After over 100 years of continuous family habitation here in the formerly free state of Washington, this new magazine ban is the final straw. The wife and I are joining the great exodus and looking for a new home.
Virginia has been a state I have yearned to be a part of for decades, but I am wondering if it's not already too far gone towards the Blue side, and if you actual residents feel it's trending further to the left, or if it may hold the center, or even move to the right?
Naturally, being here, Gun Rights are an immediate concern, but above and beyond that, having been involved in local politics here, we're tired of the political grind, and looking for a state that will actually resist Marxism instead of endorsing it.
What say you with regards to Virginia? Is it a viable option for a new beginning in 2022, or another lost cause?
My concerns with regards to firearms, focus more on keeping what I have, versus new acquisitions, or carry options, to include potential bans of black rifles, 80% builds (also recently banned out here), and the previously mentioned magazine ban.
I love Washington state, physically, but until Seattle and the entire Puget Sound get washed out to sea, it's no longer worth the beauty of the area.
For reference, we're largely looking at VA, WV, NC and SC, with some gandering into TN and KY, but VA is so rich in history, and scenic beauty, that it's the prime candidate despite it's apparent purple/blue political hue.  
Looking for rural property up to $800k (hoping to get a chunk and actually build a little range). Cities can be nice to visit on occasion, but I pretty much despise them for a home.
Thanks in advance for your input.

You will be in Va, just stay west of I-95, and south of I-64.

Southwest Va is nice, not too many cities though.

I’m in south central Va, nice here, south of I-64 and West of I-95.

Others will probably chime in.

As far as politics… anymore, it’s a crap shoot, roll of the dice.

Out of all those choices I would opt for WV or TN.  I am a west coast transplant and I have been here 11 years.  If it were not for family I would be moving westward.

For the last 10 years I talked about moving from Va. But I'm to old to do it now, better to stay & fight. And fight we have been. The new governor seems to be on our side & is slowly trying to change us for the better, time will tell. We here in Va do have the fighting spirit. I'm south of NVa & it's getting bad. I also have a place in the blue Ridge Mt's so that's my retreat. Va. does offer a lot:4 seasons, Beaches, Mountains. Culture & history. If I was gonna tell anyone thinking about moving here, I'd say look south of Rt 64, along the I81/ Rt 29 corridor to sw Va. a lot depends on your job needs.

For a while we have been leaning heavily to the left but, the last election cycle started the pendulum to swing back. We went from a Dem. Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and both houses of the General Assembly to a Rep. Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and we took back one of the two General Assembly houses. The house we did not take back was not up for election last cycle. This gives me a bit of hope, the new Governor has banned CRT and established a reporting tool for parents to report devise teachings in our schools and the AG has already started investigating the sexual assault cover up in the Loundon County school system.

As for gun laws, the Dem. were able to pass universal background laws and red flag laws while they had control of both houses. UBC's pretty much killed all private gun sales, some gun stores do not offer the private sale background checks and others don't want to go through the hassle. There is a push t try and reverse UBC's and Red Flag laws, we will see how that goes. We have a conceal carry permit good for 5 years and it is not hard to get. The price depends on were you live but, most of the courts have lowered it from the maximum the law allows, $50. The county I live in dropped it from $50 to $15 after fingerprinting was no longer a requirement. I don't think you will have any issues  bringing your gun here. We are NFA friendly, no magazine bans(some restrictions on how many rounds you can hunt with I believe, not totally sure since I don't hunt) and there are only a few guns banned by name/type like the streetsweeper. Over all I would say we are good to go from that stand point. We don't have a duty to notify during LE encounters like some states have, it is your choice if you want to say something or not.

I personally have found the farther north in the state you go the more you will find people freak out at seeing a gun in the wild. Up north if you open carry you gets looks, people treat you like a leper and some folks have reported people calling the cops just because someone open carried near them. I have not found that to be the case in the rural areas.

You should consider KY, WV, TN mosre strongly than VA. No(t)Va runs the state now. The only reason that we got a better governor/Lt Gov/AG and a republican HoD is because the leftists got lazy and let their true colors show. They were so sure they had it in the bag, and they would have, if they didnt show their true colors.

Im glad it happened, dont get me wrong, but once people go back to sleep in the rest of the state No(t)Va will once again rule the roost.

THIS - Northern Va, Tidewater, Richmond and Charlottesville will keep VA blue in the long run. My taxes are approaching Northeast levels.

