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I have grown up in Hampton Roads and now a DC resident. My biggest complaint about Hampton Roads is the lack of jobs and young professionals. I gave Hampton Roads a chance and lived/worked in Virginia Beach for 2 years after graduation. I was hopping around admin jobs earning peanuts, same with my girlfriend. Most of our friends in the area do the same, the only ones that earn a decent living are nurses. I've gone to a few "young professionals" meetups and they're just filled with realtors and pyramid schemers preying on new people to suck in and push sales. After 2 years of working bottom of the barrel admin jobs I followed most Hampton Roads 20 somethings to DC and found a ton more well paying jobs. I wish I would have moved up here sooner rather than trying to make a career in Hampton Roads.
Hampton Roads has the geographical attributes to be a great city for young professionals like Austin TX but it just lacks the jobs and community needed to really thrive
I have grown up in Hampton Roads and now a DC resident. My biggest complaint about Hampton Roads is the lack of jobs and young professionals. I gave Hampton Roads a chance and lived/worked in Virginia Beach for 2 years after graduation. I was hopping around admin jobs earning peanuts, same with my girlfriend. Most of our friends in the area do the same, the only ones that earn a decent living are nurses. I've gone to a few "young professionals" meetups and they're just filled with realtors and pyramid schemers preying on new people to suck in and push sales. After 2 years of working bottom of the barrel admin jobs I followed most Hampton Roads 20 somethings to DC and found a ton more well paying jobs. I wish I would have moved up here sooner rather than trying to make a career in Hampton Roads.
Hampton Roads has the geographical attributes to be a great city for young professionals like Austin TX but it just lacks the jobs and community needed to really thrive
The thought has crossed my mind. How bad would it be for someone up there without a college degree?
I've gone to a few "young professionals" meetups and they're just filled with realtors and pyramid schemers preying on new people to suck in and push sales.
When I lived in the area, I was really disappointed in how many of those pyramid schemers I kept running into.
Thanks for asking, and here is exactly what I recommend for the South side
1. Bulldoze everything that is not in the Waterside, St. Pauls, Brambleton circle, north west to the rail yards, and north to 38th Street, and everything inside of Ballentine and Lafayette to the Zoo. The use of this land for residential single family like Park Place and Huntersville, and slums like Young Terrace is ludicrous. This land should be all zoned high rise commercial and residential. Any existing medical complexes or schools in the area can be kept. This area will be constructed as very walkable, and have tree lined streets, lots of benches, and police beat cops. I wish that Norfolk didnt use so much of their downtown on cemeteries, but I dont advocate moving them, so instead, we will just ban new burials in Norfolk.
2. Get rid of Portsmouth altogether. Annex west to about Frederick and South to the shipyard to Norfolk, give the rest to Chesapeake. Chesapeake would give up everything south to Providence, east to Military and west to the Elizabeth River. Do exactly the same thing with the annexed portion of Portsmouth and Chesapeake as you did with the rest of Norfolk. Most of this section should be nothing but high to midrise commercial and residential.
Now that we've constructed a downtown thats actually worth a crap
3. Get rid of the Scope, get rid of Chrysler Hall. They are dilapatated, and are taking up good downtown land, rebuild an arena that is large enough for NHL or NBA. You can build this where Chesterfield Heights used to be, and build a couple parking garages in the area that might be useful to Norfolk State and could be shared.
4. Speaking of Norfolk State, I would favor grants to help them eject the random housing and buildings unrelated to Norfolk State out of the campus and condence the campus some. I would also favor removing major roads such as Park Ave out of the campus.
