Ocean Air - Norfolk, VA

In the mid-nineteenth century, surveyors plotted the area around Ocean Air and railroad service to Ocean View was established soon thereafter. In the late 19th century, an amusement park and boardwalk were built at the beachfront, enhancing the appeal of the entire area and supporting the growth of surrounding neighborhoods.

Less than a century later, larger regional attractions began to draw visitors away. Although the area lost much of its tourist appeal when the amusement park closed in the 1980s, it still beckons visitors and provides a beach and ocean playground for locals.

As with much of Hampton Roads, many military installations are important to the local economy, providing employment to permanent residents. Service members also live and shop in the community.

The nearby beachfront hosts recurring events, including Big Bands on the Bay and Thank Goodness It’s Ocean View beach music festivals.

The modest lifestyle of Ocean Air encourages casual dining, clustered along Chesapeake Boulevard and near the intersection of Chesapeake and East Bayview Boulevards.

Enjoy authentic Mexican food seven days a week at El Rey Taqueria, often served with house-made flour and corn tortillas. You can easily pass by the small restaurant tucked away in a small strip shopping area, but you won't want to. Guests at El Rey order mostly take-out, since seating is limited. Large serving sizes fill up your belly, while the real Mexican flavors satisfy your palate. Two local favorite meals are fiesta burrito and chicken quesadilla. The carnitas taco takes you south of the border, served in the traditional style with a homemade hot corn tortilla and succulent, crispy chunks of pork, onion and cilantro.

For pizza, stroll across the road to a long-time local favorite, family-owned Pizza Chef Restaurant & Sports Bar. Fresh toppings in generous portions come on rectangular, thin-crust pizzas - flaky on the bottom and soft below the glaze of sauce. Pizza Chef also serves burgers, sandwiches, subs, pasta and entrees such as steak and seafood. Guests recommended the loaded pizzas, such as the eight-topping supreme or the all-meat Godfather.

The dive bar culture dominates at Cap'n Ron's Bar and Grill, a local hangout since the 1950s. People come here for the sports bar entertainment: pool tables, darts, a small dance floor and TVs. The full-service menu features appetizers, nachos, steaks, seafood, subs and burgers. Hot wings come recommended by the locals. Two separate bars serve customer's drink needs.

Nightlife throughout the week at Cap'n Ron's includes Texas Hold 'Em poker tournaments on Sunday and Monday, karaoke on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, live bands every Friday, and a D.J. every Saturday.

Sidewalks line all of the main arteries of Ocean Air as well as many Ocean Air neighborhood backstreets, and wide streets and slow speed limits in other neighborhoods make the entire area friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.

Hampton Roads Transit services the entire region, providing economic public transportation. Many scattered bus stops along Chesapeake Boulevard and Tidewater Drive make the transit system easy to access. A phone call can summon a cab. Uber also services all of Norfolk and the surrounding Hampton Roads.

Parking is plentiful in neighborhoods and at the few businesses. A major Hampton Roads highway, I-64, can be accessed within two miles of Ocean Air.

On the neighborhood’s border lies Ocean View Golf Course, a public course built by World War I veterans in 1929. Ocean View provides golfers with hybrid Bermuda greens and plush, oak-lined fairways with challenges for seasoned golfers but still manageable for those less experienced. Greens fees and other prices are reasonable.

Though Ocean Air proper doesn't have any park facilities, Community Beach Park is just half a mile up the road at Ocean View. The park features picnic tables, public parking lots, restrooms and showers, all available at no cost. Children are welcome, and the gentler waves of the Chesapeake Bay are safer for younger children than the stronger waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Lifeguards patrol the beach from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day from 10 am - 6 pm. Dogs and other pets are not allowed in the park from 10 am - 6 pm from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.

The closest park providing regular entertainment is Ocean View Beach Park, just a mile from Ocean Air. The park hosts Big Bands on the Bay on Sundays from 7 pm. to 9 pm throughout the summer and TGOV Beach Music Concert Series —Thank Goodness It's Ocean View — featuring live performances from local and regional bands during July and August on Fridays.

Many Ocean Air residents commute to the business-oriented areas of Hampton Roads, such as nearby downtown Norfolk. The cost of living in Ocean Air lies slightly below national average and below average for downtown Norfolk. Average residential rental rate for a one-bedroom apartment is $720.

On the Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), a single trip costs $1.75 and a 1-day HRT GoPass costs $4.00.

Beer at a local pub runs from $1 domestic beer happy hour price to $4 on draft and in bottles.

Ocean Air's gas average generally rests at 5 percent less than the national average.

The small Ocean Air community primarily houses residents, while retail businesses are located nearby. You find the most convenient shopping area at Ocean View, merely a half-mile away, including small markets scattered up and down East Ocean View Avenue. MacArthur Center in Norfolk is where the locals go to shop well-known department stores, including Nordstroms and Dillards. Those with a flair for fashion should visit Michael Kors on the mall's lower level.

Businesses stocking groceries include Farm Fresh, Tinee Giant, and Waterside Fish and Produce. For a major shopping excursion, you can go to the large Walmart Supercenter, located just two miles away.

Artisan boutique shops lie outside the area, though the Willoughby Civic League hosts the Ocean View Pier flea market at intervals throughout the year.