DATE: Saturday, July 26, 1997               TAG: 9707260044

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE:    - Stephen Kiehl

                                            LENGTH:   42 lines

WATER, RESTAURANTS HELP LIFT AREA IN RANKINGS; CRIME RATE SINKS US

HAMPTON ROADS does reasonably well in livability surveys because of the great recreational opportunities, lively arts scene and bright job outlook. But crime and a high cost of living keep the area from joining the small towns of New England and sunny resorts in California that are the darlings of magazine rankings.

One reason the area came in lower in Money (No. 115) than the ``Places Rated Almanac'' (No. 42) is that Money gave extra credit to cities with low crime rates, while the almanac weighted crime equally with eight other factors.

David Savageau, co-author of ``Places Rated,'' says it's all the natural waterways that save Hampton Roads from toiling in ratings oblivion with Mansfield, Ohio. The almanac ranked this area No. 13 for recreation.

Hampton Roads has 51,712 acres of Atlantic shoreline and 264,320 acres of inland water, according to the almanac. And the Outer Banks, with its wide beaches and warm water, is just a short drive away.

Hampton Roads also gets high marks for having so many good restaurants - eight that received three stars in the Mobil Travel Guide - for a medium-size area.

After dinner in Hampton Roads there are lots of options for spending a night on the town, or so says ``Places Rated,'' which ranked the area No. 59 for the arts. (New York, not surprisingly, was No. 1.)

Hampton Roads, because of its size, can't be home to a huge number of arts groups like Chicago or New York, but it does have a variety of arts offerings, including the Virginia Ballet Theater, the Virginia Symphony and the Virginia Opera, plus several good art museums and galleries.

While job growth in Hampton Roads has not been spectacular since 1990 (3 percent here compared to 8.1 percent nationally, according to ``Places Rated''), white-collar job growth is expected to soar locally by the year 2000. MEMO: [For related stories, see page E1 of THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT for this

date.] KEYWORDS: RATING LIST RANKING PLACES RATED

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