Why Virginia?

When I told my family and friends I was accepting my next assignment in Virginia, many of them looked surprised and asked me “why Virginia?” Having done my first assignments in Florida, Washington state, and California, they expected my next assignment to be somewhere “exciting”.

The reason I decided to go to Virginia is because I have tons of friends that live in the D.C. area from college. I didn’t bother trying to get a locums job in D.C. because it is so small that the probability of obtaining an assignment during the time frame I needed within my specialty, was slim.

Virginia is close enough that I can easily go to D.C. for any weekend of my choosing. It is only a 2 hour drive from where I live, or I can take the train or bus as alternative options. One of the most important factors of being near D.C., was that I needed to be in a place near New England that does not really snow much. I was guaranteed during my interview that it only snows near Virginia Beach once or twice per winter, and the entire city shuts down as a result.

Virginia is more interesting than people are aware of. There are tons of historical landmarks and museums including: Thomas Jefferson’s home, Mount Vernon (home of George Washington), Civil War Museums, American History museums, Naval museums etc.

I went to the Edgar Allan Poe museum in Richmond, VA one weekend. It was actually pretty creepy, with black cats running around and creaking floors. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering the main focus of the museum. Apparently, Edgar Allan Poe had lived in Richmond, VA with foster parents after his birth parents passed away.

In addition, I live fairly close to Williamsburg and Jamestown, which are pretty neat to visit because they still act like we are in colonial times. It is interesting to visit some of the first settlements of out forefathers.

There are also several underground caverns throughout Virginia, which I hope to visit when it warms up a bit. These come highly recommended by my co-workers. Lastly, I do not live too far from Virginia Beach. Although it is no south beach, I love to be near water!

So far, Virginia has been a great state to do locum tenens. It is close to many other states, which makes it easy to visit new places. I honestly think any state we choose to do locums in will be worthwhile, because there is always something new to learn!