Posted: 7/3/2026 9:53:13 AM EDT
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Just as the question above asks, can I ever be accepted as a Virginian if I wasn't born here? I'm from sw PA, but have lived here since '78. I've lived in Alexandria, Fairfax County off Jeff Davis Hwy, in my first house off Elmwood Dr. between Burgundy and Clermont, in Triangle outside of Quantico, in an Occoquan apt, Warrenton, a farm in Remington, Prince William County, Woodbridge near Dumfries, Midland, VA, Greenbrier, VA, and Aldie, Loudoun. Am I still an outsider? |
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If your grandfather wasn't born in Virginia, you aren't a Virginian. If we could restrict voting accordingly, our problems would be solved. ETA: I note that all of the places you list are north of the Rappahannock River, in occupied territory. |
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (ESV)
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Originally Posted By Ambridge77: Just as the question above asks, can I ever be accepted as a Virginian if I wasn't born here? I'm from sw PA, but have lived here since '78. I've lived in Alexandria, Fairfax County off Jeff Davis Hwy, in my first house off Elmwood Dr. between Burgundy and Clermont, in Triangle outside of Quantico, in an Occoquan apt, Warrenton, a farm in Remington, Prince William County, Woodbridge near Dumfries, Midland, VA, Greenbrier, VA, and Aldie, Loudoun. Am I still an outsider? |
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I've lived here since age 8 growing up here. I'm not qualified as a "born and raised" here but definitely raised here. I'd definitely miss the place if I moved. I'm not so sure this is the Virginia I remembered growing up. Personally I feel like someone has to live here at least 3 years before voting. I feel it is unfair that a lot of our voting comes from transition people who only live here temporarily. I'd feel bad voting in a new state, if I was moving around especially if I have no idea about the inner workings and happenings of a state and the core issues at play. However, I feel we "lost" mostly because of people who didn't showed up to vote. I think that is far more important and telling of what is wrong. |
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot: If your grandfather wasn't born in Virginia, you aren't a Virginian. If we could restrict voting accordingly, our problems would be solved. ETA: I note that all of the places you list are north of the Rappahannock River, in occupied territory. @MikeDeltaFoxtrot I've adopted the expression "Not Virginia." |
Alea iacta est
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot: If your grandfather wasn't born in Virginia, you aren't a Virginian. If we could restrict voting accordingly, our problems would be solved. ETA: I note that all of the places you list are north of the Rappahannock River, in occupied territory. you know the Mason Dixon line is now about at Ashland VA, Right? |
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Originally Posted By 1iviper: elmwood drive between clermont and burgundy in 78 you were literally up the street from me , or right behind my backyard i'd say hello fellow virginian  That's my old patrol area, 621. Burgundy rd in Burgundy Village had some real whiskey tango folks living in those 900 Sq ft salt box houses back in the day. Plenty of Domestics, mental cases and warrant services. The 7-11 that used to be at East Dr. / Telegraph was pretty run down too. |
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Originally Posted By Ambridge77: Just as the question above asks, can I ever be accepted as a Virginian if I wasn't born here? I'm from sw PA, but have lived here since '78. I've lived in Alexandria, Fairfax County off Jeff Davis Hwy, in my first house off Elmwood Dr. between Burgundy and Clermont, in Triangle outside of Quantico, in an Occoquan apt, Warrenton, a farm in Remington, Prince William County, Woodbridge near Dumfries, Midland, VA, Greenbrier, VA, and Aldie, Loudoun. Am I still an outsider? Greenbrier in Fairfax County? |
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Originally Posted By Yankee-Carpet-Bagger: That's my old patrol area, 621. Burgundy rd in Burgundy Village had some real whiskey tango folks living in those 900 Sq ft salt box houses back in the day. Plenty of Domestics, mental cases and warrant services. The 7-11 that used to be at East Dr. / Telegraph was pretty run down too. what about the tiki bar : honolulu restaurant across from the 7-11 
