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Virginia Beach’s divorce rate rose the highest since 1970

Back in 1970, divorce was fairly rare in Virginia, and indeed in the rest of the country. Since then, changes to the law, increased job opportunities for women and improved societal attitudes toward divorce has made it much more common. Some experts contend that about half of all marriages in the U.S. now end in divorce, though this figure is in dispute.

Some parts of the country have experienced especially dramatic changes in the divorce rate over the past 46 years. WTVR-TV recently reported on a study that ranked the top 25 U.S. cities by increased divorce rate between 1970 and 2010. Interestingly, a Virginia city came out on top.

According to the study, in 1970 2.21 percent of the population of Virginia Beach, Virginia had gone through divorce. Forty years later, the divorced section of the population came in at 10.74 percent, representing a whopping 386.36 percent change. For comparison’s sake, the city with the second-highest change was Buffalo, New York. That city experienced a 280 percent increase in divorced population.

Nationwide, 10.5 percent of Americans had been divorced as of 2010. Divorce is no longer unusual or something to feel ashamed about. It may be disappointing to realize that your marriage must end, but most of the time staying in an unhappy, dysfunctional or abusive relationship is much worse than ending it and moving on with your life.

Of course, to do so you will need a solid financial footing and the ability to keep being a parent to your kids. The best way to make this happen is to make sure the divorce attorney you hire is experienced and equally strong at the negotiation table and the courtroom.

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