The most boring places in Virginia are …

WASHINGTON — Virginia has some pretty appealing attractions – Virginia Beach, Monticello, Arlington National Cemetery and more – but no matter how exciting the Old Dominion State may seem, there are bound to be some boring places within the commonwealth’s borders.

Real estate company, Movoto compiled a list of the 10 most boring places in Virginia, which includes some D.C.-area locations as well.

Movoto put Danville — “more like ‘Dullsville,’” it says — at the top of the list of places “lamer than a Dad joke on a bad day.” “Fun comes to die” in Danville because it is one of the least densely populated place in the commonwealth and lacks restaurants and bars, Movoto says.

“So what is there to do in Danville? Well with the 12th most fast food joints per person, you could always make a night out of it at Micky D’s,” Movoto says on its website.

Also on the list are Loudoun County’s South Riding (No. 2), Fairfax County’s West Springfield (No. 5) and Burke (No. 10), and Prince William County’s Lake Ridge (No. 7) and Dale City (No. 8).

South Riding made the list for several reasons: only 18.5 percent of its residents are between the ages of 18 and 34, it has the fewest music venues and active life options per person in the commonwealth and few nightlife options.

Below is the full top-10 list:

  1. Danville
  2.  South Riding (tie)
  3.  Short Pump (tie)
  4. Suffolk
  5. West Springfield
  6. Chesapeake
  7. Lake Ridge
  8. Dale City
  9. Mechanicsville
  10. Burke

To determine its ranking, Movoto used U.S. Census data to determine places in the commonwealth with populations of 20,000 or more, then look at various business listings in each of the following categories:

  • Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
  • Live music venues per capita
  • Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
  • Arts and Entertainment per capita (movie theaters, festivals, galleries, theaters, etc.)
  • Fast Food restaurants per capita (the more, the more boring)
  • Percentage of restaurants that are not fast food (the lower, the more boring)
  • Percentage of young residents ages 18 to 34 (the lower, the more boring)
  • Population density (the lower, the better)

Each location was ranked according to the criteria. The lower the score, the more boring the place.

Athough there seems to be no shortage of boring places in the commonwealth, there are some exciting places, too, Movoto notes. It has created a list of the 10 most exciting places in Virginia with Charlottesville at the top.

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Sarah Beth Hensley

Sarah Beth Hensley is the Digital News Director at WTOP. She has worked several different roles since she began with WTOP in 2013 and has contributed to award-winning stories and coverage on the website.

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