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Cultural (and I suppose geographic). Both are known for their historical importance, colonial heritage, and concentrations of old wealth/bastions of privilege.
I'd assume the cultural differences would be less pronounced with NoVa. But what about, for instance, Richmond and Boston? Does Richmond feel particularly Southern compared to the latter? I would say so, but would like to hear other opinions.
1. Virginia is ONE state. NE is more than one.
2. VA is over half the size of ALL of NE.
3. Richmond is supremely Southern compared to anything in supremely Yankee NE.
Virginia is into black face costumes and New England is not?
Sorry, couldn't resist. But, there is a lot more that is different, obviously, than meets the eye. It's no accident that several white legislators in VA were racists during their college days. You probably won't find that to be common in New England.
Cultural (and I suppose geographic). Both are known for their historical importance, colonial heritage, and concentrations of old wealth/bastions of privilege.
Not much in common, really. Yes, both have colonial heritage, but their respective colonial histories are very different. Oversimplifying, Virginia was founded as an enterprise colony and grew on tobacco. Most of the New England colonies were established by religious sects and evolved with a growing merchant class. After the nation's founding, Virginia was Jefferson and Democratic-Republicans, most of New England was Adams and Federalists. New England had some of the most staunch abolitionists, and Virginia, well, didn't.
Newport, RI has a connection to the South, as there were quite a few southern plantation owners who would summer there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TarHeelTerritory
I'd assume the cultural differences would be less pronounced with NoVa.
I wouldn't be so quick to assume that. I can't think of much that Nova has in common with New England. That's not to say New England doesn't have lots of sprawl (there is quite a bit in places), but it's a different vintage and has a different development pattern. There really is no part of Virginia that I can think to point to as having much in common with New England. Even the mountains of Virginia are quite different from the mountainous areas of northern New England. Different geographies, different people, different culture all around. Same for the coasts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TarHeelTerritory
But what about, for instance, Richmond and Boston? Does Richmond feel particularly Southern compared to the latter? I would say so, but would like to hear other opinions.
Cultural (and I suppose geographic). Both are known for their historical importance, colonial heritage, and concentrations of old wealth/bastions of privilege.
I'd assume the cultural differences would be less pronounced with NoVa. But what about, for instance, Richmond and Boston? Does Richmond feel particularly Southern compared to the latter? I would say so, but would like to hear other opinions.
The cultural differences would first start with the settlers and the traditions that they brought with them. In New England, most of the early settlers came from Southeastern England and were puritan and idealistic. They thought that a society should be organized from the top down and all decisions should be made in the interest in improving the community collectively. While most people are not puritan today, the core of the culture still as lots of influence in how things are run today. One example is how New England towns still have town meetings.
Education was important early on and available to most all residents. While this region was mostly made up of small towns, cities along the coast such as Boston and. Providence grew large and developed industrially as port city. Large cities in New England received heavy immigration later on.
Virginia, Maryland, Southern Delaware, the far Northeastern section of North Carolina were settled with the idea of recreating British Manor life in the Americas. British Servants and later African slaves worked as the "peasants" of the Manor to earn profit for the Estate and the Country. Tobacco was the main crop grown at estates and society was designed to benefit only people at the top instead of the collective whole. The society was not intended to be race based but came close to being one after the heavy usage of African Slaves. However, it was never based on a West Indies style caste system like areas further south. Servants, Slaves, and Independent farmers had few if any rights and education was only guaranteed for wealthy White Males. While this region was very rural, cities such as Petersburg, Norfolk, Richmond, Alexandria, and Baltimore were established as trading posts and ports and developed Industrially. Cities in this region were not poplar destinations for immigrants. However, Richmond and especially Baltimore received small waves of German and Jewish immigrants in the early 1800s. They came to shape the culture of these cities as they worked in industries along side poor whites, and free blacks.
Now, I am not sure what similarities Northern Virginia would have with any part of New England other than simply being more progressive than the other parts of the Chesapeake. It does not make me think that there is anything comparable between Northern Virginia and New England especially not compared to Richmond.
