11 Things Virginians Assume Every State Has Until They Leave

Not every state makes you get your car inspected every year.

Virginia does.

Locals don’t think twice about it until they move away.

Here’s what Virginians assume every state has until they leave.

1. Independent Cities

Independent cities belong to no county, and Virginia has 38 of them.

Virginia Places says each one has a government totally separate from any county’s.

Many locals grow up without noticing that a city can sit outside any county.

Only three other states have independent cities: Maryland, Missouri and Nevada.

The examples are Baltimore, St. Louis and Carson City.

2. State-Maintained Secondary Roads

Secondary roads in nearly every Virginia county get their upkeep from the state, not the county.

Since the Byrd Road Act of 1932, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has handled that maintenance and construction.

Arlington and Henrico counties maintain their roads themselves.

A 1998 Virginia Transportation Research Council report called the arrangement unusual among the 50 states.

3. No Back-to-Back Governor Terms

Virginia’s constitution bans back-to-back governor terms.

The document bars a governor from the term next succeeding the one they were elected to.

Ballotpedia places Virginia alone in its no-consecutive-terms category.

Many states cap governors at two consecutive terms instead, Alabama among them.

So you can’t re-elect your governor for the next term.

4. Roadside History Markers

Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources says its historical marker program is the oldest such program in the nation.

The program began in 1927, and more than 2,600 markers now stand across the state.

Have you stopped to read a roadside marker?

5. Commonwealth Title

Virginia is one of four states that officially call themselves a commonwealth.

Kentucky, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are the other three.

Many locals use the word commonwealth for years without knowing how few states can.

If you’re one of them, the title means less than it sounds.

The Library of Congress says the title carries no special legal significance, so your commonwealth works like any other state.

6. State-Run ABC Stores

Virginia's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agency operates nearly 400 stores, the only retail outlets in Virginia where customers may buy bottles of liquor.

Virginia is one of 17 control states, a group that covers about a third of the country, where the state government manages wholesale distribution of spirits.

When you pick up a bottle there, you're a customer of the state.

7. Annual Safety Inspections

Virginia requires you to get your vehicle inspected at least once every twelve months.

Wikipedia's overview of state inspection laws says twelve states have a periodic safety inspection program, Virginia among them.

Neither Florida nor Georgia is on that list, though Georgia does require emissions testing in 13 metro Atlanta counties.

So a move to Florida or Georgia means no periodic safety inspection, though Georgia's Atlanta-area drivers still face an emissions test.

8. Appalachian Trail Miles

Appalachian Trail miles are one thing Virginia has more of than any other state.

The trail runs more than 500 miles through the state.

9. Legislature From 1619

The General Assembly's history page says Virginians herald it as the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World.

Its roots go back to the House of Burgesses, established at Jamestown in 1619.

If you're from Virginia, your state legislature has roots older than the United States.

10. Eight Presidents

Eight presidents were born in Virginia, more than in any other state.

George Washington (1st), Thomas Jefferson (3rd), James Madison (4th) and James Monroe (5th) start the list.

William Henry Harrison (9th), John Tyler (10th), Zachary Taylor (12th) and Woodrow Wilson (28th) complete the eight.

Virginia's nickname is the "Mother of Presidents."

Any other state you move to has fewer presidents to its name.

11. World Heritage Home

Monticello is the only U.S. presidential home on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List, according to Monticello's website.

UNESCO named Monticello and the University of Virginia's Academical Village together in December 1987.

Virginia Studies in Fourth Grade

Virginia Studies is a fourth-grade course in the state's history and social science standards.

Georgia's matching course, Georgia Studies, comes in eighth grade.

That puts Virginia four grades ahead of Georgia.

If you went through the state's public schools, you probably took Virginia Studies in fourth grade.

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