I have never visted Virginia except for when I spent a day at King's Domion, but I have driven through it many times, and have liked what Ive seen. Im here in Tx and will be graduating college in May, and would like to relocate and experience something new. Ive always thought about moving to either North Carolina or Virginia, but had some questions first about Virginia.

1. How is the weather during the winter months, does it snow and if so how much. I think cold weather is what keeps me in the south.

2. Would I be able to afford a nice apartment(1 bedroom) in a nice area for anywhere from $700-$1000 or Im I out of my mind.

3. I don't want to live in an area to small, so I was thinking either Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Richmond. I don't want to live in a city where I will run into the same people every time Im out

4. Im not into clubs and bars, however, I do like museums along with concerts and plays, does Virginia get a fair amount coming in each year.

5. How are race relations in the major cities of the state. I would like to be in a place where all races interact

6. Im coming from a state with no state income tax, and I assume Virginia does, Im I right

7. How are the people of Virginia, do they accept others not from the area or are they the type to keep to themselves.

8. What are some of the fun things to do in the 3 cities I mentioned earlier.

9. Do people tend to lean to the conservative side or the liberal side. I know Republican George Allen is one of the Senators from VA.

I plan on taking a trip to Virginia the week following my graduation in the middle of May to check out either Richmond or Norfolk, and Ive already started applying to different places. I would like to have moved by mid summer. As you can see Ive for the most part have made up my mind about moving, since I figure its better to take the risk now, than later when I may have wife and kids. I just wanted to get a better feel for the state as a whole, and the major cities specifically. Feel free to add whatever else you think I should know

Hi, I am a new member, but pretty familiar with the site/forum. I have visited this website on a daily basis for the past six months to get the latest news on development, and have just now decided to join so i can start giving my 2 cents. I am a soon to be graduate of Norfolk State University (B.S. Accounting) who was born & raised in Norfolk/Va Beach. I love living here and I have so much pride being from here. I think we are the heart and soul of Virginia.

.....with that aside.......

The question i have for the moment is more concerned with the culture of Hampton Roads/Tidewater/7 cities (as we younger folks call it) and less about development, so i hope im posting this in the correct place. If not im sorry, and im pretty sure one of the mods will move it.

In visiting this site/forum and reading some posts, i have become pretty intrigued by peoples different viewpioints towards our area. Our area is so unique, that there is really no one way to describe it. We have a little bit of everything, and are a bit of everything. (northern, southern, city-ish, suburb-ish, country)................I personally feel we are a southern metro (VA is the south) with a mix of an east coast aura/vibe. Our setup and cities are sort of like the 5 boroughs of New York where each has its own identity and feel to it.

so my question is...If a person with no knowledge of Hampton Roads (and there are many) were to ask you to describe it, what would you say?

Any info on when it'll start? I didn't get the chance to read the article.

Interesting quote. I wonder if the falling dollar doesn't have something to do with this?

"Canon is leading the way and reversing an industry wide trend by bringing manufacturing back to the United States," said Takayoshi Hanagata, the president and chief executive of Canon Virginia Inc., which oversees the local operations.

The newsletter section of City Center at Oyster Point online has been updated with very interesting news for future office space totaling 500,000 sq feet. The last tidbit tells of an 18-story corporate tower and adjoining mid-rise building called "Metropolitan Place" intended to house a major headquarters or company of some sort - they call it the "capstone" development of City Center.

Updated news of future office space @ City Center

The good news appears to be that despite the high number of injuries, no deaths have been reported!

I can't believe a tornado hit Driver, basically a hop, skip, and jump from my front door. I have fond memories there, and my cousin lives right in downtown Driver... I hope it didn't do too much damage.

I'm soon to be in the market to buy a house. Not a bad time to actually buy one but at the same time I have to first sell mine and wonder how long this may take. I've noticed a lot of homes are just sitting there for months on end.

Regional Lawmakers Support HRBT Expansion But Have No Pay Play



After Fraim's announced support, it looks like an expanded HRBT is going to be a definite addition to the regional transportation package. The only question is does it replace one of the six, or become an addition?

The bigger question that's bothering me, these plans look great on paper, and i think that the third crossing and the expanded HRBT will have a definite impact, but overall, are these going to fix the current problems, simply postpone them, or be too little too late? Without doing something like a Big Dig in Boston, i don't know that these projects are going to be a solution, i think it's playing catch-up, and by the time they're completed the problem will have grown past what they were intended to fix in the first place. Of course, first and foremost we have to find $12 billion to pay for this, but i don't have to write the laws, just have to pay for them

Regional lawmakers backed expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel on Thursday but acknowledged they have no plan to pay for it or billions of dollars worth of other transportation improvement.

The commitment to enlarge the tunnel could be a step toward uniting fractious legislators on both sides of the Elizabeth River as they try to reach a road funding compromise, some legislators said.

