What do you love & hate about the hamptom roads area? (Virginia Beach: salons, houses)

[darzz1]

Originally Posted by chesapeakesim

Dislikes:

- High Cost of Living
- High Cost of Homes
- Generic Neighborhoods and Houses
- Lack of character in most areas (every neighborhood and section of the city feels the same)
- No "true" nice down town areas
- Many people have the keeping up with the Joneses attitude where they think they are better cause they have more stuff.
- Feeling like an outsider if you are not in the military.
- Weather, the winters are mild which is great, but it is generally too cold to do much outside. The summers are hot and humid (this week has had highs in the 100s) so it is hard to enjoy a lot of the summer unless it involves water. We usually only have a short period of time when the temps are a nice 60/70 degrees, usually about a month on each side. That is just me though, many probably like the hotter weather.
- Same strip malls with the same stores every few miles.
- Lack of any small town feel / Lack of big city feel. Most towns have one or the other, Hampton Roads seems to fall in the middle. You would think that would mean the best of both worlds, but it ends up being you don't get any of the advantages of either.
- No pro sports teams / no major college teams.
- Crime
- No real sense of community, especially with the military people are always coming and going so you don't get the community feel as much as other cities.

Likes:
- BG / Williamsburg.
- People overall are friendly compared to many other cities.
- If I want McDonalds / Taco Bell I have like 5 to choose from within 5 miles. That is also a dislike, but it comes in handy .
- Mild winters.

As with the previous couple of posts, these are just my opinions. It is not meant to trask this area, I just think there are many better places to raise a family and live and I would love to move out of this area. But everyone is different and many on this board love this area so it just depends on who you are.

Well put!

Look like we feel the same way.!

[DunnoDunne]

likes:
-recreation centers
-diversity
-alot of resturants
-oceanfront, baby!
-life

dislikes:
-no pro sport teams
-buses transportation system
-gas prices

[SupermarketFantasy]

Originally Posted by chesapeakesim

Dislikes:

- High Cost of Living
- High Cost of Homes
- Generic Neighborhoods and Houses
- Lack of character in most areas (every neighborhood and section of the city feels the same)
- No "true" nice down town areas
- Many people have the keeping up with the Joneses attitude where they think they are better cause they have more stuff.
- Feeling like an outsider if you are not in the military.
- Weather, the winters are mild which is great, but it is generally too cold to do much outside. The summers are hot and humid (this week has had highs in the 100s) so it is hard to enjoy a lot of the summer unless it involves water. We usually only have a short period of time when the temps are a nice 60/70 degrees, usually about a month on each side. That is just me though, many probably like the hotter weather.
- Same strip malls with the same stores every few miles.
- Lack of any small town feel / Lack of big city feel. Most towns have one or the other, Hampton Roads seems to fall in the middle. You would think that would mean the best of both worlds, but it ends up being you don't get any of the advantages of either.
- No pro sports teams / no major college teams.
- Crime
- No real sense of community, especially with the military people are always coming and going so you don't get the community feel as much as other cities.

As with the previous couple of posts, these are just my opinions. It is not meant to trask this area, I just think there are many better places to raise a family and live and I would love to move out of this area. But everyone is different and many on this board love this area so it just depends on who you are.

Wow, you pretty much nailed everything I wanted to say as far as not liking this area. However, I would like to put in a disclaimer that this is how I feel and it comes from the perspective of a single, non-white, male in his mid-20s. My experience might be different or just might be the same as anyone else's. However, it's strange how I don't feel safe driving at the Oceanfront, due to all the drunk jock types that yell at your when you're minding your own business...at a stop light. I wish the local community was interested in keeping their youth here, but when independent businesses close up due to high rents and lack of support, I don't really blame people wanting to get out as soon as they graduate high school. That was the one thing I did wrong...staying here for a few semesters at TCC. Instead, you get mini-malls full of mediocre chain restaurants. I also wish there was a community space/venue where local bands/artists can perform without having to pay some $400 security/rental fee. I also think the HRT system could use a lot of improvement.

A lot of the things that I liked about Hampton Roads are disappearing, but here are the few things that I love:
-Old Town Ghent and the Hague
-Fairground's Coffee
-the Naro
-American Oldies Record Store
-Azar's
-Machismo's Burrito Bar
-Yorgo's
-The Organic Food Depot
-The Oceanfront in the wintertime
-Granby St. Pizza
-The Central Library!

[Leigh Penner]

I love just about everything - the weather (four fairly mild seasons), the people (very open friendly area), the diversity (every ethnic group and religous affiliation is represented), the safety, fun outdoor activities, family friendly atmosphere, and the seafood!

[Wrapitb4utapit88]

YAYs:
-Diversity! Theres people from all walks of life here. Theres always a festival or something going on, and messing with the tourist makes the summer time thaat much more fun.
-Good schools (VaBeach and Chesapeake especially)
-Rarely any snow, and if it snows 2 inches everything from the schools, banks, and stores all close.
-The BEACH. I recommend Sandbridge or the beaches on the north end to avoid the tourists. Or you can just hike your booty down to the OBX.
-I love the laid back lifestyle. Everything's just "Chill" or "Dank" maaan.
-Lots of shopping
-You can visit the country if you feel the urge.

