The Virginian-Pilot
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Chesapeake and Suffolk have both been named to Money Magazine's 2010 list of Best Places to Live.
Chesapeake was 85th and Suffolk was 91st out of 100 cities given rankings.
The list chose "best small cities" from among 746 communities with populations of 50,000 to 300,000. The cities were compared on factors including housing affordability, median income, school quality, arts and leisure, safety, health care, diversity, the local economy and commuting time.
To see the full list and an explanation of the methodology, visit CNNmoney.com or see the August issue of Money Magazine.
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Safety in Suffolk...
They must not have looked downtown. The gangs would have changed their minds.
All the more reason for Regionalism!
Just looking at the comments up here shows how much this region needs to have barriers removed and become one community and one city.
The time has come to seriously abandon the old ways of thinking and open Virginia up to annexation and consolidations which has helped cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Nashville forge ahead of us in practically every way.
International Paper recently closed Franklin's paper mill when they bought out the company and moved nearly all of the management team to Nashville thus the City of Franklin lost hundreds of citizens and most of their wealth to the Nashville based company. This is what typically what happens in our divided region since we have no political clout or support to keep our region healthy,
Finally, I guess we should have seen the handwriting on the walls back in the 1980's when all of Virginia financial institutions sold out to North Carolina thus making Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem headquarters and a banking powerhouse while greedy Virginia business leaders and lawmakers became rich in the process. Yet, instead of making things right, they continue to cripple our cities by supporting outdated policies that every
strange
Seems like I see all kinds of crime being reported especiall in Suffolk, but Chesapeake as well since it's growth spurt started. Personally I don't they're as safe as they were 15-20 years ago.
To all of you
I've never seen so much bickering in all my life over such a useless (and unscientific) survey. For those of you that wrote just to say you're proud of where you live, my hat's off to you. For the rest of you complainers who don't like the city they live in, you should endeavour to do one of three things: change it, leave it, or shut up!
and here we have a another one
and here we have another one who thinks freedom of speech only applies to them. Sad!
Northern Suffolk
With all the negative remarks toward Northern Suffolk (capitalized on purpose), perhaps Northern Suffolk ought to secede from the rest of Suffolk and incorporate on its own. Northern Suffolk is where the strong tax base is, the industry and employment, the good schools, and the decent shopping that won Suffolk its place on the list. If the rest of the city doesn't like it, go away, we'll keep our toys and play by ourselves.
Please Don't Copy Newport News
Suffolk is no where Newport News is now, but it will be soon if continues on the over-concentration-in-the-north track it is on now. Anyone familiar with the two city's development histories shouldn't be all that surprised. Both were originally small cities that consolidated with their nearby rural counties to become much larger. Their original cores deteriorated because all the growth went to the new areas. In NN, the end result being totally segregated communities with extreme concentrations of poverty and all the problems that are associated with it in the southern older city boundaries, and the affluence and benefits that go along with that in the north. Suffolk is like this to some extent now, but no where near the extremes NN has.
Eventually, like everything that gets built quickly and on the cheap (vinyl never ages well folks), these once attractive neighborhoods will start to deteriorate and fall into neglect because there will be newer and better elsewhere. The Denbigh area in northern NN is a prime example of this phenomenon. While still mostly middle class, problems that only used to be associated with neighborhoods in the south have migrated up north because the comm
Hmmmm....
Let's see...
Downtown Suffolk. Still the same backwards style since the 1970's. A historic district that is full of slum houses, ganges that are blocks away from the municipal center robbing banks, murdering and rapes.
Yes. Downtown Suffolk is the place to be.
Watch out North Suffolk. I hear the gangs are moving North.
Please Don't Copy Newport News (Part 2)
**Sorry, forgot about the character limit; please read this second.**
unity has depreciated so much in value (and yes, the low-income housing built in the area probably doesn't help). People can only take so many bad things happening near them. If these people have the means to do so, they will definitely leave if it seems like their neighborhood is on the downward spiral on no return.
I really don't see a Denbigh type situation happening any time soon in northern Suffolk, but we as a nation have a terrible track record of rehabbing neighborhoods. We are very quick to move on and forget the old. Nobody wants to wait around for a neighborhood to improve if they don't have to. Besides a sense of pride, there just isn't any real incentive in our society to do so.
Really?
I've lived in Suffolk all my life and I just don't see it! All attention is drawn toward northern Suffolk while other parts are neglected--the council and school board sit on their hands deciding where to build a new elementary school. We have a Target distribution center, but no Target, one movie theater and it might as well be in Chesapeake, and nothing for teenagers to do except go to other cities' malls to spend their money! WALMART DOESN'T EVEN COME CLOSE! If you're escaping ordinary suburban life, some parts of Suffolk are the place to be, but Im tired of driving myself and my teens elsewhere for entertainment! Sad for a city of this size! If I had a choice, I would definitely live elsewhere..........