5. Since weve already bulldozed all that crap along E. Virginia Beach Blvd (like the houses that have on street parking from Ballentine to Park Ave), we need to widen all of Virginia Beach Blvd to 4 lanes at least on each side all the way to the the Virginia Beach ocean front from Monticello. The back ups on this road where it shrinks to 2 or 3 lanes are insane (such as the Newtown intersection). This will require knocking down some businesses and houses past the Ballentine bulldoze point. Oh well. The only real problem I see is Booker T. Washington High School, and Im not sure what to do about that. Maybe we do all the road widening southward. The craziness of 264 getting off right in to Downtown Norfolk needs to go. This exit needs to be much further back, and feed in to Virginia Beach Blvd.
6. Construct an excellent public transportation system. I think the major hub should be constructed between Ingleside and Ballentine on E. Virgina Beach Blvd. Here there will be several parking garages, and it will be a stop for the rail line, and a number of buses. I dont know if that track going through is still in use, but if it is, it needs to go. Light rail will have several destinations. There will be a stop possibly on the corner of east city hall and St. Paul. A stop on Bousch close to the TCC, another stop by Sentara and CHKD, a stop by ODU, and stops on either side Norfolk State, to be used by students and for Harbor Park and the new Arena. This could possibly be covered by one line. Another line should be constructed to go to the Zoo, Bon Securs and the Naval Base. A third line will go across to Portsmouth and stop at the Naval Hospital and the Shipyard. The downtown tunnel needs to be widened. Express buses should be added that go between the following and the hub station, Janaf/Military Circle, Towncenter/Pembroke, Lynnhaven Mall, Dam Neck/Oceana, Greenbrier, Princess Anne Park/Amphitheatre/Sportsplex, VB Convention center. Express Bus lanes should be built wherever possible. Park and Ride stations will be at PA Park, Town Center, Convention Center. There also needs to be a high capacity, high end fairy, like the Staten Island fairy. I would build 1 terminal right near Harbor Park (which would be right near a train stop as well) 1 terminal near Portsmouth Naval, and 1 terminal where the Ford plant was. 1 fairy between the three should be sufficient.
7. A tremendous campaign needs to be developed by the region. Corporations who will build large office towers will get free land, and corporations who will relocate their HQ here will get whatever tax breaks we can hand them. We can use the fact that we have so many local colleges and an excellent public transportation system as well as our geographic benefits to try to lure in business.
8. When we have significant corporate presence, do what we can to make sure the military leaves. I know that is a Federal matter, but we can jack up taxes on government contracts or whatever else we can to make doing business too expensive, and the Navy can sail down to Jacksonville.
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Originally Posted by Kevin_R I've read post after post of why isn't Hampton Roads like this metro or that metro, why is it so much traffic blah blah blah blah...Hampton Roads IS an up and coming metro whether you want to believe it or not. Every metro has started from somewhere, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Hampton Roads is actually not a growing metro at all. Its growth has practically stopped, with most of that being in Chesapeake and Suffolk. Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton have been losing people or been basically flat for years. Virginia Beach, which once was the source of most of the areas population influx, has slowed to less than 5% growth. Turns out, the only thing it had going for it, affordable housing, has dissapeared, and nobody wants to come here any longer.
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Originally Posted by Kevin_R How can you possibly hold a metro like Hampton Roads to the same standards as a New York, or DC?
Thats funny, because, Hampton Roads is one of the oldest colonizations of Europeans in North America. Norfolk was incorporated in 1705, which makes it not too much younger than Boston or NYC. It has better weather, and just as good of natural port as New York City or Boston, plus it is generally better for growing and is nearly smack dab in the middle of the eastern sea board. You absolutely could not dream up a better place than Hampton Roads. Yet, Hampton Roads basically rotted as a backwater tobacco field for decades while NYC and Boston became some of the most important cities in the country and the world. So when you are saying that you cant compare Norfolk to NYC or Boston, you absolutely can compare them. There is no other reason for Norfolk not being a world class city other than it being an abject failure.
On top of that, how on earth do you explain cities that were founded way after Norfolk, that not only eclipsed Norfolk, but buried it. Cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta......
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Originally Posted by Kevin_R I was born here and enjoy the area it is HOME to me. I'm not going to move to Jackson, Ms then complain that its no beach in the city. Ever area is unique and has something different to offer.
