Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I need help deciding whether to move to Virginia Beach VA or Charlotte NC. Some cons I've heard about VA beach is that the jets are super loud and they're very annoying throughout the day, all day. Is this true? I've also heard there is some crime issues there, and there is also an issue with flooding. Is that accurate? How bad are we talkin'?
I love the beach, but Ive never visited Virginia Beach before (I'm originally from San Diego so the beach is close to my heart). But if you have experience visiting Charlotte NC or Virginia Beach VA which would you choose to live in?
Just for some background, I'm a 27 year old female, I want to live somewhere that is clean, has mild weather (not too hot, not too cold) and has a good restaurant and nightlife scene, since I am single, no kids. Job is not an issue since I work from home.
You need to visit both places. There is jet noise.There is crime. But folks cope with both issues. Like any place, there are neighborhoods where crime is more of an issue than in others.
Flooding in Virginia Beach is very bad IF you live in a flood zone area. Google search for news articles on flooding. There are many current news articles on flooding associated with this current rain system. Go on youtube and search "flooding Virginia Beach." You'll find many videos.
It really depends on where you to in regards to the jets and flooding. The closer you are to the beach, the more jet noise there tends to be. After a while, you do tend to adjust to them. I lived near city center and a few miles east of there, and the jets and flooding were a not an issue for me. There are more safe neighborhoods than not and overall I’d say it’s a safe place to live. I’m not familiar with living in Charlotte and would suggest a visit to both cities. As far as weather, both cities are in the south so summers can be hot and humid.
I need help deciding whether to move to Virginia Beach VA or Charlotte NC. Some cons I've heard about VA beach is that the jets are super loud and they're very annoying throughout the day, all day. Is this true? I've also heard there is some crime issues there, and there is also an issue with flooding. Is that accurate? How bad are we talkin'?
I love the beach, but Ive never visited Virginia Beach before (I'm originally from San Diego so the beach is close to my heart). But if you have experience visiting Charlotte NC or Virginia Beach VA which would you choose to live in?
Just for some background, I'm a 27 year old female, I want to live somewhere that is clean, has mild weather (not too hot, not too cold) and has a good restaurant and nightlife scene, since I am single, no kids. Job is not an issue since I work from home.
First this is a great place to live if you have a good paying job and can kind of pick and choose where you live.
If you live around NAS Oceana I think the noise could be a issue. We are close to the ocean about 12 miles give or take from the base. Sometimes we hear jets overhead. And we can go for weeks without hearing any jets.
I dont think its a chronic problem in most of VAB.
If i'm not mistaken VAB has a very low crime compared to city's the same size.
The flooding, yes there is some occasional flooding but again it's not a chronic problem in most areas.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,718,665 times
Reputation: 41376
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatCosmos
I need help deciding whether to move to Virginia Beach VA or Charlotte NC. Some cons I've heard about VA beach is that the jets are super loud and they're very annoying throughout the day, all day. Is this true? I've also heard there is some crime issues there, and there is also an issue with flooding. Is that accurate? How bad are we talkin'?
I love the beach, but Ive never visited Virginia Beach before (I'm originally from San Diego so the beach is close to my heart). But if you have experience visiting Charlotte NC or Virginia Beach VA which would you choose to live in?
Just for some background, I'm a 27 year old female, I want to live somewhere that is clean, has mild weather (not too hot, not too cold) and has a good restaurant and nightlife scene, since I am single, no kids. Job is not an issue since I work from home.
If a good nightlife scene is important to you, definitely Charlotte. Charlotte does have a higher crime rate than Virginia Beach, but the comparison is a little tilted since Virginia Beach isn’t a true major city like Charlotte is. Virginia Beach is more suburban than a big city, meaning the nightlife isn’t as robust as a major city.
I need help deciding whether to move to Virginia Beach VA or Charlotte NC. Some cons I've heard about VA beach is that the jets are super loud and they're very annoying throughout the day, all day. Is this true? I've also heard there is some crime issues there, and there is also an issue with flooding. Is that accurate? How bad are we talkin'?
I love the beach, but Ive never visited Virginia Beach before (I'm originally from San Diego so the beach is close to my heart). But if you have experience visiting Charlotte NC or Virginia Beach VA which would you choose to live in?
Just for some background, I'm a 27 year old female, I want to live somewhere that is clean, has mild weather (not too hot, not too cold) and has a good restaurant and nightlife scene, since I am single, no kids. Job is not an issue since I work from home.
I lived in the most exciting part of the city, the downtown area (Town Center), and you rarely hear the jets around there...
