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Agreed. Sure Norfolk flies under the radar, but for someone I presume to be a native-born American citizen to have never even heard of it before (while being familiar with VA Beach) seems exceptionally odd.
I might have exaggerated a little bit, but truly I only remember it as a vaguely from American history. I knew it was a southern port that hasn't been a major player besides navy in quite some time. I'm sure it's a lovely place, but I don't think most people know where it is and I certainly don't think it is on par with Nashville or some of the other cities listed that are much better known.
I'm sorry, but I've been to VA beach and never heard of Norfolk. I bet most people in the US haven't. I'm not the one going around saying Boise is Nationalty known or anything, but I'm sure more people have heard of it than Norfolk. I'm sure if I went around Dallas, where I live now and asked random people what state Boise was in they would say Idaho and make a potato joke. I doubt anyone who is non military and doesn't have family from the area would be able to place Norfolk with any certainty.
There is no way you have been to VA Beach BUT never heard of Norfolk, the ignorance in that one statement is almost sinister.
I'm sorry, but I've been to VA beach and never heard of Norfolk. I bet most people in the US haven't. I'm not the one going around saying Boise is Nationalty known or anything, but I'm sure more people have heard of it than Norfolk. I'm sure if I went around Dallas, where I live now and asked random people what state Boise was in they would say Idaho and make a potato joke. I doubt anyone who is non military and doesn't have family from the area would be able to place Norfolk with any certainty.
Coming from Boise I'm sure you flew into ORF which is in Norfolk. Norfolk was established in 1682 and was and player a role during Revolutionary War. Virginia Beach didn't become a city until 1952. Virginia Beach owes it's existence to Norfolk.
I might have exaggerated a little bit, but truly I only remember it as a vaguely from American history. I knew it was a southern port that hasn't been a major player besides navy in quite some time. I'm sure it's a lovely place, but I don't think most people know where it is and I certainly don't think it is on par with Nashville or some of the other cities listed that are much better known.
As it has already been stated, there's absolutely no way you could have been to Virginia Beach and never heard of Norfolk. I don't buy it at all.
Since you know nothing about Norfolk, I don't think you're really qualified to say who its peers are or are not.
As it has already been stated, there's absolutely no way you could have been to Virginia Beach and never heard of Norfolk. I don't buy it at all.
Since you know nothing about Norfolk, I don't think you're really qualified to say who its peers are or are not.
Naw, flew into DC, I'm sure I saw signs for the city when we drove down. It's true that I haven't been there but I feel pretty safe saying it's Peer is not Nashville. It is neither the largest city in it's state nor a state capital. It also doesn't have any professional sports teams. The Metro area is always listed with Virginia Beach first. Norfork itself is only a little bigger than Boise. I maintain that it may be regionally well known, but I'm sure most people haven't heard of it, or would at least require a memory jog to Revolultionary history.
Naw, flew into DC, I'm sure I saw signs for the city when we drove down. It's true that I haven't been there but I feel pretty safe saying it's Peer is not Nashville. It is neither the largest city in it's state nor a state capital. It also doesn't have any professional sports teams. The Metro area is always listed with Virginia Beach first. Norfork itself is only a little bigger than Boise. I maintain that it may be regionally well known, but I'm sure most people haven't heard of it, or would at least require a memory jog to Revolultionary history.
I'd agree that Nashville is ahead of Norfolk, but they aren't leagues apart as you're implying. You also stated that Norfolk's peers aren't Memphis or Birmingham, something that I'd strongly disagree with.
I'd agree that Nashville is ahead of Norfolk, but they aren't leagues apart as you're implying. You also stated that Norfolk's peers aren't Memphis or Birmingham, something that I'd strongly disagree with.
They may be peers economically, but then again they are the main city in their respective metros. I understand that Norfork is the historic center of its area and that a lot of money flows through the Navy there, but it has very little name recognition. To be honest most people don't think of Virginia Beach as a major city outside of the mid Atlantic. You are probably right that it is under rated/underknown and I apologize for my ignorance. I just find it crazy that people would compare it with NOLA or Nashville. It maybe be a closer comparison to Birmingham, Idk.
Naw, flew into DC, I'm sure I saw signs for the city when we drove down. It's true that I haven't been there but I feel pretty safe saying it's Peer is not Nashville. It is neither the largest city in it's state nor a state capital. It also doesn't have any professional sports teams. The Metro area is always listed with Virginia Beach first. Norfork itself is only a little bigger than Boise. I maintain that it may be regionally well known, but I'm sure most people haven't heard of it, or would at least require a memory jog to Revolultionary history.
If you haven't been there, then how in the world would you even know? While I agree that it's peer is not Nashville, Norfolk is more well known than Boise, especially from people on the East Coast. Ignorance of geography is no excuse, sorry.
Besides, if you drove from DC to Virginia Beach, you passed right through Norfolk to drive I-64 to get to I-264, which connects Norfolk (and the rest of the state via the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel) to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
Historically, Norfolk was the region's largest city up until about the mid 1980s when Virginia Beach surpassed it in population. To this day, Norfolk is still the commercial and industrial hub of the Hampton Roads area. Virginia Beach is the largest city in the state due to flight from Norfolk in the 60s and annexing what was known as Princess Anne County until 1963. Virginia Beach mostly caters to tourism and has a military presence, but there are a lot of commuters from Va Beach to Downtown Norfolk and the Navy Base.
I say that Jacksonville is Norfolk/Hampton Road's southern peer city. It's just that Jacksonville annexed almost its entire county vs. Norfolk, which is an independent city surrounded by cities that annexed their counties to keep from getting annexed by Norfolk. So Jax stands on its own as a name, while the HR area feels like a disjointed and disparate collection of mid-size cities separated by large bodies of water.
Last edited by biscuit_head; 11-29-2016 at 01:18 PM..
People throwing in Nashville and New Orleans. While they may have advantages over Norfolk and may even be higher on the totem pole, it's not like either one is a true "major city" and the leap between those cities and Norfolk is, at best, likely only one tier...
To kind of change the subject, is the Hampton Roads area worth a trip for a family of 4, with 2 teenagers (17 and 15), as a change of pace. We live in Columbia SC, and have been everywhere around the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida , and are looking for something different. I've never been there, how different is the beach compared to our beaches? Do people go to Norfolk and Virginia Beach, when going to the beach, or just VB? We like family things, and the wife and I like to party a little bit. Would it be worth the extra drive? Thanks.
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