In a concession that state lawmakers say likely will mend a regional split over transportation, Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim has agreed to support an expanded Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
....
Members of the region’s legislative delegation on the Peninsula have said they would not support a transportation plan unless consideration was given to expanding the bridge-tunnel.

State Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, called Fraim’s shift a “significant development that addresses the concerns of legislators on the Peninsula. Realistically, their concerns had to be addressed.”

The expansion would add one lane to each side of Interstate-64 and a two-lane tunnel, which connects Norfolk and Hampton.

http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tabl...T2007-01-51.xls

It's a bit surprising to see Virginia Beach lose about 5,000 people from 2004 to 2007.

Well, looks like things are going down the toilet like I predicted.

Anyways, here is a good report on why we are no where near through the housing downturn. The realtors and talking heads that say it will bounce back in a few months have objectives other than honesty.

http://www.blownmortgage.com/files/presentation3-2008.pdf

The sale of Ocean Marine Yacht Center in Portsmouth is sunk unless a Connecticut investment group can raise $10 million within 25 days.

James River Ventures, a New England investment consortium led by John Johnson, proposed last October to buy the 19.5-acre yacht repair center and 122-slip marina from Norfolk ship repairer Marine Hydraulics International Inc.

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/03/firm-propo...uild-courthouse

Firm proposes deal to build Portsmouth courthouse and other developments including 6-star hotel on oceanfront, and McArther Center style mall in Victory Crossing.

Kinda sounds like another South Korean story that Virginia Beach had. But, good luck to them.

And I'd really like a BMW M3. Not a convertible, that is a air head realtor ride.

Oh wow I think the sky just fell! Or was that the US economy? Anyway, now we're all going to die because the gridlock is going to be so bad that we won't ever be able to get to the store and buy food now! And think of all the gridlocked ambulances! OMG! People may actually get out of their cars and walk somewhere!

Seriously, what difference will it make if they build the roads in one big batch or if it takes them a million years? I have driven in LA, NYC, San Fran, Seattle and DC. All of them have traffic that is worse than our worst nightmare scenarios. All of them have much more dynamic economies than us. Traffic here is awful in a few places and I have not noticed that it has gotten worse or better over the years to be honest. It gets worse from Memorial day to Labor Day. So throw up tolls that are low for commuters ($1-2) and $3-5 for a one-time pop. Cancel the third crossing and make an extra set of reversing tubes at the HRBT/MMBT and put that tunnel linking the two and charge some toll for that. Yeah everyone hates tolls, but what options do we have?

I think the $30 - 40+ billion price tag is the hold up, not western VA. There's just too many projects needed and not enough money, and not enough time. It's going to take getting creative to fix it, which is what this plan was.

I was under the impression that western Virginians were the one's holding up a statewide transportation plan, because they really don't care about or understand the importance of both N. Virginia's and HR's quality of transportation. If this is true, what hope is there?

I don't like a authority that really answers to no one. Thats pretty scary. Just because the city Mayor is elected to that office doesn't mean he is affected on the authority board. They need people to be elected by the public to be put in those chairs with time limits on each chair so if we get idiots we can move beyond them. Only makes sense to do it like that

Yeah, what about tweaking it so included areas vote for the Trasportation Authority Commissioner.
Would that suffice?

I grew up in an old neighborhood inside the Capital Beltway; you could walk to the ball fields, to the candy store, to the principal's office. You could go from Sunday to Sunday before you'd set foot in a car, and only because nobody wanted to walk to church in those clothes. They itched. From our current house, you can walk safely no place at all. The kids' school is miles away, down a divided highway and a couple of exits. Work is miles in the other direction, through a tunnel. Church is miles in still another direction, down roads with no sidewalks. Even when we lived in downtown Suffolk, and had the option of walking, we didn't. I walked once to the office, when Hurricane Isabel made it impossible to drive. We walked once to a restaurant, when our anniversary fell on a warmish February night. Otherwise, like most Americans, we drive everywhere we need to go, both as a choice and as a habit. It seems safer, maybe. It seems faster.

Even when it's neither.

My thoughts on urbanism - I do think a lot of people are tired of sitting in traffic and tired of having to drive everywhere but consequently the suburbs are ever enlarging, interstates and roads are ever-more choked with traffic as folks look for the perfect house with a yard. I can't blame them in some ways having wanting that but the cost for infrastructure is enormous. One downside to urbanism I have noticed is the increase in traffic it brings with it. Just to compare personally, I live near Town Center and while it is awesome to see it all going up I have noticed quite an uptick in the traffic up and around the center, which is to be expected I guess. The one thing I enjoy about living in a sub-urban area is that the Pembroke area has a sense of place where the other suburban areas nearly have none. Housing in the area has really gone up which mirrors anywhere in an urban type area. It does cost more to live in and around urban amenities.