What does Hampton Roads have that you cant find somewhere else better? There is nothing unique about here. Its like a giant stale suburb.
I just wanted to say that this is a well thought out reply an that I couldn't have said it better myself.
I have been here since 1991 an if it wasn't for meeting my DH I would have been gone the same yr.
To be honest the downtown areas in the cities could be a lot better. Town Center Virginia Beach should be 5 times the size that it is. Norfolk does better than the rest of the cities, and actually has a downtown that is bigger than you would expect for a city that size, so the rest of Hampton Roads should hang their heads in shame. Portsmouth isn't bad either, just ran down, that's all.
I went to Cleveland Ohio for Thanksgiving, a city that now has fewer people than Virginia Beach does, and their downtown was at least 10, maybe even 20 times as big. In fact, it was never ending, and that is not walking through the place but driving through it. This is the only way that Virginia Beach is ever going to get taken seriously.
I don't care that cities like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are relatively new, you know my mother is older than both of those cities. They should be ashamed of themselves; the suburban blight, the boring landscape, the pedestrian, homogeneous feel, they should really be ashamed of themselves. Outside of Newport News, Portsmouth, and Norfolk Hampton Roads is not a city or an agglomeration of cities, it is just a huge suburb. Two of those cities are in serious decline, one of them keeps pulling money out of thin air (Norfolk), to finance their projects.
That is where I miss Ohio. I don't miss the blight, the crime, the grime, but I do miss that urban experience, that sheer mass, that come with higher population densities inside of the city. You simply do not get that in Hampton Roads. Instead you drive on humongous 8 lane roads that whittle down to 4 lane roads and sit in traffic. and there is nothing to look at; at least in a city like Chicago, New York or Pittsburgh there would be something to look at, you could park your car on the side of the road and go into something you can't do that in Hampton Roads because you are trying to get through some God forsaken neighborhood to get somewhere, particularly in Norfolk, where you don't stop anywhere at night.
Visually, there is nothing to instill pride in Hampton Roads. Few tall buildings, nothing to get excited about. What does exist here, is out of the way, tucked and hidden away somewhere, with few exceptions. Forget about public transportation; perhaps sometime in 2050 when I am dead (or on a respirator somewhere) you will have here what they have up in DC.
and another thing; if a street is 8 lanes it should be eight lanes from one side of the water to the other. Tear down everything that is squeezing that road! I don't care what it is, a school, hospital, fire department, tear it down and rebuild it somewhere else! There are too many traffic problems to deal with some lousy street whittling down from 8 lanes to 4! Most of what is squeezing these roads is not worth salvaging to begin with. People complain because they are next to a street that needs to be widened; well they are in the way of progress.
But you know how it works in Hampton Roads; it all depends on who it is. If it is the ghetto, such as was the case in South Norfolk when they built 464, they cannot pay you enough to leave. They will take it all through eminent domain. But if it is a decent neighborhood; Jane Jacobs and her like come out and do their research and make a big fuss and the job never gets done. There are too many areas in Hampton Roads like this.
I have lived in this area for over forty years and I know why people are disenchanted with this area. The pay is low in relations to the cost of living. No diversity as it pertains to businesses. Delusional mind set that exist within the local population.
The average income minus the military is around $25,000 per year and the average one bedroom apartment; if want to live somewhere decent is around $700.00 per month. If you make the average of $25,000 a year; after taxes you may bring home around high $700 or low $800 every two weeks. Therefore, the individual only has one pay check to maintain their expenses: food, clothes, utilities, and other expenses. The Chamber of Commerce includes military wages to average the incomes within the area; which is wrong because they do not have pay taxes if the choose to retain their previous residency. Also, military is transient and moves on the average every 4 years. The businesses know that due to the large presence of military the spouses are willing to work for lower wages because it's supplemental income.
