What you LOVE about Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: beaches, education, rated)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by michelef1l

The Chrysler Museum is such a hidden gem here! It made my day when I found out they made admission free!

Looking forward to checking this place out.

Originally Posted by michelef1l

The old Coliseum Mall is now that super nice 'Peninsula Town Center,' Newport News has City Center and Port Warwick, as well as a revamped Patrick Henry Mall.

By the way... what's the general opinion on Patrick Henry Mall? Nice place to do some mall walking on a winter's day? What kinds of stores are there? Lots of vacant stores or is it mostly occupied?

[Serenity2019]

Originally Posted by Sour.Amaretto

i moved to HR from my hometown (southern Md) and lived there for 2 years and recently relocated to Charlotte NC and I MISS VAB!!!! I miss the Ocean, "the smell of spring and summer breeze(sounds stupid but just leave and you'll get it) and the tourists b/c we have a crap ton of traffic down here too and at least up there we could blame it on tourist..down here we just have to admit people CANT drive..LOL
I miss Sunrise Cafe for a great homemade breakfast or quick lunch
actually i miss alot of the little cafes and restaurants
i miss being able to wear flip flops year round w/out people thinking I've lost my damn mind
i miss not having to prepare for a snow storm b/c we knew we werent getting snow
i miss being able to host anyone b/c there was always something to do no matter what family or friend was coming to town

all that being said i sure do miss alot but theres alot i dont miss as well its just getting soo expensive for people to think about coming back these days....

I also miss Virginia Beach. I was born there and lived there 29 years, and moved away. I miss it too, and one day I plan on moving back. Charleston, Sc is very nice, but where you grow up , if you really like it, is home.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Sour.Amaretto

I miss the Ocean, "the smell of spring and summer breeze(sounds stupid but just leave and you'll get it)

I can understand that. There's something about the smell of salt in the air that makes me happy. Even a inland river beach like Yorktown Beach works (to some degree) because it's near enough to the ocean to have that salty smell in the air.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Looking forward to checking this place out.



By the way... what's the general opinion on Patrick Henry Mall? Nice place to do some mall walking on a winter's day? What kinds of stores are there? Lots of vacant stores or is it mostly occupied?

Disclaimer: This is based on a visit in 2009. Patrick Henry Mall was mostly occupied. Had good major anchors, in short no Tysons but no Landmark or Springfield either. I would cautiously say a smaller Potomac Mills when you are talking class of customers.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by The Dissenter

Disclaimer: This is based on a visit in 2009. Patrick Henry Mall was mostly occupied. Had good major anchors, in short no Tysons but no Landmark or Springfield either. I would cautiously say a smaller Potomac Mills when you are talking class of customers.

Works for me! I'd much rather walk around a mall with "ordinary" stores like Sears or Old Navy than one that has stores selling Dior. Since I have no interest in buying those things I don't find the high end stores all that interesting to walk by.

[goofy328]

I like the diversity. I like the fact that you have different ethnicity here. I am from the Midwest, where it is mostly Whites, Blacks, and a few Mexican Americans here and there. I love the fact that there are seven cities, at first I would have preferred that they all be one city but I think the entire place would be the same were that the case. Perhaps you would have different boroughs within the same city, I don't know. I love the older cities for my urban fix; Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton, and I like the newer cities when I want wide roads and a different feel, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk. I like Williamsburg. Aren't there really eight cities?

There are so many different options for the look, feel, and taste of a city you shouldn't get bored. Parts of HR remind me a lot of different neighborhoods in other cities I've been to, or lived; Akron, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus. Virginia, in general, has a lot of different options and something for everyone. Richmond is not HR, NOVA is not Richmond, neither are Charlottesville, none of the aforementioned are Harrisonburg, yet still, there is Roanoke, which looks to have a look and feel like what you would get perhaps in Kentucky or Tennessee, than Virginia or West Virginia. So there is a lot of diversity.

People talk about whether or not Virginia is Southern, or Mid-Atlantic. I think it really depends on where you're from, where the people you live at are from, and who you interact that forms how you see Virginia. Personally I found places like Harrisonburg and Staunton to be more "Southern", whatever that means, than this place. Then you have NOVA which does not even seem like it belongs in Virginia, because it is so heavily influenced by the DC culture, which stopped being "Southern" back in the sixties.

So no, HR does not have those high-end stores where you can buy a pair of jeans for $800 or a dress for $10,000, but it does not necessarily need those either. If people were earning enough money to support that type of lifestyle, you would see those options here in HR. It is not as though Virginia is unique in that where people can afford those things you won't find the stores to support their tastes. HR has high-rises were it is a necessity to have them, and where they would work, but it is no Manhattan, which is perfectly fine too. The longer you stay here, the more you realize that economics shapes and molds the reason why some parts of the city look the way that they do and why others do not, what can be done about it, if anything, or what cannot.

My only complaint about HR would be that so much is about the military and tourism. It is although there isn't room for much else. If you aren't into either it can be difficult to earn enough to continue to live here. The COL is cheaper than the Northeast, and even much of the Mid-Atlantic, but it is still hard to make ends meet.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by goofy328

I love the older cities for my urban fix; Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton, and I like the newer cities when I want wide roads and a different feel, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk. I like Williamsburg. Aren't there really eight cities?

I get the feeling Williamsburg is sort of like the family member who's actually a visiting cousin. Not really part of the family and kind of different from the others, so sometimes included and sometimes not.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by goofy328

So no, HR does not have those high-end stores where you can buy a pair of jeans for $800 or a dress for $10,000,

Hooray for that! Just as long as there are plenty of stores selling flip flops.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I get the feeling Williamsburg is sort of like the family member who's actually a visiting cousin. Not really part of the family and kind of different from the others, so sometimes included and sometimes not.

Good analogy.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Hooray for that! Just as long as there are plenty of stores selling flip flops.

No shortage of stores selling flip flops I can think of.