D.C. residents have a decision to make. When there's a long weekend coming up and they want to hit up the beach... should you go to Ocean City or Virginia Beach?
It isn't all that hard if you live in Maryland or Virginia. Marylanders tend to head to the Ocean City-area and Virginians head to Virginia Beach. But Washington, D.C. is pretty much right in the middle. And that got us thinking: Which is the better vacation spot? District residents absolutely hate traffic, so the first inclination is just to pick whichever spot is closer. However, that's pretty much a wash. Depending on where you live, you might be able to shave 20-30 miles off your trip by heading to Ocean City, but that's definitely not a guarantee, especially if it's a holiday weekend. My family would always choose to go to Ocean City instead of Virginia Beach. Honestly, one of the biggest factors was those extra miles. Growing up, Ocean City was also just much more a family destination (though that has certainly evolved in recent years). Even still, Ocean City has much more of a shore town feel to it. Yes, it has a lot of the same crime problems that plague Virginia Beach, but the town itself is geared a lot more towards tourists. That can be good and bad. During the summer, Ocean City's population can swell to over 300,000. Come winter time, however, it drops down to just over 30,000 full-time residents and most of the shops and restaurants either close or significantly adjust their hours. While there are also a lot of seasonal residents in Virginia Beach, it has a much larger self-sustaining year-round population. That definitely makes Virginia Beach the better destination for an off-season getaway, if that's what you prefer...
Having the chance to visit both cities as an adult, there's no question that Ocean City's seafood is better. That might just be my love of Old Bay doing the talking right now, but I've yet to have steamed crabs anywhere else that come anywhere close to what you can get in Ocean City.
Virginia Beach's boardwalk is more geared towards joggers and bicyclists, which will be a better suit for a lot of people. In many ways, Virginia Beach's boardwalk is just a glorified extra-wide sidewalk that separates the hotels and the beach. You won't find the same food, souvenir, or carnival game stands that you'll find in Ocean City. A lot of people like that. I prefer Ocean City's built up boardwalk. In my opinion, it's not a boardwalk if there isn't funnel cake, taffy, fudge, or a hermit crab stand. Those are the four requirements.
Still, this is just one man's admittedly biased opinion. We wanted to turn to the community -- to turn to YOU -- to help settle, once and for all, which is a better vacation spot.
Take the poll below and then drop a comment in the comment section at the bottom of the page to let us know why either Virginia Beach or Ocean City is your favorite!
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