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Transplants haven't inundated Baltimore like they have in the DC area and points south. The culture in the Baltimore area is still the same "Balmer," blue-collar, "what high school did you go to" kind of town.
The DC area has its parts where you'll encounter a blue collar "what high school you went to" populace as well, along with an accent that's still going strong IMO.
"I can't say why I thought the areas I drove through in MD reminded me of NC but they definitely did, particularly the suburban areas along Highway 301 going north towards Baltimore. I'm also not the type to believe all suburbs look the same."
The geography might look southern, but I know a lot of people in Southern MD/western Shore (even Eastern Shore) who commute to a job at the federal government or a fed. gov. contractor. That's a difference right there compared to the non-Research Triangle, rural-looking parts of NC.
Baltimore, like MD itself, is an odd mix of northern and southern influences but it is ultimately more of a northern city. If you ride the Light Rail as I do sometimes, you will overhear more working-class or middle-class kids speaking with what the rest of America (outside the mid-Atlantic or upper South) would consider a more southern sounding accent. Both white and black kids. OTOH the wealthier people in what I jokingly call "Nord Baltimore" - say from Belvedere Square up to the Hunt Valley Wegmans - sound and seem more northern. A former roommate of mine is typical, he came from an old money Baltimore family, grow up in Towson, went to Amherst, and has no such accent. In that fancy grocery store at the Greenspring Quarry Lake, you could overhear people and easily think you are in an upscale suburb of NYC. And of course it's within the Baltimore Eruv! (gentiles like me, google it) So you see many Orthodox families shopping there...not something you will see in Raleigh, LOL.
"I disagree that Maryland is a modern day border state. Sure Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore are Southern, but the rest of the state is more Northeastern."
As I said: " It's a border state but if it had to go one way or the other; these days it's a northern state."
Last edited by ZigZagBoom; 01-02-2016 at 11:03 AM..
The DC area has its parts where you'll encounter a blue collar "what high school you went to" populace as well, along with an accent that's still going strong IMO.
Where would this be? Somewhere on the exurban fringe?
Where would this be? Somewhere on the exurban fringe?
It's there in DC but not as widespread as Baltimore. You will probably find those in PG County and a good portion of eastern part of DC east of the river.
I recently traveled through Petersburg/Hopewell and it reminded me of Eastern NC. Richmond being more like MD I can understand, but south of the James River with the possible exception of the Hampton Roads seems a lot more like NC. I didn't even notice row houses in the areas of Petersburg I traveled through. To me, Petersburg reminded me of a rougher version of Durham if Duke University and RTP never existed, along with Rocky Mount which is less than two hours south on I-95.
MD reminds me of NC but it's much nicer, at least the suburban areas outside DC and Baltimore I've traveled through. A good chunk of NC, especially the rural side and Eastern NC, isn't as nice.
Where would this be? Somewhere on the exurban fringe?
Just saw your comment but Spade already responded. As for the exurban fringe, you'll find them there but you'll still find many of them here in PG County and Charles County where the DC/PG accent can be heard, and it's not just restricted to the blue collar/working class types either, plenty of us middle class types have that accent as well albeit not as strong as the working class version.
It's there in DC but not as widespread as Baltimore. You will probably find those in PG County and a good portion of eastern part of DC east of the river.
That accent is noticeable in most of DC outside of east of the river, even in heavily gentrifying Northwest, but it's not as widespread as it used to be unfortunately.
Virginia has three metro areas over 1million and a few medium sized metros, to me they all are diffrent in culture, with that being said does Virginia have more in common with Maryland or North Carolina?
It depends where you are in Virginia. I have made a map to show which parts of Virginia I feel are more like Maryland and which are more like North Carolina. I separated the DC suburbs in Northern Virginia because I do not feel like it represents the character of Virginia or Maryland.
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia is not very different from the DC suburbs in Maryland. In my opinion, its characteristics seem to only be found in the DC metro area. Some southern cities such as Atlanta or Raleigh have been having similar growth to Northern Virginia but have very notable differences in density, climate, and even the architecture of many of the Northern Virginia suburbs. However, I do not feel like most areas of the Washington DC metro represent the true Virginia or even the true Maryland. I am indecisive about Stafford County though. It is where the DC suburbs end and the Exurbs begin. However, Fredericksburg feels more like a Maryland town to me than a North Carolina town. Central Virginia
Central Virginia is definitely more like Maryland. Richmond is rather similar to Baltimore in culture. Both cities thrived off of tobacco and the textile industry and had more immigration from Eastern Europe than most Southern Cities. Baltimore did have more immigration than Richmond did but Richmond still had quite a bit. It is just overlooked. The old money culture is also very similar to that of Baltimore as most Baltimore colonial families came from the same area of England, were Anglican, and came to make money from the tobacco industry. While Baltimore definitely has more influence from Eastern Pennsylvania than Richmond does. many of Marylands colonial families are originally from Virginia as well and Baltimore has ties to Both. Lastly, both regions are largely shaped by their ties to the Chesapeake Bay. This is shown in their culture, cuisine (Blue Crabs, mix of southern cuisine and ethnic European cuisine), accents (British influence), and architecture. Southern Virginia
The inland areas South of the Richmond area are much more like North Carolina than Maryland. These areas are mostly rural but have ties with North Carolina cities such as Raleigh and Greensboro. Most of these areas are not connected to the Chesapeake Bay or its watershed. Hampton Roads
Despite its southern location, Hampton Roads is a bit of a toss up to me. The areas closer to the Beach are much like other East Coast beach areas. It is notably more temperate than most of the beaches in the South though. However, these areas still have some obvious connections to the Chesapeake Bay and areas going toward Williamsburg and Richmond definitely have a lot more in common with Eastern Maryland than any part of North Carolina. Places such as Chesapeake, areas South of the beach, and areas going toward Southside Virginia are often indistinguishable from many parts of Northeastern North Carolina. Southwest Virginia
I guess you could say that Southwestern Virginia is a lot like Western North Carolina. However, I feel like it is more like Kentucky or West Virginia than any part of Maryland or North Carolina. Shenandoah Valley
I feel like the Shenandoah Valley is more like the Western part of Maryland than it is to Western North Carolina. However, Western Maryland is so small it makes it hard to compare to. It seems both Western Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley have a lot of similarities with South Central Pennsylvania in terms of culture and landscape though.
^^^^ I agree, I always felt that Central VA (RVA to be exact) can fit into MD and not be out of place just like Annapolis can be in VA without it feeling off.
Shenandoah Valley
I feel like the Shenandoah Valley is more like the Western part of Maryland than it is to Western North Carolina. However, Western Maryland is so small it makes it hard to compare to. It seems both Western Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley have a lot of similarities with South Central Pennsylvania in terms of culture and landscape though.
I've noticed that too, which is why I sometimes call the Shenandoah Valley "Pennsylginia" or "Baja Pennsylvania." I get that vibe from Harrisburg to Harrisonburg. In fact, the Great Wagon Road influenced a lot of the culture along it from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas. A lot of Presbyterians settled along the route, and many towns in upstate South Carolina were settled by Pennsylvanians and given familiar names (York, Lancaster, Chester, Carlisle, etc.).
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