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot: If your grandfather wasn't born in Virginia, you aren't a Virginian. If we could restrict voting accordingly, our problems would be solved. ETA: I note that all of the places you list are north of the Rappahannock River, in occupied territory. Some locations your a come here unless you have 4 generations in the graveyard. |
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Originally Posted By 1iviper: yeah burgundy village was a little rough back then , when property values took off it cleaned up pretty quick what about the tiki bar : honolulu restaurant across from the 7-11 The Tiki bar shut down before the 7-11, never an issue it was like a de-facto VFW. The Hess gas station would get burglarized periodically for cigarettes. The PG/DC scum would come across the WW at night, go to the rear of the business and take a sledgehammer to the rear cinder block wall and clear them out. It took a couple of incidents to add rebar. It was at the end of the police district boundaries, so it didn't get much attention. A longstanding belief amongst the popo is if the Woodrow Wilson drawbridge was opened overnight, crime in the area would plummet 80%. I locked up a dude one night car-hopping. When we were interviewing him post-arrest, I asked why he was in the area. He stated, " there's nothing left to steal in PG county".  |
I miss Honolulu's . Used to live around the corner off Eisenhower.My folks brought me down here from New England at 12yrs old. Took my Appalachian American hosts to heart. Graduated from hs in Dumfries, got my degree from Mary Washington when it was still a college. Lived in Arlington and Alexandria each for a few years before returning to pwc and becoming a Manasshole.  I consider myself a native. |
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Happy 4th of July everyone... Let's see about this Virginian topic. Hmmmm..... Born: Manchester, NH. Early childhood: Poughkeepsie, NY (the son of a prominent senior electronics engineer with IBM). (trivia: Max Yazgur's Farm (aka "Woodstock") was just about 1 hour from my parents house in Aug 1969!) Teenage years: Adirondacks of northern NY, at the lakefront home that we winterized after my dad retired. ------------------------------ Jimmy Carter was President, unemployment was 11% in northern NY. Almost everyone I knew from HS joined the military right out of HS, so I did too. US Coast Guard: Served a career as a Yeoman (aka Admin/Personnel Records) and retired. ------------------------------- My wife and I could have settled anywhere we wanted provided I gained a civilian job. The first place that accepted me was none other than RIchmond, Virginia. So, here we are, and have loved the area, the people, and it's now been home. Hopefully nobody still looks at me like I'm some type of carpetbagger....  |
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Originally Posted By 1iviper: elmwood drive between clermont and burgundy in 78 you were literally up the street from me , or right behind my backyard i'd say hello fellow virginian Originally Posted By Yankee-Carpet-Bagger: That's my old patrol area, 621. Burgundy rd in Burgundy Village had some real whiskey tango folks living in those 900 Sq ft salt box houses back in the day. Plenty of Domestics, mental cases and warrant services. The 7-11 that used to be at East Dr. / Telegraph was pretty run down too. Originally Posted By 1iviper: yeah burgundy village was a little rough back then , when property values took off it cleaned up pretty quick what about the tiki bar : honolulu restaurant across from the 7-11 @1iviper @Yankee-Carpet-Bagger Small world! I lived on Peaceful Terrace on the corner of Elmwood Dr. The 7-11 used to be a High's. We rode our bikes to High's and bought full size candy bars for 35 cents apiece, and a can of pop for 50 cents. I went to school with the daughter of Honolulu restaurant's owners. We got chased out as kids because we snuck in to see the vestibule fountain. I did eat there as a young adult. There was an Exxon at East Drive with full service before the intersection was re-done. A Safeway across Telegraph Road, and dine-in Pizza Hut that are both long gone. YCB, if you're 10-15 years older than me, I wouldn't be surprised if you had pulled me over for speeding 1-10 over.  A lot of history there that nobody remembers, especially the plantation and other names. Rose Hill, Clermont, Cameron Mill, Burgundy Farm, etc. I remember crossing under I-495 to Eisenhower Ave., riding motorcycles in woods before Loftridge Park existed, and mud bogging with shitty vehicles in the Beaulah pits prior to Manchester Lakes and Kingstowne. Thanks for posting! Nostalgia is a powerful drug! |
