Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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.
•for sure I think people associated with the Navy have a recognizance of Nfk. Outside of them and residents of border states, I haven't found that many people know Nfk at all...
•Nfk and The Beach are two sides of the same city. I think if the area marketed that more it would pay huge dividends in the long term. Everyone knows it---->everybody has friends or family in the opposite city they live in, many live and work in different ones, many take advantage of different events in both. There's subtle uniqueness to both but they are the same city...
•I prefer Rich over Nfk too...
Rich is Va's alpha city, has been that way for a long, long time, and will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. Its significantly more urban than Nfk, significantly more well-rounded in terms of industry, income spread, etc, is the center of Virginia media, politics, government, the arts, etc...
People on here used to do this thing years ago where they assumed Nfk was larger or more significant in Virginia, because Nfk has a larger jurisdictional population. That opinion I've noticed has cooled off as Rich's profile has risen over the last decade, but as a proud Virginian, I can tell you as far back as I can remember, the two cities were never viewed as equal. Peers to some respects, sure, but not 1:1 equals. People would truly be surprised to know more people live(d) in Nfk, because when you are in both cities, it is clear and obvious the core in Nfk is substantially smaller, less lively, all of that...
I had friends and associates over the years from Nfk/VB who echoed these same sentiments, then I moved there and while living amongst the locals you saw that was the common refrain---->people in the area love their city greatly (and I grew to love it too, particularly The Beach), but people know it doesn't have the depth, range, versatility that Richmond has...
Rich is just different, more unique than given credit for as most of the state's population is suburban, rural, mountainous, and/or coastal, to which Richmond is none of these things. Just a truly amazing city, easily one of the premier cities in its weight class (Top 5), a special, special place to me. Over a year ago I grew comfortable with the idea that my life journeys will probably not take me back as a resident again, or if it does, it will be well into the future. But even as someone with no family there, no ancestral ties, nothing other than just growing up there as a transplanted Californian, ill always consider myself at least partly a Richmonder and it'll always own real estate in my heart...
Last edited by murksiderock; 10-26-2020 at 02:24 PM..
•for sure I think people associated with the Navy have a recognizance of Nfk. Outside of them and residents of border states, I haven't found that many people know Nfk at all...
•Nfk and The Beach are two sides of the same city. I think if the area marketed that more it would pay huge dividends in the long term. Everyone knows it---->everybody has friends or family in the opposite city they live in, many live and work in different ones, many take advantage of different events in both. There's subtle uniqueness to both but they are the same city...
•I prefer Rich over Nfk too...
Rich is Va's alpha city, has been that way for a long, long time, and will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. Its significantly more urban than Nfk, significantly more well-rounded in terms of industry, income spread, etc, is the center of Virginia media, politics, government, the arts, etc...
People on here used to do this thing years ago where they assumed Nfk was larger or more significant in Virginia, because Nfk has a larger jurisdictional population. That opinion I've noticed has cooled off as Rich's profile has risen over the last decade, but as a proud Virginian, I can tell you as far back as I can remember, the two cities were never viewed as equal. Peers to some respects, sure, but not 1:1 equals. People would truly be surprised to know more people live(d) in Nfk, because when you are in both cities, it is clear and obvious the core in Nfk is substantially smaller, less lively, all of that...
I had friends and associates over the years from Nfk/VB who echoed these same sentiments, then I moved there and while living amongst the locals you saw that was the common refrain---->people in the area love their city greatly (and I grew to love it too, particularly The Beach), but people know it doesn't have the depth, range, versatility that Richmond has...
Rich is just different, more unique than given credit for as a substantial portion of the states population is suburban and/or coastal. Just a truly amazing city, easily one of the premier cities in its weight class (Top 5), a special, special place to me. Over a year ago I grew comfortable with the idea that my life journeys will probably not take me back as a resident again, or if it does, it will be well into the future. But even as someone with no family there, no ancestral ties, nothing other than just growing up there as a transplanted Californian, ill always consider myself at least partly a Richmonder and it'll always own real estate in my heart...
One of my friends moved to Richmond from Long Beach, CA and seems to enjoy the area. Me and my partner went to Richmond this past weekend and we went around The Fan, Jackson Ward, Downtown, Church Hill, ate at Croaker's Spot in Blackwell on the Southside (terrible service, BTW) and spent some time at Short Pump Town Center. All in all, I find Richmond to be pretty charming and cool, and a nice respite from the DMV hustle and bustle. The warehouses and lofts I saw along with the charming architecture were all awesome to take in. I recently had a change in fortune in life, working remotely and making really good money, so I can work where ever I want to. I'm cool with being in Maryland (and being in a larger metro area) for now, but Richmond is definitely be a spot to consider in the future if I have the urge to relocate and I can still work remotely. I've visited many times when time allows, but not as much as I could due to all the traffic on I-95, but plan on going more to get a feel. I've also considered Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, and if I head west to Texas, Dallas, Austin, or Houston. My former home of Atlanta is a contender too, but I'm not as pressed to go back there anytime soon, but that's a discussion for another day.
I was always curious about the whole Norfolk-Richmond relationship. Much is made of the Richmond-NOVA ties, but I never heard as much about how Norfolk and Richmond relate - I know its slightly further from Rich to Nfk than it is from Rich to DC, but I wondered if they related on a different level since they're roughly the same size, but HR is a larger metro area than Central VA, but how they related culturally since I know that Norfolk had the rough-and-tumble Navy town reputation for years while Richmond was seen as more refined and "old-money," but I wasn't as sure of the movement/relationships/cultural ties between the two areas.
I may be in the minority but another city is always associate with Virginia is Williamsburg. Plus it’s my favorite place in Virginia. Even more so when it’s referred to as Colonial Williamsburg.
I may be in the minority but another city is always associate with Virginia is Williamsburg. Plus it’s my favorite place in Virginia. Even more so when it’s referred to as Colonial Williamsburg.
Nope, you're not in the minority at all in my opinion.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
