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Aside from a lot of transplants, how exactly does the area feel mid-Atlantic?
I would say the accent by some residents is kind of midatlantic and southern for others. If you listen to some AA natives such as Pharrel, Clipse, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Morning, Missy Elliot, Michael Vick, etc I don't think they sound that different from natives of the DC area. Many white natives also don't have southern accents, which is also similar to the DC/NOVA area, and different from the Richmond area. The traffic is like a mild version of NOVA also. The feel of the area is southern in some ways (parts of Portsmouth/Hampton/all of Suffolk/Chesapeake) and then Midatlantic in others (parts of Norfolk, many parts of NN/Va Beach). Some locals consider themselves southern while others consider themselves to be from the midatlantic. I guess the area is a combination of southern and midatlantic overall.
I'd say the Hampton Roads area is a unique hybrid of southern and tidewater regions culturally. I wouldn't put in the same category as D.C. - Baltimore area because of some significant differences. For one thing, it has a much smaller population. And other characteristics like population density, mass transit and per capita income are not similar to those of the D.C. - Baltimore area or other major northeast/mid-Atlantic cities.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 11-08-2010 at 08:00 PM..
I'd say the Hampton Roads area is a unique hybrid of southern and tidewater regions culturally. I wouldn't put in the same category as D.C. - Baltimore area because of some significant differences. For one thing, it has a much smaller population. And other characteristics like population density, mass transit and per capita income are not similar to those of the D.C. - Baltimore area or other major northeast/mid-Atlantic cities.
That's why I asked why some consider the region to be mid-Atlantic because from an urban standpoint, it lacks those characteristics you mentioned.
When I was in school there in 2002-2003 the area felt different. But it was a military and coastal different. The area does feel like Baltimore to me. But then you have Williamburg and Suffolk which are without a doubt Southern. Therefore, due to the nature of the suburbs (and Chesapeake and Portsmouth and Hampton) I'd say the area is hybrid Southern.
I would say the accent by some residents is kind of midatlantic and southern for others. If you listen to some AA natives such as Pharrel, Clipse, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Morning, Missy Elliot, Michael Vick, etc I don't think they sound that different from natives of the DC area. Many white natives also don't have southern accents, which is also similar to the DC/NOVA area, and different from the Richmond area. The traffic is like a mild version of NOVA also. The feel of the area is southern in some ways (parts of Portsmouth/Hampton/all of Suffolk/Chesapeake) and then Midatlantic in others (parts of Norfolk, many parts of NN/Va Beach). Some locals consider themselves southern while others consider themselves to be from the midatlantic. I guess the area is a combination of southern and midatlantic overall.
I echo this post 100%. I actually would recall laughing at some of the VA natives of the area when they said they were northerners. I would kindly remind them the capital of the confederacy was in VA.
Hybrid Southern and Mid-Atlantic. I have family in Hampton and Norfolk, so I see the traditions of both regions. It doesn't feel like the DC area, but it doesn't feel like Raleigh-Durham either. Richmond feels more southern than "Naw-fick,"and its to the Northwest! VA Beach feels like a mixture of the Jersey Shore and a Florida suburb.
The Hampton Roads region is definitely a complex region to pin down. I think the military and maritime influence gives it a different feel from the rest of Virginia. It sort of reminds me of a less southern version of Jacksonville or a more southern version of Tampa, LOL.
I had a little time to think about it but regarding the accents, it is to my understanding that John Warner has a classic White DC accent. Can anyone from the DC area confirm that?
Anyway, my point is that I hear a lot of TideWater in his speech:
I have to mention that this way of speaking is in decline in the DC area but it's still the original dialect. Regarding the native BMore dialect, there's pieces of the Tidewater accent in it too from what I've heard. Please correct me if this is way off.
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