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I'm in Northern Virginia, but went to undergrad in the western part of Virginia and have spent a lot of time in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area too. I don't think that's necessarily the case - sure, there are some girls who do that, but not as much as, for example, South Carolina (where I grew up). Virginia's barely the South anymore, in my opinion. I think you'll be fine! :-)
hello there!
born and raised in virginia, grew up in central VA (north of richmond in the country) then went to college in Williamsburg and practically lived in Norfolk (which if hes navy he will pretty much be) and now live in Arlington in NoVA.
While i consider myself from "real" virginia (up here in Northern VA you can hardly consider it southern since everyone is a transplant) like PeytonL79 says, you dont have to worry much about that "georgia peach" thing in norfolk/VA beach area, it just simply isnt the case.
No worries about the "southern belle" thing. yes, we are all sweet wonderful women but not all are primped and preened within an inch of our lives. :) i have always been a tshirt and jeans gal - thats the "country" in me i guess. but i am pretty conservative when it comes to how things are done (i was a debutante) and have those "southern" manners - but thats everywhere down here.
keep in mind norfolk is less southern than the rest of VA since there are so many military there - lots of different folks and cultures, so you will blend right in no matter where you are from.
feel free to ask away - i was a military SO in a former life and have tons of answers if you need em :)
Thanks girl! I want to go to school when we get there and get a part time job. I'm kinda worried about the weather! I hear it's soo different over there. We don't get many exciting things here maybe some light rain and the occassional thunder storm that lasts 5mins haha. Also a little worried about making new friends :/ all the other military SOs that I've met around here have kids, which is great, but makes it difficult.
I'm in the beach and... compared to Texas where I'm from, I don't know WHERE he got the idea that we're like "southern belles." hahaha
What base is he being stationed at? Feel free to ask me any questions. I moved here a few years ago so I know what it's like to be new.
Also, are you looking at base housing, renting, buying? I can help you on neighborhoods too, etc...
Whatever you need help with.
The weather is crazy. Like, we had the biggest snowfall since 1996 last weekend, and it was gone 3 days later. Knock on wood we haven't had any hurricane's since I've been here, only tropical storms which we got in Houston a lot so it doesn't phase me.
Last summer it took forever to warm up and never got too hot, I was pretty mad. This winter it took a while but it's been COLD.
I lived in NoVa for a while (Chantilly and Centreville) and LOVED it. I only went to VA Beach once and enjoyed it. The weather is nutso, it's true. The most snow I've ever seen fell on April 1st the year I lived there. It was like 70 the next week.
Hey Bella! I'm in Norfolk (right next to Virginia Beach). Like the other girls said, no worries about the Southern Belle issue. There are so many military people in the area it really doesn't feel southern at all and definitely no accents compared to the deep south.
Virginia weather is a little crazy. Sometimes its 65 degrees one day and then 20 the next. Or 75 the week before Christmas. You never know. We are having an unusually "wintery" winter this year.
The area is nice because you are close to the beach, the bay, the mountains, and D.C. Most people here are pretty friendly. On the bad side, the traffic is often a disaster, especially if you have to go through tunnels.
Let us know if you have any questions!
ahh no worries about the weather - you will be near the beach so its not as weird... but it is varied. we get ALL seasons in va which can be gorgeous and annoying (hello beautiful fall folliage, AND horrid humidity!!!), and all types of weather... the whole spectrum - even small earthquakes (although they are usually while folks sleep and you cant feel them LOL)
but like what was said earlier - its been weird lately but usually pretty predictable. be prepared that if snow is predicted the area will shut down (literally in tidewater/hamptonroads area since i dont even think they OWN plows since it hardly ever snows that close to the water lol)
and its really easy to meet new people down in norfolk - especially military related. but when you get here lemme know - i have quite a few friends down there that are both married and unmarried, kids and no kids, so whatever you are into, i will have a whole list of stuff to do and see and hang out in for you :) lemme know ;)
I'm literally overwhelmed by how sweet you girls are! :)
haha! my man had only ever lived in cali until he joined the navy so he doesn't have much to compare it too! I'm glad he was off with the southern belle comment.
We'll be stationed at Oceana. We have some friends that just got stationed out here (CA) that own a condo out there (VA) so we're most likely going to rent from them. It's called egret landing he said it was super close to a main mall (the name slipped my mind) about a 5min bike ride to the beach.
I didn't know it would snow so close to the beach until recently I started stalking VA beach weather!
The weather does sound nutso! I guess I'm spoiled it gets nice and warm around march here!
I'm not looking forward to the traffic, but I've dealt with LA and idk if you can get much worse than that (barf!)
I'm super excited for all the traveling we can do over on the east coast! There is so much more that I want to see over there :)
@spaganya thank you for that offer you are sooo sweet! We should be moving down there sometime in April. We're going to DRIVE :( not really looking forward to that b/c we have a dog!
