Hampton Roads Explained

As a newcomer to the area you will often hear people say “Hampton Roads”. So what the heck is Hampton Roads anyways?  Hampton Roads consists of of 7 cities: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, and Newport News.
Hampton and Newport News are “across the water” and north of the tunnels. The other five cities are south of the tunnels. It is highly recommended that you live on the side of the tunnels that you work as traffic can be absolutely terrible.