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Yes, I knew Hampton Roads was a collection of cities that together are a metro area. I'm comparing HR with OKC metro area.
Would you say Hampton Roads has better scenery than OKC? Seems like OKC is hillier. Or would you say that even somewhere flat can have great scenery?
As far as scenery goes, I prefer the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Tidewater) of eastern Virginia over the Great Plains of central Oklahoma. The Hampton Roads area is indeed flat but what sets it apart IMO is the presence of water--everywhere. The Hampton Roads area seems to have water in every form--bays, inlets, rivers, lakes, and of course the Atlantic Ocean. Adding to the experience is lush evergreen foliage which is prevalent in this part of Virginia.
A favorite driving experience is crossing the 17.5-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connecting Virginia Beach with the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Half-way across you feel like you are driving on water as land is barely visible in any direction (except for the man-made islands which anchor the tunnels). There are also numerous man-made water-related attractions in the area such as Nauticus, a maritime science museum located on Norfolk's waterfront. Berthed nearby is the battleship Wisconsin, one of the last great battleships built by the U. S. Navy.
Several miles west, on the Peninsula side of the James River, is Jamestown--the first permanent English settlement (1607) in North America. Nearby is Colonial Williamsburg. The Yorktown Battlefield and Visitor Center is on the York River a few miles southeast of Williamsburg. Connecting all three sites is the beautiful 23-mile-long Colonial Parkway.
IMO, no state can beat Virginia when it comes to a combination of natural beauty and history, and this part of Virginia is just one example.
As far as scenery goes, I prefer the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Tidewater) of eastern Virginia over the Great Plains of central Oklahoma. The Hampton Roads area is indeed flat but what sets it apart IMO is the presence of water--everywhere. The Hampton Roads area seems to have water in every form--bays, inlets, rivers, lakes, and of course the Atlantic Ocean. Adding to the experience is lush evergreen foliage which is prevalent in this part of Virginia.
A favorite driving experience is crossing the 17.5-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connecting Virginia Beach with the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Half-way across you feel like you are driving on water as land is barely visible in any direction (except for the man-made islands which anchor the tunnels). There are also numerous man-made water-related attractions in the area such as Nauticus, a maritime science museum located on Norfolk's waterfront. Berthed nearby is the battleship Wisconsin, one of the last great battleships built by the U. S. Navy.
Several miles west, on the Peninsula side of the James River, is Jamestown--the first permanent English settlement (1607) in North America. Nearby is Colonial Williamsburg. The Yorktown Battlefield and Visitor Center is on the York River a few miles southeast of Williamsburg. Connecting all three sites is the beautiful 23-mile-long Colonial Parkway.
IMO, no state can beat Virginia when it comes to a combination of natural beauty and history, and this part of Virginia is just one example.
^ All of this. Hampton Roads' scenery is very underrated. The presence of water everywhere along with the lush foliage/flora is pretty cool. Virginia is a very beautiful state overall. Even the drive on the constantly congested HRBT can be quite scenic and calming with all of the water and scenery around (the ships, the NAS Norfolk infrastructure, the beautiful homes on the shore, etc.)
While OKC isn't all the barren prairie that a lot of people think it to be, the Cross timbers region that it partially sits in just doesn't appeal to me the same way as the forests of the Eastern US does.
^ All of this. Hampton Roads' scenery is very underrated. The presence of water everywhere along with the lush foliage/flora is pretty cool. Virginia is a very beautiful state overall. Even the drive on the constantly congested HRBT can be quite scenic and calming with all of the water and scenery around (the ships, the NAS Norfolk infrastructure, the beautiful homes on the shore, etc.)
While OKC isn't all the barren prairie that a lot of people think it to be, the Cross timbers region that it partially sits in just doesn't appeal to me the same way as the forests of the Eastern US does.
