Virginia Beach boasts 38 miles of Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay beaches. City of Virginia Beach Tourism is one of the most important segments of the economy. Each year more than 2.5 million visitors, many of them from Canada and other states, flock here to enjoy the miles of shoreline extending along the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Besides soaking up the sun, visitors can tour a variety of museums and historic homes. They can fish for flounder or sea bass, relax on harbor cruises or exert themselves windsurfing or parasailing.
Excellent healthcare is a plus for Hampton Roads.
The addition of Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1973 attracted experts in most medical fields, including heart transplants. Institutes are hot on the trail of a cure for diabetes. Area physicians, many of whom are on EVMS' faculty, attract patients from around the world for corrective urological surgery, sex-change operations and reconstructive surgery. EVMS is gaining acclaim for its new Glennan Center for Geriatrics, which opened in 1996 and attracted a corps of renowned physicians and researchers specializing in aging issues. If you're a newcomer, you'll find plenty of company in Hampton Roads.