer, I think we'll probably go the POD route for the move, the rest of the family will stay in FL until the current school year ends, and I'll be up in Chesapeake with my new ship (currently in dry dock) until we all move into someplace in VA Beach. If the logistics happen to work out a certain way, I may contact you about the trailer, I have a new Tundra with the 5.7 and towing package.
Sigforum (membership and management) is the greatest.

Hello from Virginia Beach! There are the low rent districts, the working mans districts and the upper end district. IMHO: The best areaa are around the VB courthouse, Pungo, Red Mill, Sandbridge......I am sure there are other decent areas, but it's all subjective??

One other option and this might sound stupid, but you can live far away from Norfolk but 10 miles away by boat to several places on the chesapeke from Little River. I spent a month in Norfolk and hated it. Little River itself is a nice little inlet place.

quote:

Originally posted by CaptainMike:
Things have been pretty grim in offshore Oil and Gas, so I have been sending out resumes and applications far and wide.

I did finally get selected for the Master's position with US Fish and Wildlife Service in Green Bay/Kewaunee, WI. (about which I recently started a different thread).
Simultaneously,
I also got selected for a Master's position with the Dept. of the Navy, based out of Little Creek, VA. I will likely be relocating up there as soon as my interim clearance paperwork is complete. (This week?) I have two daughters, one in will be entering 1st grade and one starting pre-K, I have been looking at renting in the Thoroughgood neighborhood in VA Beach.
I lived in Norfolk in the late 80's early 90's while active duty and vowed to never return to that craphole. What has changed? What remains the same? Places to frequent? places to avoid? Any decent rifle ranges? I need to be close to Little Creek, so living on isolated rural land and commuting in won't fly with my new command unfortunately.
(I can't say much about the job other than the primary mission will be training, and no, it's not a bigger boat, I'm actually stepping down from my current 320' boat)

Any and all information is welcome

If you live in the Thoroughgood area then you will be very close to the Amphib base so not much traffic. If you like the beach scene, you will be very close the beaches and main strip. Schoolwise, if your kids attend Thorougood Elementary it looks to have some good reviews:

https://www.greatschools.org/v...d-Elementary-School/

Rifle Range would be Lynnhaven Shooting Range which is about 35 yards. For outdoor we have C2 Shooting range which is about 30 minute drive from where you are at. There are many other indoor handgun ranges that are close by too. https://c2shootingcenter.com/
If you need a realtor let me know my BIL is one. I hope some of this helps. God Bless

back in 98-99 my ship was in Portsmouth and I lived in Newport News...15 minutes away thru one tunnel, our hours were such that regular people weren't out at those ungodly hours-so traffic was no problem living far away...some guys lived near the base in apts...

I know little of the area around the amphib base....

We were there last year to go to the tall ship expo, traffic still sucked, 64 was still under construction, and no driving people were still clogging the roadways...

Good luck with your new adventure

Email sent.

If I were to live on the south side of the water, Cousin Vinnie's suggestion for Red Mill and Sandbridge is where I'd look. I have friends who live down there...nice area.

C2 Shooting Center has already been mentioned for a public rifle range. There are 3 private gun clubs in the area that offer at least some rifle shooting to 100yds or more.

• Norfolk County Rifle Range (NCRR.net) has an indoor 25yd range open 24x7 and outdoor trap, plus monthly rifle matches to 600yds held at Academi, with some additional matches out to 1000yds.
  
• Lafayette Gun Club in Yorktown (lafayettegunclub.org) also has 24x7 indoor 50ft, plus outdoor 50/100yd ranges and trap. I'm the membership director, contact me if you'd like to visit sometime.
  
• Airfield Shooting Club in Wakefield (airfieldshootingclub.org) will be a longer drive but is out in a rural area and has outdoor ranges.
  

There may be additional options but those are the ones I'm most familiar with.

I was there recently on a job. I can tell you FM99 probably has the same playlist they had 20 years ago!

Buddy and I were once arrested for swimming too far from shore and not having ID.

We were about 100-150 yards from shore and swimming parallel to it when the lifeguards and police decided we were endangering ourselves.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Buddy and I were once arrested for swimming too far from shore and not having ID.

We were about 100-150 yards from shore and swimming parallel to it when the lifeguards and police decided we were endangering ourselves.

riptides can be a bitch there, and some folks have drowned due to it

I infrequently travel to that area and live in Central VA (just south of Richmond)

only input is that 64 is always under construction,, basically since it was first built,

and if you get a chance, Pierces BBQ in Williamsburg is worth the drive,

oh, and, tunnel traffic sucks

Many changes at Little Creek remembered as an amphibious base now Joint base, lol. There have been some good neighborhoods noted as well as traffic exasperated by the summer tourist trade. “rush hour” is from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and then from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm because of shift hours at the bases. It may surprise you that it is Virginia’s largest city and offers one of the better public education systems if you have kids. The housing market is in demand so things move “Quick”! Easy zip codes to remember

I've been to the Croatan Beach section of VB for vacation and it's very nice, the downtown area seems very trashy and full of lower-class people.

One bit of advice, don't EVER speed in VA, even 2-3 mph over the limit; there seems to be a cop hiding behind every blade of grass ready to pound your ass for that. It's insane.

Thoroughgood is a very nice area and close to Little Creek. The schools are very good. As mentioned, there are several indoor ranges and C2 is the only only range with distance. Also, if you shoot skeet there is a skeet range at Oceana the Master Jet Base here.

Virginia Beach? Well, oddly enough, it's 60 miles inland, not a drop of water to be found.

I never understood that