Hampton VA versus Columbia, SC (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: real estate market, renting, crime) - Hampton Roads area -Chesapeake - Hampton - Newport News - Norfolk - Portsmouth - Suffolk - Virginia Beach - City-Data Forum

blueslily · 03-19-2018, 08:59 PM

I realize that ut us a long shot, but I am posting just to see. Wondering if anyone can compare, based on experience, which you would choose. I hear stories on these boards about crime in both. Cost of living is good in Columbia. Traffic is not an issue. Hampton is possibly less southern, lol. Although I see southern debated on this forums. Please share your thoughts of pros and cons of each and preference between the two. Thanks.

Lockdev · 03-21-2018, 07:12 PM

Hampton Roads is a mix of southern and transient.

It's very "mid atlantic", which means people are going to be very nice until you get them behind the wheel of a car.

If you're talking specifically about Hampton, then crime definitely a problem in certain parts, but it's normally easy to avoid.

Unless you don't drive, traffic IS an issue here. You'll have to travel between cities on a regular basis, whether it's to go to a certain store, restaurant, doctor's office, etc. Hampton Roads is more like one big sprawling city than 7 individual cities.

Many roadways roads were designed when the population was half of what it is today. Some places have corrected the issues, but many have not. It's mainly the interstates and bridges, although it spills out onto normal streets, especially in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Newport News.

Jobs here are limited and most people work for the government in some fashion. COL is pretty high compared to the average wage.

Not sure how it compares to Columbia, but hope that helps on the Hampton side.

The Dissenter · 03-22-2018, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueslily

I realize that ut us a long shot, but I am posting just to see. Wondering if anyone can compare, based on experience, which you would choose. I hear stories on these boards about crime in both. Cost of living is good in Columbia. Traffic is not an issue. Hampton is possibly less southern, lol. Although I see southern debated on this forums. Please share your thoughts of pros and cons of each and preference between the two. Thanks.

Grew up in Hampton, born just up the road from Columbia in SC. Overall the ONLY reasons I would pick Hampton over Columbia is if the beach is important to you or if it is important to you to be close to the Bos-Wash megametro. If being close to Atlanta and Charlotte will suffice, Columbia is definitely the better buy.

blueslily · 03-23-2018, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Dissenter

Grew up in Hampton, born just up the road from Columbia in SC. Overall the ONLY reasons I would pick Hampton over Columbia is if the beach is important to you or if it is important to you to be close to the Bos-Wash megametro. If being close to Atlanta and Charlotte will suffice, Columbia is definitely the better buy.

Thanks. I will have a job there already, so that is not a factor. I have lived in big metro areas so I do nnot need that right now. Just wondering how the two compare when it comes to weather, cost of living, the people, etc. Thx.

goofy328 · 03-27-2018, 11:31 AM

Columbia, SC is going to be a smaller metro area. Hampton Roads, as another poster mentioned, is mid-Atlantic. The transients are from all over the world. Particularly New York City, NJ, etc. Columbia will be more local, regional, and culturally isolated than Hampton Roads. Might also be a slower pace. Far as Hampton Roads, depending on who you ask, culture is a first world problem and not a real priority around here due to the heavy military presence, the shipyards, the ports, and the fact that everyone brings their own culture with them here, so there are a lot of idiosyncrasies about this place. They live and let live, and there is a lot you don't have to concern yourself with or expectations to live up to. It is cheaper than some places and more expensive than others. A decent neighborhood anywhere is going to set you back $1,000 a month or more if you're renting. It can be pedestrian, strange, eccentric, homogeneous, boring, and fascinating all at the same time. Virginia in general is something that if you try too hard to figure it out you'll never enjoy it. I gave up on that pursuit a long time ago.

As far as weather, again, Mid-Atlantic, so it can vary one day to the next and several times throughout the week. South Carolina will be warmer. Hampton Roads will be wetter. One day this place is like Seattle and the next day it is like Michigan and then it will be like Florida over the weekend. Then you have the flooding. Cost of living is higher because of taxes, tolls, etc. There is no one way to describe the people. Wherever people are from, they tend to be nicer here, than where they're from. If that makes any sense. Could be an upstanding citizen or could be a thug or some criminal they're probably nicer here, regardless of what they're doing. I prefer people here than my experiences back home.

rtandc · 03-27-2018, 01:18 PM

Thats an easy one. Go to SC. The cost of living would be higher in Hampton Va, maybe by double digits because of the real estate market being much higher in Va.

The big killer about Va other than the taxes is, each city (such as Hampton) is governed separately. Do yourself a favor and read up on independent cities as Virginia has 38 of the 41 independent cities across the United States. That is why a place as large as Hampton Roads (7 independent cities) does not have the activities (arts, pro sports, large concert venues etc) that you see in other cities the same size or in cities even smaller. Of course being a collection of independent cities also effects the area's infrastructure such as new/improved roadways, resolving traffic issues, optional means of transportation, flooding issues etc.

Lastly is the Hampton Roads area is a huge military hub with a number of military bases including the largest Naval Base in the world. That creates both positive or negative living conditions based on your own personal situation.

Don't get me wrong, Hampton Roads is a decent area but you wanted some of its flaws so I gave you some. If you are looking for more of a metro/urban type area then Hampton/Hampton Roads offers that. If you are looking for more of a city core that quickly turns country then Columbia is a better choice.

A flaw about Columbia SC? Again its all in what you are looking for...Me? I would not live there just because I personally don't want to live in a city that has a large college because just like a military town it presents it's own issues, good and bad....

goofy328 · 03-28-2018, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueslily

I realize that ut us a long shot, but I am posting just to see. Wondering if anyone can compare, based on experience, which you would choose. I hear stories on these boards about crime in both. Cost of living is good in Columbia. Traffic is not an issue. Hampton is possibly less southern, lol. Although I see southern debated on this forums. Please share your thoughts of pros and cons of each and preference between the two. Thanks.

What are you looking for? Virginia is no longer Southern in the traditional sense of the term. It is Southern geographically. The reason you see this hotly debated on the forums is because a lot of Southerners do not like the term Mid-Atlantic, even though it honestly describes what is going on not just in Virginia, but in DC and Maryland. Areas may have been Southern, as far as stereotypes are concerned, over 50 years ago and you will still find some vestiges of that here and there but for what it is worth none of these states have been that way for as long as anyone can remember. But it isn't Northern either, so Mid-Atlantic is like an "other" category. It is not just some textbook term that someone made up. Its just different; like Florida is different, like California is different.

Hampton Roads is 7 cities, and a few suburban counties. The cities are all independent which means they are technically counties by another name. So it is like a 10 county metro area. None of the cities are that densely populated so you will get a sense of different types of neighborhoods within a city in all of them. Some urban, some suburban.

Serenity2019 · 04-04-2018, 06:46 AM

I will add something for you. Columbia is Hot, Hot, Hot in the Summertime!! If weather matters to you go to Hampton. I went to University of South Carolina and grew up in Tidewater (Va. Beach).
As far as what is Southern or not, that just depends on where you grew up, and yes those of us southern do not like the term mid-atlantic for Tidewater.