Which state is the most similar to Virginia? (America, living, better)

[rnc2mbfl]

Originally Posted by tahiti

you're right, i actually did mean "everything but NoVA" but rural was a poor choice of words to describe the rest of VA. i think i meant to say "NC for the rest".

There are a lot of similarities between NOVA and The Research Triangle area in NC.
I think NC is most similar to VA overall.

[aries4118]

North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

[Bobilee]

West Virginia was part of Virginia until 1865. If you wonder why I say 1865 instead of 1863 it's because West Virginia didn't really become a U.S. state until the Confederacy surrendered. There were about 3 times more West Virginians in Virginia Confederate units than Union at Gettysburg. Most of West Virginia's counties are named after Virginians, and the state constitution was modeled after the Virginia constitution. They share the Shenandoah Valley, and both have borders eroded from the north. If your family has been in southern or eastern WV for a while chances are they came originally from eastern VA, as mine did. Economically, of course, Virginia as a whole is doing much better than West Virginia. Food is similar in the southern and eastern parts. Climate-wise, they are almost mirror images.http://www.brocku.ca/maplibrary/images/usclimate.gif

[missymomof3]

Kentucky's climate looks very similar to Virginia's with the exception of the mountains

[Bobilee]

Missymom, I think there is a natural affinity between Virginia, W. Virginia and Kentucky. For example, the current Lt. Gov. of Virginia is Bill Bolling, who was born in West Virginia. Bolling is an old Virginia name, supposedly descended from Pocahontas. One of my 4x great-grandmothers was Susannah Bolling, married in Amherst Co. in 1796. Some of her descendants ended up in West Virginia and Kentucky. Much of the population of KY and WV originally came from eastern VA.

[Nebat]

In my opinion, just about every east coast state with the exception of FL could find some similarities with VA. On a localized level, Maryland is the only state that shares the most geographically with Virginia. Both are part of the DelMarVa peninsula, both have Atlantic Ocean waterfront, both have the Chesapeake Bay, with major Bay port cities(Baltimore & Norfolk),
both share the DC metro area with many govt. agencies spilling over into each state, both have the Potomac River as a border, both have the transitional coast to mountain terrain and shared some similar histories with tobacco growing, slavery and even civil war events. Both also had Edgar Allan Poe as a resident, and he is buried in Baltimore, but grew up in VA. I think VA has as much in common with NC as it does with PA. Driving up I-81 a few weeks ago, without the exception of state border signs, I would not have known I left VA. Also the Shenandoah Valley, where I live extends as far north as PA. NC, WV, and KY all have some similarities, but not on the scale of MD and VA. Maryland is simply a smaller state in terms of land size, that's all. Oh, and climates are very similar as well.

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by Nebat

In my opinion, just about every east coast state with the exception of FL could find some similarities with VA. On a localized level, Maryland is the only state that shares the most geographically with Virginia. Both are part of the DelMarVa peninsula, both have Atlantic Ocean waterfront, both have the Chesapeake Bay, with major Bay port cities(Baltimore & Norfolk),
both share the DC metro area with many govt. agencies spilling over into each state, both have the Potomac River as a border, both have the transitional coast to mountain terrain and shared some similar histories with tobacco growing, slavery and even civil war events. Both also had Edgar Allan Poe as a resident, and he is buried in Baltimore, but grew up in VA. I think VA has as much in common with NC as it does with PA. Driving up I-81 a few weeks ago, without the exception of state border signs, I would not have known I left VA. Also the Shenandoah Valley, where I live extends as far north as PA. NC, WV, and KY all have some similarities, but not on the scale of MD and VA. Maryland is simply a smaller state in terms of land size, that's all. Oh, and climates are very similar as well.

I think that's really kind of stretching it. Viirginia shares these geographic features with Maryland simply because it borders it, and then VA barely shares DelMarVa with Maryland and Delaware (nobody thinks of the two tiny VA counties when they think of the ES). The same goes for the Bay, and the Potomac River is actually located in Maryland and DC. The Metro Area is probably the only feature both states really share in common.