I agree with this. I enjoy driving through the wide open Great Plains to the west of OKC much more than the crosstimbers. The short, shrubby blackjack and post oak trees with thick, thorny undergrowth just don't do it for me.
Meanwhile, I love the majestic, tall forests of the eastern US. When I used to drive across the country on I-40, I especially enjoyed the scenery once you get east of Memphis.
As far as scenery goes, I prefer the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Tidewater) of eastern Virginia over the Great Plains of central Oklahoma. The Hampton Roads area is indeed flat but what sets it apart IMO is the presence of water--everywhere. The Hampton Roads area seems to have water in every form--bays, inlets, rivers, lakes, and of course the Atlantic Ocean. Adding to the experience is lush evergreen foliage which is prevalent in this part of Virginia.
A favorite driving experience is crossing the 17.5-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connecting Virginia Beach with the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Half-way across you feel like you are driving on water as land is barely visible in any direction (except for the man-made islands which anchor the tunnels). There are also numerous man-made water-related attractions in the area such as Nauticus, a maritime science museum located on Norfolk's waterfront. Berthed nearby is the battleship Wisconsin, one of the last great battleships built by the U. S. Navy.
Several miles west, on the Peninsula side of the James River, is Jamestown--the first permanent English settlement (1607) in North America. Nearby is Colonial Williamsburg. The Yorktown Battlefield and Visitor Center is on the York River a few miles southeast of Williamsburg. Connecting all three sites is the beautiful 23-mile-long Colonial Parkway.
IMO, no state can beat Virginia when it comes to a combination of natural beauty and history, and this part of Virginia is just one example.
I'll have to agree. I haven't been to Hampton Roads. BUT I have been to NoVA during the summer, and the greenery is incredible. I've also been to New Orleans and Biloxi, MS during the summer--which is a very flat, muggy, swampy environment, basically Hampton Roads but on steroids--and I didn't mind at all that it was flat. All the greenery, the water, the ponds, bayous, and the Gulf MORE than made up for the flat terrain.
Bottom Line: People from Southern California wrongly assume that just because New Orleans or Hampton Roads is flat, that means they have ugly scenery. These same Californians will then go on to say how scenic the shrubby, brown, dry chaparral hills of Southern California are in the summer. Californians need to know that there's a LOT more to scenery than just topography.
Calling Austin "ultra-conservative" in 1970 is some serious, serious historical revisionism.
Yeah that's not true whatsoever. Of course it's often the case that today's societal norms are yesterday's progressive goals, and that's why people tend to get "more conservative" as they age, so in that sense Austin was more conservative back then than it is now.
However, relative to its peers, Austin in the 70s was just as liberal as today if not more so.
Yeah that's not true whatsoever. Of course it's often the case that today's societal norms are yesterday's progressive goals, and that's why people tend to get "more conservative" as they age, so in that sense Austin was more conservative back then than it is now.
However, relative to its peers, Austin in the 70s was just as liberal as today if not more so.
Then why are some saying that before Austin boomed it was similar to OKC?
I think OKC wouldn't get as much hate if it wasn't for it's awful weather, boring natural scenery, and being the capital of one of the most conservative states in the country. Indianapolis suffers from the same problem, though it's a little more respected because it's a larger city and is considerably more urban than OKC. Still, it tends to be unable to shake a reputation on City-Data for being dull and boring.
Though I wouldn't want to live in OKC due to it's high tornado risk and being flat as a pancake, it's far from "boring" for an area its size. There's a good bit to do and their residents are actually very polite. The fact that it's simply conservative as a reason for "getting so much hate" is hysterically ironic. Non-conservatives clams to fight "hate", but your statement confirms that OKC's simply being conservative invites hate from those not conservative (ie they "ask for it" for being conservative). I mean, WOW lol. Exhibit "A" as to why the hate towards OKC is based on a certain level of bigotry towards them for nothing other than not thinking believing like those who hate them rather than anything of any merit whatsoever, lol smh.
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