Our Community

Hampton Roads is the 31st largest metropolitan area in the United States with a total population of over 1.5 million. It consists of 15 cities and counties, including those listed below. Most of the local communities within Hampton Roads region are cities. Unlike most other parts of the country, cities and counties are completely separate entities in Virginia, so you'll either live in a city or a county but not both. In fact, even most of our rural areas are actually located within one of the cities.

Located in the Southeastern corner of Virginia, just above the North Carolina border, the Hampton Roads area offers residents and visitors a community like no other. With miles of beaches, along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay, tourism is a major industry. With over 20 Army, Navy, and Coast Guard commands, we are also a major military force. Located just two hours from Richmond, and 3 1/2 hours from Washington, DC, we are also very much a government town . .

The area is rich in historical significance. First Landing Park in Virginia Beach was the where English settlers first set shore in the New World in 1607, before heading up river to Jamestown, the first Permanent English settlement in the New World.

Jamestown is also located within Hampton Roads. World-famous Colonial Williamsburg, restored in 1926 by John D. Rockefeller, is just down the street from Jamestown. Williamsburg is also home to the nations oldest college, the College of William and Mary. Also nearby is Yorktown, where Cornwalles surrendered to George Washington in 1781, thereby ending the American Revolution. For more on our history, click here.

The area gets its name from the body of water separating the northern half of Hampton Roads, commonly referred to as "the Peninsula" from the southern half known as "the Southside." During the Civil War, the Hampton Roads Harbor was the site of the infamous "clash of the iron clads," when the USS Monitor fought the CSS Virginia to a draw in 1862..

The area is home to three fortune 500 companies: Norfolk Southern Corporation, Smithfield Foods, and Dollar Tree Stores, along with many mid-sized companies. Newport News Shipbuilding is the nation's exclusive builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two builders of nuclear-powered submarines. For more on our local economy, click here.

The area's medical community is dominated by non-profit Sentara Health System which includes five hospitals, two HMO's, and countless clinics, medical practices, and medical related enterprises. The area is also home to Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Jones Institute which where the nation's first test-tube baby was born.  For more on our local health community, click here.

Recreation
In 1998, Money magazine ranked Hampton Roads as "the most livable large city in the South." Hampton Roads boast miles of beaches, and has an average annual temperature of 60°.  Numerous festivals are held each year beginning with Harborfest in Norfolk and closing with the Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach.

For more information on Hampton Roads, visit www.hrccva.com 

For weather information, visit www.weather.com

For information on local military installations, visit our military page.

Once the region's largest city, Norfolk is located in the geographic center of Hampton Roads, and is still considered the region's "downtown." 

Home to the world's largest Naval Base, Norfolk has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade, from a military and port town to a respected metropolis with a thriving business and residential community and an active night life.

Many of the city's major projects over the past decade have been located in or near its downtown. These include the Chrysler Museum of Art, Harbor Park, home to the Norfolk Tides baseball team, Nauticus, a maritime museum which includes the battleship USS Wisconsin, and McArthur Center, an upscale shopping mall named for Norfolk-native, General Douglas McArthur, whose memorial is located nearby.

Norfolk's most popular residential areas have traditionally been the historic Ghent and Freemason neighborhoods, located near downtown. However, recent developments have driven growth of home sales in downtown as well as along the Chesapeake Bay in the city's Ocean View neighborhood.

Today, the city's popular of approx. 234,000 enjoy a thoroughly modern city with affordable housing and a vibrant downtown night life.

For more information, visit www.norfolk.va.us.

Formed in 1963 through the merger of rural Princess Anne County with a small resort town, Virginia Beach is now the largest city in Virginia, with a population of over 425,000 and covering an area of just over 250 square miles.

While the southern half of the city remains rural, the area north of the city's "Green Line" is a thriving suburban community. The city is also working to develop it's downtown through developments such as the Town Center, currently under construction.

In addition to its traditional oceanfront resort, Virginia Beach boasts numerous parks, lakes, golf courses, and much more — including The Virginia Beach Amphitheater, Virginia Marine Science Museum, and the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.

The city is home to four military installations — Oceana Naval Air Station, Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, Fort Story, and Dam Neck Fleet Combat Training Center — and approximately 35,000 military and civilian personnel.

For more information on Virginia Beach, visit www.vbgov.com.

For information on local tourism, visit www.vbfun.com.

For information on local golfing venues, visit www.vbgolf.com.

One of Virginia's fastest growing cities, Chesapeake boasts a population of over 204,470 and a land area of over 353 square miles.

For more information on Chesapeake, visit www.chesapeake.va.us.

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