Ah, Virginia… The birthplace of the nation. The home of wild ponies, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. My home for roughly 8 months out of the year. A place full of incredible scenery, incredible people, and incredible history. It’s hard for me to stop saying great things about this place, and I’ve only lived here for a year and a half. I love Virginia, and I want literally everyone I know to share that love with me. So whether you go to school here, live here, or want to live here, I’m glad you came. So I put together a small list (because the reasons are infinite) of reasons why you should move to Virginia…
It’s really close to Washington D.C.
There’s a lot of space in Virginia, so I guess technically not everywhere is close to D.C. but a four or five hour drive to the nation’s capitol is pretty awesome. And since it’s so close to D.C., sometimes you’ll see one of their super passive aggressive “taxation without representation” license plates on the interstate—which I think is kind of great.
A bunch of Colleges
I don’t know how this happened, but when I was applying to colleges I only applied to schools in Virginia. That’s honestly due to chance, but also because there are SO many colleges in Virginia that it’s almost impossible not to apply to at least one. I don’t even mean colleges that aren't well ranked or well known either, Virginia is home to some pretty elite colleges and universities. Places like the University of Virginia, James Madison University, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, University of Mary Washington, Roanoke College, Radford University, and a bunch of others I’m not even mentioning (which are honestly worth mentioning). So what this means to me is that Virginia is FULL of some really educated people, and who doesn’t like to spend time with educated people? Virginia is home to some of the oldest colleges and universities in America, and also some of the best.
You’re going to have to pick a side
I can’t express to you how important sports are for college aged people (you all knew that already). But it goes so much further than that when you start talking about rivalries. So you’re going to have to pick a side. Obviously, the whole state of Virginia is divided between University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. Hokies or Cavaliers? Having grown up in New England, sports rivalries are really not new to me (Yankees and Red Sox), but this is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and until you hear “F*ck UVA” sung by a Hokie (or a bus full of Hokies), you haven’t experienced it either. But this doesn’t end here, the small schools have rivalries too, and it’s kind of hard to keep up with. The first time I experienced Macon Weekend at Hampden-Sydney College, I was amazed. And obviously Lynchburg-Roanoke goes without saying…
But whatever your reason is for partaking in these rivalries, it’s so awesome to be a part of something like that. School spirit (student or not) gives you a community and that’s pretty awesome.
Southern charm, but only kind of
The thing about Virginia is that it’s the south, but not the real south. Virginia isn’t West Virginia, or Alabama. It’s as north as the southern states go. So you still have Cook-Out and Chick Fil-a, but you don’t have much of the deep south revival stuff that your friends at home warn you about. That’s not to say that there isn’t going to be a randomly placed confederate flag flying to make you feel wildly uncomfortable, but for the most part it’s not too bad. And as far as stereotypes go, no, the sweet tea never runs out.
Beautiful scenery
Those Blue Ridge Mountains though. Being a true New Englander, I will stand by the statement that these aren’t **real mountains, but the Blue Ridge Mountains are still amazing. And provide MUCH easier hiking than the White Mountains. You can access the Blue Ridge Parkway from several different points throughout the state, and literally just drive through the mountains for hours. I highly recommend you do this if you’re ever considering moving here, and need just one more thing to make up your mind. After you go on the Blue Ridge Parkway, you’re never going to want to leave this place.
Every show ever takes place here
This is a good thing if you like where you live to get attention on a regular basis. Personally, I like this because no one ever mentions New Hampshire, so I felt pretty left out during my childhood. But now that I live in Virginia, I feel incredibly included. SO many shows take place in Virginia or DC. We’ve got NCIS, Criminal Minds, Bones, and so many more. Plus, American Dad takes place in a fictional D.C. Suburb in Virginia. Yay national attention!
Wealthiest counties in the nation
According to Politifact.com, four of the 10 wealthiest counties in America are in Virginia. Loudon County, which is number one in America, has a median household income of $117,680. Second on the list is Falls Church City, then fourth on the list is Fairfax County, and finally, eighth on the list is Arlington County. All of these happen to be in Northern Virginia, so I suppose that’s another perk of being so close to D.C.. With wealthy counties comes really great public education, and awesome public services. So, if you’re looking for a single reason to move to Virginia, this could be it.
Benny's Pizza...
Lastly, but really, really, REALLY not least is the fact that Virginia is home to Benny's Pizza. Home of the Virginia Slice. In case you don't know, Benny's serves you pieces of pizza that are kind of the same size of Virginia (or at least two paper plates). There are nine Benny's locations in Virginia, and three outside of Virginia (in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania). But it started here, and we love it. If you're looking for a pizza box you can fit in, Benny's has got you covered (literally). If you go to their website, there's actually a photo of someone's baby in a pizza box. Each Benny's location has a different last name attached to it, so just look for pizza places that start with... Benny's. Since I live in the Roanoke Valley, the two Benny's that I go to the most are Benny Marzano's (Blacksburg) and Benny Marconi's (Downtown Roanoke). But I have been to the Benny's in Norfolk and Harrisonburg. All of which I highly recommend.
I’m not going to make you move to Virginia, but I highly recommend it. This is an itty bitty tiny list, but trust me, the real list is never ending.
