284 nursing jobs in Norfolk, VA

Ghent and Downtown/Freemason are where young professionals and many EVMS/ODU workers actually cluster: walkable historic row homes and high-rises, Colley Avenue and 21st Street cafes and breweries, Chrysler Museum nearby, Granby Street energy. Ghent one-bedrooms are cited around $1,600; Downtown condos around $350,000 with 90-plus walkability and USS Wisconsin views.

Larchmont–Edgewater and Colonial Place/Riverview are the family and faculty picks—historic houses on the Lafayette River, quieter than Ghent. East Beach and Ocean View are the beach-and-bay option, more retiree-leaning.

On a tighter budget, Estabrook (bungalows and Capes, minutes from downtown and the naval base), Norview (near the airport and I-64, some homes under $250,000), Coleman Place, Oakdale Farms, Fairmount Park, Berkley, and West Norfolk are the named starter areas.

Housing is the bargain versus bigger East Coast metros and nearby Virginia Beach, but published medians vary: about $265,000–$280,000 in 2025 guides, with an older Niche figure of $206,700. A single-adult one-bedroom snapshot puts housing near $1,275 a month, utilities about $160, internet about $65. Rents run from about $950 for a fringe studio to $2,300 for luxury Downtown or East Beach; Ghent one-bedrooms about $1,600; one 2025 guide puts citywide one-bedrooms near $1,300. Buy premium in Ghent, East Beach, and East/North/West Ghent (older Niche values $283,329–$375,924); Downtown condos around $350,000. Starter stock is bungalows and Capes in Estabrook (about 1,300 sq. ft.), Norview (some under $250,000), Coleman Place (three-bedrooms for the price of a downtown one-bedroom condo), Oakdale Farms (up to 1,700 sq. ft., short drive to the beach), Fairmount Park, and Berkley. Renters outnumber owners about 55% to 43%.

Flood insurance is often $75–$200 a month, or about $700–$1,200 a year.

Most Norfolk commutes are by car. Hampton Roads Transit’s Tide light rail covers Downtown and parts of Ghent, with bus routes adding downtown coverage; one resident notes the buses are free, but coverage is thin outside that spine.

Peak backups are routine at the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel and the Midtown Tunnel; I-264 and the Downtown Tunnel are the other choke points, and drives into Virginia Beach or Chesapeake often take 25–40 minutes depending on tunnel traffic. Neighborhood choice is treated as a commute decision for Naval Station Norfolk, EVMS, and ODU.

Norview’s I-64 and airport location is called out for easier regional access. A car is the default for shifts that are not on The Tide.

Downtown and Ghent are the everyday food map. Freemason has Cure (coffee, all-day breakfast and lunch, beer and wine) plus Omar’s Carriage House, Freemason Abbey, and Four Eleven York’s courtyard.

The Main stacks Grain Rooftop Bar (Elizabeth River views, fire pits, craft beer) and Saltine; Waterside District is the waterfront cluster. Ghent’s Colley Avenue and 21st Street hold cafes, breweries, and independent restaurants; the NEON District has La Brioche, a scratch French bakery known for baguettes, quiche, and macarons.

Other named downtown patios include Leone’s Italian rooftop, Todd Jurich’s Bistro, Luce, Zinnia, Grace O’Malley’s Irish pub, Hair of the Dog brunch, Jack Brown’s burgers, and The Grilled Cheese Bistro. Seafood, Italian, and Greek come up most.

The Elizabeth River Trail is the in-city walking and biking spine; the Lafayette River is the kayak water; Ocean View Beach and its fishing pier are the bay-beach days. Town Point Park and the Virginia Zoo sit in the close-in outing circuit—one local post stacked an ODU game, Town Point Park Wine Fest, Stockley Gardens art show, and the zoo within about three miles.

About 215 sunny days a year support outdoor living; spring blooms and fall sweater weather are the seasons people rave about. East Beach and Ocean View put waterfront living in reach without Virginia Beach prices.

Culture splits between Ghent’s Chrysler Museum of Art and NARO Expanded Cinema, downtown’s Wells Theatre, Nauticus and the battleship USS Wisconsin, and the mural-heavy NEON District. Annual markers include summer Harborfest, Winterfest on the Wisconsin, Stockley Gardens Fall Art Show, Town Point Park Wine Fest, and Ocean View’s Bayou Boogaloo; ODU games are a local weekend.

Nightlife concentrates on Granby Street and downtown rooftops such as Grain. Freemason’s cobblestones and colonial houses versus NEON’s street art are the two downtown personalities.

Expect mild winters (around 45°F in January), hot humid summers (near 90°F in July), and about 215 sunny days. Spring and fall are the livable peaks—blooming streets then crisp evenings—and tourism writers call those the standout seasons.

Hurricane and tropical-storm season runs June through November. Flooding is a planning issue year-round, not a freak event: sunny-day tidal flooding hits low areas such as The Hague and Chesterfield Heights, and many owners carry flood insurance.

Families who want yards and quieter streets look at Larchmont–Edgewater (Larchmont Elementary, Lafayette River access) and Colonial Place; Ghent can work for urban families in the Maury High zone but costs more. Norfolk Public Schools serve more than 25,000 students, with a named STEM Academy at Lake Taylor High; private options include Norfolk Academy (K–12) and St. Patrick Catholic.

For a nurse, nearby higher ed matters: Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University (nursing and social work), and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Safety is neighborhood-specific—Ghent’s residential side streets are often described as solid; several south Norfolk areas (Roberts Village, Campostella, Grandy Village, Beacon Light, Coronado-Inglenook) are the ones sources tell newcomers to avoid.

Norfolk is polarizing: some residents would not live anywhere else, others say do not move there. People who like it cite authentic historic-waterfront character (not cookie-cutter suburbs), lower prices than Virginia Beach, arts and food, military community structure, and Ocean View weekends without Virginia Beach costs.

The complaints locals actually repeat are regular flooding and flood insurance, HRBT and Midtown Tunnel traffic, limited transit, and crime that is very neighborhood-specific. CrimeGrade scores the city C+ (about the national middle); Virginia ranks relatively safe statewide, but Norfolk is among the more dangerous cities in the state.

South-side pockets repeatedly named as the worst include Roberts Village, Campostella, Grandy Village, Beacon Light, and Coronado-Inglenook.