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Virginia Beach off-topic


vdogg

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Two people are running against John Atkinson, mostly because of how he handled the Light Rail referendum last year. I would love to see someone knock him off his high horse, but I'm sure he will win again because people don't want progress.

https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/local/political-opponents-blast-virginia-beach-treasurer-for-leading-fight-against/article_85ea2201-e941-5b59-ac52-76559e11766f.html

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17 hours ago, BFG said:

Two people are running against John Atkinson, mostly because of how he handled the Light Rail referendum last year. I would love to see someone knock him off his high horse, but I'm sure he will win again because people don't want progress.

https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/local/political-opponents-blast-virginia-beach-treasurer-for-leading-fight-against/article_85ea2201-e941-5b59-ac52-76559e11766f.html

This is the reason why I think Virginia is in the wrong for how cities and counties function. If cities and counties could work together with shared services, this would have prevented the need for counties to merge with towns to become cities to prevent Norfolk from expanding. The more rural parts of VB could have stayed county land, the resort could have been the city of Virginia Beach and focused on being a resort town, and the Pembroke area could have become the city of Pembroke. This would have made it easier for areas that wanted to work together with Norfolk when it comes to expanding light rail, it would have also made it easier for a regional government to be created to run overall projects and be the mediator for the cities, towns, and counties for the region.

If this would have happened, we would probably also have some major cities in Northern Virginia as well rather than counties with towns and unincorporated towns that look like major cities.

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12 minutes ago, BFG said:

I really do wish a politician would propose the idea of either a merger or eliminating that old rule. The Seven Cities concept hurts this area because the cities don't know how to work together. 

Not sure if it is possible, but it would be a good thing for the end of the seven cities and let areas that want to go back to counties to do so. Unfortunately even if the rule is changed, I think it would be too late for Hampton Roads to have a significant change.

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8 hours ago, urbanlife said:

Not sure if it is possible, but it would be a good thing for the end of the seven cities and let areas that want to go back to counties to do so. Unfortunately even if the rule is changed, I think it would be too late for Hampton Roads to have a significant change.

I don't think it would be too late so to speak. It's just that it would probably be decades before any significant change came about. 

I've always thought they should simply break off the bottom half or so of VB and Chesapeake and make it a county. You could probably include the bottom half of Suffolk in that too.

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https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/economic-development/tourism-boss-says-virginia-beach-needs-to-continue-to-reinvent/article_7273a456-be1b-565c-8b02-2580d30199b3.html

Tourism boss says VB should continue reinventing itself...the city wants to start with Atlantic Avenue. I think focusing on year-round entertainment (even without an arena) is a good start. I would also shift away from the family-friendly stuff. Not saying you can't cater to families, but don't make it such a focal point. I think Bruce Thompson's new pier development idea is a good one.

When I went to Miami earlier this year, it really felt like VB in a way, but it was a more mature vibe, like a grown-up VB. It wasn't a lot of wild debauchery, just a mature crowd. VB could easily accomplish that, but that goes back to having more entertainment options.

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8 minutes ago, Virginia City said:

The Oceanfront nightlife needs to be improved. More SkyBar type and less Peabody's. 

I didn't even think about that, but that would be a great improvement. I was thinking get more of the Town Center or downtown Norfolk culture, but all of these could go hand in hand. That was one thing I noticed in Miami, a lot of people in their upper 20s and 30s, not as much of the college crowd.

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I went to Peabody's 2, maybe 3 times. I was about 23 the first two times, maybe 25 on the third. And on all three occasions, I felt too old to be there.

I know it's an "institution", and I don't mind it being there, but I hate that it's become synonymous with the VB nightlife. They should really do more with the upper streets around Catch 31. It has a South Beach-lite feel to it, and could be really awesome if they had more than just the Skybar. It feels so lonely down there with just Skybar.

If VB wants to reinvent itself, start with the nightlife.

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On 11/13/2017 at 1:16 PM, BFG said:

Something's gotta give. The issues that Michael described will hurt this area long term. Virginia Beach's inability to pull the trigger on three major projects (arena, light rail, the Dome site) in the last few years makes it look very small town*. Yes, Town Center has been a success, but that's one accomplishment in the last 20 years, against the other three I mentioned that fell through.

*Which is just the way the NIMBYs want it to be, unfortunately.

These are all the reasons I have no problem with moving away in 2001, I just didn't see VB or Hampton Roads being the right place for me since it didn't reflect the cities and metro I wanted it to be. Unfortunately I look at the past 15+ years and feel that I was right for making that move.

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On 11/13/2017 at 1:47 PM, michael ary said:

This process has gone on for so long and had so many ups and downs,stops and starts that I don’t believe many people have any faith left that this will come to fruition. This is such a wonderful area with great schools and low crime yet we can’t draw the businesses we should and it seems we won’t get an arena while I’m still young enough to enjoy it. After living here for over 35 years my job is moving me from the beach to Raleigh. While there will be so much I will miss about home, the small mindsets of all of the NIMBY’s, the inability to get out of our own way on any large projects and to watch other metro areas flourish and grow and become what we should have 20 years ago will not be one of them. 

Two or three times I wrote and erased a post along these lines.  And in one of them, I even urged people under a certain age to...consider...leaving. Oh my gosh, I couldn't believe I was saying those things because I've been nothing but a cheerleader for this region my entire life.  Yes, I'm one of those people who decided to stay.  Most of my childhood friends left.  My college friends from all over the country, mostly from major cities, all laughed at my enthusiasm for HR.  They sure did enjoy giving me a good teasing starting over a generation ago relative to predictions I made for our region. Predictions that never came true.  Predictions supported by, made or reported by the media, local economists and demographers, alike. Predictions that never came true. I was wrong. My buddies were right.

