I'm going to try and answer all the questions without having to quote everyone.
My dream was for greener pastures I always liked Pennsylvania, its beauty and its freedoms. I left a bad marriage and decided that Pennsylvania was the place for me. I saved my money, got a small divorce settlement and bought my house. After living there for 5 years I decided that snow relocation was a full time job and not something I wanted to pursue as a career choice. I do like snow however, living in the Pennsylvania snow belt is a whole different world. Now that I'm getting older, weather has become a factor. I'm pretty pleased with the weather here in freedom filled Virginia. My German Shepherd misses the snow however, having an acre and a half completely fenced in for him is a pretty good trade I think.
I've taken a year lease here in N. Chesterfield to give myself some time to see if Virginia is the place I would like to reside in permanently. So far, so good.
I was a little apprehensive about giving up my Pennsylvania residency. The thought of changing everything over gives me a big headache. Besides, I like that Pennsylvania has only one license plate allowing me have a front vanity plate of our "Stars and Bars" with "MOLON LABE" (in semi-Greek) written in gold across it.
I'm aware of the 60 day residency issue. I'm only a renter here in Virginia, I'm an owner in Pennsylvania. So I'm still on the fence on what I want to do. I shouldn't be forced to "pick a resident state". I am a law abiding American citizen (natural born) and that should be good enough. I'm funny about certain things. I'm especially funny about the government monitoring my whereabouts or telling me I need to choose a residence. I'm paying my own bills, not asking for government/state aid or a handout so who's business is it where I hang my hat and for how long. And what if I decide to stay past my 60 days without reporting myself? Are they going to kick me out of the state?
Pennsylvania does not require any type of class or range time to get your LTCF (license to carry firearms), its a shall issue state. I did for my own, take a class in 2008 with my son. My certificate is at my home in Pennsylvania so I asked the institute to send me a copy here. It finally came just today. Now, I'm going to apply for my Virginia non. Along with that, I'm going to investigate the Utah and Florida. I was told that the Utah is a better deal when renewing and doesn't require getting fingerprinted again on renewal. My question was; if I am a Pennsylvania resident can I take the Utah or Florida here in Virginia rather than going back up to Pennsylvania?
I haven't had any major issues open carrying here in Virginia. I did have a minor encounter with a statie in Wawa. I went to grab a cup of coffee (I have a very severe addiction to Wawa coffee) and went up to the line. When I got to the register, the perky young lady asked me if there would be anything else. My reply "yeah, 2 packs of Marlboro Blue 100's please". Now, remember, I'm originally from NYC, and my speech is Brooklynese at its purest. In my right ear, quietly the statie says "I'm going to have to see your license for that firearm". My reply "sure, lets step outside". I didn't want to attract attention in the Wawa. We step outside and I walk to my car. He gazes down at my front plate but says nothing. I go into my wallet and hand him my LTCF. His eyes widen and he says "this is Pennsylvania" to which I reply, "yup, I'm from Pennsylvania". He apologizes for detaining me, using the excuse that my speech pattern was NYC and how much trouble the mayor of NYC is giving the gun states. He stated that I was good here and I should enjoy my stay in Virginia. I wished him a good safe day. As we parted, he tipped his hat which I thought was ultra classy, and gave me a MOLON LABE. All in all a good encounter.
I'm thinking, right now, I'll continue to open carry my revolver. I don't want to attract attention by carrying my XD. Oh, let me enlighten you, I'm Michele, proud owner of Pennsylvania's famous PINK XD.
I'll be watching the stickies for the breakfasts and dinners. I look forward to mixing with 2A folks.