SoVA

An abbreviation for "Southern Virginia". Most refer to the Hampton Roads area encompassing the lower Tidewater regions as SoVa. In actuality, SoVA includes regions in Virginia south of Richmond, regardless of east or west direction. SoVA is characterized by high unemployment, poor education, abundant crime, and prime natural disaster territory. It has little creativity due to Northern Virginia previously coining "NoVA" to reference their own area. SoVA is jealous of NoVA’s proximity to bordering Washington, D.C., its affluent status, top-rated schools, extensive transportation networks, etc. For every state tax dollar NoVA residents send to Richmond, only 25 cents return for improvements while SoVA uses the remainder of the money to restore extensive slums that depict urban decay. The most populous cities in the state are in SoVA: Virginia Beach (438,000) and Norfolk (243,000). These independent cities hold more land than most other entire counties. Fairfax County in NoVA has 1,081,000 residents within 407 sq mi. Virginia Beach is a whopping 497.3 sq mi. Under Virginia's State Constitution, when a region incorporates itself as a city, it must be independent from a county. If Fairfax County obtains city status the way former Princess Anne County converted to the City of Virginia Beach, it would stand as the fourth most populous city in the United States. Richmond prevents this because NoVA could make more of its own decisions, allowing later separation from the state.