Top Fives Places in Virginia That Should Stop Claiming To Be Cities

Virginia is home to 38 official and unique cities, from the sketchiest part of the boardwalk in Virginia Beach to the packed parking garages of Arlington. Yet, of these 38, there are plenty of independent cities that really make you scratch your head as to why they need to be independent. Here’s our list of the five cities in the commonwealth that really don’t need to be.

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Emporia: Known as the only city in the world to be named after an equally small city in Kansas, Emporia only exists as a city because the railroads needed a city for potential bathroom breaks while transporting goods across Southern Virginia. No longer a major crossroads for trains, it is a hub for speeding tickets on I-95.

Galax: No, Galax, did not get its name from someone who couldn’t spell galaxy. Instead, Galax holds the distinction of being the only city in Virginia named after a small, leafy plant. You’re not fooling anyone, Galax.

Hampton: If Hampton was just split up between Newport News and Norfolk, would anyone really notice? We dispatched a reporter to Hampton for this report, but he gave up looking for it after driving past it and speeding through the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel three consecutive times. If you’re not going to put yourself out there more, then stop calling yourself a city. And no, having a a large, oddly-shaped coliseum that hosts jam band legends doesn’t exempt you from being our list.

Manassas Park: For some reason, Manassas Park thinks it’s too good to be a part of Manassas. But as we all know, it’s not. At least the normal Manassas has some good Korean BBQ joints.

Norton: With only 3,904 residents, the following towns in VA are larger in size than Norton: Abingdon, Ashland, Blacksburg, Bluefield, Christiansburg, Culpeper, Dumfries, Orange, South Hill, Warrenton, and a poorly sold show at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow. Norton couldn’t even develop itself near a major interstate for convenience and it’s one of the only places in Virginia you can drive over six hours to and still be in Virginia.

Honorable Mention

Amherst: Just change your name to North Lynchburg and call it a day.