Virginia Beach is the perfect match for talented citizens and quality employers

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In a recent letter to the editor of the local newspaper, a resident called Virginia Beach "the city of perfect geography…within an hour of Williamsburg and the North Carolina Outer Banks, just three to the D.C. monuments, Wintergreen skiing or Shenandoah hiking."

He also described pristine scenes of "blue herons rising from Back Bay; ospreys nesting in First Landing State Park; lines of pelicans floating over the Boardwalk at dusk, and cool winter sunsets painting the sand, sea and sky pink."

Virginia Beach is a place where you never stop discovering what life has to offer. And the luckiest ones are the more than 435,000 residents of Virginia's most populous city. Across Virginia Beach, business is booming, with high-quality residential areas sprouting to accommodate people who understand that although the city is framed by the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, a sprawling farming community and wildlife refuges, its heartbeat is in a growing legion of technologically oriented companies that are at the forefront of American industry.

Strong employers like Direct Holdings Lillian Vernon Corp. and Time-Life, Stihl Inc., GEICO, Amerigroup Corp., Science Applications International Corp. and Lifenet are expanding their presence, adding thousands of well-paying new jobs and millions in additional capital investment. In the past two years alone, corporations announced nearly $400 million in business expansions and relocations in Virginia Beach.

Why? Because they came, they looked, they compared and they chose Virginia Beach, not just because there is sunning, swimming, surfing, sailing relaxing and championship golf just moments from the office. Not just because the public school system is one of the nation's best, with specialized high school academies in math, science, law, the arts, health sciences and technology, the latter housed in the Advanced Technology Center (the heart of what makes Virginia Beach a Perfect MATCH for talented citizens and quality employers). And lastly, not just because Virginia Beach rests in a region, rich in educational, cultural, recreational and entertainment amenities.

No, they were also drawn to the skilled, motivated, productive and available work force, which includes many workers who are military trained and disciplined. That's why more and more firms in such fields as high performance manufacturing, defense and homeland security, computer hardware and software development and Internet technology are eyeing Virginia Beach for new locations.

Virginia Beach additionally is investing wisely in both its human and physical infrastructure. In the heart of the city's Central Business District, the Town Center of Virginia Beach has become the talk of the New Urbanism movement. On 17 carefully laid out blocks, a 21-story Class-A office tower is now flanked by financial institutions, high-end retail stores and a thriving entertainment and restaurant district, featuring Ruth’s Chris Steak House, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, The Cheesecake Factory and The Funny Bone Comedy Club. Opening soon will be cosmopolitan luxury apartments, and on the way is a stunning performing arts center and an upscale Westin Hotel and condominium complex, rising 37 stories into the sky.

Closer to the shore, Virginia Beach is this summer debuting phase one of a $200 million convention center with facilities for major conferences and trade shows that are second to none. To house Virginia Beach's more than 3 million annual visitors, new hotels are rising along the city's famed oceanfront.

The Department of Economic Development is ready to help make Virginia Beach a Perfect Match for You. Call Don Maxwell or Robert Ruhl at 1-800-989-4567 or go online at www.yesvirginiabeach.com to learn why Virginia Beach is a match for your company and lifestyle.