Posted in Virginia
June 08, 2017
12 Awkward Moments Every Virginian Has Endured At Least Once
Life in Virginia…it’s an experience that’s altogether unique, wonderful, and well, puzzling at times. This is especially true whenever one travels out of state only to find that out-of-towners can’t always relate to our lifestyle. Or if a visitor happens to ask a Virginian about one of our more quirky habits. If you live in the Old Dominion, you’ve probably experienced several of the following uncomfortable moments:
Most visitors to our state have a few questions about our state motto, and we're left to answer them. It's been our tourism slogan since 1970, and you have to admit it's pretty memorable. Virginia is for lovers...of all things Virginia!
While double names aren't exclusive to Virginia, they are especially traditional here. It's often difficult to explain to someone from a different region that yes, some first names are actually TWO names.
"It's the middle of December, so why not bundle up in a heavy coat?" is a mindset that's made a fool of us all. Virginia's seasons have a mind of their own, no matter what the forecast may claim.
Here in Virginia, we tend to share a little bit of our personalities on our license plates. Seeing as Virginia has the highest concentration of vanity plates, we stand out a little more beyond the VA border.
It's easy to forget that not everyone can identify a specific area of the state from its main natural feature!
Answering a question with "yes ma'am" or "yes sir" is engrained into our language, and it's a difficult habit to break. (What would our parents say?!")
It's an innocent mistake, especially when the spelling can be very misleading. Nevertheless, nothing is quite as amusing as hearing your hometown pronounced by a visitor.
"You'll take a right after the fence where you usually see all those cows. You know, after that one gas station?" Despite our best efforts, directions in Virginia -- especially the scenic backgrounds -- can get a bit confusing for those who have never taken them.
It's a well-known fact that Virginia tends to over-prepare for snowstorms, most of which never arrive. But hey, better safe than sorry!
It seems like a no-brainer to anyone who's grown up here, but for other parts of the country, the answer may not be so obvious.
Everyone's familiar with that little dance you do after walking through a spider web, and Virginia has plenty of wooded areas where these traps are just waiting to catch us.
Not everyone in Virginia says "y'all," but for those of us who do, we're used to the puzzled looks we get anywhere that's not considered the south.
If your hair is naturally curly or wavy, you've learned by now that there's just no fighting the natural force of summer humidity in Virginia. That's especially true along the coast.
Sure, our beloved mountains may not be as staggering as ones out West, but you certainly get your money's worth when you go for a hike around here. The view (and the climb!) are bound to take your breath away.
Do you have any stories that relate to the above list? Do any other situations come to mind that we may have missed? Either way, we’d love to hear from you! For related content, be sure to read about The 15 Weird Side Effects From Growing Up In Virginia.