We don't even talk about it anymore. It's a running joke now. Forget about it. I can't stomach the discussion. They've been proven right.  

I wrote and erased my posts because I didn't want to sound negative, defeatist or like I'd given up. But you really hit home with exactly what I had wanted to communicate with that generational timeline thing.  Also with the comparative metro reference. Both are so spot on that it hurts to read.

I've been here a very long time, and it has taken me until now to finally come to accept the fact that I may never get to enjoy the things that I have wanted to come to fruition here.  At least perhaps not before I'm too old to even care.

Edited by baobabs727
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Baobabs' post more or less mirrors my life. I stay because I believe in the potential, but when I see two cities that can't even agree on the entrance to an outlet mall, my faith on regionalism decreases significantly.

No reason why we can't get to the next level. None.

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The only reason I stay here, and the only reason I still have faith in this area, is Norfolk. Norfolk is a very progressive city, and by and large, they've done more good than bad. True, not everything comes to fruition, and a lot of things get scaled back.... But at least they try, which is more than I can say for Virginia Beach at the moment.

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I moved away shortly after highschool, granted that was only 4 years ago, because I joined the Army but I always hope that one day I'll move back and be proud of the area that I came from. Maybe that's naive of me but it's because I see the potential that the area has with world destined beach(I know this for a fact because I use to work on the boardwalk and met people from all over the world that came just for the beach), a large port, relatively cheap standard of living, decent colleges, etc. Hampton Roads and specifically Norfolk and VB definitely has the potential but, unfortunately there are many people that want to and actively fight to hold the area back. I do agree with the post(s) above though Norfolk has definitely made great strives to be better, even if some of them were scaled back. 

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22 hours ago, baobabs727 said:

Two or three times I wrote and erased a post along these lines.  And in one of them, I even urged people under a certain age to...consider...leaving. Oh my gosh, I couldn't believe I was saying those things because I've been nothing but a cheerleader for this region my entire life.  Yes, I'm one of those people who decided to stay.  Most of my childhood friends left.  My college friends from all over the country, mostly from major cities, all laughed at my enthusiasm for HR.  They sure did enjoy giving me a good teasing starting over a generation ago relative to predictions I made for our region. Predictions that never came true.  Predictions supported by, made or reported by the media, local economists and demographers, alike. Predictions that never came true. I was wrong. My buddies were right.

We don't even talk about it anymore. It's a running joke now. Forget about it. I can't stomach the discussion. They've been proven right.  

I wrote and erased my posts because I didn't want to sound negative, defeatist or like I'd given up. But you really hit home with exactly what I had wanted to communicate with that generational timeline thing.  Also with the comparative metro reference. Both are so spot on that it hurts to read.

I've been here a very long time, and it has taken me until now to finally come to accept the fact that I may never get to enjoy the things that I have wanted to come to fruition here.  At least perhaps not before I'm too old to even care.

I️ feel, more or less, that most of us feel the same way and I’m glad that I was able to say in some sense what I feel we’ve all thought at one time or anther.  I love Va Beach, often to a fault. I️ continue to hope blindly that things will change although in reality they’ve done nothing that shows me I should believe otherwise.  It genuinely bothers me to watch great people that leave in droves to other areas because the job market is lacking or that they want big city amenities that we can’t provide.  Back in 1990 if you looked at the census numbers for population Virginia Beach was neck and neck with two other cities, Charlotte and Atlanta, only separated by literally a few thousand people. I think we all know how we compare to those two now. 

Instead of thinking globally and making this an area where they want to attract businesses, retain its residents and grow into the future, they instead fight with each other and against progress as a whole. Instead of showing the residents what there is to look forward to they’re giving us every reason to leave, even those like me who never in a million years thought they’d move away from the place that means so much to me. Sorry for the rant, this is several years of unposted frustration coming out right now lol. I love this place but I hate some of it too.  This city is far too great and special of a place to be content with where it is. 

Edited by michael ary
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Thank you.  Ditto.

Yeah, and don't forget Raleigh. Raleigh was at one time a bit more than half the size of VB, and now they have exact same pop.  Raleigh is growing in the double digits annually and will soon leave us in the dust.  

There is also Nashville and Austin… And others. Even the Richmond metro area, though now fairly stagnant, has been steadily narrowing the gap with us over the past 30 years. 

https://wallethub.com/edu/fastest-growing-cities/7010/#overall

Virginia Beach is the 408th fastest-growing City in the  above survey.  Both  Raleigh and Charlotte are well over 300+ positions ahead.  Even Richmond comes in at 179.  And the rest of Hampton Roads it's mostly in the mid/upper 400s besides Chesapeake. 

Edited by baobabs727
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22 minutes ago, baobabs727 said:

Even the Richmond metro area, though now fairly stagnant, has been steadily narrowing the gap with us over the past 30 years. 

Stagnant?  Not sure that's the correct word because lately, it seems like someone pushed on the gas pedal in Richmond!  Things are beginning to move a lot faster (although not as fast as I'd like).  That aside, I can identify with you all very much.  It kills me to watch Austin, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Columbus, Portland...(you name the city) leave all Virginia cities in the dust.  The only place in Virginia that seems to be chugging along at a break-neck pace is Northern Virginia!  But then, everyone (not really everyone, but a lot of people) say they loathe NOVA and don't want to be like them.  Well, I say - don't be like them - grow quickly, but do it smartly.  Unfortunately, Richmond, Norfolk, and VB doesn't have the leadership with enough vision to do that, but they are getting better.  There is a brighter future for our cities.  Perhaps we can learn a lot from the cities that have passed us and do things better and make our cities the wave of the future.  It'll be an uphill battle for sure, but nothing ever worth doing is easy.

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