Virginia Beach or Raleigh? (Norfolk, Chesapeake: insurance, house, neighborhoods)

[sapphire2]

I am relocating and have a choice between Raleigh or Virginia Beach. I am in insurance and my sister who is also coming is in admin/accounting. We are both currently single and in our 30's and have been to both cities but do not know alot about either area. Any suggestions or info?

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by sapphire2

I am relocating and have a choice between Raleigh or Virginia Beach. I am in insurance and my sister who is also coming is in admin/accounting. We are both currently single and in our 30's and have been to both cities but do not know alot about either area. Any suggestions or info?

I grew up in HR and have returned recently to Virginia Beach... I haven't lived in Raleigh but considered it when I moved back east and have a few high school friends there that I visit fairly often.

The two places really aren't that much different in my experience. Both are pretty sprawling and suburban, both are filled with subdivisions and strip malls, my friends that live down there and work at RTP basically call Raleigh "Chesapeake with hills".

You probably get paid better, have more job opportunities, and can get more house for your dollar in Raleigh. There are more young professionals in Raleigh as well.

The only real advantage I can think of in HR over Raleigh is if you work in Government/Defense or Tourism... and of course if you really like watersports and the beach. HR has water everywhere (rivers, bay, ocean).

Otherwise the two places are really not that different in my opinion... of course opinions vary so maybe someone else has one??

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by sapphire2

I am relocating and have a choice between Raleigh or Virginia Beach. I am in insurance and my sister who is also coming is in admin/accounting. We are both currently single and in our 30's and have been to both cities but do not know alot about either area. Any suggestions or info?

Unless close proximity to the Northeast is of importance I would choose Raleigh. Further North you go the more expensive everything becomes. This place is a mess; it grows on you, but it is a mess. HR has to get the affairs of their infrastructure in order. Everyone is doing their own thing, there is no continuity in road patterns, housing patterns, nothing, everything is its own thing and the place has no true identity. We cannot even agree on public transportation around here, and no one wants to pay for anything that does not directly affect them.

Yes the place is suburban, but I think that will eventually change in time as the place matures. People forget that cities like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are not that old as a city. On the other hand, the older cities like Norfolk and Newport News, though a bit more consistent and cohesive as far as the whole urban thing is concerned, are far from perfect. Unless you can actually afford to live in the nice, decent areas of those towns you would be better off in "suburban" areas like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake because they are safer by a long shot. It really depends on where you are from; some people do not mind Norfolk and Newport News as they might be safe with respect to where they come from, say if it is the Midwest, or a bad neighborhood in the Northeast.

The bottom line is that there are not enough people in this region to make it urban throughout. So you get some urban neighborhoods and some suburban neighborhoods. I would visit both places to see what works best for you. Spend a week here, then a week in Raleigh.