One of the main complaints that I hear from some of my more local friends at GMU is “Northern Virginia is SO boring!”. They end up expressing interest in moving to where I currently live, and are disappointed to find out that tourist-driven beach towns with a population of about 20,000 are not as exciting as one may think, especially in the winter. In lieu of this, I decided to make a quick list of activities to do in NOVA if you’re in the area.
Go Hiking!
Before you mention the freezing weather that is plauging Virginia in March, it’s supposed to be in the 60s-70s at the beginning of next week which is the perfect weather to go to one of Northern Virginia’s national parks! In my opinion, Great Falls is definitely the most Insta-worthy, but there’s also Scotts Run Nature Preserve and Mount Vernon Trail.
Retail Therapy ( i.e #treatyoself)
Warmer weather is (hopefully) coming up which is a perfect excuse for some summer clothes shopping. If you’re stuck figuring out what shopping center you want to visit, search some of your favorite stores into Google and see what’s near!
Release your inner foodie
Honestly, if I could chose any job that didn’t require a degree, I would be a food blogger on Instagram. There’s so many good places to eat in Northern Virginia no matter what type of food you want. I could honestly go on and on about food, but here are some pictures so I don’t end up writing an essay on this.
Take a Fitness Class
Group fitness classes are so popular right now because its more fun dragging along friends to workout with you rather than going to the gym by yourself. Along with the standard Zumba class, there’s yoga studios, PureBarre classes, and a huge spin cycle studio ( SoulCycle inspired) – and that’s just in Fairfax. Another bonus is that most of these places offer either student discounts or free first classes!
Hop on the Metro…forever
This is a no-brainer but could also lead you outside of Northern Virginia. The Vienna Metro is on the Orange Line, which takes you all the way to Maryland through DC. Not willing to go that far? The Orange Line also has 5 stops in Arlington,VA! For distance travelers, the Orange Line has a at Metro Center, which can connect you all the way up to places like Bethesda, College Park, and Alexandria.
Photos:
https://www.google.com/search?q=south+block+arlington&source=lnms&tbm=is…
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/showPublicImage.cfm?projectId=13709&filenam…
http://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/4oO0IwCRI2Ve6SoUqS4eRw/ls.jpg
https://www.google.com/search?q=zengocycle+mosaic&espv=2&biw=1821&bih=84…