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What should our region be called?


urbanvb

What name should our region be called?  

41 members have voted

  1. 1. Choose a name for our region or suggest another

    • Hampton Roads
      16
    • Tidewater
      6
    • Greater Norfolk
      6
    • Norfolk/VB area
      9
    • Norfolk area
      4
    • Virginia Beach area
      0


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I think it would make sense to have a regional title based on the Census bureaus name for the metro area. Something like 'Norfolk,Virginia Beach,Newport News Metro area' . Then you could return all these 'Hampton roads' area topics back into the regional subforum. Virginia now has 5 pages of topics, we need to consolidate that.

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I second that idea of using a Census Bureau designation.

At some risk to myself, I'll relate this to you: When I was about 9 years old, I lived in Larchmont. I didn't like the name "Hampton Blvd." because it reminded me of pigs and hams. Also, the "pt" sound in the word doth not roll trippingly off the tongue at all. It reminded me of spittle--more associations with eating pigs or pigs eating, if you like. The amazing thing is, some 30 years later, my daughter told me she didn't like the sound of the word "Hampton" either.

Now you marketing and sales types know how important the name and the sound of a product is. Is it any accident that a music production business uses the name "Cellar Door?" (Those two words were touted as two of the best sounding in the lexicon by English teachers when I was a boy). So if you are having a problem with the Hampton Roads label, the reasons may be more subtle than you think.

Sorry, I was supposed to suggest an alternative: Piglet Hamlet!

I'll think about it java script:add_smilie(":silly:","smid_23")

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I went with Norfolk/VB area (or Norfolk/VB Metro) for now. I prefer the Norfolk area or Greater Norfolk except for one glaring problem: outsiders don't realize that VB is next door. I'm not trying to belittle any of the other cities or Norfolk itself, but VB is recognizable as both a tourist destination and the largest city in the state. Norfolk is recognized for its history and as the principal city. When showing maps on TV, it's either Norfolk or VB on there. Unfortunately, without linking the two cities together, few recognize that they share a border.

Tidewater - Nice but somewhat too folksy. Also, includes areas not tied to the MSA.

Hampton Roads - I understand the political motivation as it is more inclusive (not just Norfolk or VB) as well as exclusive (the Northern Neck and Eastern Shore are technically Tidewater as well). However, the marketing effort has been pathetic although ESPN and CNN appear to be catching on.

Southeastern Virginia - what about NC?

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I agree. I've always used Norfolk-Va Beach, mostly for two reasons.

1. Nobody outside the region knows what a "Hampton Roads" is.

2. I never liked the name since it was invented as a regional unifier 15-ish years ago.

If Norfolk-VB is Hampton Roads then:

DC-Balt should be the Patuxent Region or the Potomac-Patapsco Region

Philadelphia should be the Delaware-Schuylkill Region

Boston could be the Massachusetts Bay Region (but don't call it the Bay Area for short, lest it be confused with San Francisco!)

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I voted Hampton Roads. I know that is name on some old nautical maps back in the colonial days. Can't deny your history just to make a point of trying to sound big. Its not just one or two cities that make your region a success. If Norfolk or VB had a more high profile nationally then yeah it would be cool. However they are not at that level just yet so Hampton Roads represents you guys well.

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I voted Hampton Roads. I know that is name on some old nautical maps back in the colonial days. Can't deny your history just to make a point of trying to sound big. Its not just one or two cities that make your region a success. If Norfolk or VB had a more high profile nationally then yeah it would be cool. However they are not at that level just yet so Hampton Roads represents you guys well.

I simply disagree. The name your area has is what is used to pitch tourism, business, etc. Any name that requires a 20 minute explanation of what/where it is simply cannot be a good pitch. It's not about trying to boost the importance of two cities above the others, rather it's about having an identifyer that you can point to a map and find. Norfolk & Va Beach are cities people in most parts of the country have at least heard of, even if they don't know much about them. Hampton Roads is an umbrella term that people don't understand. They can't look on a Rand McNally and find Hampton Roads, VA.

And yeah, other cities make the area great, but many cities make the New York area great, the Boston area great, and so on.

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I simply disagree. The name your area has is what is used to pitch tourism, business, etc. Any name that requires a 20 minute explanation of what/where it is simply cannot be a good pitch. It's not about trying to boost the importance of two cities above the others, rather it's about having an identifyer that you can point to a map and find. Norfolk & Va Beach are cities people in most parts of the country have at least heard of, even if they don't know much about them. Hampton Roads is an umbrella term that people don't understand. They can't look on a Rand McNally and find Hampton Roads, VA.

And yeah, other cities make the area great, but many cities make the New York area great, the Boston area great, and so on.

That is my point...NY and Boston are stand alone no need to elaborate. On the other hand you are trying to build a regional brand that people can notice at first. Then Norfolk and VB can further elevate themselves.

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I finally picked "Greater Norfolk" although "Norfolk Area" says the same. I just don't like slashes and hyphens in names, and I think that Norfolk is the closest of the bunch to actually be a center of commerce, culture and urban activity. It also contains the largest University in the area, as well as the largest employer and the largest downtown, largest medical complex and conventional museum. It also is home to the Virginia Symphony and the Virginia Opera. I also like the sound of "Norfolk" even when pronounced several ways. Best sounding name is Newport News (IMO), but it's not the true regional center. Tough call, but I rest my case.

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Well you could add the city of Franklin to that as well! :P

No, just the 8 that touch each other.

Suffolk neighbors Chesapeake and Newport News, Chesapeake neighbors Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach, Portsmouth shares borders with Newport News and Hampton, Norfolk with Hampton, and Poquoson with Hampton. You'd have to make York County a city to stretch to Williamsburg and you'd have to do the same to Isle of Wight so it can border Franklin and Suffolk.

HRCities.jpg

HRCity.jpg

Voil

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I can't stand when people love to wallow in wrong. It's like calling the Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell area the "Twin Cities." It's like New York City not including Staten Island. You can't pick and choose the cities when they exist right next to each other. What logic is that?

Seven Cities featuring Poquoson... sounds like a music group. It is a city, don't ignore it and it is also contiguous.

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Here goes:

The Peninsula will hence forth be known as Phishville and the Southside will be known from here on as Buffettburg (only because Key West is Margaritaville). Together they will be known as the Buff-ish metro area.

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I can't stand when people love to wallow in wrong. It's like calling the Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell area the "Twin Cities." It's like New York City not including Staten Island. You can't pick and choose the cities when they exist right next to each other. What logic is that?

Seven Cities featuring Poquoson... sounds like a music group. It is a city, don't ignore it and it is also contiguous.

Pipe down....we don't get made when Richmond get's funding for all those highways to heaven. :silly:

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