In terms of history, VA shares way more in common with NC. Virginia and N. Carolina both fought for the Confederacy, Maryland fought for the Union. Virtually every state on the East Coast allowed slavery up to a point. At the time of the Civil War, half of MD's slaves were free, which is more than you can say for VA or NC. MD stopped growing toacco a long while back, while VA and NC are still the biggest producers. Also, the climate in VA is also much similar to North Carolina (nearly everywhere in MD will receive some snow during the winter), and of course both NC and VA are Southern states (cukturally, historically) unlike PA and MD. The Shenandoah actually stops at the Potomac River in West Va. I'm not sure about VA's ties or similarities with Kentucky (I would say Tennessee would be a closer state), but North Carolina is almost VA's twin.

[Nebat]

Originally Posted by cpterp

I think that's really kind of stretching it. Viirginia shares these geographic features with Maryland simply because it borders it, and then VA barely shares DelMarVa with Maryland and Delaware (nobody thinks of the two tiny VA counties when they think of the ES). The same goes for the Bay, and the Potomac River is actually located in Maryland and DC. The Metro Area is probably the only feature both states really share in common.

In terms of history, VA shares way more in common with NC. Virginia and N. Carolina both fought for the Confederacy, Maryland fought for the Union. Virtually every state on the East Coast allowed slavery up to a point. At the time of the Civil War, half of MD's slaves were free, which is more than you can say for VA or NC. MD stopped growing toacco a long while back, while VA and NC are still the biggest producers. Also, the climate in VA is also much similar to North Carolina (nearly everywhere in MD will receive some snow during the winter), and of course both NC and VA are Southern states (cukturally, historically) unlike PA and MD. The Shenandoah actually stops at the Potomac River in West Va. I'm not sure about VA's ties or similarities with Kentucky (I would say Tennessee would be a closer state), but North Carolina is almost VA's twin.

I see you don't know how to read a map, or step out of MD too often. I do agree on some of the culture. The headwaters of the Potomac actually form in Highland county VA. But if you don't read maps I won't argue any further. A good topo map will also show the land forms of the Shen Valley extending as far as PA, even though it may not be called the same. VA also gets snow every year. Richmond had nearly a foot last winter, and where I live had several snows with 8" being the largest. This is nothing new or unusual. To say that we barely have any part of the Chesapeake is ludicrous at best. To deny that MD and VA have things in common is just that, living in denial.

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by Nebat

I see you don't know how to read a map, or step out of MD too often. I do agree on some of the culture. The headwaters of the Potomac actually form in Highland county VA. But if you don't read maps I won't argue any further. A good topo map will also show the land forms of the Shen Valley extending as far as PA, even though it may not be called the same. VA also gets snow every year. Richmond had nearly a foot last winter, and where I live had several snows with 8" being the largest. This is nothing new or unusual. To say that we barely have any part of the Chesapeake is ludicrous at best. To deny that MD and VA have things in common is just that, living in denial.

Why the insults? I didn't say Maryland and Virginia have nothing in common. I simply said that Virginia has much more in common with North Carolina than it does with Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, or any other state for that matter. If you look through the rest of the thread most people hold the same opinion, but I guess they can't read maps either?

I also didn't say that VA didn't get any snow. For the record Norfolk has a mean annual snowfall of 7.8in, and Richmond has an annual snowfall of 13.8in. Baltimore's annual snowfall is 20.8in (NOAA data). btw could you post a link to a map showing the Shenandoah Valley extending into PA? Thanks.

[cityboi757]

There's no place in any state like Southeastern Va (Hampton Roads). We have a metro with 7 contiguous cities, no counties, the three biggest cities in the state (Norfolk, Va Beach, Chesapeake), the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg, etc. No other metro is that unique IMO