Resident Stories

Meet Barbara Spigel

A native of Stratford-on-Avon, England, Barbara met her husband while visiting the U.S. and the two married in England later that same year. Barbara spent several years in business before attending Syracuse University and graduating with a B.A. in Political Science. She went on to earn an M.A. in English literature from Niagara University; she taught at both Brock University in Canada, and Niagara University in the U.S.

Barbara's artistic background includes work as an actress and director in both professional and amateur theater in England, Canada, and the United States. She loves classical and jazz music and is a freelance writer. She was an avid sailor, and is a member of Britain's Royal Yachting Association.

 What helped you make the decision to move to Harbor's Edge?

My husband is a native of west Ghent (in Norfolk), and we both share a love of boats. Here we can sit in our living room and watch small boats, cruise ships, barges, navy vessels go by - it's like living on an anchored cruise ship.

The location was crucial to us. Harbor's Edge is convenient to everything - it takes only 5 minutes to get to the Opera house, to Harbor Park to see a Tides baseball game, to the Chrysler Museum, or to Chrysler Hall for a Virginia Symphony concert. We're minutes from the hospital, drug store, shopping mall, grocery stores - anywhere we need to get to. We weren't interested in a residence where we'd have to get in the car and drive to get where we needed to be. The location of Harbor's Edge is not just convenient - it's ideal.  

What do you most enjoy about living at Harbor's Edge?

It is an immensely pleasant place to live.  Harbor's Edge residents come from varied backgrounds, with interesting careers and experiences, which we all get to share. It makes for a very rich life to meet and talk with the delightful people who live here.

What would you say to someone who was considering a move here?

Harbor's Edge has a unique advantage: it's large enough to be interesting yet small enough to be eminently livable. It's a comfortably-sized community; you get to see people often enough that you get to know one another - you feel like extended family - and yet it's large enough to offer every activity and amenity you can imagine. It's a great place to live.