I live about 40 mins west but I work in the area every day and recommend not actually living in Portsmouth. Not a very "nice" city. Go to chesapeke. Western Branch or Dock Landing area. If you're working in Portsmouth, do yourself a big favor and not live where you will have to commute across through ANY of the tunnels. If you don't mind say a thirty min commute, you have lots of options. Southern chesapeke, northern Suffolk, western tidewater.