serafina20 | Does anyone know

I'm originally from Virginia, and my family still lives there. I'd say the answer to your question depends a lot on where in the state you'd be. It really varies wildly, from exceedingly rural to the suburbs of Washington. If you want to email me specifics, I'd be happy to give you my impression of that area.

You know, I honestly don't know. I just got an e-mail from one of the teacher websites telling me there's a big recruitment fair on the eighteenth. Now, I can't say I have the money to fly out, exactly, but it's a job possiblity and I'm looking to change as much as I can. And I guess I qualify to for a license since I've already taught.

I'm just sort of weighing my options at this point. If I get more specifics, I'll e-mail you. Thanks.

I echo the "depends on where it would be". The depending on where ti would be also makes a huge difference on pay, things to do, and what interests you have.

On the plus side, I live an hour and a half from the Virginia line. *g*

Well, it doesn't have the most gay-friendly laws there, but again it really probably depends on where you'd be in VA. Big change is sometimes good, though, and that'd be a big change, huh?

It would probably feel, esp. as you've lived in So Cal all your life, very southern to you. That's not to say that it's as southern as the Deep South, and there are plenty of metro areas, but it is very much an east coast state with a lot of the traditionalism and conservatism (not just political, although that too) that is very, very foreign to the Californian way of life. The average person on the street there is going to worry more about following, say, obscure rules of etiquette than the average person on the street in California. More traditional in terms of what people wear.

The climate would be very, very different. Parts of the state do get snow. And summers will be very hot and very humid. Very humid. Very, very humid.

On the other hand, most parts of the state will probably feel very lush and green, all year round, as compared with the desert we live in. It's one of the most striking things for me about flying back east. You look out of the plane and there are all these lakes and trees, which I never even noticed when I lived out there. After time in the desert, I notice.

My most recent memories of Virginia are trips to DC and then into Virginia, and I was wowed by how very southern the place felt--in the way people were just more polite when they spoke to you.

The current governor is a moderate Democrat, and there's been a lot of buzz within the Democratic base that he might make a run for President soon. But it's also a state that has had to work very hard to get a moderate Democrat elected.

::shrugs::

I'm not trying to put you off Virginia. It's a perfectly lovely state with a lot of fabulous resources. I'm just trying to put in a little capsule what I think that you, as a native southern California, would find most different from here. Virginia is far more cosmopolitan than the parts of the south I lived in, but whenever I get down that way when I'm back east, I'm always taken aback by how southern it feels to me in this fundamental way as people relate to each other when I'm there. I have no idea whether you'd like it or not, but I do think that you'd probably find it a pretty significant culture shock, just as I found so Cal a pretty major one when I arrived here.

That fact that I live here is in no way influencing my opinion...

Okay, it is.

I was born and raised in southern California.

I lived for 5 years in the Portland, Oregon area.

I lived for 5 years in the San Antonio, Texas

and I have been living in Virginia for the past 2 years.

Definately in the Bible Belt. People tend to be very friendly, we even wave to each other as we drive by. Not as metropolitan as most city folk prefer, but very beautiful none the less. Within driving distance (for a weekend trip) to many historical places including Washington DC. Plus Florida is not really that far away.

I think you should check it out, the state could use more good teachers and the housing market is at least 50-70% cheaper than California... not to mention the general cost of living.

Well, I'm from Virginia (as in, not the DC Suburbs, but real Southern Virginia).

So, if you teach near DC in the suburbs, I think you'll find the schools there are heavily funded. They have wide-ranging programs, AP classes up the wazoo, everything. Your kids will definitely be coming from the wealthier parts of VA. YOu'll also find that almost all of them have at least one parent who works for either the CIA, the FBI, in the Pentagon or the White House or on a military base (j/k, bad VA joke).

I've never lived in northern VA, but I will tell you that those are more metropolitan, populated, and Democratic portions of VA. On the subject of politics, VA's governor Tim Kaine is Democratic. You just missed our Super Popular, One of Time's Top 5 Best Governors in the Country, 2008 Presidential Hopeful Democratic Governor Mark Warner, whose term ended in January (yeah, we love ol' Mark).

That's if you live in Northen VA. In Southern VA, we're a whole lotta different. Okay, not really. But we are a little more "southern" and conservative than up north. How conservative? Weellllllll. In my hometown this New Year, the newspaper did a front page story on the first baby born this year. The next day, someone wrote a letter to the editor complaining about the article glorfying out-of-wedlock mothers (which she was). And then there was that letter one Thanksgiving about how Confederate soldiers (my hometown is the last capital of the Confederacy) defended the South against Lincoln's murderers, torturers, and rapists. But then, when the Phelps (the family who makes up the "God Hates Fags" church that's protesting at the soldiers funerals) came and protested the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance* at the local Baptist university, we all came out and protested right back. So, what I mean is, we have some crazy folk around here, but for the most part, we're a loving bunch. Gossip like crazy, Jesus. I don't really consider us to have any sort of "traditional rules", but on the other hand, there are things Southerners just call "polite." If you're not used to having some random person conversing with you in the supermarket line, then I guess we're kinda weird. And if you don't like sweet tea, I guess you'll just have to drink water at the restaurants (we don't really believe in coffee). And oh, food! We make great, totally not healthy food (that's why it's great)!

As for the educational system in the South, we're at a want for funds, definitely. And great, qualified teachers. So, you're practically guaranteed a job. Probably won't get paid as much as in Northern VA or where you live now, but the cost of living isn't as high either. Also, VA has this big thing called SOL (Standards of Learning) tests that are given in 3rd grade, 5th grade, and 8th grade. Afterwards (in the highschool level), they're given for individual subjects. Here, you have to pass them to graduate. So, they're really important for a lot of teachers here and have changed a lot of how classes are taught (and what is taught), so you may be wary about that.

So, yeah, sorry I typed so much. If there's anything else you really want to ask, go ahead.

*This is actually pretty funny given that that are no gay people in the South. It's another example of Southern politeness I guess, no one ever says you're gay. You're just "precious". Yeah, yeah, bad joke, but it's true!

I would run it past a doctor if you are considering it...both for asthma...humidity AND high pollen count. I lived in Alexandria if you have any questions and had a roomate who taught in that area (few years ago now).

I was just jumping around in cyber space for fun, but thought I would answer this. My sister teaches fourth grade in the western part of Virginia, and her husband teaches high school science. Neither one is from there, and I know they have both found it very different from where they grew up. However, they seem to have built a good life there, and because it is a place that seems to need to import their teachers from elsewhere, they have a very interesting and somewhat diverse group of fellow young teachers hang out with. Small towns are always going to be more conservative than cities, but if you can live with that it seems not to be a bad place. If you are looking for a change maybe you should try it.

-Lady J

As someone that lived in Virgina for 24 years and recently moved to WA state, I'll throw in my .02 too.

I came from Northern Virginia (approx 30 E/NE of DC). It's very bible belt, people are not tolerant of gay people. They do tend to wave when you're going down the street though, or driving by. The schools in my area (Loudoun County) were fast approaching the max and by the year I graduated (98) two schools were already over max with one twice max.

On the other hand, it's a BEAUTIFUL state. Very green but also very humid, with somewhat mild winters. (It'll snow, but unless it's in the middle of a cold snap, you're likely to have the roads clear in a day or two.)

Does anyone know

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Of course

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My two cents

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