I am still thinking of changing jobs/ companies.  Any thoughts on the Virgina Beach area.  The move to Baltimore I mentioned previously probably will not happy. If Virgina Beach doesn't work it looks like D.C and Tampa in that order.

D.C is fine.....As long as you live in VA. Take about 40 minutes to commute.

Definitely live in VA if you are going to work in DC. Sorry I don't live in the VA Beach area.

The Norfolk/VA Beach area has the highest crime rate in the state.  It is also uber-liberal.  Just remember that PETA's headquaters is in Norfolk (sadly).  In the Spring and Summer VA Beach gets clogged with rowdy college students bent on binge drinking and vandalism.  Prices for basic goods and services become outrageously expensive during that time of year.  Land and houses are also overpriced due to the proximity of the beach.

NOVA (Northern Virginia) isn't a whole lot better.  It's populated mainly by carpet-bagging liberal Yankee pukes who have turned beautiful farm land into an endless and monotonous suburb of oversized and ugly "single family homes" that are on postage stamp sized lawns.  Traffic is a bitch.  Everything is expensive.  You'll get strange looks and be called the "gun nut" by your neighbors.

But, I'd still recommend you come to VA anyway.  NOVA is much better than Maryland and VA Beach does have the beach.

OK, I live in VA Beach.  What do you want to know?  I haven't noticed it as uber-liberal.  You can get the CLEO to sign-off on class three, so just what is "liberal"?  Yeah, PETA has their headquarters in neighboring Norfolk.  It's located scenically right on the river.  The local contry station sponsors a fishing tourament right beneath their building.  99% of the population here think the PETA folks are just nuts transplanted from California or somewhere.

Virginia Beach itself is the largest city in Virginia.  We are the largest city in the US (the 14th in size in the US) that has all-volunteer EMS.  

The city itself is predominately a housing area for the military.  There is no heavy industry in the city itself, though neighboring cities have heavy industry (Ford truck plant, shipyards, etc). The closest thing in "the Beach" are various production lines, like STIHL chainsaws.  There is a great deal of light industry, which provide jobs for most non-military folks.  

The big seasonal money comes from the beachfront.  This is a strip a few miles long and a few blocks deep.  There has not recently been much trouble because the local police has held a tight rein on things down there.   It's not some anual event where all the town's citizenry are going to become the victims of Spring Break barbarians every year.  

The area itself has not been stressed by the poor economy. Many businesses continue to grow.  Obviously the strong military prescence in the area has alot to do with that in wartime.  Housing is not cheap.  Rental property is at a premium because of the high demand from the military.  The average house price is closing in on $100,000.  With the low interest rates, it's cheaper to buy here than rent.  Also the local economy is strong enough that there is no housing glut to drive down prices.  They're building plenty of new places, but it's not keeping up with demand.  I wouldn't call it "boom town" by any streatch but it is steady growth.

As for guns and stuff, there is an indoor shooting range, two outdoor ranges, a couple of gunshops, one of which specializes in assault weapons.  A couple of the shops are class three dealers.  There is a further two indoor ranges in the locale (Norfolk and Chesapeke) and some more gunshops.  I don't know about any ranges on the peninsula, though I assume there's some.  London Bridge Trading (tactical gear) is located in town to sevice the SEAL/USMC FAST market.  Blackhawk Tactical Gear is in Chesepeke.  With the even numbered SEAL teams, the USMC FAST, and god knows who else around here, getting deals on cool gear is a snap.

Please feel free to ask any specific questions.

Ross

Thanks for the information guys

I should know Wednesday if I am coming up for an interview.  I have been to Virginia Beach once for about 40 hours on a extremely short-term project at Ft. Story.  The only place I really remember is The Duck Inn near the bay bridge tunnel.  I am sure I will have some more questions after the interview.