I lived in VA for the first 23 years of my life, and yeah, your FI was pulling your leg about the southern belle thing. ;)
Virginia Beach is not my favorite place in the world, as I prefer a walkable city versus one that's so sprawled out and choked with traffic, but it's definitely got its charm. Go to the beach a lot. Also, Williamsburg is really pretty. I went to college there. Stay away from northern VA, I spent the first 18 years of my life there and can think of nothing redeeming about it other than its proximity to DC which is actually quite awesome.
I'm not a fan of traffic either, but I guess I'll just have to deal for 3 years! I went on a school trip to Maryland in high school and had the opportunity to go to DC and being the weirdo that I was I decided to stay behind and swim instead. I've always wanted to kick myself in the face for that! I'm glad I'll get another chance to go now :)
It's not horrible, you'll learn how to plan around the traffic. Going to DC the worst is trying to plan around traffic in the Hampton Roads Tunnels and then Traffic on 95. DC traffic is a complete nightmare! BUT, tunnel traffic can be here. You just learn to watch the "road" traffic signs and see how backed up they are. There's 2 tunnels to get to the peninsula. The further one will add about 15 min. to your trip, BUT, if there's a good backup - you can sometimes save hours :-)
yeah traffic sucks here in VA - whether its DC beltway traffic, Central VA I95 corridor traffic, or "the nation's biggest cul-de-sac" traffic heading towards Hampton roads. its much worse in teh summer obviously, but you get used to it and if you are here long enough you learn the main roads. Rt 1 and Rt 60 will become fast friends :)
you will like it here, i promise. I have lived all over the place, from cali, colorado, alabama, to hawaii - and while im biased of course, i love VA - you get teh best of all worlds in one big state. Defiantely have to see all the fun sites from the mountains to the bay LOL i sound like a commercial ... LOL
No one from VA but us chickens... well I guess it would be bees. :p
I've lived in VA (around Richmond; now Roanoke), forever, and the first thing I will tell you about it is "zomg Civil War!".
Then again, that could be because of Richmond and all.
It's nice overall, the weather isn't too terribly extreme. I don't know too many southern belles, but the people I kept company with when I was younger were definitely the gossipy whole-town-know-your-business sort.
I've lived in Northern VA most of life, went to school in SW Virginia andhat's where my FI is from, but I used to spend my summers in VA Beach all the time. There's such a large population of military in the area I dont think you'll really have to worry about feeling out of place.
When people ask where I like I like to say "smack dab between the Nations Capital and the Capital of the Confederacy" ;-) But most of VA doesnt consider Northern VA to be part of the state..
Currently I'm cooling my heels under 2+ feet of snow. Weather in this state is seriously crazy...but hey, at least you'll see all 4 seasons..right?
Welcome to VA... :-)
People in Virginia Beach consider it a traffic jam if they get held up for 15-20 minutes - other than getting caught in the tunnel by a traffic accident, everything else will probably seem like a dream to you! Virginia Beach is W O N D E R F U L and you will be astonished at how nice people from Virginia are. Everyone smiles and speaks and they are very neighborly! It is a "southern" thing, the way people are so friendly! You will absolutely LOVE Virginia.
Hi there, Bella13! I'm in Fredericksburg, just a ways away from Virginia Beach. :)
Don't worry.. I'm a jeans and t-shirts kind of girl, too! The way my mom (who was born and raised here) put it to me is that southern belles know how to wear their pearls with jeans. It's kinda like the best of both worlds. I hope you love it here!
Norfolk is good - very close to Williamsburg, and not too far from Richmond. I moved to Richmond last year, and everything that people are telling you about the weather is true - we are having our "winterest" winter in last 15 years. Snow storm last weekend, another one this weekend. You will find that people have no idea how to deal with winter weather (which for me is hard to get use to - I lived in New England/Upstate NY for my whole life). As a newbe I don't find that the people act as southern belles, but I have found it difficult to meet new friends. At least here in Richmond, I am the youngest staff member at work and the youngest member at church by 30 years. I am only 1.5-2 hrs from Va Beach so when you get here feel free to contact me and we can meet up! If anything I think Williamsburg is the more uppidy places because of expensiveness of the town.
Hope that you have a wonderful trip and like the other bees have said, Welcome to Virginia!!!
Thanks girls for taking the time to help me out and make me feel better! :) I'm getting really excited!
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Hi!
I was born and raised in California I've never lived anywhere else, but that's about to change! My soon to be hubbs is in the Navy and we're getting transferred to Virginia Beach, VA soon after the wedding! I have no idea what to expect! Anyone want to tell me about it?? I'm sure I could google generic info about it, but I'd rather hear info from real people :)
He told me a lot of the girls there dress like "southern belles" always pretty and primped. I LIVE in t-shirts and jeans... Just curious