Are there any good call center jobs in Norfolk, VA?

We want to move to Norfolk, VA - good idea? advice?

• My husband and I are looking to change scenery and we're considering Norfolk, VA as one of our options. From true Norfolk-ians: what is your advice/opinion about life in Norfolk. We are recently married, not ready to have kids yet (though their education will be important eventually), and we like to have a good time. He's in computers, I'm a teacher. Also, I'm American and he's originally from Bangladesh so diversity is important to us. Is Norfolk fun? What are the most common activities? Is there any East Indian/Bangladeshi population? Any suggestions on neighborhoods to check out? Advice on avoiding buying in an area overrun with traffic? I appreciate all your feedback!!

• Answer:

  My husband and I moved to Norfolk after a considering 4 other cities on the east coast. We basically picked it because the cost of living was low, house prices decent and there is plenty of things to see and do. We have lived here for 3 years now and I would have to say there are some things I like and some things I don’t but overall it’s a great place. I like that its not a huge city so its pretty easy to navigate around. It has a nice, if somewhat underused downtown area around Granby street with some nice nightlife and excellent restaurants. The MacArthur centre has good stores and a movie theatre. If you live in Norfolk you are also close to Virginia Beach which has a lot of computer industry there. They are also building a light rail from Norfolk to Virginia Beach which when it is finished will be excellent. The best area to live in Norfolk is Ghent. http://www.destinationghent.com/ Ghent is a beautiful neighborhood, very diverse, strong community, pedestrian (so not overrun with traffic) and social with lots of restaurants, some good coffee shops and interesting stores. The only problem is that when we thought about buying a house we know we wanted something with a garden, driveway etc and we were not able to afford that in Ghent…so we moved uptown to Ocean View...minutes from the beach. Ocean View is a neighborhood on the turn, It used to be pretty sketchy but now its quite nice. Fun things to do include the beach, dinner & drinks in Ghent or Downtown Norfolk, Busch Gardens in the summer, Tennis, shopping and river cruises. The only downside to living in Norfolk is a little isolation. I found it very hard to adjust to living here as you have to DRIVE pretty much everywhere when you leave Ghent. The drivers (no offence Virgnians) can be quite aggressive. If you want to leave Norfolk for a change of scenery you have to go North for a decent Urban experience but it’s a 3 hour drive to Washington DC and its quite hard to get anywhere further. There are no direct international flights from Norfolk and the domestic flights from Norfolk are quite expensive. Public transportation is terrible…forcing you into a car all the time. But apart from that complaint I love it. There are tons of really good jobs and the salaries are decent. Good nightlife and nice people. Additional Info: It rarely snows in Norfolk. If it does the snowfall is minimal....but I refer back to the drivers...things back-up because people can't drive in snow here...lol. I wouldn't say things shut down per se but rather it just makes things a little slower and gives everyone something to talk about. Snow will last a day or two at most but usually it will snow heavier in Williamsburg (around and hour away) so if you want to see snow you can drive there.