When the Navy forced me to move to that area when they stationed me on an aircraft carrier, everybody that lived in VA Beach couldn’t shut up about how great it was. Having grown up in northwest Wyoming, I went, I saw, and wasn’t impressed. To this day I challenge anybody to show me something there that remotely compares to the Sawtooth Mountains. I never cared much for a tropical beach climate, was even less impressed after serving a 6-year enlistment in the Navy, and I don’t understand people who vacation to that kind of climate. It takes all kinds, I guess.
I don’t get someone saying Virginia Beach is any great shakes either. I imagine if you like a crowded party atmosphere and that is your thing, sure.
As for tropical beach climates, I can vouch that there are some stunning ones, and not the ones you go to on cruise ships. I was lucky enough to go sailing on three different week long trips in a 42 foot catamaran in the Caribbean with close friends, and there are some places...
I was in the Abacos, and we anchored off a small uninhabited island. The sand was brilliant white and fine, and the water was less than a foot deep for a hundred yards all around the island.
While some hung out on shore, I just lay in that aqua blue water, my face sticking out while my body rested on that white sand, and I just lay there for about an hour, semi-dozing and not even moving.
I gotta tell ya...that is a beautiful thing. I love the grandeur of mountains and large open plains, but...there is something to be said for a tropical climate!