Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

July 26, 2021

Virginia Beach Move + New Job Q&A

     It's so great to be back with a new blog post today after taking most of the month of July off! While I do take the occasional few days or week or so off from blogging, taking the past three weeks off was the longest blogging break that I've done in years! But it was definitely necessary with all of the craziness that was my July 2021 so far.


      If you missed the big news in this blog post or on Instagram, earlier this month I accepted a new radio job and moved to Virginia Beach! And I should probably note, all of these big life changes happened in a mere two and a half weeks! Whew. 

     I put up a Q&A on my IG Stories a few weeks ago after I shared the news, and y'all sent in some great questions about everything going on. I answered a few of the shorter questions on IG Stories then, but wanted to finally answer everything in more detail here on the blog. Let's chat and catch up about the new job and Virginia Beach!!


JOB Q&A: 
  • Were you actively looking for a new job? Yes, I had been actively job hunting and interviewing at different stations for seven months. I know that news came as a surprise to a lot of my family and friends, as I definitely did like Charlottesville much better than Burlington, VT (the first place I lived for a radio job). Although there was lots of good about my time spent in Cville, I always knew from the time I arrived in 2018 that it wouldn't be a long-term home for me, based on my career goals in the radio industry. There are certain goals that I never would've been able to achieve doing morning radio in a city as small as Charlottesville (That has nothing to do with my former co-host Marc or the company I worked for. Just a fact about doing radio in a small city- there will always be limited resources.) I was starting to heavily think about job hunting in February/March 2020 with intent to leave Cville in Summer 2020... but of course you know what happened in March 2020, so my timeline got delayed a bit and I ended up re-signing my apartment lease in Cville for another year and not starting job hunting until November 2020. 
  • In radio do you apply for jobs like in other industries? Or are candidates always headhunted? Both! Headhunting is fairly common in radio, especially after you've been in the industry awhile and made a name for yourself. But applying for jobs is common as well. I have been headhunted for a radio job opportunity before which was super flattering, but that job ended up being something that wouldn't have been the best fit, so I passed on it. My new job was one I that I did apply to. Radio does differ a little from other industries in that you rarely find radio jobs posted on websites like Indeed or Linkedin- they're typically posted only on specific radio industry websites. 
  • What sets country radio apart from other radio formats?  Country radio is more unique from other radio formats in that its big artists still have a HUGE involvement with radio as a whole. Artist and record label relationships are hugely important, which creates some fun opportunities. There are also a lot of exclusive industry events and conferences for country radio-only. And possibly the coolest part of country radio is that the two biggest country music awards shows, the CMAs and ACMs, have categories of awards just for country radio shows and personalities!
  • What was the timeline from accepting your new job to the move? Two and a half weeks. 😅 To say it was a whirlwind is an understatement!
  • Are you still doing a morning show? Yes I am! I really enjoy morning radio and wanted to continue it. Despite the schedule/lifestyle that goes along with waking up that early on weekdays, I still love it.
  • Do you have a new co-host? Yes I do! His name is Cash. Like me, he's done radio in other cities/states and worked his way up to being in a Top 50 ranked media market. He's been in Virginia Beach specifically for two years.
  • When you change radio jobs do you get a new on-air name? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends if you're staying with the same company or same format of radio. I am really excited because this is actually the first time in my career I'm using my real name on-air! In Vermont I used the radio name Charlotte XO, and in Charlottesville I used "my name" but had to spell it differently, so I was "Anna Lise." I finally get to be my legal first name, Annaliese, on-air here in Virginia Beach!! (I don't use my last name publicly for work.)
  • What cities/states were you looking at jobs in? A lot! For the past seven months I was interviewing at and exploring radio jobs all over the country. With that said, even though I was looking in many places, I was hoping and praying to stay in the Southeast, as I truly adore the South. I couldn't be more thankful that God opened a door for my career in Virginia Beach! 
  • What is Marc (former co-host) doing without you? Leaving Marc was the hardest part about leaving my former job and Charlottesville. It was a joy to do morning radio with him for two and a half years! Marc was also looking at other job opportunities and hoping to find something that would allow him to work remotely (he had a lengthy commute to our Charlottesville station). I'm so thrilled to share Marc also found a new job! He's going to be working for another radio company in an off-air role. He's excited to work from home and have more normal 9-5 type hours again! As far as what the plans are for the new Z95.1 Morning Show, I'm not sure! I know they will be hiring a new morning host. 

