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North Atlantic: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Eastern 2/3 of Connecticut
Northern Mid-Atlantic: Western 1/3 of Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Eastern 1/2 of Ohio
Southern Mid-Atlantic: Maryland, The Rest of West Virginia, Virginia
South Atlantic: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida (except the Western Panhandle)
That's just wrong manito. I get that WV gets a pass & everything but Ohio doesn't belong in this group.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Right. Except for the history, accents, demographics, culture, etc.
It would be more accurate to say that the Maryland suburbs have become more "southeastern" than anything. Definitely more southeastern than northeastern. I still don't understand how southerners make a place northern. Could you please explain that to me?
I agree with this a lot. DC has more in common with the mid-sized towns like RIC, Hampton Roads, CHO, and of course MD than with Philly, Pittsburgh, NJ, NYC, and NE & to be fair ATL, DAL, HOU, MIA, Nashville...It's just the big city version of it which would have the amenities, wealth, etc that comes with it.
Last edited by Chevalier de Saint-George; 08-12-2014 at 08:32 PM..
I will say, though, one hallmark of the Northeast compared to the rest of the US is the presence of (or at least the physical manifestations) "old money." No doubt the South and Midwest have their own "old money" areas, but there is much more of a dense concentration of it in major cities such as Boston, NY and Philadelphia. At one time, these cities were major industrial/manufacturing urban regions, and the wealth this created is very evident in the old institutions and building environment in these cities, as well as their surrounding suburbs. Many of the descendants of these families are still around.
Interesting take, any particular "old money" areas you have in mind?
IMO, The core northeast would be PA, NJ, NY, and the 6 NE states. DE, MD and DC (and NoVa to a lesser extent)are border states that were historically a little more southern, but at this point are basically north eastern.
In practice, the things are more like a spectrum, than hard core north east vs rest. York, PA has more in common with Frederick, MD than with Manchester, NH. Baltimore and Philly have more in common than Philly and Rochester, NY or even Philly and Bos.
^^^ Old Money in CT and West Chester for NY, the Mainline for Philly and for boston forget the names but they are very similar
DC today does not have the same wealth concentration more a govt induced upper middle class (on steroids) footprint (more neuvo riche o-to-speak in this sense - Loudon or Fairfax feel like outer burbs in Jersey or bucks county PA not old money) they are pretty different having lived in 3 of these 4 including DC (save Boston)
DC is sort of the outlier it really doesnt feel like the others on many levels, also feels much less organic
I like DC but it doesnt feel the same to me as do Boston, NYC, and Philly on many aspects
DC clearly isn't an old industrial city like Bos, Philly, NYC. But, I think this has more to do with DC being a gov town that didn't take off until the new deal.
In other ways Boston is the outlier, I would argue Baltimore and Philly are more similar than Philly and Bos. (Even though, yes Philly is a more NE'ern than Bal.) The Mid-Atlantic row houses of MD and eastern PA are more similar than the wood frame houses of NE.
Interesting take, any particular "old money" areas you have in mind?
Kidphilly covered the biggies for Philly and NY. I know Brookline, Newton, Weston and Wellesley would definitely be considered old money areas around Boston.
But yeah, it's not meant to sound snotty, but it really makes for a distinction in history and wealth patterns. DC just had comparatively little old money, especially outside of the city.
For example, recalling the comparison of Bethesda and Greenwich, you won't find anything like industrial era, gilded mansions outside of DC like on the "Gold Coast" of CT. In fact, you'll much more likely find large newly built "tear down" homes in previously middle class neighborhoods in places like Arlington and Bethesda, demonstrating much newer wealth supplanting a neighborhood that used to be more modest in means.
It's an interesting reflection on society and the flow of wealth over time when you consider many older cities whose lavish old housing stock from more prosperous times often wastes away
Let's call MD and DC southern and be done with it. Agreed?
No, it's not that simple.
To call the DMV area southern isn't really practical but to call it Northeastern is also dubious. In most countries, it's similar to Washington DC's case, where the national capital is very different from it's surroundings both culturally and socially (in Washington's case, economically too). It doesn't help that everything north of Washington is definitely Northeastern and everything south of it definitely Southern; making it a sort of gateway region. Then mix in how transient the place is and there isn't a proper classification or region carved out there for this place.
To call the DMV area southern isn't really practical but to call it Northeastern is also dubious. In most countries, it's similar to Washington DC's case, where the national capital is very different from it's surroundings both culturally and socially (in Washington's case, economically too). It doesn't help that everything north of Washington is definitely Northeastern and everything south of it definitely Southern; making it a sort of gateway region. Then mix in how transient the place is and there isn't a proper classification or region carved out there for this place.
agree in that today (maybe the last 25 years) DC has really developed with its own identity in many ways
geographically it sits at the end of the Boswash corridor yet with many similarities to other Boswash cities it also has more differences (for better or worse)
I think its hard to categorize DC while baltimore even morseso than Philly even is the end of the olfd gaurd line and starts with far more Southern influence today when compared to DC - DC is sort of hybrid fueled by a large paycheck and educated and high earning populace. It doesnt feel the same really to me
Boston, NYC, Philly (even Baltimore) feel more similar on the scale (get away from the financial elite areas) to me. DC is the outlier among thee and for many reasons not the last of which is the govt fueling of the economy and transplants (transplants to NYC by and large are far different when compared to DC)
You can feel it
DC has nothing that feels like Queens or Brooklyn or South Philly for example
historic urban DC probably felt more like Atlanta - modern DC (say NOVA feels more like Buckhead or Westheimer or Arlington TX in many ways - with a splattering of gentrified Manhattan, Cambridge, or (well have trouble finding a Philly area as Rittenhouse doesn't quite fit and Society Hill may better match to wealthier Alexandria) and not really any NE cities feel like Bethesda or Rockville to me
not good or bad or anything but to me DC is the outlier - I like DC actually but not because it feels like Philly or NYC etc. going to DC is different vibe that I dont feel when going to NYC or Boston (they feel more similar to my hometown on most aspects to me)
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