Today, I think Richmond and Boston have lots of similarities on the surface level. Both are old, historic, urban, industrial cities with a lot of old money and a distinct non rhotic accent. History does tend to disrupt these similarities at times. Compared to Boston, Richmond is very much a southern city. However, I think that southern as a general term is very misleading when looking at a city like Richmond. Richmond and Virginia does not have much in common with states further south. Those states were settled by different people for a different reason and established different traditions. Some of which early Virginians disliked with a passion. This can be seen when looking at how cities such as Charleston developed in areas further south and the numerous southern africanisms that do not exist in Virginia. In general feel Richmond does feel much more southern than Boston but it does not feel like the true south. I think Virginia could almost be stereotyped as Alabama stitched into the Mid-Atlantic with a strong British flair. Virginia has a very distinct history and a very isolated culture. It is arguably the closest in the closest culture to that of the British American settlers. It was designed as such.
So I would instead say that Virginia and the surrounding region feels more like the Chesapeake than New England. It is much more accurate than more southern.
Last edited by Magicstar1; 02-09-2019 at 08:52 PM..
The cultural differences would first start with the settlers and the traditions that they brought with them. In New England, most of the early settlers came from Southeastern England and were puritan and idealistic. They thought that a society should be organized from the top down and all decisions should be made in the interest in improving the community collectively. While most people are not puritan today, the core of the culture still as lots of influence in how things are run today. One example is how New England towns still have town meetings.
Education was important early on and available to most all residents. This region was mostly made up of small towns, cities along the coast such as Boston and. Providence grew large and developed industrially as port city. Large cities in New England received heavy immigration later on.
Virginia, Maryland, Southern Delaware, the far Northeastern section of North Carolina were settled with the idea of recreating British Manor life in the Americas. British Servants and later African slaves worked as the "peasants" of the Manor to earn profit for the Estate and the Country. Tobacco was the main crop grown at estates and society was designed to benefit only people at the top instead of the collective whole. The society was not intended to be race based but came close to being one after the heavy usage of African Slaves. However, it was never based on a West Indies style caste system like areas further south. Servants, Slaves, and Independent farmers had few if any rights and education was only guaranteed for wealthy White Males. While this region was very rural, cities such as Petersburg, Norfolk, Richmond, Alexandria, and Baltimore were established as trading posts and ports and developed Industrially. Cities in this region were not poplar destinations for immigrants. However, Richmond and especially Baltimore received small waves of German and Jewish immigrants in the early 1800s. They came to shape the culture of these cities as they worked in industries along side poor whites, and free blacks.
Now, I am not sure what similarities Northern Virginia would have with any part of New England other than simply being more progressive than the other parts of the Chesapeake. It does not make me think that there is anything comparable between Northern Virginia and New England especially not compared to Richmond.
Today, I think Richmond and Boston have lots of similarities on the surface level. Both are old, historic, urban, industrial cities with a lot of old money and a distinct non rhotic accent. History does tend to disrupt these similarities at times. Compared to Boston, Richmond is very much a southern city. However, I think that southern as a general term is very misleading when looking at a city like Richmond. Richmond and Virginia does not have much in common with states further south. Those states were settled by different people for a different reason and established different traditions. Some of which early Virginians disliked with a passion. This can be seen when looking at how cities such as Charleston developed in areas further south. In general feel Richmond does feel much more southern than Boston but it does not feel like the true south. I think Virginia could almost be stereotyped as Alabama stitched into the Mid-Atlantic with a strong British flair. Virginia has a very distinct history and a very isolated culture. It is arguably the closest in the closest culture to that of the British American settlers. It was designed as such.
So I would instead say that Virginia and the surrounding region feels more like the Chesapeake than New England. It is much more accurate than more southern.
This is fascinating stuff. +Rep.
I was watching a video on the Revolutionary War, and it discussed a bit on how New England was the most difficult area to pacify for the British.
Virginia is into black face costumes and New England is not?