Va is a permanent Blue state with a decreasing chance of Red in the top 3. I believe the redistricting heavily favors the democrats, I could have read it wrong though.
You are correct that UBC's have killed private gun sales, which was the point of UBC's along with registration.
However, UBC's will never go away. Even if the RPV takes the senate, 2 RPV assholes voted for it when there was no reason to. Also, Youngkin owes his victory to Suzy Soccer mom, not gun owners, he will not go against them and their love for UBC's.
Va outside of NOVA, Richmond, Cville, and HR is a great state, Just like I'm sure NY and Cali are great states outside of their asshole cities.

Agreed, but NOVA defined as the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and any independent towns and cities within that area.

I'll say the outer counties like Clarke, Fauquier, and Stafford, etc. are okay... for now.  

Attached File
The leftys are here to. Just not as many. 10 min. from w.v line.

VA is certainly not a bad place to consider.   Like OP said, there is a lot of beauty and history in this state.  The people are generally good and there is plenty to do.  A lot depends on your needs for work and healthcare.

I agree 100% with the south of I-64 and west of I-95 statements.  A lot of Virginians feel the same way about NoVA as you do about Seattle/Pugent Sound.  And Hampton Roads.  And Richmond.  And Charlottesville.

VA is still a battleground state for the time being.  Demographic shifts are sure to make this state blue in the future.  There's just no way around that.

I've been here almost a month and it feels like the Richmond area is full of extremes, it's a battleground area.  Tacoma was a lot more laid back, and people weren't as militant with their political beliefs.  I moved right between Richmond and Fredericksburg, no issues with libs and have all the freedom I could ever want.

Look elsewhere.  Long term prognosis is poor.

Says the guy with the Venezuela flag. I will die in Virginia, I love Virginia. Virginia is for patriots.

I’ve noticed mostly black folks sporting those plates in the last few years.  It must mean something different to them?

Born here.  If you love freedom and are willing to stand and vote for it we need you.  Last election went out way and we are at less risk for the next few years.  There are safer states to move to, but the cancer is everywhere.  Virginia was turned blue by targeted movement of tech companies more than anything.  AOC vetoed Amazon being partly in Brooklyn to ensure those workers came here because the margin is still close. Your vote here matters more than in the safe states.

If it wasn't for Winchester turning blue slowly Frederick county would be an option

Huge thanks to all who replied. Unfortunately, the cumulative sum of your responses is exactly what I feared.
So much good advice...the pro's and con's are tough to weigh, I hate the idea of moving out of the fire and into the frying pan, but maybe that's what's needed.

Or, think about it is this way- VA could use your vote.

I will second that.  Come to commie central NOVA and help with the fight.

Tough times will de-emphasize the urban influence.  Those that have the will, talents ans resources to contribute will rise as we will face tougher times.  Shitty time to be a city boi, but Virginia will get based ( we actually never were blue, just shenanigans, manipulations, and weak people on our side) .  Welcome, we will perservere........ignore the  naysayers.

If you want a fight, go east young man. Virginia is a microcosm of national politics, and there is a robust concerted conservative effort that finally seems to have learned to win. But the cancer in the cities has metastasized as the resistance in the rural areas has solidified. It truly is an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. I was on the front-lines of the fight against state-level gun control in 2019/2020 and I met and worked with some of the most passionate and dedicated people I have ever met. They are still there fighting and need all the help they can get. It's been said ad nauseum, but as goes Virginia so goes the nation.

I moved to Alabama a year ago and I'm not going to lie, it is refreshing to live in a reliably red state and not having to always look over my shoulder to try to see what attack on rights is coming next. But I see a slow creep of the same folks that turned Virginia purple and then blue moving into Huntsville and other cities. It won't be soon, but eventually all red states will have the same rural/urban divide that could eventually move the needle to flipping the state. I hope folks in these states won't be caught unaware and will make the same stand that the Virginians did.

That being said, beyond politics, I love Virginia with all my heart and miss it dearly. Few states can rival our history and natural beauty. We are the state that gave our nation George Washington, Patrick Henry, and the authors of our founding documents and the roots of our form of government. The Brits lost the colonies in Virginia, and the existential internal war for our country was fought there. I've traveled the world and have yet to find anywhere as beautiful (to me) as my home in the Shenandoah. We have four distinct relatively mild seasons and anywhere in the state is a short ride from the beach, the mountains, and a lifetime of historical sites to explore. One thing I took for granted was the huge amounts of National Forest and other public land.

If you want a safe red state, Virginia isn't for you. If you want to be a part of history and live in the very heart of the American experiment, come on out. I'll be back eventually.

What longhunter just said..

Virginia is lit. Come on out and bring your kit.

Conservatives are finally realizing rugged individualism isn't enough.  The community in central va is growing stronger and faster than anything I've ever seen.

Local governments are either at risk of or already falling to the evil extremist right.

It's not all plate carriers and nods but many had to grab them and walk down the street to keep the epidemic of left wing violence from destroying small businesses and killing their friends. That happened locally and altered the summer of love for the better in our area.

