Millenial Family Trying to Decide Between VA & NC for a Move (Virginia Beach: chapel, neighborhoods)

[badger74]

The fact that people go to church is meaningless. Lots of people play golf. They talk about that a lot more than church.

[moderatelycrunchy]

Originally Posted by luv4horses

Are you independently wealthy? Or work from home types. Or in medical or social services fields. You might want also consider job availability, wifi power, etc. There are many nice areas in NC.

I wish we were independently wealthy, haha! We are work from home types. Excellent internet is a non-negotiable for that reason.

[moderatelycrunchy]

Originally Posted by Ted Bear

Just a couple of considerations/observations.

NC is VERY Hot and humid. From a New Englanders perspective, disgustingly so.

When i lived in NC, admittedly a couple of decades ago, the churches were too aggressive for my tastes with the banging on doors, buses on Sunday morning rounding up the sheeple. Your religion is YOUR business. Just like your sex life, keep it that way. I don't want to know, nor care.

When i moved south, my considerations were University town, bigger medical centers (both for diversity reasons), no state income tax, lots of out of doors activities, low humidity, four seasons (sort of), access to transportation (you will find that you take a hopper to a major airport from your local facility, which is frustrating, but part of the reality of living a little more rural), and an ability to integrate and become friends, but not have people into my business too far.

What i found was pretty much what i wanted/expected. People are great, facilities are adequate (you go to a major center for major medical issues, should they arise), taxes are WAY lower, but so are services, and the one thing that has been a real downer is politics (thank you Trump for dividing people--for us it has killed many friendships with the locals, which friendships were strong until he came along...enough said).

There are two weaknesses: Grocery stores are poor (there is Wegmans in the Research Triangle now, and also in Charlottesville) and restaurants are generally lousy. No bread either! You learn to live with these and stock up as much as possible when you leave the area.

Were we to move again, the Charlottesville area is attractive to us. But the state has income tax.

My best suggestion is to visit the area(s) in which you are interested. Spend some time. Mingle with the locals, Sit at the bar in the hotel or local dive and talk. Listen. Learn.

Stay on the north side of the mountains or you will be in for a weather hell: hot, humid, A/C from April to October.

Great reminder about the weather! Are you familiar with Wilmington? It's on the coast, so I'm wondering if that helps it not be so hellishly humid in the summer.

Right now, Charlottesville is at the top of our list to go visit.

[16 Acres]

Originally Posted by spencer114

BS. Florida is the only southern state LESS religious than Virginia.

Well, I was going to respond, but VA Outdoorsman pretty much said it for me. Refer to his Post #20 and be sure to click on the link.

Also want to point out that just because a person does not "attend" church, does not make him/her a non-religious person. Virginia is very solid in the Bible Belt.

[moderatelycrunchy]

Originally Posted by 16 Acres

Well, I was going to respond, but VA Outdoorsman pretty much said it for me. Refer to his Post #20 and be sure to click on the link.

Also want to point out that just because a person does not "attend" church, does not make him/her a non-religious person. Virginia is very solid in the Bible Belt.

Thank you for clarifying & thank you to VA Outdoorsman too.

We are fine living in an area where lots of people have religious beliefs -- not a concern at all. With that said, we have been in towns before where the church is the heart of most community life, so while folks are plenty nice, it's difficult to plant roots without being involved.

We are secular homeschoolers and are definitely outliers. So maybe we feel it more acutely than we otherwise would.

[spencer114]

Only 19% of Virginians consider themselves to be evangelical (Bible Belt). 55% of Virginians report no religious body affiliation (do not belong to any church, synagogue of masque).

35% of North Carolinians identify as evangelical.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/wh...%25%20Catholic.

[spencer114]

As for Virginia Beach, it’s located in a metro area of 1.8 million people. The city is lively year-round (there are 469k people living in Virginia Beach, so plenty of people around).

The strip gets a little depressing in the winter but the locals rarely go there, even in peak season. You’d forget that it is even there. Norfolk is a very pretty, walkable city. The whole area is very nice, IMO, with tons to do.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by VA Outdoorsman

"It's never happened to me, so it doesn't happen"


Please look at some data:

Virginia comes in at #8 for weekly church attendance compared to the country as a whole and is firmly part of the bible belt. By comparison, North Carolina ranks less than Virginia in church attendance.


https://www.pewresearch.org/religion...ices/by/state/

The only states that rank more religious than Virginia, in terms of regular church attendance are: Utah, Alabama (tie), Tennessee (tie), Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana (tie), West Virginia (tie) and then Virginia, in that order. By comparison, the least religious states are all in New England, so the OP should acknowledge that, but he won't have any issues going anywhere because people are not that nosey about this sort of stuff in real life and are generally kind.


The least religious southern states are North Carolina and then Florida, in that order but they're still both in the top 25.

I was giving my own experience. I wasn't saying it doesn't happen. And just because many people are attending church here (why else are there 7 for 700 people?), it doesn't mean that those who do not attend are excluded or pariahs, or looked down upon, which is what the OP is concerned about. As an atheist, I have never felt unwelcomed or not part of this community. Nor have I ever felt that all community (or even many) event are religious based.

OP - look for areas where the average education levels are higher. You will find more tolerance and acceptance.

[VA Outdoorsman]

Originally Posted by spencer114

Only 19% of Virginians consider themselves to be evangelical (Bible Belt). 55% of Virginians report no religious body affiliation (do not belong to any church, synagogue of masque).

35% of North Carolinians identify as evangelical.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/wh...%25%20Catholic.

Not the "gotcha" you think that means.

That's just another way to say 44% or so of Virginians are church goers -- which is exactly what the Pew research shows if you even bothered to open that link up. Which means Virginia is still ranked #8 nationally for church attendance, with several states being tied at the top -- so it may be even more, relative to the country as a whole. North Carolina, by comparison, is less at 39% for attendance/affiliated with a religious body. Both states still have the characteristics of the bible belt. Only Utah is the outlier being outside the bible belt region though experiencing the highest church attendance of all states.

But again, church attendance does not equal religious. I'm just making the point since you brought up church attendance, not me.

From your article it says "73% of Virginians identifying as Christian, just above the national average of 71%." Then 6% other religion (Islam, Judaism, etc.).

The Pew research also has Virginia at 30% Evangelical:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion...tate/virginia/

[VA Outdoorsman]

Want to be clear though that even with the church attendance being what it is in VA, the OP will not feel ostracized or anything like that for not attending. It sounds like he would fit in very well in many parts of Va. People are not generally nosey and pushy about this sort of stuff and most of us don't care what you do in your private life as long as you are a decent person to others. Good luck in your research!