Is Delaware in the souuuuuth? (Dover: restaurants, food, vacations)

[Joe84323]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

I've stated that I don't consider modern day DE to be part of the South and just as today historically it would seem that New Castle County never really was part of the South. But your facetious point about someone's paw-paw out near Millsboro (or wherever) is well-taken actually because said paw-paw would probably be old enough to recall when Sussex County was identified as part of the South and marketed as such. I didn't make up the early 20th Century real estate promotions of Rehoboth as a beach resort in the South (and they didn't mean merely the south of Delaware). Gee, we're having a similar debate on the Texas forum as to whether Texas is a Southern or a Southwestern state. The answers just aren't black and white, because you have different regions within states as well as demographic changes over time that lead to cultural changes.

Jeff, that discussion has merit, of what and where was considered the south, in places like Virginia and Texas.

When I moved into Kensington, Philadelphia, years ago, my house was marketed as Fishtown. At the time, Fishtown was hip and cool and MARKETABLE. Although my house was not in Fishtown, someone in 100 years can look at the advertisements for my house (rental,) and believe that the area was considered Fishtown at that time. This is what you are seeing.

There are some traces of the south in Delaware, as there are in New Jersey, and New York. The traces, however, are negligible (ads to hock real-estate at the beach, political magazines like Harper's Weekly,) and not enough to deem the state southern. The farthest I would ever go would be to say that the least populated 1/3rd of the state is neutral (half/half,) but even that would be a stretch.

There are people who WANT to be confederate, and people who watch Nascar, even people who may belong in the south - until which time they leave Delaware, they do not live in the south.

Most of the people who would call Delaware southern are people who haven't truly experienced southern culture, or are unhappy with the state, and probably moved there from a large city. They are trying to knock the state.

My brother lives in Central Virginia. THAT, my friends, is the beginning of the south. Get it straight.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Many moons ago I lived in Delaware. I lived in Newark, went to school in Newark and was a sophmore in High School when Kennedy (john) was shot in Dallas. My family is all from Augusta, Ga. I live in N. Carolina, I can safely say I am from the south. I do know that, whenever a friend from Delaware comes down here to visit me and go fishing off of the N. Carolina coast, they quickly fall in love with N. Carolina. In spite of the fact that we had a snow yesterday, almost 2 whole inches of the stuff, we really don't get much of a winter down here. Christmas day, it is normal to be in shorts and a short sleeved shirt. I live in a very small town in-between Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro. Within 50 miles of my front door is Duke University, North Carolina University@ Chapel Hill, N.C.State University, Wake Forest University, N.C. A&T University, N.C. Central University, U. of N.C. @ Greensboro, Elon University. Most of the people in my little town are College or University graduates, second and third languages are normal. Coffee shop conversations (discussions actually) get quite lively. Hunting and fishing are recognized as art forms. Driving at night is hazardous, Deer tend to wander into the middle of the street and can easily destroy the front end of a vehicle, so can low flying Geese, just, not at night. And...we are home to one of the largest Hispanic Flea Markets in the state of N.C. The Orange County Sheriff's Dept estimates that 25,000 people attend the flea market each weekend. It does tie up traffic, and is about a mile from my house. Thanks in large part to a bit of an ill-spent youth, I speak Spanish fairly well. When I go down to the flea market, it is normally for the food and to flirt with the senoritas. Sorry, I got long winded, just introducing myself. Thanks.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by lovelived

I've lived here for about 4 yrs. I moved here a few months before getting married. Some southern attitudes are still here. Most of the people my husband and I have encountered have an issue with mixed/interracial couples.

I know that most of the people here don't care about race one way or another, but the problems I've experienced have left me weary. The thought of raising MY future mixed/bi-racial children here disturbs me.

I don't blame Delaware for any of the problems we've had. The place has it charms, but with the increase of racially motivated hate groups growing in the area this not a place that my husband and I can stay. We're going to pull up what little stakes we have head for the West Coast (Colorado the first choice).

Doesn't help that crime has gone up as well. It's bad enough that there are so many close-minded people around, but the crime just takes the cake.

I used to live in Delaware; that's why I'm reading this thread. I currently live in Colorado, and have lived here for 30 years. Since this is a thread about "is Delaware the south", I have to clarify that Colorado is not the West Coast. Not even CU joining the Pac 10 can make that happen. The closest coast is ~1000 miles away as the crow flies. It is 500 miles just to Salt Lake City!

There is little overt racism here, but there also are not many blacks here. Your family shold do fine in CO, but don't refer to it as the west coast!

