Please let me know how Va. Beach / Tidewater has changed since 1999

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Hi..
You're making it sound like the nocturnal Oceanfront suddenly & recently took a nose dive.. it's been grimy and packed at night for well over 30 years. I remember in the early 90s they passed the cruising ordinance because Atlantic was like a parking lot. I used to work on Atlantic and it took all night to get out of the parking lot and go a few blocks to get on the old 44 (interstate). There were cops everywhere, the mounted police would stroll thru traffic jams looking for windows tinted too dark.. expired tags, etc. There were people getting arrested all night. There were the Greekfest riots, and racial tension for years after.
The original post asked if VB has drastically changed since '99.. and the Oceanfront night life isn't that fundamentally different (I was hanging around the Abyss, Hammerheads, etc back then). Oceanfront already had problems back in the 90s with violence and traffic. There were always dangerous homeless people in the off-season. Those aren't new developments. If he asked if VB is different than 1979, then I would agree with your assessment but..

I said nothing about a "recent nosedive". It USED to be a great fun place - when I USED to go there. And this was 25-35 years ago. It is NOT the same now.

[Serenity2019]

In the last 5 years massive amounts of people have moved to where I live. It's not the same place it once was. Most of the people have moved here from the northern states. Hardly any local people anymore. Is Va. Beach / Norfolk/ Chesapeake like this too now?

[ejisme]

I'm guessing most/all of you were much younger 25 years ago... like 25 years younger. Crime wasn't as much an issue in your teen/early 20s years, even if it was all around you. Crime and cruising were exciting and fun then. Now it's just so much trouble and dirty, and so different that "it was."

[HRVT]

Originally Posted by ejisme

I'm guessing most/all of you were much younger 25 years ago... like 25 years younger. Crime wasn't as much an issue in your teen/early 20s years, even if it was all around you. Crime and cruising were exciting and fun then. Now it's just so much trouble and dirty, and so different that "it was."

I dunno about "crime was exciting", but I agree that for many in their 20s, it's far less a consideration and the "hustle and bustle" is more exciting.

That said, on pure population alone, Charleston is double the size it was just 30-35 years ago. I can't speak too much about the experience and infrastructure there, but I could see where there might be some overcrowding if measures haven't been taken to keep up with that growth.

Hampton Roads hasn't grown all that much in 30 years and the infrastructure generally has kept up (perhaps it's even better relatively speaking). But if the issue is hustle and bustle, then I'm not sure moving to Hampton Roads will get away from that... unless he's looking to move south of Great Bridge/Greenbrier/Lynnhaven Parkway.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Hi..
You're making it sound like the nocturnal Oceanfront suddenly & recently took a nose dive.. it's been grimy and packed at night for well over 30 years. I remember in the early 90s they passed the cruising ordinance because Atlantic was like a parking lot. I used to work on Atlantic and it took all night to get out of the parking lot and go a few blocks to get on the old 44 (interstate). There were cops everywhere, the mounted police would stroll thru traffic jams looking for windows tinted too dark.. expired tags, etc. There were people getting arrested all night. There were the Greekfest riots, and racial tension for years after.
The original post asked if VB has drastically changed since '99.. and the Oceanfront night life isn't that fundamentally different (I was hanging around the Abyss, Hammerheads, etc back then). Oceanfront already had problems back in the 90s with violence and traffic. There were always dangerous homeless people in the off-season. Those aren't new developments. If he asked if VB is different than 1979, then I would agree with your assessment but..

You are correct. I lived in VA Beach in 1998 for a few years and its always been thugged out down on the Oceanfront. VA Beach used to have the reputation as a drunken sailor town and it was well earned. It's always been rowdy down by the Oceanfront. Atlantic and Pacific Avenues come to mind. Been several riots over the years centering around Greekfest. Thats just VA Beach though. Personally, I like VA Beach and vacationed there back in 2019.

But let me be clear: VA Beach is not ghetto...that's over in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Newport News even.

[Serenity2019]

You are right, Va. Beach as a whole is a very nice place, just down at the Oceanfront has changed with bad elements often visiting from other areas. The hood has always been over in parts of Norfolk, the worst of all being parts of Portsmouth. P-Town.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by Serenity2019

just down at the Oceanfront has changed with bad elements often visiting from other areas.

Ive been going to VA beach since the 80s and Ive seen an ebb and flow to that, not that it follows a pattern or is formulaic. VA Beach on Atlantic Ave in the 80s was rowdy and then the city at some point did a major renovation down there and it was more family oriented in the 90s, though still a dominant party scene and definately an underbelly...but it seems things have gotten worse from what Im reading folks describe. Kinda sucks really, but its possible it will turn again...guess time will tell.