Pretty interesting 3 out of 5 isn't bad, and about right for this area. I moved here from elsewhere in the state, only knowing Ohio and how it compares to Northern Virginia. It's not a bad region at all, yes Chesapeake is where a lot of people prefer to live these days. It's about the only remotely affordable place left that's safe without a whole lot of crime that you find in other areas in the region. Virginia Beach is okay, sort of bourgeious though. Virginia Beach has a lot of the same stuff Norfolk does, as far as downtown though Norfolk's downtown still dwarfs that of Virginia Beach. Chesapeake could use a downtown though, it's nice they're building hotels, and stuff like the Gateway as SoNo, but Chesapeake can be pretty bland at times. It does seem to be more interesting than Northern Virginia, though arguably there is more money in Northern Virginia as well, or at least appears to be. Northern Virginia seems to be more of a suburb of D.C., while Southern Maryland seems to have more of it's own identity, if not for being a suburb of Baltimore.

Overall the area reminds me a lot of Cleveland. It has a metro of 2.2 million. That area is rather fragmented though, with like 35 or more suburbs, this one a bit more cohesive. Norfolk is definitely more urban than the rest of the area, then again so are cities like Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News. Portsmouth is like a very old urban, almost with a small mid-sized city feel to it though. Virginia Beach is sort of new urbanist. It's not a bad area though if you haven't checked it out yet, plenty of potential for growth still exists, despite how large it is already.

While serving in the United States Navy I was fortunate to spend plenty of time in the Tidewater area.
When to "A" school in Dam Neck(Va Bch)First duty station was the USS Caron DD-970 homeported at the Norfolk Naval Base.
Met my wife in Norfolk and was married in Virginia Beach.
First Daughter was born in Portsmouth Naval Hospital.
Why Did I ever move???
Lived in the Ghent area of Norfolk which was a wonderful neighborhood and later moved to Va Bch which is equally wonderful.
The only draw back is the TRAFFIC,otherwise this is a great area to live and work as well as a great place to vacation.

I was pleasantly surprised with the city of Norfolk. It has some nice, lovely old neighborhoods west of downtown. And the downtown area was no where near as bad as some mid-size cities I've visited. Norfolk seems to be on the upswing, rather than declining like so many old American cities. I have fond memories of Virginia beach as a child, but as a beach resort it's just average, like Ocean City. But there are some beautiful, wild areas to the north of the beach and along the North Carolina border. I have not been here long enough to find out what the people here are like, but the fact that Pat Robertson is based here is a real downside for me. I think he's demented, as are many of his fans. But aside from that, I'd probably consider living here.

I thought this area was nice. Plenty to do in the area with Williamsburg/Busch Gardens nearby. I really liked coming across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel which is one of the worlds greatest engineering marvels. When driving across at some points all you can see is water. The beaches in the area are nice and the water temperature is usually pretty warm and this area has easy access to the Outer Banks of North Carolina which has some of the finest beaches on the east coast. Downtown Norfolk is kind of dead with not much going on but the waterfront area is pretty attractive. As mentioned below this area is home to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, not exactly bragging rights as that would scare many people off from coming here, but I guess since Norfolk/Virginia Beach has such a huge milatary presense it's not surprising the right wing politics are very dominant here, therefore as a moderate myself I would not choose to live around here. Good place for a vacation though.

An intriguing place... The entire population of the area is about two million, yet people do not seem to think of it as a major metropolitan area. Even more intriguing though, the region that is home to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell seems to be in continuous conflict betwwen the young and the old. Though the seven cities contain high black, Filipino, and Asian populations, old, conservative, white men certainly make their presence felt, especially in government. Aside from that, I really like this place. Downtown Norfolk is improving rapidly. Chesapeake is where a lot of people prefer to make their homes, and Virginia Beach in the summer can resemble South Florida, Daytona Beach, or anyother place like that. Newport News and Hampton can be a little rough, but they've got grit - and I like that. The Tidewater region is also big on hip-hop music. Many rappers are from here and the many rappers that are not from here still come here to record and make a second home. While playing with the radio dial, you can find about five hip-hop stations - that is more than Chicago or L.A. Overall, this place is not perfect, but it is a nice vacation spot with good universities and entertainment. It is probably the best city (or cities, really) in Virginia (Northern VA is nice, but without D.C., it would not be anything special).