"Not here"

I think Lobby Day 2020 was a turning point in VA politics and as a revolt against the Left that woke up a lot of Virginians.  The assault on our schools that has been in national news is now the second wave.

Regarding Lobby Day, no where else in the history of America was as large of a milita ever raised, and then marched onto a state capitol.  We made our Governor at the time flee Richmond and go into hiding.  Statist in uniforms were heard saying "these guys have better rifles and gear than we do".  The milita of Lobby Day was larger than any standing army that fought in the War for Independence, and better armed than any state asset that wished to impose tyranny on it's citizens.

Further more, 80% of the true militia types I know didn't even want to be there, and did not show up, knowing they'd have cellphone data or photos take by mass surveillance, and be lumped into a Jan 6 type charge if things did go hot.  It truly was a "Silent Brigade", that peacefully assembled, showed the politicians our resolve, and let us network with each other and know we're not alone.  

If you looked further at how many other county's passed 2A Sanctuary resolutions, it's even more further telling.  

There is something about the Spirit of 1776 in Virginia.  It's hard to put a finger on it, but we're different than the other states.  Sure, WV and TN would be an easy way out to live the rest of your life in a probably very safe state.  But there is also something special about kicking Tyrants to the curb, and that is something Virginians do best.  I've know a few people that fled to a "free state".  They are regretting it now, and eating crow, seeing all the progress we have done.  

I'm a Washington state transplant myself, but I now considered myself a Virginian, because to me, a true Virginian isn't being born here, or settling here.  A Virginian is an ideal, it's a mindset, it's a patriot.

OP, I lived in VA for 12 years & agree with LH & BR. We left VA for TN last year. We
are only buying ourselves time.    Time - that one thing you can't buy.

If you decide to move to VA, for God's sake don't go anywhere but Culpeper. The
2A movement there is more solid than any county in the state.

This!  Last year, I would have said stay away but we elected a non-lawyer, noncareer politician as governor, a radically pro-2A black woman for LtGov, and a Trump loving AG, the house has gone Red, so who knows.  We do still have a scumbag libtard senate, may a thousand fucks be upon them, but maybe in Nov?  They did just decide to fuck Virginians by killing the Gov's gas tax relief bill.

I'm in Lynchburg.  Good mix of natural beauty and opportunity here.  Two good outdoor ranges within an hour that I can vouch for.

We could use your vote.  2A activism has been strong, which has been good to see.  We could use a return of the energy we saw in late 2019.

Gotta be Winchester



So many non driving karens driving Subaru its disgust

@Zamo


I was born in Arlington in 75 and left in 2015


Holy shit NOVA is bluer  then the smurf village


Came with the folks out to Winchester beginning of 2016

Nice 3/1.5 1250sq foot house on .25 for 132k


Like others have said Winchester is blue while the  outskirts are red for now


Land prices here are stupid


And the green is being replaced by asphalt at a fast pace



I suggest looking I west VA

Hampshire

Morgan


Springfield area

Fort Ashby

Capon bridge



West va I've noticed don't like the city transplants with there prius and subbies lol


Man they give them a shifty look when I'm at the general store out we're I live 40 miles west of Winchester



I tend to have tannerite and binary trigger fun when I know there open houseses nearby


My neighbors get in on the fun on open house Saturdays and Sundays

Still a few deals to be had if your quick like I was with my property


And taxes are so low

But yes it's a hike to a wally world or Costco


West va is very 2nd amendment

No permit for concealed carry

No tax on ammo or guns

Don't know what your employment situation is, but if you're not tied to a desk in a company office 5 days a week, you should consider Gloucester County. I grew up there, and visit friends there every month or so.
Lots of rural properties for sale, many on the waterfront. Take a look.
Conservative local government is a plus.

I'm probably the most hated man on this forum because of my voting antics.

But truth is I think if a lot more people voted, NoVA wouldn't exactly "rule" the state. I feel when more people vote, it tends to turn out near 50/50 split and that is a better indicator of politics, in my opinion because no two side is really winning and they know that if a few people on the other side got pissed, they could just as easily flip the seat one way or the other.

lifelong resident of the greater Richmond Metro Area


Richmond has a shitbag Mayor,  who was in the back pocket of the past 2 D Governors,

Richmond has always had issues with what they (the shitbag government) want the city to look like and be thought of,

for all the grand ambitions,  the best they have been able to do it turn Richmond into Baltimore South,,,

and that ain't a compliment

Good account of the people, but Everytown is very entrenched there and the City Council is one of the most incompetent  and arrogant I've seen.  Seems like an easy fix and yet voting has done nothing to fix this.

that's a bingo