Virginia Beach, VA
| U.S. News Ratings | |
| Population: | 433,610 |
| Crime: | Low |
| Cost of Living: | High |
| Health Care: | Comprehensive |
| Housing Price: | Average |
| Income: | Average |
Warm weather, sandy beaches, and a bounty of outdoor activities—including surfing, kayaking, fishing, and golfing—draw more than 2.7 million visitors to Virginia Beach each year. But this coastal city isn't just for tourists: Cultural activities are plentiful, as is green space and easy access to major East Coast cities.
Virginia Beach, located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on the southeastern coast of Virginia, is part of an area known as Hampton Roads, which also includes the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News. With more than 443,000 residents, Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the commonwealth of Virginia.
Aside from its 35 miles of beaches—14 of which are free and open to the public—one of the city's most distinctive features is its 3-mile-long boardwalk, which is 28 feet wide and ideal for strolling, people-watching, rollerblading, and biking (the concrete strip contains a separate bike path). The boardwalk also offers easy access to hotels, event venues, and oceanfront restaurants that serve such specialties as Chesapeake Bay crab cakes, striped bass, and stuffed flounder. Residents enjoy a vibrant performing arts scene. Aside from plenty of free live entertainment, they can catch shows at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater or the new Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, which showcases dance, music, and theater.
Virginia Beach is a young city. In the 1880s, visitors knew it as an oceanfront resort, but it wasn't incorporated until 1906. In 1963, the city expanded its area by merging with Princess Anne County.
The military is a mainstay of Virginia Beach's economy. The city is home to four military bases: Oceana Naval Air Station, the country's largest master jet base; Dam Neck, home to the Fleet Combat Training Center; Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base; and the Army's Fort Story, where amphibious training operations are conducted.
Although no major-league sports teams are based in Virginia Beach, the city doesn't lack opportunities for spectators. Two soccer teams, the Hampton Roads Piranhas (a men's team), and the W-League (a women's team) play in Virginia Beach. The city hosts both the East Coast Surfing Championship and the North American Sand Soccer Championship.
Abundant parks, playgrounds, and open spaces make Virginia Beach one of U.S. News's Greenest Places to Retire. The city boasts the most playgrounds of any city in the country, which could come in handy for outings with visiting grandchildren. A popular day-trip destination is Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which has more than 9,000 acres of beach, woodland, and marsh with migratory birds, loggerhead sea turtles, and bald eagles. Virginia Beach itself hosts 250 parks, including Mount Trashmore, a grassy little mountain that was created by compacting layers of solid waste and clean soil (the former landfill now features 165 acres of playgrounds and recreational facilities), and First Landing State Park, which contains 2,900 acres of protected salt-marsh habitat and freshwater ponds.
Two universities call Virginia Beach home: Regent University, founded by Christian evangelist Pat Robertson, and Atlantic University. Both the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech University operate satellite campuses in Virginia Beach.
The city is served by Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and Sentara Bayside Hospital, as well as the Barry Robinson Center, a behavioral healthcare organization. The city also is a short drive from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and Hampton VA Medical Center.
Roughly 2.75 million visitors spend $857 million annually in Virginia Beach. Tourism supports about 15,000 jobs, many of them at restaurants and hotels (the city contains more than 12,000 hotel rooms and several hundred rental cottages). The economy also draws strength from the military, retail, and agribusiness sectors. Major employers include Lillian Vernon, Stihl, GEICO, Amerigroup, and Oceana Naval Air Station.
In 2008, the median home sale price in Virginia Beach was $234,768, down more than 10 percent from 2007's level.
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