is VA for me..? (Roanoke, Vinton: house, college, to live)

[TN Lily]

If you go on some of the horse forums, you don't have to look to hard to find threads concerning pitbull attacks on horses. The Richmond news media have reported pitbull attacks on people and other pets. It's not a frequent thing, but it happens.

At the risk of being flamed, some pitbulls have irresponsible owners. I realize that there are many good pitbulls out there. There are many good pitbull owners out there. But a pitbull in the wrong hands can be a very bad situation.

If you move here, plan on having your dogs on year-round heart worm treatment. Monthly treatment is around $10 a month. Treatment for a heartworm positive dog will run over $500. Plus the dog feels horrible after the treatment. Some dogs die during the treatment. I think those are in a small minority, but it happens. Seeing one of my foster dogs go through the treatment highlighted for me the importance of Interceptor once a month.

[TN Lily]

Here is a map showing heartworm incidence - you have to scroll down the webpage to get to it.

American Heartworm Society | What Is Heartworm Disease?

[LDH]

Originally Posted by TN Lily

Here is a map showing heartworm incidence - you have to scroll down the webpage to get to it.

American Heartworm Society | What Is Heartworm Disease?

Thanks for posting this link. It's very informative.

[TN Lily]

LDH, you are welcome!

Interceptor also contains de-wormers in it. Besides protecting against heartworm, it also protects against roundworms, hookworms and whipworms.

Interceptor is made by Novartis. There is another product for heartworm, but I cannot think of it right now.

[k9coach]

TN Lily - the heartworm map is very helpful. The western part of VA has the same # of heartworm cases as my area, so I guess I wouldn't need to worry any more than I do currently if I moved to that area of VA. That was enlightening to see that visually.

My dogs are on monthly heartworm preventative here in WNY, but I am just so skeptical of the effectiveness in a more heartworm prone area. I guess I'm just the suspicious type and a worry wart when it comes to my dogs! By the way, I know Sentinal is another brand besides Interceptor.

I have a couple more questions about VA I'll put in another post.

[k9coach]

Don't quit on me yet! I have just a couple more questions. (I can't stop thinking about VA!)

1) Is cigarette smoking accepted? Where I live now, I am pretty much a secret smoker! The rare times that I smoke in public, I will literally have to endure lectures from strangers!! Somehow I don't picture that happening in rural VA...

2) Is there any good seafood to be had in the central and western parts of the state or do you have to go by the beaches / ocean for that?

[TN Lily]

Cigarette smoking is becoming more and more restricted. In Charlottesville, I believe that the UVA hospital system is smoke-free. It use to be that the smokers hung out in an area near the main lobby. That is no more.

I believe that smoking is allowed in restaurants ONLY if the restaurant has a separate room/structure with a separate HVAC. There are other exemptions, but they are not broad.

Restaurants and smoking in Virginia FAQS

I would not call Virginia a smoker friendly place.

I don't travel a lot, but the last time I was in Tennessee - Gatlinburg to be specific in 2003, it was hard to get away from smokers. Main St. was filled with them.

I know it's hard to give up smoking, but if you move to Virginia, you may want to try because there won't be a lot of public places where you can smoke.

I don't eat seafood, so I can't help you with that one.

[herding cats]

If your husband is a Java programmer definitely look around Charlottesville. There are a lot of companies hiring good Java people in that area right now.

[k9coach]

herding cats - that is really reassuring to hear. If anyone knows of a more local source for job listings, please let me know. That goes for C'ville and all other regions excluding NOVA and the beach areas. Of course I check dice.com, indeed.com, etc., but maybe you have stuff like we do here, for example WNYJobs.com and lesser known newspapers.

When I find java jobs in the C'ville area, I notice it is common they require a security clearance (which shouldn't be a problem for my husband as he had some level of clearance when he was in the army). Just interesting how much top secret java programming is going on in Charlottesville!

[slowlane3]

The only strip clubs in VA are a small handful in the urban Hampton Roads and Richmond areas, and even at those, full nudity is forbidden by law, throughout the state. There are none in any other VA cities.

West Virginia law on the other hand, is wide-open, and there are many fully-nude strip clubs around Martinsburg WV near the State line, as well as other cities throughout WV.