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Lol Murk you beat me to creating this thread. I would say Richmond or Va Beach are two of the most well known cities associated with VA. I would also add that I have found Hampton, VA to be fairly well known due to the university. I believe Richmond is quintessential Virginia, overall, and combines the characteristics of some of the main Virginia cities (Norfolk, Charlottesville, Alexandria, etc).
I thought about including Hampton but wasn't sure just how well known it would be, but you're right, I have met people who are plenty familiar with it by name, and more familiar with it than the name "Hampton Roads"...
I also think Richmond is the most Virginian, Virginia city there is and I've definitely found that if people know nothing else about Virginia, they tend to at least know something about Rich or that it is there...
Virginia Beach is mildly popular too, if not for anything else other than The Strip and "Virginia" is actually in the name of the city lol...
Quote:
Originally Posted by rowhomecity
DC is not in Virginia. It is like saying New York City is in New Jersey honey. I voted Richmond. Its a fine place. But nothing to brag about.
Well duh, we all know DC isn't in Va but there are a minority of people who think DC when thinking "Virginia" before they think of anything else. This actually occurred to me recently here in Raleigh, a guy at work knows I'm from VA and initiated a conversation with me about traffic in VA, but was really talking about DC/Nova traffic, except he never used the phrase "Northern Virginia" or "Nova"...
I'm debating between Richmond and Norfolk, but picked Richmond.
Bro I have met few, literally few, people who know Norfolk by name and even fewer who know anything specific about Norfolk, the more distance you get from Tidewater, and thats going in all directions (north, south, west) from Virginia...
I've met people who know that Norfolk State is an HBCU in Virginia somewhere but think its in Hampton, or dont know its in Norfolk (I had a guy specifically once years ago who was pretty learned on HBCUs, and named the city of Hampton as an HBCU capital because it had two HBCUs there)...
Granted, in most of the neighboring areas (specifically Maryland and NC), people know that Norfolk exists, I'm speaking more of once you start traveling further than immediate surroundings. Norfolk has pretty low name recognition, in comparison to Virginia Beach. They are one abd the same city though, so when someone asks me anything specific about Norfolk, I tell people its VB's grittier, blue collar, more segregated twin city, and that they are virtually the same place...
I'm not from Virginia but I visit often, and I'd vote for Richmond. If Virginia's well-known aspects were rolled into one city, it'd be Richmond. There's some mid-Atlantic flavor, lots of southern history (Civil War, etc.), tobacco heritage, a capitol building designed by Thomas Jefferson, etc. It seems like most major highways in Virginia lead to Richmond, too. The city is easily accessible from the D.C. area, Charlottesville, Petersburg, Williamsburg, and Norfolk.
Last edited by costellopresley82; 10-20-2020 at 03:35 PM..
I voted Norfolk because being a Navy veteran that's the first city that comes to mind when I think of Virginia, and usually not in a good way. I would have included Virginia Beach as well since it's in that area, along with Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, etc.
Bro I have met few, literally few, people who know Norfolk by name and even fewer who know anything specific about Norfolk, the more distance you get from Tidewater, and thats going in all directions (north, south, west) from Virginia...
I've met people who know that Norfolk State is an HBCU in Virginia somewhere but think its in Hampton, or dont know its in Norfolk (I had a guy specifically once years ago who was pretty learned on HBCUs, and named the city of Hampton as an HBCU capital because it had two HBCUs there)...
Granted, in most of the neighboring areas (specifically Maryland and NC), people know that Norfolk exists, I'm speaking more of once you start traveling further than immediate surroundings. Norfolk has pretty low name recognition, in comparison to Virginia Beach. They are one and the same city though, so when someone asks me anything specific about Norfolk, I tell people its VB's grittier, blue collar, more segregated twin city, and that they are virtually the same place...
Growing up in San Diego (home of the Pacific Fleet), I knew quite a few people in the Navy who were stationed or were getting stationed at Norfolk (home to the Atlantic Fleet) at some point, so I had familiarity with it due to that factor. Also, I remember National Geographic profiling the Hampton Roads area and as a young geography buff, I was sure to study the maps and read the article to understand the area. I also knew that Norfolk was the state's largest city up until the 1980s, and had an understanding that it was (and still is) the financial and commercial center of the HR Region. Also, one of my uncles moved to Hampton back in the 90s, and we knew that Norfolk was the closest major airport and visited the area from time to time, so I quickly understood Norfolk's role in the Seven Cities/757/Hampton Roads Area. My dad was supposed to get a job in Portsmouth at some point and I ordered a lot of relocation guides and
Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach merged in the early 60s partially to keep Norfolk from annexing many portions of the county and to slow down integration. I definitely see the similarities between the two cities whenever I visit there, especially in the developments that were built in the 1960s on forward. I even think there's a sort of charming Kitsch to Ocean View compared to the Boardwalk of VA Beach, but I can tell parts of the oceanfront of VB have similarities to Ocean View.
Personally, I prefer Richmond over Norfolk. It feels more lively, has a better urban core than Norfolk. I also agree that it's the most Virginian of the Virginia cities due to it being the Capital and being in the middle of the state, uniting the Piedmont, Mountain, and Coastal regions of the state. Norfolk/VA Beach feel a lot more transient due to the strong military presence. There's no strong sense of "skin in the game" there by the locals the way Richmond seems to preserve its heritage and historic neighborhoods. It seems like a lot of the area was affected by urban renewal and there seem to be far more vacant lots close to downtown Norfolk compared to Richmond. But I digress.
Regarding unfamiliarity with Norfolk and the HR cities, Richmond has the advantage of being along the I-95 Corridor and has access to the Northeast Corridor, and nearby Petersburg is the gateway to I-85, which serves the Piedmont Corridor. So you have a lot of movement in the metro area due to all the traffic going North-South and vice-versa. On the other hand, Norfolk/HR is a major cul-de-sac and far enough from the I-95 Corridor to not be on the radar of many people unless your final destination is there. A lot of people don't realize there's a large metro area of almost 2 Million People to the east of the main East Coast Corridor.
Despite having lived in Va Beach for many years I too feel like Richmond would be more well known especially it being the capital city. What I find fascinating is Norfolk is actually much older as it was incorporated in 1705 vs 1742 for Richmond. Norfolk’s location to the water probably was it’s best asset years ago.
I said Arlington because nationally you hear about Arlington i.e. Nestle HQ relo, Amazon HQ2 then any of the other cities.
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