We just got orders to Norfolk VA, we are in Camp Pendleton CA. We have only been stationed in Guam and Hawaii so going cross country is going to be a huge change.

Any info is appreciated.

One specific question is can we get on the housing waitlist as soon as we get our hard copy of orders or do we have to wait till we detatch from Camp Pendleton? 

Good luck. My husbands exes all moves there when they married sailors. They are a bunch of crazies. Hopefully you don't run into any of them. 

Norfolk isnt so bad. We are moving back to va beach which is 10-15 min away. We move sept 11th :-) i will say look for housing in va beach or chesapeake way better schools and area :-) if you have questions feel free to ask me.. 

i will say look for housing in va beach or chesapeake way better schools and area :-)

Thats what we have heard, So we are looking into those areas. 

We lived in VA beach first and then bought a home in Chesapeake. If he's going to the FAST Marines then there is actually housing within walking distnce but I don't know the actual qualification for it. I was there years ago and housing waits were horrible. For FAST Marines its a whole in the wall compound for sure. I would avoid Norfolk area all together but the traffic and commute suck as well. Love the NEX!! My ex was also stationed at little creek which was a really cute little base.