VB/Chesapeake area vs Lynchburg, VA area (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: home, job market)

[Dbazan1]

Quick question y’all might be able to help with - we’re planning a move to Virginia this coming summer and our son has applied and been accepted to 2 universities in Virginia - Liberty (in Lynchburg) & Regent (in Virginia Beach), and he will be living at home and commuting to school.

Do you recommend one of these cities or universities over the other, and why? Hubby currently works from home, so would base where we move to on good commuting distance to university. If our son chooses Regent, would like to get a home with a few acres in Chesapeake (so we can keep our backyard hens, rabbit, and dogs, and maybe add two horses��). If he chooses Lynchburg, I know nothing about the area or where would be a good neighborhood to look in. (Home budget is around $600,000.). Which location offers a better quality of life, things to do, great restaurants, stronger job market, fun outdoor activities, least amount of property damage from natural disasters, etc. For what it’s worth, he’s also considering Lee University in Cleveland, TN, just outside Chattanooga. If you’re familiar with that area & have any input, feel free to chime in too!

Would love to hear your feedback.

Thank you!!!

[Spazkat9696]

Why not let him go to college without his parents?

[Dbazan1]

Spazkat9696, Comment is unappreciated and unhelpful. Our whole family is relocating for other reasons and we cannot afford all 6 years of college for his Bachelors & Masters if he has to stay in college housing. Once he’s settled in school and finds a job, he’s welcome to get his own place with his own money.

[The Dissenter]

Just asking, does religious beliefs have anything to do with his college choices? Those universities obviously cater to that sort of thing.

Regent University does not have a good reputation as far as academics go. Liberty U (I’ll admit I’m not a fan as an atheist) is at least functional as a regular university as far as academics and college life goes. Your budget will go farther in Lynchburg than Chesapeake/VA Beach. Natural disaster risk is also lower in Lynchburg than VA Beach but Virginia has been a lower risk state generally for natural disasters.

[Dbazan1]

The Dissenter: Thank you for your feedback. Yes, he is considering a major within the Christian Faith, but is currently undecided. I’ve lived in Northern Virginia before, but I’m unfamiliar with southern part of the state, which is why I’m seeking feedback from those who know more than I.

[Watchful]

Some have suggested that the cost of living in Hampton Roads (Chesapeake/Virginia Beach/Norfolk/etc.) is a bit high considering the wages that are paid (though 600K should provide well for you in Chesapeake too AFAIK - I don't know about the acreage thing)!

Cost of living should clearly be no issue in Lynchburg and there are (AFAIK) plenty of safe, reasonably priced neighborhoods. (I am more familiar with Roanoke than with Lynchburg so I can't give any specific recommendations but there are some Lynchburg-knowledgeable folks who post frequently on the Roanoke subforum...so if they don't chime in here you might get some info there!)

As far as fun outdoor activities, you probably can't go wrong either way. The main difference is that Lynchburg will have great access to the mountains - hiking, canoeing, etc. - while Chesapeake will clearly have better access to the coastline. Good luck, and welcome to VA if it all works out for ya!

[Dbazan1]

Thank you WATCHFUL! I’ll try the Roanoke one as well - I wasn’t sure where Lynchburg would fall under- thanks for sharing!

[goofy328]

You obviously are not familiar with Pat Robertson and the groupthink that goes on at both Regent and TBN. Do with that as you will. Beautiful campus, like heaven on Earth, great environment and great people, but it seems superficial.

I agree with others Liberty may be the better bet. Regent just seems to be the higher education arm of Pat Robertson's rhetoric. An extension of his hyperbole.

As far as cost, 600K is perfectly fine for Chesapeake.

If employment is an issue, Hampton Roads does not pay much. It is slower than Northern Virginia. Lynchburg may be slower than here. It really depends on what you want; yes you could move here to get more of an inner city feel but if you're living in Chesapeake you won't experience that unless you move to South Norfolk or any of the other parts closer to Portsmouth. I'm not talking about living in the inner city I'm talking about if you get bored and what not, which everyone does. Everything else is suburban and rural. All I'm saying if you decide to move here weigh all of your options. People move here and they get stuck, and they get angry and bitter. Getting here is easy enough but getting out is rather difficult and will require some sacrifice, and not everyone is willing to pay the cost to get out of here.

[Dbazan1]

Thank you for your reply Goofy328. Are you saying that people do not enjoy living in Hampton Roads on a long term basis? Is it because of the high military turnover in the area, traffic congestion, weather, cost of living, low salaries...? Why is it so hard for people to move away, if they are wanting to relocate? Why are residents so unhappy? Really appreciate your honesty, especially since we’re coming from another area where residents are growing very unhappy with what’s going on around them.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Dbazan1

Thank you for your reply Goofy. Are you saying that people do not enjoy living in Hampton Roads on a long term basis? Is it because of the high military turnover in the area, traffic congestion, weather, cost of living, low salaries...? Why is it so hard for people to move away, if they are wanting to relocate? Why are residents so unhappy? Really appreciate your honesty, especially since we’re coming from another area where residents are growing very unhappy with what’s going on around them.