NAY's:
-TRAFFIC. It's horrible during rush hour. Now there talking about putting the tools back up? geez.
-Lack of real urban feel. its just one huge suburb.
-August is pretty miserable. when your glasses fog up when you get out of your car its tooooo hott.
-Lack of College/Proffessional sports teams.
-People here are pretty shady and a bit crazy IMO.


I'm from here, and no matter where i visit or stay, nothing feels like home, and i get homesick. Nothing compares to Hampton Roads. Theres no where else like it. IMO the grass isnt green on the other side.

[tvpirate05]

Well put by most. I've lived here over 20 years, and have seen changes, some for the better, some for the worse

LIKES:
1. The scenery
2. The diversity
3. The courtesy of people here
4. The small-town feel where everyone seems to know someone thru six degrees of separation
5. The local restaurants to choose from when you don't want "chain food"
6. Decent nightlife
7. Nice mix of suburbs, city, colonial, and country. You can get all three in an hour-plus drive!

DISLIKES:
1. The big-city dreams with small-city mentality. In order to compete with your true metropolitans, you're gonna have to take the steps, which brings me to my next point.
2. Each city's refusal to come together and merge into one metropolitan, which takes me to another point lol...
3. No pro-sports. In my 20+ years here, I've seen Hampton Roads try to woo an NHL, NBA, and MLB team. Oh, and Canadian football. I enjoy a good Tides game, but if HR wants to be on the major league map, they need to update or replace Scope, and build an adequate arena.
4. Norfolk's love affair with luxurious condos
4a. Ridiculous cost-of-living
5. Horrible job market. I love this area, but if another big city makes an offer in my field and the price is right, I'm outta here
6. Transplants bringing their own style of driving here
7. Not enough roads for the incoming flux of residents
8. Virginia Beach's catering to mostly tourists

[Kuro Manga X]

Haha I definitely agree about the whole transplants bringing their own style of driving.

I've lived here my whole life, and I think this is one of the best places in the country to live. Lots of nature, farms and rural living minutes from downtown, tons and tons of history (there are a slew of "Firsts" between James City County and VB).

But of course, there are things I can't stand too, like the ever-frustrating tunnel traffic (I swear, people brake in those things for no reason at all!), and the ridiculous road designs (*cough* Berkley Bridge, heck all of I-264 east), and our complete absence from the map (seriously, we're not even mentioned in southern, beach, mid-sized or even underrated/overlooked forums anywhere, lol). Also, the fact that all of our sports teams bids (all of VA's bids) end up falling through. I think Virginia deserves at least one major sports team, somewhere, because the whole state is not a DC suburb, ya know!

I guess that's because everyone still thinks of the whole area, from Franklin to Cape Charles to Moyock to Williamsburg as a Navy town. There's a whole lot more, but I suppose it gets overlooked because we do have the world's largest Military complex.

But the best thing about Hampton Roads is it's an anomalous metro area. There is simply no place like it. I mean, NATO and PETA are both headquartered in Norfolk, which while the main urban center, doesn't dominate the whole area. Each city and county has a distinct vibe, even if a lot of the suburb areas seem alike. Beaches (both vibrant and quiet), swamps, lakes, historical sites, major port facilities, office buildings, huge military bases, farms, beautiful neighborhoods (Ghent, LaFayette, Olde Towne), museums, a vibrant art scene, all within a 30 mile radius. Where else can you get to a large swamp in twenty minutes from a central business district, be out of the reach of most hurricanes, yet still have warm weather most of the year, and have a very diverse demographic of overall friendly people all in one area? Sure, other places have more of one or a couple of what I listed due to size/popularity, but I doubt any other metro has all of the above in abundance.

Yeah, I love it here, because it is so unique.

[shoes4birds]

I hate the attitudes that many people in this area have - that "I'm better than you because I have more stuff".

[/quote]

Tha's everywhere -- we moved to Michigan about 3 years ago and I think it's worse here because there is no oceanfront area where people choose to downsize on the home for the benefits that the oceanfront brings. It's all about the size of the home and the landscaping of the yard here...I can't stand it.

[Erma]

Originally Posted by biomedic

I love the food. In fact I just found this place in Pembroke Mall that carries all kinds of specialty foods and gifts from around the state. The name of the store is the Virginia Diner Shoppe. I looked them up on the net and they have an online store at Virginia Diner Shoppe - Peanuts Hot Sauces Flags Jellys Jams Gift Baskets Collegiate Gifts
Is Wakefield, VA really the peanut capital of the world?

Well, if it isn't, Suffolk runs pretty close to them. My neighbor is a supervisor at the peanut factory in Suffolk. I know I haven't seen him much, he's putting in alot of overtime this time of year.

[eastcoastgrl]

Likes: lots of stuff to do for kids, good libraries, rec centers, aquarium, beach, etc. Love the botanical gardens. Stuff is convenient. (maybe a little too convenient).

Dislikes: Virginia Beach seems like it won't rest until the whole place is paved, there is no sense of self-preservation, they need more bike paths, and really, how many nail places do you really need in one city???