Welcome Hampton Roads..sory long post
Hello Kevin,
Welcome to the area, if this is your first time here, your are in for a little cultural shock. Compared to Long Island, this place is almost the boonies. I have lived in both places, in Huntington Station for about two years while I was in school up there, the winters drove me back south. I could not get used to it snowing until May.
On your first question about an active racing program, since I am new to sailing in the area I know very little about it. I do know some people to ask though.
I am not certain if you know this or not but Hampton Roads consist of seven unincorporated cities, these are from north to south, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Suffolk. All seven of these is in one way or another accessible by water. With the Elisabeth River being the main water way into the area from the Chesapeake bay. Hampton and Newport News lay on the North of the river with the rest of the cities on the other side.
I say this for you question about were to live. Just like Long Island everything is about fifteen to twenty minutes away. However, the difference being the to get from one side of the river to the next involves taking either one of the two tunnels or the one out of the way bridge to get from Hampton to the other cities.
If your are looking for a place to tie up, Hampton by far has the most facilities followed by Norfolk. There are several decent marinas in both cites so it may be beneficial to either call or better yet come down and take a look at them. I am not to certain about Hampton but Norfolk has two large marina areas to choose from, there is Little Creek and [SIZE=-1]Willoughby Spit, these are both rather large marinas that may offer what you are looking for.
Housing is another issue all together. while it is not as bad as Long Island, for the area it is pretty bad. Rents can be very high here, mainly because a lot of the people here are in the military here and the government pays for their rent and so it is a little high considering the income levels here. I must digress though. If you are single, and do not have to worry about schooling and you do not want to make, to what can be hours long trips across the river, then take a look at the Ocean View area. It is close to both marinas that I mentioned and the rents are not all that bad.
Well kevin I hope that this helps a little. Sorry for such a long post, there is a lot of information to give. Being that I have lived here for a few years. If you have any questions please feel free to responded.
Eric.
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