Virginia Beach (Virginia)
Virginia Beach (Virginia Beach) – City on the east coast of the United States. It is located in the southeastern part of Virginia and is the largest city city.
Virginia Beach is one of the settlements forming the city agglomeration Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads), stretching around Chesapeake Bay (Chesapeake Bay). About 1.7 million people live in this region. In the city of Virginia Beach for 2013, 448 thousand people live. Despite the fact that Virginia Beach is the most densely populated city, the business center of the Hampton Roads region can be considered Norfolk. And Virginia Beach is actually a resort «Suburb».
Virginia Beach on an ongoing basis is included in the ratings and lists of the most attractive cities of America, published by various publications.
April 26, 1607 after an extraordinarily long sailing, a lasting 144 days, 3 vessels: «Susanna Constanta», «Happy way» and «Opening» got to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Commanded by the courts of Englishman Christopher Newport (Christopher Newport). It was a former pirate hired by Virginia Company of London for the founding of the settlement in Virginia – a colony made by the British from the end of the 16th century. The colonists spent three days at the place of the first landing and called it Cape Henry (Cape Henry). From Cape they went along the bay and founded Jamestown (Jamestown) – the first English settlement on the territory of the modern United States.
The first settlement within the current Virginia Beach was formed in 1621, but the region more than a century was mastered bad. Only from the end of the 19th century after the appearance of railway communication and electricity, a small settlement of Virginia Beach was transformed into a spa zone. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the resort has received recognition from tourists and in 1906 Virginia Beach received urban status. Over the next 45 years, Virginia’s popularity Beach continued to grow.
Currently, Virginia Beach is a family-oriented resort offering a classic beach vacation. In addition to the beaches, the length of which about 60 km, Virginia Beach can offer entertainment from fishing, surfing and watching whales to parks, attractions and casinos.
Main Industries of the Regional Economics: Agriculture, Business, Industry, Construction, Trade and Tourism.
Military: Army and Fleet. In the Hampton Roads region, there are 11 major military facilities, including the world’s largest naval base where the Atlantic Fleet of the United States is based. 7 large companies producing defense / military products are operating in the region. The direct contribution of the military to the economy is $ 13.5 billion. As of 2011, over 122 thousand civilian and military served in the databases, the total earnings of which was estimated at $ 8.2 billion per year.
The volume of agricultural products is estimated at $ 120 million per year. In the region over 170 private farms. The total cost of the issued construction permits in 2011 was estimated at 461 million dollars.
In 2010, 6.2 million tourists visited Virginia Beach with a day visit, another 5.5 million were with a multi-day visit. Common spending of guests of the city – 1.1 billion dollars.
The racial composition of the population for 2013:
- White – 63.3%
- African Americans – 18.3%
- Latin Americans (any race) – 7.5%
- Asians – 6.6%
- Mixed races – 3.9%
- Indians – 0.2%
Socio-economic indicators for 2013:
- Middle income per person – $ 31973
- The average cost of the house – $ 259200
- Average rental cost of housing – $ 1214
- Population living below the poverty line – 8.8%
- Unemployment in the region (June 2014) – 5.1%
- Life value index (for March 2012) – 98.9 (Middle America).
Attractions and interesting places
- Oceanfront Boardwalk – Embankment, stretching along the coast with many hotels, shops and restaurants. One of the oldest symbols of Virginia state (originally opened in 1888);
- Cape Henry Lighthouse – Old Lighthouse, built in 1792
- Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center – Popular Oceanarium
- Virginia Beach Amphitheater – open-air concert area for 20,000 seats
- Sandler Center for The Performing Arts – the newest concert hall in the region
- CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER – MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
- Old Coast Guard Station – Coast Guard Museum
- Ocean Breeze Waterpark – Water Park
- Mount Trashmore Parks and First Landing State Park
During the year in Virginia Beach, there are many events: the celebration of Neptune, the Oceana Air Show Airshow, the auto-ward, wine, beer and similar festivals, beach football tournament, musical concerts, etc.
Climate in Virginia Beach wet subtropical. Palms, although they are found on the coast (mainly at hotels), not natural for latitude data. Storms and tropical hurricanes are usually observed north or south. All 4 seasons are well distinguishable. Winter in Virginia Beach is usually soft, sometimes quite without a significant number of snow. Summer long and warm, but often overshadowed by a cool period associated with the northeast winds of the Atlantic. Autumn and spring usually just amazing.