There are two things to consider, when hearing people complain about this area. Were they born here, did they grow up here? Did they move here from somewhere else, and why did they move here?

Those born here look at what other cities and metropolitan areas enjoy and have their own theories about why those things are not here. One thing you'll hear is about the lack of a professional sports team here. Another thing you will hear is about the lack of cooperation between cities, which is shorthand for this city really wanted it but did not have enough funding and could have partnered up with this other city, and they two could have put their money together. When Amazon decided to look for a location for their second headquarters, Virginia Beach submitted an agreement on their own. Nothing wrong with Virginia Beach, but if they're going to attract these large corporations like Amazon they should probably take a chance on creating the infrastructure here first, instead of waiting for a big excuse to do it. You can't do these things overnight. What should have happened, is that we could have sold Amazon on the strength of the region, and all seven cities could have cooperated and delivered a more solid proposal. Amazon knew that this area lacked decent public transportation, and that access to the two airports in this region was complicated, making it hard to get to where you need to go once you get here (as a tourist). You already know what happened with that situation.

As far as things like professional sports, or decent public transportation, lets say light rail throughout the region, those things require a lot of compromise. So then locals will evolve their arguments about what is wrong with this region to include the fact that it is a region instead of one city, or at the very least, a city with it's suburbs. Which runs into the chicken and egg theory of, for which cities would consolidation actually benefit and for which would it be a hinderance. The larger cities in this region do not want to deal with the smaller cities. The smaller cities are poor, have nothing to do (that is legit, not involving crime, etc) have issues with crime, etc. So the larger cities, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake, would have to share their resources with the rest of the region. That is the perception. In practice, nothing dramatic would happen overnight. You would set up some interborough agencies and everyone would have the same trash collection, same recycling, same train, same police, fire department, etc. Virginia would create it's largest city. Then once the dust settles, distinctions would be drawn between agencies in different boroughs/counties, again. These cities and their neighborhoods would go back to being whatever they were before. You won't get a really big city overnight in practice, you just get one on paper.

Now for those that are not from here.

A lot of people actually like it. Sure you wonder about this and that, why is this this way and that not like it is back home whatever but you move on. If you want something different you get in your car and go. It is easier to go to DC or Richmond if I want something I would associate with amenities I get in a big city, than it is to complain about what is or is not here.

Sure there is high turnover. But what large metropolitan area does not have high turnover? Yes, salaries are low. But what big city does not have low salaries. People think they can just move here and make a lot of money and then leave when they want. No if you're unhappy here you need a plan. You probably have enough money to continue to live here, and not enough money to sustain that same level of existence somewhere else. You probably aren't going back to NYC, or Boston, or DC, or any of those high priced cities you left to come here. Your options are probably going to be further South where it is cheaper, or the Midwest, or finding roommates and just making those sacrifices. Might have to cash in your 401K to do it. You can't come to a city, complain about that city, but you spent all of your money and you have no way to do anything about it. You visit the cities you really like and you're sad when you have to come here. The people that complain the loudest around here, do they have a plan?

In general, people need to let go of who is getting what and be happy that anything is here at all. Like if we got a professional team, I wouldn't care what the sport is or which city it is located in. I don't spend my money on sports as it is, but anything is better than nothing. But this area people only support what benefits them directly. If they don't understand it, appreciate it, desire it, whatever they will actively campaign against it. I don't get that mentality; I guess I grew up in a city that did not have this and that and always wanted stuff. I realized the few things I did have weren't that bad. But I always felt that Cleveland had better. So I come here, and I hear about Richmond this and DC that, and that is cool if you have the means and the time to go there but what? Seriously?

I loved it when they built the Sandler Center and they built the convention center in Virginia Beach. I was excited about the idea of the Virginia Beach Arena. Does it matter that none of these things are in Norfolk. No! I like options. Takes me back to being a child and that whole, we have to go to Cleveland thing. If you don't go to Cleveland you aren't going to see it because that artist is not coming to Akron forget about it. That show is not coming to Akron don't even think about it. This is the situation that I feel that this region is in. People are crazy about the Redskins around here, but that is like rooting for some team in some other state. Back home it's like, Northern part of the state goes for the Cleveland teams Southern part of the state goes for Cincinnati teams. Columbus you just get into collegiate sports, but those teams there have a following it may as well be professional. You take it for granted. Then you come here and it's like, oh yeah, DC has a team we're all fans of. Seriously? All of this money in Virginia and there is no team.