Posted in Virginia April 23, 2015 by

19 Ways You Can Always Spot Someone From Virginia…No Matter Where You Are

Alright, so we are not the most subtle people in the world. Sometimes you don’t even have to ask someone from Virginia where they’re from — they will have already tipped you off by wearing at least one visible piece of flair from their favorite sports team or university. Or both. And of course, you can always check their license plate. It WILL be personalized even if it’s registered in a different state. But should you be dealing with a more subtle member of the species, here are few more tells that Virginians give that just prove the theory – you can take us out of Virginia, but you can’t take Virginia out of us.

1. First day of warm weather, it’s game on. Layering is for the indecisive.
aslinth / flickr
We have two sets of clothes: winter and summer. First warm day of spring and it’s tank top and sundress time. It’s only 60 degrees, you say? That’s ok, it’s going to warm up eventually and when it does, we will be ready.
2. We will order a Coke when standing in front of a Pepsi fountain.
El Gringo / flickr
And then we’ll look confused when the waitress says, "Is Pepsi, OK?" Of course it is. Isn’t that what we just ordered?
3. We will order grits for a breakfast side. Anywhere.
Selena N.B.H. / flickr
And rest assured, our shock will be genuine if you say they’re not on the menu.
4. We don’t even realize we’re saying “Y’all.”
Dani / flickr
5. Ask us where we’re from, but only if you have the time.
Stilfehler at wikivoyage / Wikimedia Commons
You don’t ask a Virginian where they’re from without expecting a detailed explanation. We’re not just "from Virginia." We’re either from "DC", but actually Northern Virginia, but actually a suburb that’s just outside of another suburb that maybe you’ve heard of. Or we’re from Southern Virginia, but it’s an hour outside of Richmond, just east of another town. Or we’re from Western Virginia, not WEST Virginia, but in the "X" mountains. Maybe you’ve heard of the nearest college?
6. We will refer to “the river”, “the lake” or “the beach” and assume that you know which one we’re talking about.
williacw / flickr
We know which one and that’s all that matters.
7. We are VERY proud of our colleges and talk about them as if they’re Ivy League. And they’re pretty darn close, so you should, too.
puck90 / flickr
Karen Blaha / flickr
Eli Christman / flickr
Jeff Self / flickr
William & Mary by Robin Desantis / flickr
8. We will be genuinely shocked when you say we have an accent.
Neil Milne / flickr
You think this is an accent? You should have heard my high school gym coach. I still have no idea what he was saying.
9. And even if we’ve spent most of our adult lives trying to get rid of the accent we don’t have in the first place, one minute on the phone with a family member, and all bets are off.
Bill Branson / Wikimedia Commons
10. What do you mean, “gravy is not a breakfast food”?
Narisa / flickr
It most certainly is.
11. We can spot a deer from 300 paces, hidden behind a tree on the other side of a house.
zach kowalczyk / flickr
Try not to drive off the road when we shout "deer!" like an auctioneer making a sale and then calmly go back to whatever we were doing.
12. We pretend to be beer snobs. But honestly? We're not.
13. You now know more about the ACTUAL causes of the Civil War than you ever cared to, all because you casually asked our thoughts on it.
m01229 / flickr
Don’t ask a question you don’t want the answer to. It’s that simple. Your fault, not ours.
14. We still refer to “Mama” and “Daddy” and probably will ‘til we die. Might as well get used to it.
Nadir Hashmi / flickr
15. We will start singing the moment any Dave Matthews Band song comes on, then remind you, AGAIN, that they are from Virginia.
Matthew Straubmuller / flickr
And then we’ll tell you all about the magical time we saw them before they were famous at a festival/fraternity house/club/bar.
16. You can spot us by our monograms.
Sally Cummings / flickr
Jewelry, bags, hats, phone cases, cars – you name it, we’ll initial it.
17. Road Construction? Ha! We’re used to it. We’ll weave through those traffic cones like a stunt driver.
18. Of course, we’re also known as bad drivers. Sooo…the two might be connected.
Just stay calm and let us do the talking. We've GOT this.
19. We are some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.
CGP Grey / flickr

One thing is for certain, no matter where we are, we can be spotted. We are full of quirks and chances are we’ll drive you crazy with useless facts and bad driving. But at the end of the day, we’re a fun bunch to know! Tell us how you get called out as a Virginian…we want to know!

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