Avocados are tropical trees & definitely not hardy in Virginia. While it can certainly spend summers outside in a semi-shady area (the leaves WILL burn in full sun since they're not accustomed to it from indoor living), that living will have to be done in a pot for the rest of its life.

Definitely repot it into something larger.

Jamie,
after 3 years your avocado has to go into a much larger pot.
when you repot it cut about one third of the growth off.keep it well watered but not wet.when new growth appears, fertilze it with avocado & citrus fertilizer. follow instructions on bag.
yes it will survive outside,but you will have to let it adjust to outside by taking it out a few hours each day.once it gets used to being outside, you only need to bring it in during freezing weather.don't let it get too big.keep it at about 8to 9 feet so that you can bring it in to your garage during freezing weather.if you set it out in full sun,paint the trunk and larger branches with diluted water based paint.