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I agree, the northern section (1/3 of the population) is clearly more Northeastern culturally while the remaining 2/3 is Southern (to varying degrees).
NOVA might no longer be culturally southern, but it's not really Northeastern, as it also gets plenty of transplants from the West/Midwest, plus tons of international migrants. It really feels more like "anywhere USA" than anything, and certainly feels more Sun Belt than anywhere in the Northeast (minus some similar DC suburbs in Maryland).
NOVA might no longer be culturally southern, but it's not really Northeastern, as it also gets plenty of transplants from the West/Midwest, plus tons of international migrants. It really feels more like "anywhere USA" than anything, and certainly feels more Sun Belt than anywhere in the Northeast (minus some similar DC suburbs in Maryland).
I've never lived in VA, but I've known quite a few people who've lived there.
The general consensus is that the Northern VA suburbs of DC are "Northern" in culture, vibe, etc., whereas Southern VA is decidedly "Southern."
I worked with a woman in AZ who grew up in Northern VA and went to college in Richmond. She had also lived in Huntsville, AL and Tallahassee, FL, two unquestionably "Southern" cities.
According to her, Northern VA is no way, shape or form "Southern." Even back in 1960's and 1970's when she was growing up, the area wasn't Southern at all because the only people in that region who were actually "from" VA were children of non-Southern transplants and, to a lesser extent, immigrants.
Consistent with present-day FL and a few major metro Southern metro areas (e.g., Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston), if you don't have the people, you can't have the culture.
What's more, this gal didn't even think Richmond was all that Southern, either. She relented that it's more Southern than Northern VA, for sure, but definitely not Southern in the same regard as Huntsville, AL or Tallahassee, FL (other cities in which she had lived).
A guy I dated briefly when I was living AZ was from the Charlottesville area, and he frequently referred to himself as Southern. He also didn't consider Northern VA to be culturally Southern.
Growing up in New England and living in CA, most of VA feels Southern to me, even Northern VA, so I think it just really depends on your frame of reference.
Consistent with present-day FL and a few major metro Southern metro areas (e.g., Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston), if you don't have the people, you can't have the culture.
Charlotte, Raleigh, and Charleston all have Southerners and Southern culture. Aside from their "Anywhere USA" suburban areas, you wouldn't mistake them for anything other than Southern cities.
How so? Cities like Atlanta and Birmingham are the epitome of the New South ideology of the Reconstruction era; I've never associated that with northern Virginia in particular.
I would think that Birmingham's vicious racial history would automatically exclude it from New South consideration.
As many have already said, Northern Virginia is completely different from the rest of the state... it's not really a good or bad thing, that's just kind of the way it is. But as you drive further away from NoVa you can literally start to feel/see the change, it's interesting.
Is Virginia super southern? no but outside of NoVa it's definitely southern.
People often leave at the back of their minds that perhaps the Confederacy's most famous army, The Army of Northern Virginia hails from there, not to mention Robert E. Lee's mansion with slave quarters visible from parts of Washington, DC's mall. You definitely can't deny it's southern history (and for the majority of Maryland for that matter). Tysons Corner feels like a bigger Buckhead with its highways, windy roads, new urbanist development, and a very sterile feel. The biggest problem I feel is that people need to acknowledge that this is the 21st century version of Virginia; thanks to better technology, cultural differences are not only more similar to areas more abroad, but also are more accepting to diverse cultures just like an increasing number of places, not just being black & white. Sure, history can be acknowledged, but only in a proper manner (no Confederate flags on public buildings, etc.) that should more involve how the area means to us. Then again the more rural/bypassed areas of the state such as Southside and parts of the Appalachian region tend to be poorer/less educated/more conservative/religious and even though they aren't quite as aware of the history, tend to retain long-term traditions more such as growing ham, tobacco, or attending Sunday Services every week.
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