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Ambridge77, unless you were driving like an ass or had a hoopty with a fart can muffler, you were safe. I would generally only pull over people doing 10+mph uphill or on a level surface. Also if you blew through a stop sign without some sort of nascent touch/go. Elmwood Dr. had a few stop signs like that. The parents going to/from Burgundy Farm Country Day school were the usual culprits. From about 2003-2005, you probably saw me driving around. I made a point of cruising through the quiet parts of the neighborhood. La Vista,Upland and Elmwood Dr. snaked through the area and had lots of little cul-de-sacs and short streets. I would stop and talk to people out walking their dogs. They saw alot on their daily walks. The usual response was, "I haven't seen a cop on this block in years" and I would reply yeah, that's a problem, you pay the same taxes as everyone else. I got good intel from the dog walkers and full time UPS drivers. I helped close a bunch of burglaries in the area and kept narcotics busy that way. I used to shoot radar on Rose Hill Dr. (25 mph) during evening rush hour. I would only stop people doing over 40. If you had a +5 driving balance you got a warning. If you weren't wearing a seat belt you would get a ticket for that and a written warning for the speeding. A seat belt ticket was a $25.00 fine, payable to the state education fund, with no points. It would cost Fairfax county $6.00 to process the ticket and they didn't get a dime. Why jam up the working stiff? My dumbass supervisor at the time didn't catch on.Community policing is not being a hard ass and getting out of the car and talking to people. It was alot easier before Body worn cameras but I realize we live in a low trust society now. |
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@Yankee-Carpet-Bagger YCB, I had crappy vehicles, but I was more a nerd that didn't break many laws. A little speeding, but no stop light or red light running. You're younger than I expected. By 2003-2005, I had long since moved to Prince William and Fauquier. I loved living in rural Fauquier and regret leaving. Clermont Estates was pretty tame, and I'd bet more thefts occurred in Cameron/Burgundy. La Vista was a useless road. Upland was awesome... until I wrecked on my bicycle at 12 or 13. I probably did something stupid like "No hands!" I ended up going to the hospital with a concussion. I can't remember. But Upland was an awesome sledding place when iced over. As a Yankee, I know you know how much southerners suck at driving in snow. I think it's pretty cool you patrolled in my childhood neighborhood! Did they still have Saturday night classic car night in Rose Hill, early '00s? |
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I’m not sure I’m a Virginian and I WAS born here, and, in spurts, I’ve probably lived here longer than anywhere else. I was born on quantico when there was still a hospital on hospital point, but was gone before I was 6 months old. Moved back for middle school and high school before joining the Army myself. Ended up back here after I got hurt and have been here the last 20 years. But my family fought for Pennsylvania, and neither of my parents were born here. Not sure I belong anywhere. I was the 4th generation to join the military. So most of my direct ancestors bounced around on bases too. My mom, for example, was born in Pensacola when, you guessed it, my grandfather was stationed there. |
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Ambridge77 , our paths had to have crossed many times we rode our bike's to that high's many times , my friend's older brother worked at that exxon. the one lane bridge under 495 to eisenhower ave , before eisenhower went all the way through to telegraph we used to ride our mopeds under 495 through the drain tunnel's and fish the lake which is still there next to the wave pool. ridgeview was one of the places we used to ride our motorcycles also , the woods between bush hill and eisenhower too , we used to call the eisenhower end the "dust bowl". after accumulating to many points from hot rodding i had a few broncos and lived back in the pitts for about a decade  . i'm a lifer in the area , born at ft belvoir dewitt army hospital in '66. lived at rose hill apartments for about a year then my parents bought a house across franconia in winslow hills , my brother still lives there. i've lived within a couple mile radius of that hospital my whole life , a little cul de sac , hilldale dr for most of it. if you rode dirt bikes and four wheeled in the pitts back in the day i know we've had to have metYankee-Carpet-Bagger i think our paths might have crossed a few times also , but not in a good way for me. i was a terrible