Sorry, couldn't resist. But, there is a lot more that is different, obviously, than meets the eye. It's no accident that several white legislators in VA were racists during their college days. You probably won't find that to be common in New England.
People are infinitely more racist in New England, especially Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts, than just about anywhere else in the United States, including Virgina, which is filled with well-educated, high-income transplants (NOVA) and military personnel/families (VA Beach) from all over the country and world who do not even curse, let alone infuse racist diatribe in causal conversation.
As someone who has lived on the West Coast for most of your life, I am quite certain your mouth would drop to the floor if you ever heard how working-class Italian-, Irish- and Portuguese-Americans in southeastern New England talk about blacks, Hispanics and other groups that don’t fit their respective working-class, Roman Catholic, white ethnic molds.
Over the years, I have known several elected officials in Rhode Island who openly use the “N-word” and the “F-word” (i.e., gay slur).
Additionally, racist biker gangs are surprisingly common in Rhode Island, which came to light after multiple high-profile arrests in the state earlier this week.
Finally, the KKK and other white supremacy groups have always had a huge following in western Providence County and Windham County, CT and, based on some recent information from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website, they still do.
Last edited by Bert_from_back_East; 02-09-2019 at 09:43 PM..
The cultural differences would first start with the settlers and the traditions that they brought with them. In New England, most of the early settlers came from Southeastern England and were puritan and idealistic. They thought that a society should be organized from the top down and all decisions should be made in the interest in improving the community collectively. While most people are not puritan today, the core of the culture still as lots of influence in how things are run today. One example is how New England towns still have town meetings.
Education was important early on and available to most all residents. While this region was mostly made up of small towns, cities along the coast such as Boston and. Providence grew large and developed industrially as port city. Large cities in New England received heavy immigration later on.
Virginia, Maryland, Southern Delaware, the far Northeastern section of North Carolina were settled with the idea of recreating British Manor life in the Americas. British Servants and later African slaves worked as the "peasants" of the Manor to earn profit for the Estate and the Country. Tobacco was the main crop grown at estates and society was designed to benefit only people at the top instead of the collective whole. The society was not intended to be race based but came close to being one after the heavy usage of African Slaves. However, it was never based on a West Indies style caste system like areas further south. Servants, Slaves, and Independent farmers had few if any rights and education was only guaranteed for wealthy White Males. While this region was very rural, cities such as Petersburg, Norfolk, Richmond, Alexandria, and Baltimore were established as trading posts and ports and developed Industrially. Cities in this region were not poplar destinations for immigrants. However, Richmond and especially Baltimore received small waves of German and Jewish immigrants in the early 1800s. They came to shape the culture of these cities as they worked in industries along side poor whites, and free blacks.
Now, I am not sure what similarities Northern Virginia would have with any part of New England other than simply being more progressive than the other parts of the Chesapeake. It does not make me think that there is anything comparable between Northern Virginia and New England especially not compared to Richmond.
Today, I think Richmond and Boston have lots of similarities on the surface level. Both are old, historic, urban, industrial cities with a lot of old money and a distinct non rhotic accent. History does tend to disrupt these similarities at times. Compared to Boston, Richmond is very much a southern city. However, I think that southern as a general term is very misleading when looking at a city like Richmond. Richmond and Virginia does not have much in common with states further south. Those states were settled by different people for a different reason and established different traditions. Some of which early Virginians disliked with a passion. This can be seen when looking at how cities such as Charleston developed in areas further south and the numerous southern africanisms that do not exist in Virginia. In general feel Richmond does feel much more southern than Boston but it does not feel like the true south. I think Virginia could almost be stereotyped as Alabama stitched into the Mid-Atlantic with a strong British flair. Virginia has a very distinct history and a very isolated culture. It is arguably the closest in the closest culture to that of the British American settlers. It was designed as such.
So I would instead say that Virginia and the surrounding region feels more like the Chesapeake than New England. It is much more accurate than more southern.
