Lynchburg vs. Norfolk (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News: homes, neighborhood, colleges)

[guest12]

Originally Posted by HRVT

As someone who lived most of his life in the Norfolk area, I can assure the OP that the Norfolk area doesn't feel anywhere near as large as Charlotte. Downtown Norfolk has a fairly urban feel as does City Center in Virginia Beach. However outside of these areas, the Hampton Roads region as a whole is nowhere near as hustling and bustling as Charlotte nor is it growing at anywhere near the rate.

To the OP: If you're looking for the services of a decent sized area without feeling like you're in a bigger area, have you considered Chesapeake, Suffolk, or even York County? You're close enough to the bigger things without being THAT close... and you'll still have all the general amenities it seems you're looking for.

Thank you - I think I was attracted to these areas, but in trip planning, went back and forth between heading the coastal vs. Lynchburg areas. It honestly sounds like I either need to extend the trip to cover the whole region or plan two separate trips. I really appreciate the feedback!

[HRVT]

Originally Posted by guest12

Thank you - I think I was attracted to these areas, but in trip planning, went back and forth between heading the coastal vs. Lynchburg areas. It honestly sounds like I either need to extend the trip to cover the whole region or plan two separate trips. I really appreciate the feedback!

For sure. Chesapeake and Suffolk are both ENORMOUS as far as land area. Chesapeake in particular can give you denser suburbia all the way down to straight up rural living feeling like the middle of nowhere. York County runs along Hampton and Newport News and has a lot of similar amenities to the two without the crime (and still less than an hour from VB and Norfolk and a hop, skip, and jump to Williamsburg.

I definitely recommend taking a few days (whether at once or spread over 2-3 trips) to explore and get a good feel.

[canalcity63]

As someone who lived most of his life in the Norfolk area, I can assure the OP that the Norfolk area doesn't feel anywhere near as large as Charlotte. Downtown Norfolk has a fairly urban feel as does City Center in Virginia Beach. However outside of these areas, the Hampton Roads region as a whole is nowhere near as hustling and bustling as Charlotte nor is it growing at anywhere near the rate.

To the OP: If you're looking for the services of a decent sized area without feeling like you're in a bigger area, have you considered Chesapeake, Suffolk, or even York County? You're close enough to the bigger things without being THAT close... and you'll still have all the general amenities it seems you're looking for.

I would say the Norfolk area not feeling anywhere near as large is definitely an exaggeration. The Norfolk metro area is going to feel more similar to Charlotte than it is to Lynchburg in terms of population. Norfolk is still more densely populated than Charlotte, and the Charlotte metro only passed Hampton Roads in population in 2010. Outside of uptown charlotte the area is largely Suburban like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. That being said the Norfolk area is not growing as fast as Charlotte metro so maybe there will be less traffic in certain areas. I would suggest Williamsburg, Suffolk, or Southern Chesapeake if you wanto live in a quiter area with less traffic and development. However Williamsburg may also be a bit busy for you so Southern Chesapeake and Suffolk seem to match your interest the best.

[guest12]

Originally Posted by canalcity63

I would say the Norfolk area not feeling anywhere near as large is definitely an exaggeration. The Norfolk metro area is going to feel more similar to Charlotte than it is to Lynchburg in terms of population. Norfolk is still more densely populated than Charlotte, and the Charlotte metro only passed Hampton Roads in population in 2010. Outside of uptown charlotte the area is largely Suburban like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. That being said the Norfolk area is not growing as fast as Charlotte metro so maybe there will be less traffic in certain areas. I would suggest Williamsburg, Suffolk, or Southern Chesapeake if you wanto live in a quiter area with less traffic and development. However Williamsburg may also be a bit busy for you so Southern Chesapeake and Suffolk seem to match your interest the best.

Thank you for sharing!

[HRVT]

Originally Posted by canalcity63

I would say the Norfolk area not feeling anywhere near as large is definitely an exaggeration. The Norfolk metro area is going to feel more similar to Charlotte than it is to Lynchburg in terms of population. Norfolk is still more densely populated than Charlotte, and the Charlotte metro only passed Hampton Roads in population in 2010. Outside of uptown charlotte the area is largely Suburban like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. That being said the Norfolk area is not growing as fast as Charlotte metro so maybe there will be less traffic in certain areas. I would suggest Williamsburg, Suffolk, or Southern Chesapeake if you wanto live in a quiter area with less traffic and development. However Williamsburg may also be a bit busy for you so Southern Chesapeake and Suffolk seem to match your interest the best.

Not an exaggeration. Maybe 20 years ago (or even 10) it wasn't the case but Charlotte has grown much bigger in a short amount of time. Norfolk is pretty much the same size it was 20 years ago. The traffic (mostly at the tunnels) can be rough at times, I'll say that. Sure, compared to between Lynchburg and Charlotte, Norfolk will feel more like Charlotte.

But Norfolk's density is greatly impacted by how small the geographical city limits are. If you took Charlotte's most dense 53 sq miles (Norfolk's size... approximately 1/6 the size of Charlotte), you'd have a bigger population than 250k. I can assure the poster, nothing in Norfolk will remind them of uptown Charlotte (other than maybe the 7 mile light rail starter line) as it stands in 2023. Norfolk is much closer in feel to Greensboro or Winston-Salem than Charlotte. That said, I think we all agree its probably still bigger than what the OP is looking for... hence the suggestions (I dont suggest Norfolk either).

Williamsburg/James City County btw does have a decent number of condos for a city/county its size.

[canalcity63]

Not an exaggeration. Maybe 20 years ago (or even 10) it wasn't the case but Charlotte has grown much bigger in a short amount of time. Norfolk is pretty much the same size it was 20 years ago. The traffic (mostly at the tunnels) can be rough at times, I'll say that. Sure, compared to between Lynchburg and Charlotte, Norfolk will feel more like Charlotte.

But Norfolk's density is greatly impacted by how small the geographical city limits are. If you took Charlotte's most dense 53 sq miles (Norfolk's size... approximately 1/6 the size of Charlotte), you'd have a bigger population than 250k. I can assure the poster, nothing in Norfolk will remind them of uptown Charlotte (other than maybe the 7 mile light rail starter line) as it stands in 2023. Norfolk is much closer in feel to Greensboro or Winston-Salem than Charlotte. That said, I think we all agree its probably still bigger than what the OP is looking for... hence the suggestions (I dont suggest Norfolk either).

Williamsburg/James City County btw does have a decent number of condos for a city/county its size.

I understand that Uptown Charlotte is a faster growing and larger urban area than downtown Norfolk, However I honestly would have expected it to be larger for city of nearly 900,000 people. Outside of Norfolk there are historically urban neighborhoods that extend the urban atmosphere of the city whereas this is largely not the case in Charlotte. That being said Charlotte has a lot of new urban developments that are extending the reach of Uptown. But once you go outside of uptown it becomes completely suburban in Charlotte with maybe a few new urban developments throughout the city. If OP is interested in a living in a less bustling urban area, than I definitely would recommend Norfolk, but if they want a less bustling suburban area than I feel that they will find Coastal Virginia to be pretty similar to the Charlotte metro area.

[guest12]

Originally Posted by canalcity63

I understand that Uptown Charlotte is a faster growing and larger urban area than downtown Norfolk, However I honestly would have expected it to be larger for city of nearly 900,000 people. Outside of Norfolk there are historically urban neighborhoods that extend the urban atmosphere of the city whereas this is largely not the case in Charlotte. That being said Charlotte has a lot of new urban developments that are extending the reach of Uptown. But once you go outside of uptown it becomes completely suburban in Charlotte with maybe a few new urban developments throughout the city. If OP is interested in a living in a less bustling urban area, than I definitely would recommend Norfolk, but if they want a less bustling suburban area than I feel that they will find Coastal Virginia to be pretty similar to the Charlotte metro area.

Thanks. I can say that I'm in 'Suburban' Charlotte - which is probably a good 45 min- 1 hr from downtown, but still manages to have some of the Charlotte vibe I'm trying to escape. I'm not quite sure I can describe it, exactly, except to say it feels that the Charlotte atmosphere extends well beyond Charlotte proper.

[webster]

One issue with Tidewater is not only rising sea levels, but the natural sinking of the land. Areas are now cut off by high tides, at Naval Station Norfolk some critical infrastructure is being moved. Islands are disappearing in the Bay and grave yards are being moved. It's important to keep this in mind. County maps regarding flooding are not yet updated with the new data. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....9/2022JB025993
https://www.norfolk.gov/1949/Flood-Zones
https://riskfactor.com/city/norfolk-...000_fsid/flood
https://agnr.umd.edu/news/sea-level-...%20communities.

[guest12]

Originally Posted by webster

One issue with Tidewater is not only rising sea levels, but the natural sinking of the land. Areas are now cut off by high tides, at Naval Station Norfolk some critical infrastructure is being moved. Islands are disappearing in the Bay and grave yards are being moved. It's important to keep this in mind. County maps regarding flooding are not yet updated with the new data. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....9/2022JB025993
https://www.norfolk.gov/1949/Flood-Zones
https://riskfactor.com/city/norfolk-...000_fsid/flood
https://agnr.umd.edu/news/sea-level-...%20communities.

Thank you - I know it's a an issue across the East Coast, and appreciate the resources!

[HRVT]

Originally Posted by guest12

Thanks. I can say that I'm in 'Suburban' Charlotte - which is probably a good 45 min- 1 hr from downtown, but still manages to have some of the Charlotte vibe I'm trying to escape. I'm not quite sure I can describe it, exactly, except to say it feels that the Charlotte atmosphere extends well beyond Charlotte proper.

Then honestly the southside (Norfolk, VB, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth) are out. Because Va Beach in particular is quite a bit like "suburban" Charlotte. Uptown Charlotte is unlike anything in Hampton Roads but yes, getting a few miles from that there are some similarities.

Honestly, I'd look closer at York County/Williamsburg and MAYYYBE Hampton/NN (even Hampton/NN are less of the hustle and bustle than the southside cities). If you want to look at Southside... Western Branch (Chesapeake)/Eastern Suffolk is a bit more toned down.