What you LOVE about Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: condo, house, job market)

[TBDBITL]

Hello,

Rather than seeing what you hate about Hampton Roads, tell us what you love about living in Hampton Roads.

[Erma]

I love the fact that we don't have to rely on restaurant chains for seafood.
We still have butcher shops, although not that many, compared to other areas where packaged meats are not a choice.
I like the ducks and geese in our neighborhood and am able to walk to any place I care to go to pick something up within a mile from my house.
The ability to travel a short distance on the weekends or holidays and feel like I'm a hundred miles from home.

[xGrendelx]

I like Hampton Roads for its diversity. I live in Virginia Beach, but I work in Norfolk and the two cities couldn't be more different. Depending on what it is you're looking for, Hampton Roads has a place for it. And I'll second Erma's statement about seafood restaurants. I don't know if we have the best seafood places in the world, but I know there's no way I couldn't live on the coast after spending my whole life here. I NEED my seafood.

[Mr Williamsburg]

Ok. It's been awhile . I am plagiarizing myself from an earlier post. Hope people don't get tired of my posts...
Reasons We like living in Williamsburg, VA
Voted one of the Top 5 Best places to retire by Money Magazine ( when we reach that age)
Good neighbor passes to Colonial Williamsburg
Grand Illumination at Christmas
Great Wolf Lodge
Farmers Market on Duke on Gloucester
Kimball Theater
Williamsburg Regional Library Concert series
Williamsburg/ James City County School System
Colonial Parkway from Jamestown to Yorktown
Williamsburg Winery/ Wedmore Place
Dinner at Chownings Tavern/ Fat Canary/ Blue Talon/ Opus 9
Desert at the Trellis " Death by Chocolate"
Capital to Capital Bicycle Trail
Muscarelle Museum of Art
Dewey Decibel Concert Series at the Williamsburg Library Theatre
Golf at Golden Horshoe Golf Club, Williamsburg National, Stonehouse, Kiskiak, etc 17 Local Courses
First Night Williamsburg[/
Historic Jamestown. Jamestown Settlement
Working out at James City County Recreation Center
Grocery Shopping at Ukrops, The Fresh Market, Trader Joes
An Occasion for the Arts
Brewster's Ice Cream
SUMMER BREEZE CONCERT SERIES Concerts on Duke of Gloucester Street
Shopping at Prime Outlets, Merchants Square, Williamsburg Pottery
Bush Neck Farm - Pick-your-own strawberries, apples, blueberries, asparagus, sweet corn, peaches, pumpkins.
Busch Gardens Seasons Passes "Howl-Scream"
Water Country
The Plantations along Rt 5 , Shirley, Sherwood, Berkley etc.
Williamsburg Ale Werks Williamsburg's only Microbrewery
William & Mary Football/ Tailgate Parties in the Fall
Mountain Bike Trails Freedom Park, New Quarter Park York River State Park
Kayaking/ paddle boats at Chickahominy Riverfront Park, Waller Mill Park and Little Creek Reservoir
Concerts at the newly renovated amphitheater at William & Mary
Paul's Deli, Greenleafe Cafe
The wonderful playground Kidsburg/ Mid County Park
Skate Park at JCC Rec Center
New Town and it's wonderful shops and restaurants
Prime Outlets
Phi Beta Kappa Hall – Performing Arts Series
Ewell Hall, Department of Music - Performing Arts Series
Christopher Wren Society at William and Mary
Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Classics at St. Bede Concert Series
The Virginia Arts Festival presents performances by the world’s top-flight artists in classical music, dance, theatre and jazz.
The Williamsburg Symphonia, Classical Music Series
Virginia Shakespeare Festival @ W&M
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
at Colonial Williamsburg
Aromas Coffeehouse
Harbour Coffee in New Town
An Occasion for the Arts
Colonial Polo Cup
Tavern Ghost Walks in Colonial Williamsburg[
"Revolutionary City,”
Spending the night in a Colonial Home in Williamsburg
4th of July fireworks at Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg
The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg
McCormick-Nagelsen Tennis Center
Spending the night at the Williamsburg Inn or Lodge
Youth Sports Teams: Baseball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Swimming, Football, Volleyball, Wrestling, Karate, Ballet, gymnastics, etc.
WISC (Williamsburg Indoor Sports Center)
Blueberry pancakes at Chickahominy House
Christmas Parade in Colonial Williamsburg
Tide Radio and WBACH radio stations and WRRW
William & Mary College"The second Oldest College in the U.S
Kingsmill, Fords Colony, Governors Land, Stonehouse, Greensprings neighborhoods all with wonderful golf facilities.
Rock and Roll half Marathon
Shamrock Marathon
]Paul Shagrue " Out of the Box
North End of Va Beach Ocean Front
VA Living Museum
Hampton Bay Days
Mariners Museum
ECSC East Coast Surfing Championships at VA Beach
Proximity to the Mountains/ Skiing
Proximity to Va Beach and the Outer Banks
Harborfest in Norfolk
Ghent
Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in VB
Ferguson Center in NN
nTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
VA Aquarium
Sailing on the Chesapeake Bay
Rafting up on the Chick
Boating on the Chick and realizing it looks just like it did in 1607 ( they filmed the movie here)
Relatively low taxes..
Urbanna Oyster Fest
The Rivah in Northern Neck
it's a 53 minute plane ride to New York City- Newport News Airport is so convenient
Our Public Schools

