A place that's booming, yet still so small everyone knows each other... welcome to Fredericksburg. Here's 12 things you know to be true if you're from this town.
1. Downtown Fredericksburg
The best part of Fredericksburg... hands down. Downtown is full of cute little antique shops, boutiques, coffee shops, bars, horse-and-carriages, trolleys, and one-way streets. This is the hot spot in Fredericksburg for its shopping, nightlife, and old-time feel.
2. Suburbs versus the boondocks
Fredericksburg is a town where half of it is populated, and the other half is complete country. I have friends who live in populated neighborhoods... then I have friends who live off the winding backroads that lead to homes off the gravel paths.
3. Rappahannock River
The river is one of the most popular spots in Fredericksburg because most people go fishing on the docks, kayaking in the rapids, or running/ walking on the trails that wrap around the river.
4. Tractors on the main roads
Yes, you will see tractor trailers chugging along on the main roads... and traffic backs up immediately.
5. Route 3 traffic.
Everyone in Fredericksburg knows, when it's 12 p.m. on a Saturday or 6 p.m. on a Tuesday... avoid Route 3.
6. Confederate flags and pick-up trucks
Half of the town is northern-like, and the other half is more country. Thus, there's the huge confederate flag that waves over the trees on 95 that marks Fredericksburg, and nine times out of ten you will count about 15 pick-up trucks within a couple of miles.
7. Virginia Live
This is our concert venue that generally hosts country artists, and it's a tiny venue, but I love it! We've had artists like Billy Currington, Dierks Bentley, and Dustin Lynch.
8. South Point versus Central Park
These are the two main divides in Fredericksburg, because people typically prefer the "South Point Target" over the "Central Park Target" or the "Central Park Chipotle" over the "South Point Chipotle."
9. Eatery
If you come to Fredericksburg you have to stop by Carl's (ice cream), simply because there's only one Carl's in the world... and it's here! Other eatery places Fredericksburg is well-known for are Foode, Vivify, Soup and Taco, Goolricks, and Mason Dixon Cafe. Also, a fun fact of the day is, Chick-Fil-A sauce was invented in Fredericksburg!
10. College town?
To Fredericksburg natives, it doesn't feel like a college town. However, the University of Mary Washington is located in Downtown Fredericksburg which adds a great addition to this town. We even get Cookout and Benny's because we're considered to be a college town... I'm not complaining.
11. "Y'all" versus "You All"
You will definitely hear a mixture between a southern twang and a northern accent.
12. History, history, history
Fredericksburg is well-known for all of its battlefields and historic venues. Growing up in a town like Fredericksburg, you've typically visited every battlefield in this town for a field trip of some kind. There's also a lot of civil war reenactments, ghost tours, people who casually walk around Downtown in old-time wear and it's all completely normal.