Charlotte is definitely a more dangerous city than VB in respect to crime. The Beach is one of the safest cities of its size in the country...
I've lived in both Charlotte (South Charlotte) and Virginia Beach (Northwest area). Its a real toss up as far as I'm concerned. You're gonna get more of a big city fix in Charlotte for sure, but it's also mostly suburban. It's just that its core area (Center City Charlotte = Uptown, Midtown, NoDa, South End, Plaza) is much more developed and larger. Virginia Beach is the more uniformly urban city of the two, though not by some dramatic margin...
I enjoyed my time in Charlotte and there is a ton of great restaurants and nightlife there. Its gonna beat VB on those, though Town Center VB is similar to Southpark, Charlotte. The Oceanfront area of VB is a hotspot and has nightlife. That's really it in VB as far as exciting nightlife/dining areas, its Town Center (downtown VB) and Oceanfront, and they are both above average, but they are 10 miles apart and the combination of the two would still provide not quite as great an experience as Center City Charlotte...
If you prioritize coastal living then you're gonna prefer VB. If you prioritize big city appeal and more things to do you'll prefer Charlotte...
Outside of your preferences, they are pretty equal as places to live. I don't think either is a bad choice. I'm originally from California too (Sacramento) and after years of city hopping, I think I've finally found a home in Virginia Beach. But I loved my time in Charlotte, I was 24, single, and had the time time of my ****ing life lol...
I need help deciding whether to move to Virginia Beach VA or Charlotte NC. Some cons I've heard about VA beach is that the jets are super loud and they're very annoying throughout the day, all day. Is this true? I've also heard there is some crime issues there, and there is also an issue with flooding. Is that accurate? How bad are we talkin'?
I love the beach, but Ive never visited Virginia Beach before (I'm originally from San Diego so the beach is close to my heart). But if you have experience visiting Charlotte NC or Virginia Beach VA which would you choose to live in?
Just for some background, I'm a 27 year old female, I want to live somewhere that is clean, has mild weather (not too hot, not too cold) and has a good restaurant and nightlife scene, since I am single, no kids. Job is not an issue since I work from home.
There are some neighborhoods where that goes on but the MSA covers several counties just move to some other area. Same with flooding, same with crime. Virginia Beach you're more likely to have to deal with property crimes than you are getting shot at. Even with that, this is usually to people involved in a certain lifestyle and whatever shenanigans come with that lifestyle. Most times it was meant for you.
If you want to get technical Charlotte is a larger MSA than Norfolk/Virginia Beach. And Charlotte is one city, not 12, or however they're counted around here. So Charlotte has more people and that's that. They also have a better transportation system. We have two airports they have one that is really busy.
As far as flooding don't live next to the water. That is really all that you can do around here. Keep your insurance right so you can replace your belongings. Keep a pair of boots you don't care about just in case. Maybe 10 gallons of bottled water in case of an emergency. When there is threat of a flood all of the cereal, fruit, bread, crackers, anything you don't have to cook, you won't be able to find it at the grocery stores. People tend to fill up their car and take all of the gas too.
Charlotte is much higher elevation and you get hills and mountains so flooding shouldn't be an issue unless you're at the bottom of that elevation. People quickly forget that. You can be in a city like Pittsburgh and deal with flooding. The only thing they could have done here is to artificially increase the elevation and that is an extremely expensive thing to do and even more expensive to maintain. Some cities, like Chicago, did that early on and got ahead of the curve. Others, like Miami, seem intent to do it anyway. Houston needs to do this downtown. I wouldn't worry about it. It is not like we're underwater every year here.
There are millions of people here, nightlife should not be a problem. Might not be like it is where you're from but you'll find something to get into.
I'll only say this. A friend of mine is retiring from Charlotte PD after 30 years and he says they are leaving the city. Crime has gone up steady and the traffic just plain sucks there. He cannot wait to move to the mountains.
I'll only say this. A friend of mine is retiring from Charlotte PD after 30 years and he says they are leaving the city. Crime has gone up steady and the traffic just plain sucks there. He cannot wait to move to the mountains.
We would expect that from Charlotte because it is a larger city. Hampton Roads is a bunch of smaller cities with smaller police departments. If some people get their way, and Hampton Roads becomes one city, we'll need far more cops per person than is already the case. I never want to see that happen. People think that Portsmouth and Newport News are bad now. What happens when they become boroughs of a larger city. Unless something changes, Virginia Beach and Norfolk would be the Brooklyn and Manhattan of that city. Everyone else would get in wherever they fit in.