[queenofbavaria]

Originally Posted by Dusty Rhodes

Sorry, I got long winded, just introducing myself. Thanks.

first thing: welcome on board - next thing: We are moving to NC (Asheville, so it's WNC) and I CAN'T wait !
We fell in love when we drove down the skyline drive (first VA, then NC) - green, hills, lots of deer, down to earth people, lots of outdoor life - we felt like being back in the black forest in germany.
havn't made it to the NC beaches yet - but will do so ! It was heart warming reading your post and makes me to want to do the big move even earlier.

[jdoll]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I used to live in Delaware; that's why I'm reading this thread. I currently live in Colorado, and have lived here for 30 years. Since this is a thread about "is Delaware the south", I have to clarify that Colorado is not the West Coast. Not even CU joining the Pac 10 can make that happen. The closest coast is ~1000 miles away as the crow flies. It is 500 miles just to Salt Lake City!

LOL. I learned it works both ways while I lived in that same monolithic "on the West Coast". When I moved to Utah from Chicago imagine my surprise to learn that everyone from CO to CA called anything east of Denver one monolithic "back east" which infuriated the the heck of me, a Midwesterner.

[James420]

Originally Posted by Joe84323

These attitudes you might think are "southern" are normal small town attitudes that you will find in ANY small town across the USA. If I made the choice to marry across race, I would take the responsibility in moving out of a small town to a suburb or city. There is a good reason you won't see a gay neighborhood in any small towns which aren't resorts - intolerance. Small town people are not used to minorities, I hate to say.

My friend (black) has a biracial daughter. Funny enough, she hasn't run into A BIT of trouble fitting into social circles, shopping, or eating at restaurants. The kid is many shades lighter than her, got accepted to a private school's kinder care, and is popular in her class with both her teacher and fellow students.

Also, Oddly enough, thousands and thousands of homosexuals flock to the southern part of the state in the summer to Rehoboth, walk hand-in-hand, kiss in public, and carry out their lives. This wouldn't happen in the south, hands down... and this is in the southernmost part of the state.

Exactly where do you live now, and exactly where do you plan to move to in Colorado?

I understand what you're saying about moving to a suburb or city but lower Delaware if thats where she's from has a decent African American population.

Examples,
Laurel 39% African American
Seaford 29% African American
Milton, Milford, Georgetown, Del Mar, Harrington, are all over 20% African American, which is closer to the national average.

If she was in Idaho, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, places that are lilly white yea I could see some funny looks but not in Delaware.
As a state I think we have the 6th or 7th highest percentage of African Americans in the country.

[openheads]

Originally Posted by iPwn

Does Delaware share anything in common with Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, etc? I know it was a slave state, but then again, it doesn't seem much different than New Jersey.

Is it a mix of both? Is New Castle the Northeast, and the two southern counties the Soutttth like Tezas?

Southern New Jersey..................................... Northern New Jersey is a different animal all together.

[doctorjef]

Isn't that "South Jersey" and "North Jersey"?

[CosmicWizard]

Like Katiana in post ( #93 ) I am also currently living in Colorado. I am reading this thread because I made many a journey up and down US 13 thru the DelMarVa peninsula travelling from my home in Virginia Beach to visit my family in PA. While doing that drive, I always felt like I was in the north when I crossed the VA-MD line into Maryland. Never has Delaware felt like the south to me.

As for Colorado being on the west coast. I always snicker when I see someone associating Colorado with the west coast. That person must have been looking out the window during US geography classes. They certainly weren't paying attention. Like Katiana pointed out, Colorado is a long way from ANY ocean, but we do have praries, mountains, deserts, and canyons, along with a population that mostly has a live-and-let-live attitude toward others.

[doctorjef]

I don't think that merely driving on Rt 13 is an adequate way of determining what region a state is in. As to Maryland, as far as the eastern shore, I know that I start seeing a lot more stars & bars flags after crossing the DE-MD state line into Maryland. Going on down to Chincoteague, VA I've run into Southern-inspired oddities like a chicken caesar salad made with fried chicken fingers! To me DE natives feel a lot more Southern from Dover on downstate, and the prevalence of evangelical protestant denominations as you go downstate -esp. in Sussex Co. - is also culturally Southern (contrast with the predominant Roman Catholicism of New Castle Co., together with a significant Jewish population). Again, this isn't to claim that contemporary DE is fundamentally Southern, but rather to point out the cultural differences between Upper and Lower DE (which emerge in discussions all the time on this forum) and to point out that from Kent on down you get more Southern influence within the context of Mid-Atlantic border state. This past weekend in Dover a local girl addressed me as "Hon" and was heard to use the contraction "y'all" when talking to some other customers. She wasn't being silly or ironic.