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Norfolk is definitely first tier along with Richmond, Jacksonville, Louisville, Memphis and Nashville. Its somewhat isolated location in the southeast corner of Virginia away from major Interstate Highways and its proximity to nearby cities (Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News) serve to detract from the city's perceived importance IMO.
Probably one of the stupider things said in this thread.
They're both port towns with populations under 400k, where the US Navy is the largest employer. Neither is a destination. They both house second-tier state universities. Neither has much in the way of cultural institutions. Neither has pro sports. CC is more populous and denser.
Norfolk is definitely first tier along with Richmond, Jacksonville, Louisville, Memphis and Nashville. Its somewhat isolated location in the southeast corner of Virginia away from major Interstate Highways and its proximity to nearby cities (Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News) serve to detract from the city's perceived importance IMO.
They're both port towns with populations under 400k, where the US Navy is the largest employer. Neither is a destination. They both house second-tier state universities. Neither has much in the way of cultural institutions. Neither has pro sports. CC is more populous and denser.
One clear difference. Norfolk is one of the key city if not the key city in a metro of 1.5 million. Corpus Christi, well, isn't.
Norfolk is in the first tier, and definitely the whole Hampton Roads area. I see it as a step behind Raleigh but not that large of a step, they're just different. Raleigh has RTP which brings in tons of transplants but Norfolk has the military. Richmond is arguably a step behind Norfolk but the two are about equal if you ask me.
Oh, and Norfolk is like a cross between Charleston and Baltimore. Probably a bit more mid-Atlantic than southern, though.
Norfolk is in the first tier, and definitely the whole Hampton Roads area. I see it as a step behind Raleigh but not that large of a step, they're just different. Raleigh has RTP which brings in tons of transplants but Norfolk has the military. Richmond is arguably a step behind Norfolk but the two are about equal if you ask me.
Oh, and Norfolk is like a cross between Charleston and Baltimore. Probably a bit more mid-Atlantic than southern, though.
One clear difference. Norfolk is one of the key city if not the key city in a metro of 1.5 million. Corpus Christi, well, isn't.
That has everything to do with the fact that Hampton Roads is seven adjacent cities, none of which are outgrowth or suburbs of Norfolk. Norfolk is a part of its metro, not the cause of it. If you visit both cities, you will see that they're peers, and CC may be slightly better.
Norfolk is a tough city to place because it is part of a multinodal metro. While it is unquestionably the premium city of Hampton Roads, its position in the national lexicon isnt nearly as clear...
This subject has arisen in other discissions a time or two on this boarf, but never in specific topic. As someone who grew up in Virginia and has an affinity for Norfolk, I see it as a step behind Raleigh and Richmond, but I'm interested in others' thoughts...
Compare based on economy, urban amenities, urbanity (city feel), demography, quality of life, wages and income, geowth rates, and educational prowess (primary and collegiate)...
Does Norfolk belong in the same tier with:
Richmond, Raleigh, Jacksonville, Memphis, Louisville, New Orleans.....
Or is it more alike:
Greensboro, Durham, Charleston, Columbia, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Knoxville...
Or is Norfolk somewhere in between?
Keep in mind when seperating the city from the metro, Virginia Beach and Newport News are also essentially anchor cities that could exist just fine sans Norfolk. Granted, VB would probably be a lot smaller in the vein of Atlantic City or Myrtle, and the News would be a 500,000 to 600,000 metro, but they'd still be self-supporting...
Thanks for the input!
Virginia Beach is the first place on the East Coast I lived after growing up on the West Coast (born in California, moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and then went to college in Seattle before moving east).
I have to be honest, I had never heard of Norfolk before this. I don't think Norfolk is nationally known, but maybe I was just too far away way out west. I'm not quite sure where it fits in the US cities scheme. I wouldn't place it with Memphis, Louisville or New Orleans, which do have national reputations due for historical and or cultural reasons. But it does have a good amount of urban amenities. I think it's a cut above Columbia, Greensboro and Knoxville because of this.
I guess if I had to pick a peer, which is very difficult to to do, I'd pick Chattanooga. Different cities, but similar offerings and both are relatively unknown outside of their regions but appreciated within them.
I still maintain that Norfolk/Hampton Roads is ridiculously underrated.
I agree. It's a cool area with a lot to offer, but it's not well known nationally.
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