Which states are Mid-Atlantic? (design, businesses, interior)
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I view the core areas/cities of the mid-atlantic region as being in the DC/MD/VA/DE region. Basically, the regions where stereotypical northeastern culture and southeastern culture tend to overlap. I view DC/Baltimore/Wilmington as the quintessential cities of the region. In addition, I consider the Delmarva area to be mid-atlantic.
For the Mid-Atlantic I selected VA, MD, and DE. These are states that have a blend of Southern and Northeastern culture. I view them as the transition zones into the Northeast. I would also include DC.
I view the core areas/cities of the mid-atlantic region as being in the DC/MD/VA/DE region. Basically, the regions where stereotypical northeastern culture and southeastern culture tend to overlap. I view DC/Baltimore/Wilmington as the quintessential cities of the region. In addition, I consider the Delmarva area to be mid-atlantic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adavi215
For the Mid-Atlantic I selected VA, MD, and DE. These are states that have a blend of Southern and Northeastern culture. I view them as the transition zones into the Northeast. I would also include DC.
I agree with this. To me, the Mid-Atlantic is where the Northeast and Southeast just clash and you see the culture blend evenly. I do think that half of Eastern coastal NC is an extension of coastal VA so I would lump them in it (plus they sound like people from Smith Island, MD).
I've always viewed NY, NJ, and PA to be just general unadulterated Northeast. Not New England and no heavy/noticeable Southern culture.
Poor West Virginia. The South doesn't want to claim it. The Midwest doesn't want to claim it. And due to the fact that it is 100% landlocked and never touches a single drop of Atlantic water, it really doesn't make much sense to call it "Mid Atlantic" either.
West Virginia is a state that you can literally split in half between regions. U.S. 60 and south is part of the interior South, and U.S. 50 and north are part of the interior Northeast. (In between is in between.) It also makes more sense to include it with the Mid-Atlantic than the Midwest. The rural Midwest is heavily agrarian, whereas the rural Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are mountainous. Furthermore, it's far enough east to get belted by nor'easters in the winter, and it straddles the Eastern Continental Divide.
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Originally Posted by Bobloblawslawblog
New York (state) seems a bit awkward in the Mid-Atlantic category as well. The Southern third of the state is definitely part of that region, but far-North and far-Western NY just seem a bit too... far. I guess the same could be said for Western PA, but PA makes more sense than Upstate and Western New York.
Thing is, western New York never struck me as being Midwestern. Great Lakes, yes. Midwest, no. Buffalo and Rochester are basically the intersection of New England and Great Lakes cultures, much like Pittsburgh being the intersection of megalopolitan and Appalachian cultures.
As far as my definition of the Mid-Atlantic, I tend to subdivide it. There's the northern Mid-Atlantic and the southern Mid-Atlantic. The northern Mid-Atlantic is basically anywhere north or east of the Mason-Dixon line that's not part of New England: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. The southern Mid-Atlantic is anywhere south or west of the Mason-Dixon line that's not part of the deep South: District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia minus the northern panhandle. The culture of the northern Mid-Atlantic tends to originate from the New York/Philadelphia blob, and the culture of the southern Mid-Atlantic tends to originate from the Washington DC/Baltimore blob and the "Tidewater" region of Virginia.
By the way, these days I don't have a problem including North Carolina with the southern Mid-Atlantic because I never considered it part of the deep South, and it seems more aligned with Virginia culturally, socioeconomically and politically than it does with South Carolina.
I've gotten quite a few responses. Thank you. Except for the last couple of posts, most have only offered your views on which states comprise the Mid-Atlantic region. In my OP, I also asked you to share your reasons why you selected the states you did. If it's only geographic location - so be it. If there are common characteristics beyond geography, however, I would be interested in hearing your views on those as well. History? Topography? Climate? Accents? Demographics? Vegetation & agriculture? In other words, what separates the Mid-Atlantic states from those in New England and those further south? Is it only that they are 'in the middle" or is there more?
Poor West Virginia. The South doesn't want to claim it. The Midwest doesn't want to claim it. And due to the fact that it is 100% landlocked and never touches a single drop of Atlantic water, it really doesn't make much sense to call it "Mid Atlantic" either.
The struggle is real!
I consider it a Mid-Atlantic State. WV doesn't neatly fit into any category, but it fits better with PA, Maryland, and VA.
The Little League World Series Mid-Atlantic division consists of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington DC. Virginia and West Virginia are in the Southeast division.
I just thought I'd make things more complicated for city-data's sake.
That's an interesting clue from the past. Another I found recently is the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools which was founded in 1887. Back then it was called the "Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland".
Note the way they go out of the way to say "and Maryland". That gives at least two clues. One is that Maryland was not yet considered one of the Middle States, at least by these colleges. Since Maryland was traditionally considered Southern, that is not surprising. But it also tells that Maryland was beginning to associate with Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware in the late 1800s.
I consider it a Mid-Atlantic State. WV doesn't neatly fit into any category, but it fits better with PA, Maryland, and VA.
I think this is because people are beginning to overemphasize the word "Atlantic" in Mid-Atlantic to mean the actual Atlantic coastline. These days people flock to the ocean beaches every summer to hang out and get a tan.
But for hundreds of years the Middle State-Middle Colonies simply meant the states between New England and the South. It was probably only after the country kept growing westward that the word "Atlantic" was tacked on to Middle States, to separate Pennsylvania from say Iowa or Kansas.
So in other words, Mid-Atlantic State does not mean the state has to touch the actual ocean. It simply relates to its position on the map. Just like not all Midwestern states are actual in the West (many are pretty far east actually) and not all of the Pacific Northwest is near the ocean either.
I personally consider West Virginia to be a Mid-Atlantic state, because I consider the Mid-Atlantic to a blend of the Northeast and the Upper South.
I consider it a Mid-Atlantic State. WV doesn't neatly fit into any category, but it fits better with PA, Maryland, and VA.
WV does need to fit somewhere but finding that spot is a challenge. While you see it fitting better with PA, MD and VA, you omitted OH, a state it shares quite a long border with. I'd therefore toss OH into the mix, as well. I've spent my share of time in Parkersburg, and I noted little difference when I crossed the river to places like Marietta. As I see it, WV is an Appalachian state. But WV is the only state I see that fits entirely into Appalachia - a region that extends from New York to Alabama encompassing only parts of those other states. WV kinda stands alone in that position of being fully Appalachian. Given that, we can't take just one state and assign it to its own region . . . can we? WV may be our most hybridized state of all - partly Mid-Atlantic, partly southern, partly midwestern and fully Appalachian. It seems it might make it a culturally interesting state in which to live.
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