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Jacksonville Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach, and Ocean City (both) can "mess" with Virginia Beach.
In my opinion, all major East Coast beach resort cities, with maybe the exception of Miami Beach, have an aura of tackiness surrounding them. Virginia Beach's "Grand Strand" is no different. It's just a line of shops selling t-shirts, knick-knacks, and fudge and hotels in sore need of renovation or demolition.
That's not to personally attack VB, because, IMO, almost all East Coast beach resort communities share those qualities. I like the Hampton Roads as a whole: water everywhere, Navy presence, Southern atmosphere, relatively temperate climate, seven small cities making up the bulk of the metro area's population, etc. However, the beach area of VB feels no different than any of the resort areas that I listed above.
Having spent a ton of time there, I can safely say I don't like it. I much prefer Norfolk.
Virginia Beach is Norfolk... and vice-versa.
Not to mention Virginia Beach's MSA aka Hampton Roads has much more beach than Virginia Beach such as Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood, Hampton's "Buckroe Beach," Virginia Beach's "Sanbridge," where it's not all "touristed up"
Shops on the boardwalk, no condo/hotel towers,no mass transit service, etc.
Funny, because some of the cities you mentioned in the first post beat out VB by a mile in these areas. Atlantic City for example has taller towers, MUCH better shopping, and transit options galore (trains to NY and Phila., express buses, local buses, and the jitneys).
So using your own criteria, it seems there are cities that can nail VB to the floor. Ego boost fail?
Not to mention Virginia Beach's MSA aka Hampton Roads has much more beach than Virginia Beach such as Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood, Hampton's "Buckroe Beach," Virginia Beach's "Sanbridge," where it's not all "touristed up"
No, Norfolk isn't Virginia Beach, it's Norfolk. Like any metro area, they're connected via suburbs, but Norfolk is the principal city of the metro area (I know it's smaller, but it's the urban core of the metro) and it has the most authentic urban feel of any city in the Hampton Roads area. I've always enjoyed downtown Norfolk.
Virginia Beach is the only one that's got the tacky touristy feel and that's really centered around the central beach area with the condos and hotels. It feels just like any other town that's similar (they've all been listed). I'm not saying the entire metro is this way... it's just Virginia Beach and not even all of Virginia Beach (we've been over the fact that the rest is suburban sprawl). Sanbridge isn't bad at all, but it's a small exception to the rest of the city which is either tacky or overly suburbanized. Sanbridge reminds of more crowded sections of Cape Cod or Wareham MA, parts of the Jersey Shore and even a little of Naggs Head. I have no issue with Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, or the rest of the Hampton Roads area (in fact, I like a lot of it)... like I said, it's just VA Beach that I don't care for.
Jacksonville Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach, and Ocean City (both) can "mess" with Virginia Beach.
In my opinion, all major East Coast beach resort cities, with maybe the exception of Miami Beach, have an aura of tackiness surrounding them. Virginia Beach's "Grand Strand" is no different. It's just a line of shops selling t-shirts, knick-knacks, and fudge and hotels in sore need of renovation or demolition.
That's not to personally attack VB, because, IMO, almost all East Coast beach resort communities share those qualities. I like the Hampton Roads as a whole: water everywhere, Navy presence, Southern atmosphere, relatively temperate climate, seven small cities making up the bulk of the metro area's population, etc. However, the beach area of VB feels no different than any of the resort areas that I listed above.
I think you're right where the larger beach resorts are concerned. I can name a lot of smaller beach towns on the East Coast that are IMO very charming:
New England? Too many to name; somebody else can handle that.
Delray Beach, FL
Vero Beach, FL
St Augustine, FL
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Atlantic Beach, FL
Fernandina Beach, FL
St Simons Island, GA
Hilton Head Island, SC
Kiawah Island, SC
Sullivan's Island, SC
Isle of Palms, SC
Pawley's Island, FL
Kure, Carolina and Wrightville Beaches, NC
Lewes, DE
Rehoboth Beach, DE
Avalon, NJ
Cape May, NJ
No, Norfolk isn't Virginia Beach, it's Norfolk. Like any metro area, they're connected via suburbs, but Norfolk is the principal city of the metro area (I know it's smaller, but it's the urban core of the metro) and it has the most authentic urban feel of any city in the Hampton Roads area. I've always enjoyed downtown Norfolk.
Virginia Beach is the only one that's got the tacky touristy feel and that's really centered around the central beach area with the condos and hotels. It feels just like any other town that's similar (they've all been listed). I'm not saying the entire metro is this way... it's just Virginia Beach and not even all of Virginia Beach (we've been over the fact that the rest is suburban sprawl). Sanbridge isn't bad at all, but it's a small exception to the rest of the city which is either tacky or overly suburbanized. Sanbridge reminds of more crowded sections of Cape Cod or Wareham MA, parts of the Jersey Shore and even a little of Naggs Head. I have no issue with Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, or the rest of the Hampton Roads area (in fact, I like a lot of it)... like I said, it's just VA Beach that I don't care for.
I like your viewpoint on the area!
But how many metros can you name that contain the three biggest cities in their state? Virginia Beach- Pop. 440,000.Norfolk- Pop. 240,000. Chesapake-Pop.220,000.
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