No One Likes Change; Virginia Beach is No Different from Any Other City in the Nation that is Undergoing Massive Changes

Hate on Virginia Beach all you want. The only difference between Virginia Beach and other cities is the volume of the voices of dissent. I regularly visit City-Data, a cool website where you get to learn about how other cities in America really work. Not just that propaganda put forth by select government agencies. All that I have learned is that no one likes their town. People in Hampton Roads hates how suburban the place is, but is it really suburban? Outside of the newer cities like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake how suburban is Hampton Roads? Honestly considering the geographical conditions in this region, like the inability to effectively bury anything but a tunnel here and there or a parking deck how urban do you want this city to be?

New Yorkers complain about Midwesterners that come to the city with their own money because their mayor, and developers, are subjugated to these transplants. They take up all of the jobs, they get the best apartments they live in the best neighborhoods. They are part of the reason New York is turning into a bland city full of chain restaurants and loosing its culture. People in Northern Virginia complain about the commute times in and out of Washington DC. People in Washington DC complain for the same reasons that New Yorkers do; lamenting the fact that their town is for the rich and the poor and middle class should not apply. The poor in Washington DC are getting pushed out towards Prince George's County.

People in Ohio are complaining because cities in that state are trying to redevelop in ways that omit the middle class and the poor. High rises are going up in Cleveland; well it already had a lot of lot of high rises but these are new high rises, and you cannot afford to live there. Columbus is a huge suburb because its growth came through massive annexation of everything within the county. Cincinnati really needs a comprehensive transportation system. Akron is turning into the dump that everyone knew Dayton to be.

People in Detroit are complaining because the nation hates Detroit and does not want to learn about Michigan. Personally I do not see what the great deal about Michigan is, yes it is beautiful but outside of cities like Detroit and Flint it is very, very, suburban. One part of the state is great if you love the outdoors, the other part used to be great if you loved living in large metropolitan areas.

People in Los Angeles are complaining because the city is building high rises. Imagine that, Los Angeles, the most dense suburban city in America does not want high rises to alleviate sprawl! Someone should have told these people that they ran out of land 20 years ago. Another 20 years and the metropolitan area will stop at the California state line. Why would you complain about the downtown that your city should have had 50 years ago? It is beyond me; yes it is bland, yes it does not seem interesting but few downtown areas are in America, particularly new downtown areas they can build the buildings but culture takes time.

People in the Northwest are complaining! Cities like Denver and Phoenix look like an oasis to most of us, but don't tell that to the people in those cities. Denver, whose downtown is massive for a city its size is not quite good enough. Phoenix sounds like an old boys network. The only places in America where I have not heard dissent are those metropolitain areas I have not researched. Anything I have researched, people hate it there; Atlanta is a huge suburb, Miami is a joke, Indianapolis is too suburban. I wonder what people think about Madison and Milwaukee.

This takes the cake; people continue to compare New York to Chicago. They compare Boston to Philadelphia. They compare Baltimore to Washington DC. Everyone seems to hate Houston and Dallas. My God will you please stop already! These cities have nothing to do with each other. There are no comparisons between New York and Chicago; New York has five times the buildings that Chicago has and people's interactions with each other are probably twice as fast. Chicago is a Midwestern city, and should be recognized as a Midwestern city and not lumped in with New York City, which has absolutely nothing to do with Chicago. Boston is a city of neighborhoods and a fine college town that just happens to be urban because they will not tear down their old architecture! They also happen to have an extensive network of highways underground. There is no comparison of Boston with Philadelphia, a larger city at its core with a metropolitan area that has not grown beyond that of Boston because people with enough money would rather live in New York!

No one likes their city. So when you get to thinking that Hampton Roads is the worst metropolitan area in the country do some research and see what haters really think about the towns they are stuck in. You will find out that no one is content with where they live at. So you have to discern and see what is important to you. If you need an urban atmosphere you might want to live in a city that has that atmosphere, live downtown and suck up the high price of living because you are not going to find downtown living for cheap anymore. Those days have passed and are twenty years behind us. If you want a suburban area then find one. If you want nice people there are a lot of cities in America that have nice people. If you want rude people any city in America will do if you are that rude people will just leave you to your own devices. Nobody really cares in America anymore, but then again everyone cares.

The great thing about America, is that you can find the city you want to call home, loose yourself in that city and make a go of it. But you have to make some sacrifices; unless you have your own business or your own career you are subjugated to the whims of employers in that town. So you may not be able to do the job you want to do, and you might need roommates or you might find yourself in the suburbs. Which is not the worst thing in the world because suburbs are not as bad as they used to be; a lot of them have high rises, are walkable, and have good transportation systems. So many people have flocked to the suburbs that they were forced to change and handle the huge influx over the years. You hate your city, well join the club, because it seems as though everyone else does as well ...