VIRGINIA BEACH Q&A:
  • Had you been to Virginia Beach before? Just once! And it was just a few months prior, in March 2021 (here's the blog post I wrote about that!). If you had told me when I visited here in March that I'd be moving here for a job just a few months later, I wouldn't have believed you! March was a rough month for me and a low point with job searching.... it is so crazy how God works everything out. 
  • How far is Virginia Beach from Charlottesville? Exactly three and a half hours. (Can be a little more or a little less depending on tunnel traffic- you have to cross through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel on I-64 to get into Norfolk/Virginia Beach). 
  • Will you have a roommate again in Virginia Beach? Nope- unless you count Delilah! This job and move happened so fast that I barely had time to find an apartment for myself, but less find a roommate. I also didn't know anyone in Virginia Beach prior to moving, and as an adult I would never feel comfortable signing a lease with someone I didn't know. (My Charlottesville roommate Abigail and I were friends for a year before moving in together.)
  • How many apartments did you tour before finding one? Zero! Finding an apartment here in Virginia Beach on such a short timeline gave me so much anxiety. I didn't have time to come down here before the move to tour apartments in person, so I was just looking at places online that seemed close to my new job (without knowing anything about the neighborhoods or general area). It was nerve wracking enough to look at places knowing I'd be signing a lease without seeing the apartment first, and then I started realizing how tough it would be even just to find something. Due to the high housing prices right now, so many people are delaying buying and renting longer. This means that so many Virginia Beach apartment complexes had between 3-9 month waits to even get into an apartment! Yikes. Amazingly, I was able to find my place. Someone was breaking their lease early in a one-bedroom unit at my complex, and the apartment happened to become vacant the day I moved! What a blessing. And even though I didn't see the apartment before, I absolutely love it!! I couldn't be happier, and I'm in awe how it worked out.
  • Did you rent your own moving truck? I hired full-service movers! Since I had to do this all by myself, I didn't want to go the U-HAUL route.
  • Is your dad coming down to help you move this time? No, he and my mom weren't able to come down and help. The timeline on my new job and move was just so fast, and they weren't able to get down here from Maine. I'm going to be honest- it was really overwhelming to pull all of this off completely by myself in such a short amount of time. (I'm actually thinking about writing a Relationship Monday post about thoughts on pulling off a big move on a short timeline as a single person!) But, everything ended up working out perfectly, and one of the proudest moments I've ever had in my life was my first night in my new Virginia Beach apartment- knowing that I pulled all of this off without my parents or a significant other!
  • Are you buying new furniture for the new apartment? For actual "furniture," the only things I bought were two white bookshelves that look similar to the ones my roommate had in our Charlottesville living room. But I did buy a lot of new decor and organizational items for the new place! I'm planning to do a blog post in a couple weeks rounding up everything I've purchased for my new place. 
  • Are there vineyards near Virginia Beach like there were in Charlottesville? A few, yes! I have been to Williamsburg Winery before which is just under an hour away from Virginia Beach. I am excited to check out the other few wineries nearby! Charlottesville and the Monticello AVA area definitely has the most wineries in the state, but there are others in Virginia for sure. 
  • How far are you going to be from the oceanfront? While I won't share on the blog what neighborhood I live in 😉, I will tell you that my workplace is about 20 minutes from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront (the main touristy beach area). There are also a lot of other smaller beaches within a 30 minute radius of my work.
  • How did Delilah do on the move and how is she settling in? She has done great so far with everything- minus the act of moving itself! Delilah hates the car and the three and a half hour drive with her was... something lol. I got a prescription from the vet for a sedative that I gave her the evening before and morning of the move since I was worried about the car. The sedative was working pretty well that morning when the movers were loading up everything in my apartment, but as soon as we headed to the car she perked right back up and started meowing loudly... and pretty much continued for the whole drive. She really dislikes being the car, but I guess that's unavoidable with moving. Anyways- since getting to our new place she seems to really like it! She's been sleeping well through the night in bed with me, and finding new spots all over the nap at during the day. 
  • What are you most excited for? What are you most nervous about? Definitely most excited for my new job! There are just so many more career opportunities that I'll have doing a morning show in a larger media market, and I can't wait to dive into everything and grow as a radio personality. I am also excited about the apartment I found- getting to live alone again and in a much newer building than my last Charlottesville apartment. There's honestly not much I'm nervous about after getting to Virginia Beach, but I definitely was a bit nervous though about pulling off all the logistics of my move, since I was doing everything by myself on such a short timeline. It was overwhelming to think about everything I had to coordinate and do, especially when I was still working and finish things up at my last job. Fortunately, that all ended up okay and the act of moving itself is all behind me now! 

    Thanks to everyone who sent these in! It's been a great first week and a half here, and I'm so excited for what's to come for both my personal and professional lives.


      God Bless,


      xoxo Annaliese

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4 comments

  1. So happy at how everything worked out for you and can’t wait to hear more about life in Virginia Beach!

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  2. I am SO excited for you! Change is always hard, but so worth it. Totally sympathetic with moving right now. Ugh! Can't wait to be all settled in and start my new life-I'm sure you relate!

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  3. So happy for you! Fresh starts are always fun and motivating!

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  4. Congratulations!! You'll love VA Beach! I have family that lives out there and they love the area. That's also so interesting about the difference between pop radio and country radio. I had no idea that there were awards given out to country radio hosts. That's so cool!

    ReplyDelete

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