Next, this is too dependent upon the military and need to provide incentives to lure businesses to the area. For example: The layoffs that recently occurred and the impact upon the economy, The Governmental budget impasse that had this area worried, and the dependency upon call centers which are rampant. Yes, their are other industries but they are limited. The individuals the area elect has a lot to do with this lack of diversity for example: Virginia Beach Mayor whom is not mistaken was CEO of Hampton Roads Bank; what does he know about the middle to low income citizens?
Finally, the mind set of the individuals in this area. The good old boy system is a live and well. It's an oxymoron to state the this a metropolitan area if old money still controls everything. Their accents are thick as if we live in some rural county in lower South and it makes me wonder because I don't have a thick accent. As I stated I lived in the area for over forty years; I just don't understand maybe it's the country music? Just take a look at the officials this area elect for example: Portsmouth's Mayor, Virginia Beach's Mayor, and Norfolk official's whom are under scrutiny. This is not a race thing it's a mindset situation. The way the City of Virginia Beach handles mass transit is outrageous. The majority of the buses run every hour, refuses to extend the light rail to the oceanfront, and why is this ? Maybe, I may have some insight into why; Chesapeake is just as bad. The those have a large population that left Norfolk in the late eighties and moved their to isolate themselves from the "bad elements of society". How do I know? I grow up in Norfolk and used to visit friends and family in those areas. Well we used to have City stickers' and the police would detain myself and friends; asking where are going? You needed a truthful address or they would escort out of the City and this is truthful.
I guess they never thought the crime they are experiencing my be from their neighbors and can't create an utopia. Believe me Russia tired and you see how that turned out.
In closing, if we are going to be a metropolitan area this need to open their minds and think outside the box. If are not able to maintain a normal lifestyle; then how are we going to lure a major league team here? Know one could afford the tickets; except the military and upper class. The mass transit should be extended to the oceanfront and naval bases. But, we need all the cities to participate and not just one. Diversity needs to be implemented so that we can have a growing economy and not be so dependent upon the military. If this open their eyes and see exactly how this would benefit; they would be able to enjoy the new housing developments, a major league team, mass transit that met their needs, and then we would truly be a real metropolitan area.
Correct me if I am getting the wrong impression here, but it seems like a lot of people's frustration is not that the area sucks but rather what it is vs what it could be.
I know this is an old thread that was resurrected, but I find the quoted above to be true for most people (transplants & natives) that I have talked to, and even myself. It is, or I should say was, a hard pill to swallow but I have come to accept that the area will probably never reach its full potential. But that doesn't mean the area sucks.
One thing I always notice lacking when I visit family there is that there are hardly any places to eat. There are strip malls with junk food but hardly any real restaurants with real food and a pleasant atmosphere. The few that there are, are very expensive. Most places elsewhere have decent places to eat at reasonable prices. Some are mom and pop, some are just nice non chain restaurants. But when I go to Hampton Rds it's a food desert.
Public transportation? I'm used to not having that but it would be nice for Hampton Rds since there are so many huge highways and so much traffic. It can't be fun to drive there.
More cultural things to do. Williamsburg and Yorktown are interesting but other than that, all I can think of is the Chrysler Museum--which was wonderful and the botanic gardens which are wonderful too. Something more than all the boring strip malls and tacky stores. If it's so urban, then why is there so little culture? So few interesting things to do?
I hear that Norfolk has a small area that's interesting but I also hear that Norfolk is dangerous. I only went there once and that was for the museum. Clean up these places that are dangerous and make them safe. Have some cultural attractions that will bring people in but make the places safe.
In_newengland, the lack of GOOD restaurants on the peninsula is one of my complaints about Newport News. Even the chain restaurants are often substandard. I have had more bad and mediocre meals here than anywhere else. There are a handful of consistently good restaurants here.
I have lived in places with a much smaller population that has a better selection of restaurants than this place. I am hopeful that the restaurant going into 99 Main's location will be good.
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