hot rodder/street racer as soon as i got my license , i think it was about 42 points i had acquired within the first year or so. though most of that was on eisenhower ave and the dod parking lot so it was usually alexandria after us. the real racing usually took place on 295 across from the blue plains water treatment plant. got away from fast cars and moved to 4x4's and never really had to many problems with tickets after that @Ambridge77 and @Yankee-Carpet-Bagger here's a good 15 minute documentary about the gravel pitts before it was kingstown , good watch. Ambridge we might have four wheeled back there together , Yankee-Carpet-Bagger you might have come and chased us out of there  The Gravel Pits Before it was Kingstowne |
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot: If your grandfather wasn't born in Virginia, you aren't a Virginian. If we could restrict voting accordingly, our problems would be solved. ETA: I note that all of the places you list are north of the Rappahannock River, in occupied territory. Interesting thought, but I don’t know that it would work out that way. My wife’s grandparents were lifelong democrats with a portrait of Robert E Lee proudly displayed in their entryway. At some point below the Mason Dixon, democrats switched from the party of the Confederacy, but their legacy lived on. Lots of children simply grew up in their parent’s shadow and followed their political leanings. I guess my 30+ years in Virginia, retirement from the Virginia National Guard and Silent Brigade patch are not worth as much as all those Democrat votes. As an aside, we moved into a more rural area. We’ll have to be there 30 years before we even get referred to as the new people… |
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@1iviper I'm slowly watching the video you posted. It's tough. Feels like a gut punch watching a time from my life that no longer exists and never will again. I was born in '72 and didn't live in VA until '78. Lake Cook was east of Cameron Run Wave Pool. I didn't have any bikes, trikes, or 4-wheelers as a kid. I bought a small dirt bike when I was 21. Never rode behind Bush Hill. Rode behind Cameron E.S. and in Loftridge. Middle school kids told us elementary school kids that hippie cannibals in (future) Loftridge Park ate dogs and would eat us too. When they blocked off Clermont to Eisenhower with jersey barriers, some awesome patriot pushed them open with his Chevy Blazer... until the County goons made barriers immovable. |
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I'm shocked that a lot of y'all lived where I did. Similar memories. How about this question... Worst Virginia neighborhood you ever lived in? Mine was Penn Daw off Rt. 1 Richmond Hwy. My brother and I were little white boys that got attacked almost daily by multiple violent *redacted* persons, definitely not one- on-one. More like six on one. |
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There's so much history in VA. I'd love to hear your stories. I haven't heard a Tidewater accent since my computer science teacher in '88, I think. Front Royal accents still rule here. Y'all know not every southern accent sounds the same. Side quest: my 12 year old hacked my phone. Every time I type something, he made my phone say I am a "noob." It's pissing me off that I'm losing to a 12 y.o.! Ignore this. Noob to... damn! Ignore this... "I" took this problem to i. am. thuh. newb!... i. am. thuh. newb! tech forum. Noob... "I" just may hate pre-teens now. 
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Originally Posted By Ambridge77: I’ve watched the VA I knew dissappear. Am I wrong to be sad for my past? Same with me and (...sorry) Upstate New York. 60's & 70's were great times back then. You only ventured downstate to NY City to see the Mets play at Shea Stadium or the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. I was at Yankee Stadium -only once- just for the privilege of saying, "I was there". My heart and soul belong to the NY Mets, and I have probably sat in every single section of Shea back when I was a kid. Northern New York (aka The Adirondacks) were always pristine, wild country. NY City people never dared to venture up that far as they were terrified of bears, coyotes, foxes, and hell... even an 8 point buck would send them into PTSD! But, getting to the point: That was then. This is now 2026, and New York is forever ruined and unrecognizable. |
| I wasn't born here but I live south of the Rappahannock in Spotsy and feel like I'm more of a Virginian than a lot of native born from around here. Most of my neighbors are appalled I showed up on Lobby Day and that I own/train with guns |