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by Erma

I love the fact that we don't have to rely on restaurant chains for seafood.
We still have butcher shops, although not that many, compared to other areas where packaged meats are not a choice.
I like the ducks and geese in our neighborhood and am able to walk to any place I care to go to pick something up within a mile from my house.
The ability to travel a short distance on the weekends or holidays and feel like I'm a hundred miles from home.

Two of my favorite seafood experiences are right in Hampton.

There was this shop @ the corner of Briarfield and Aberdeen that my father brought home fresh crabs often. When i say fresh i mean still alive and moving inside the bag. Those were good.

Another great place was off Mercury Blvd, it was a seafood buffet (not a chain.) They made crab legs to die for. When i eat crab legs from the chain supermarkets here in NoVA i think back to that restaurant. Mmmm.

[rtandc]

On a personal note I cant say I love anything about Hampton Road, but here is what Hampton Roads has given me over the years.

I watched my children receive a good education from the local public schools here at the beach and they have moved on to top colleges and jobs across the US, but as a parent I contribute much of their success to hard work and not so much the school system.

One of the biggest complaints about this area is the job market and I have to agree, but my wife and I have been lucky, we found great careers early in life that we have enjoyed and are both heading toward retirement in 3-4 years and will hopefully be young enough (early 50's) to enjoy life and are looking forward to where the next step in life takes us.

What I enjoy about Hampton Roads is its location, in a 3-5 hour drive I can be at some of the best beaches in the US (Hatteras and Ocracoke Island) and within the same time frame I can be in the mountains of VA and WV. A half day drive will put me in DC or Charlotte where I can enjoy pro sporting events or top name entertainers. And as Mr Williamsburg stated a short plane ride can get the wife and I to NYC where we can get our big city fix.

So Hampton Roads is like a double edged sword. It has been and still is home......... and it has been very good to my family and I, but at the same time the wife and I cant wait to pack up and leave when the time arrives. So when family, friends or even strangers ask me about Hampton Roads I can not in good faith recommend this area without also first telling them about all of the low points this area has.

[IonRedline08]

Crazy Wing Cantina is the main thing I miss since I have moved. I love those Wings!

[citydweller]

What do I love.. hmm, well I love my house which I moved into July. It's my first SFH after living in a condo for years and it's in a great neighborhood as well. I also love the laid back lifestyle found here, diversity of people and proximity to larger cities. I'm not a beach person but if I were being so close would be a bonus.

[TBDBITL]

I get the impression that living in Williamsburg may be a lot different than being 'in' Hampton Roads.

[xGrendelx]

Originally Posted by TBDBITL

I get the impression that living in Williamsburg may be a lot different than being 'in' Hampton Roads.

It is. Most people in Hampton Roads don't consider Williamsburg a part of it. I didn't even know people lived in Williamsburg, haha. The only thing I acquaint it with is Busch Gardens/Water Country USA, William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg, and a place to drive through when going to Richmond. But this is getting off topic.

I already posted, but I'll post again to start it back up...

What I Love:

The beach, fishing, and mild winter weather.