I need help deciding whether to move to Virginia Beach VA or Charlotte NC. Some cons I've heard about VA beach is that the jets are super loud and they're very annoying throughout the day, all day. Is this true? I've also heard there is some crime issues there, and there is also an issue with flooding. Is that accurate? How bad are we talkin'?
I love the beach, but Ive never visited Virginia Beach before (I'm originally from San Diego so the beach is close to my heart). But if you have experience visiting Charlotte NC or Virginia Beach VA which would you choose to live in?
Just for some background, I'm a 27 year old female, I want to live somewhere that is clean, has mild weather (not too hot, not too cold) and has a good restaurant and nightlife scene, since I am single, no kids. Job is not an issue since I work from home.
I moved to Virginia Beach last year. I work here and my family lives in Fredericksburg, VA, just outside the Washington D.C. area. So I'm a part time resident here. I've also lived in San Diego. If you're expecting Virginia Beach to be an East Coast San Diego you will be disappointed. With that said, there are some very good things I can say about it.
- Some parts of Virginia Beach are easily as nice as anywhere else in the country. Depending on your price range you're willing to spend on a home you can find some amazing options especially for a single person. Also, though the area isn't cheap, it's nowhere close to being as expensive as San Diego, so that will likely be a welcome relief to your budget.
- The beaches here are great. There's the boardwalk area that will likely be what pops up if you google Virginia Beach, but that's just a small part. North of there all the way up to Cape Henry the beaches, while still touristy, are far less crowded. South of there along Sandbridge is pretty quiet too. Then you have the Chesapeake shoreline, Chic's Beach. The water here is usually more serene than the Atlantic side. If you surf in the Pacific you'll likely be underwhelmed by the waves here. If you like kayaking or paddle boarding this place is great. You'll also find the water here is a lot more pleasant than the Pacific, which can be downright frigid even on a hot summer day.
- Town Center is a great spot. It's relatively small but there's a lot of good shopping and dining options packed into it. When I bought a place here last year I insisted on being as close to Town Center as I could get. Being close to the beach wasn't really an option so this is the next best thing. It's an up and coming area with new developments popping up.
- Nearby Norfolk, though smaller than Virginia Beach, has a more traditional and developed downtown area. Overall Norfolk may not be the nicest city in the country but it's core is actually pretty nice. Norfolk also operates the larger of the areas two airports (the other being Newport News-Williamsburg). Both are pretty small but Norfolk has a solid selection of direct flights to several major cities.
- If you don't have to cross any major bodies of water, traffic is really not too bad here. It gets downright stupid-bad when you have to cross a bridge-tunnel, unless it's midnight. (Keep in mind I also live in Northern Virginia where traffic is routinely cited as worst in the country, so that affects my view of Virginia Beach traffic.)
Virginia Beach and the larger Hampton Roads area may not be the best city in the country but there really is a lot to like about it. As far as how it compares to Charlotte, I agree with others who've said Charlotte is a more comprehensive and traditional "big city." I really like Charlotte, though I'll admit my experience there is limited. If you want a big city concentrated in a smaller area, Charlotte may be the right choice. If you value proximity to the beach then Virginia Beach is a no-brainer.
Random thoughts:
Hampton Roads and Virginia Beach may not be the most isolated big city in the country but it definitely feels like one of the most "out of the way" places I've ever lived. Most through traffic is tourists passing through on their way to Outer Banks, NC. This dies down significantly in the cooler months.
Virginia Beach is a largely suburban style city. I personally don't mind this, as I favor a suburban setting over an East Coast urban environment every time. My biggest critique isn't that it's suburban, but it's not well planned suburban. Zoning here will leave you scratching your head, especially coming from the West Coast. As I stated above, there are pockets here that are as nice as anywhere in the country. And a mile away from them are places that are run down, or an ugly strip mall with low end stores, etc. There are no real ghettos though.
Virginia as a whole is under rated as a state suitable for outdoors enthusiasts. That's coming from someone who's lived in San Diego and Monterey in California, and the Denver-Boulder area in Colorado. Virginia doesn't necessarily compare to those places but it deserves more credit than it gets in my opinion.
Final thought: don't pick one or the other without visiting both. If these are your only two options then it may be time to book a flight and visit both. Also, you may want to explore the surrounding areas before you decide on one or the other. Virgnia and North Carolina both really have a lot of good things to offer and in most places at prices far less than California.
Good luck in your search and decision process!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