Dallas already has some of the key drivers — a mass transit system— in place to create walkable urban centers, Leinberger said. Next, the city must focus on adding housing, including affordable housing, and then retail and offices will follow, he said.

The Option of Urbanism shows how the American Dream, characterized by a sub-urban lifestyle, is shifting, but outdated federal policies, local zoning laws, financial institutions' formulas and lack of experience by real estate developers still encourage low-density, car-dependent suburban development. The book presents a compelling case for a new national approach and for America's financial and real estate industries to respond to demand for walkable urbanism across the country.

Where does it say that no HR reps attended the announcement?

Participating in its public debut will be House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, US Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, and, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty.

It will be interesting to see what Hampton Roads involvement in this consists of. There were NO HR representatives at the announcement.

Hampton Roads is changing. You can see it.

What's up with this project? This thread has been dead a while....

Oh...I see. That's why you wear ties to footbal games.

Oh...I see. That's why you wear ties to footbal games.

I guess if we drink Zima, then the Hokies must drink OE 40's. We smoke Cuban cigars while the Hokies smoke repacked blunts. We eat surf-n-turf and Hokies eat pot pies. We go on vacation to France, Hokies just go back to the farm. I see where Cowherd is going with this.

Little more adventurous menu than an Olive Garden -- especially in the non-pasta dishes. Probably half way between OG and Carrabba's. I always had the impression that most everything in there, like at OG and Panera, was prepared offsite in a commissary. Carrabba's is amazing in the fact that they prepare everything, including the salad dressings, on site. Why they aren't open for lunch -- prepping.

Are they selling tickets or can you just show up? That's 5:30pm correct?

Obama will be at the VB convention center on Sunday... doors open at 5:30.

They are saying he is coming to Norfolk now

Anyone have any knowledge of local visits by candidates? I heard about trying to get John McCain to the Crowne Plaza on Bonney in Va Beach but that's all so far. Anyone know anything else?

I'd say it was more like an Olive Garden than a Panera Bread. They did a good lunch business.

From Inside Business:


Yea, it was pretty good -- a chain, probably on an equal with Panera Bread.

I rode past Power Plant Pkwy today and noticed Johnny Carino's was closed. What happened and do anyone know if anything is coming in that space? I never ate there...was it good?

Power Plant loses restaurant

Raleigh-based Apple Gold Group, which operates Applebee’s and Johnny Carino’s franchises, closed the Johnny Carino’s Country Italian Restaurant at the Power Plan in Hampton last week. The Daily Press reported a note on the restaurant’s door said it wasn’t profitable. It was the only location in Hampton Roads.

I dunno. But it's been a running joke since radio sports talkshow host Colin Cowherd claimed Wahoos drink it which makes us weak and hence why our football team can't beat Tech.

Do they still make Zima?

What's up with this project? This thread has been dead a while....

If you watch the film on Smalls you will see what they like about him. He plays against the toughest competition in Texas and puts up impressive numbers. I believe he was hurt last year so that could have something to do with his ranking. He also runs a 4.4 40, but is mostly a passing QB. One of the analyst for Rivals says that UVA got a real steal, which leads me to believe they like his upside potential.

Manuel was never going to stay in-state and UVA thought they had Glennon, even going as far as not recruiting another QB. The problem with the in-state players is they were not strong academically, something UVA has had a problem with in keeping quite a few of their players eligable. Next years in-state haul will be significantly better in my opinion. They already have a verbal from Alex Awah, an in-state RB for 09. I was blown away by his film, he has every attribute you look for in a game changing RB. He can stop on a dime, change direction with ease, has GREAT vision down field and can hit that second gear in an instant. I can now see the forest for the trees.

Well, if recruiting was most of being a good coach, then you never would have seen Wake Forest, Missouri, South Florida and UConn high in the national polls in the last few years. Average recruiting class national rank over the last 5 years? WF - 76.3, UM - 34.2, USF - 60.2 and UConn - 84.5. On the other hand, Charlie Weiss, the smartest man in college football, should have had better results from his #8 classes the last two years. I do agree it is coaching, and part of that is taking the talent you have, and putting them in a system that will get the best results. Gary Pinkel at UM is the perfect example of that -- got a spread QB, surrounded him with a few 2-3 star players (like Pittino at Louisville) that complimented that talent, and taught them how to succeed. Rich Rodriguez jump started WV in the same way.

Interesting analysis here says that the ACC is the home of "run first and play tight defense". I just don't think you can win BCS championships with that mentality. It produces razor thin win margins, and top to bottom parity. But, as VT found out when they got spanked by LSU, if you can't keep up on the scoreboard, you won't win.

Finally, all you need to compare is the fact that the SEC championship has a ticket waiting list at the start of the season, every year -- before the teams are ever known, and this picture of this year's ACC championship: