Charlotte vs Hampton Roads??

[teachers72]

From what I am reading it sounds like I would be a fool to accept the job for Sprint in Hampton and leave Charlotte, NC

[ChessieMom]

I love living in Chesapeake, but I have to say Concord is really a lovely lovely place. My sister lived there for several years and I was a frequent house guest.
The only downside for me would be that it's too far from the water (I just have to be near the water) and the restaurants are all smokestacks. Non-smoking restaurants are rare in NC...it's tobacco country. Of course so is VA, but we've made much greater strides here. Other than those two things, I'd pick Concord in a heartbeat.

[pbehson]

In response to the comment below, just look up crime stats. Virginia Beach, the largest city in Hampton Roads, is much safer than Charlotte. Norfolk is roughly the same and it is considered the most dangerous city locally (on the southside). So before you go dissing this area on crime look up the facts.

Originally Posted by BJL

Norfolk has plenty of crime to go around--and so do many of the surrounding communities (practically all of them, aside from Williamsburg). There are quiet communities, but many are close to high crime areas. Hampton Roads seems healthier to me than Charlotte in some ways. There is wonderful diversity here--racially things are much much better here than in Charlotte. In Charlotte there is a big divide between whites and blacks, and now Latinos. It is definitely "southern". HR is much more like a mid-atlantic city with more cross-over between cultures and races. Both areas have lots of transplants--here it's mostly military influx. In Charlotte there are lots of people moving south from NY, PA, NJ, etc.

[Matt73]

I grew up in Charlotte, and went to college there, but ended up here (military) and stayed here in Newport News because of work (defense sector job). Anyway, while I like certain things about this area, many of which have already been mentioned such as better race relations, less pretentious people, etc. I would move back to Charlotte tomorrow if I found a decent job .
The neigborhoods and houses in Charlotte are much nicer than what I've seen up here, the city is cleaner and not run down looking as you find up here, and people are much friendlier . I've heard people call this area or state, I mean commonwealth is it?, the south, but I think mid-Atlantic is a more accurate description. Also as a single person, the nightlife in Newport News/Hampton/Williamsburg is lacking. I'll try to end on a positive note in that I do like the fact that there are more parks here for running, biking, etc. than what you find in Charlotte. Perhaps that's because they spend all their public money on sports stadiums?

[mommaX3]

Can someone tell me a little bit about the schools in and around VA Beach? Can you even live in VA Beach without being a millionaire on the coast? How close is the town of Charlotte to VA Beach?

[Matt73]

Depending on traffic, how fast you drive, etc. it's probably about seven hours from VA beach to Charlotte.

[suffolkhr]

I agree with what people have been saying about Newport News as well (the nickname lives up to BadNews), but you're not going to be working in the penninsula anyway, so you shuldn't have anything to worry about. You say you'd be living in either Chesapeake or Virginia Beach, and those are nice areas. As for your question about Norfolk, just like any big city it has its patches, but I don't see it being a big problem at all. For the most part, Hampton Roads is a nice area. We have a mid-atlantic military town feel to us here.

As for Charlotte, I stayed there a few summers at my grandprents, so this may not be the best opinion, and I may be biased to home, but it just didn't click for me. Charlotte is definitly more southern in style, but they are defintly growing compared to about 10 years ago. I agree with the poster that mentioned they seem to be more materialistic, but either way, I hope you find the best place for you!