Now that the kids are grown, my wife and I focus on cruises, Vegas trips and even Hawaii vacations that are actually all less money and more fun than when we used to take the kids to Orlando theme parks.
The seediness is everywhere I'm afraid. We were on the Outer Banks a few weeks ago and took a side trip to Virginia Beach. That place has really gone downhill and was quite skanky in areas. Unless you got the cash to stay at a nice gated resort, you have that environment to contend with in just about every tourist area.
Either these places are getting seedier or I'm just getting older and crankier about such things than I used to be!
My parents gave up on Virginia Beach before I was born because of that so it goes back to the sixties at least, there’s a large military presence and the boys will have their fun off base, a seedy strip at a minimum springs up near any installation of any size.
I suspect you’ve discovered just how deceptive distances appear on a map out there, lol. VA Beach is not a short jaunt from OBX no matter how close it might appear. There is no as the crow flies with all the sounds, bays, rivers, state and national parks or nature preserves. Beautiful, rare place though, the OBX. How did you like it? I love the place, tend toward the less developed islands, Hatteras typically. Going up to Carova for the first time next week.