VA and NE is surely different from each other, the reason why this thread is made because people think VA is all of the sudden northern because of cites like Alexandra and Arlingtonon but VA is still southern at it's core. Maryland and Deleware even have southern traits about them. NE is pure northeastern (more than even NYC) and New York is the posterchild of the Northeast.
2. More tropical plants grow in Virginia than in New England.
3. At the moment, VA has a more transitional population than NE. In other words, you're more likely to see towns where most of the residents have lived there for generations in NE. You're more likely to see towns where most of the residents moved from somewhere else in VA.
4. Virginia has had a large influx of international residents, adding to the already diverse demographics. New England also has quite a bit of diversity in some areas, but in general I'd say the odds of having your neighbors include people from India, Argentina, Finland, Australia, Taiwan and Ghana much more likely in Virginia
5. Personally, I think "culture" has more similarities than difference these days, although I agree there was probably more of a difference years ago. I liked the post about how some small towns in NE still have the town meetings but I wouldn't say that's really a major cultural influence any more. These days culture comes from the internet, movies and television. People in Virginia and people in New England watch the same things and so have the same culture.
6. Both NE and Virginia place a huge emphasis on education, libraries, museums and the like. So this is another area where I'd say this the two areas are alike, rather than different.
7. A lot of retirees move to Virginia. Not that many retirees move to NE. So that's a difference. Although you could argue that many of the retirees who move to Virginia come from NE, so that creates a similarity.
8. Also, a final difference between the two is Tarheel seems to have this weird obsession with Virginia, but not so much with New England.
Last edited by Piney Creek; 02-10-2019 at 06:21 AM..
The cultural differences would first start with the settlers and the traditions that they brought with them. In New England, most of the early settlers came from Southeastern England and were puritan and idealistic. They thought that a society should be organized from the top down and all decisions should be made in the interest in improving the community collectively. While most people are not puritan today, the core of the culture still as lots of influence in how things are run today. One example is how New England towns still have town meetings.
Education was important early on and available to most all residents. While this region was mostly made up of small towns, cities along the coast such as Boston and. Providence grew large and developed industrially as port city. Large cities in New England received heavy immigration later on.
Virginia, Maryland, Southern Delaware, the far Northeastern section of North Carolina were settled with the idea of recreating British Manor life in the Americas. British Servants and later African slaves worked as the "peasants" of the Manor to earn profit for the Estate and the Country. Tobacco was the main crop grown at estates and society was designed to benefit only people at the top instead of the collective whole. The society was not intended to be race based but came close to being one after the heavy usage of African Slaves. However, it was never based on a West Indies style caste system like areas further south. Servants, Slaves, and Independent farmers had few if any rights and education was only guaranteed for wealthy White Males. While this region was very rural, cities such as Petersburg, Norfolk, Richmond, Alexandria, and Baltimore were established as trading posts and ports and developed Industrially. Cities in this region were not poplar destinations for immigrants. However, Richmond and especially Baltimore received small waves of German and Jewish immigrants in the early 1800s. They came to shape the culture of these cities as they worked in industries along side poor whites, and free blacks.
Now, I am not sure what similarities Northern Virginia would have with any part of New England other than simply being more progressive than the other parts of the Chesapeake. It does not make me think that there is anything comparable between Northern Virginia and New England especially not compared to Richmond.
Today, I think Richmond and Boston have lots of similarities on the surface level. Both are old, historic, urban, industrial cities with a lot of old money and a distinct non rhotic accent. History does tend to disrupt these similarities at times. Compared to Boston, Richmond is very much a southern city. However, I think that southern as a general term is very misleading when looking at a city like Richmond. Richmond and Virginia does not have much in common with states further south. Those states were settled by different people for a different reason and established different traditions. Some of which early Virginians disliked with a passion. This can be seen when looking at how cities such as Charleston developed in areas further south and the numerous southern africanisms that do not exist in Virginia. In general feel Richmond does feel much more southern than Boston but it does not feel like the true south. I think Virginia could almost be stereotyped as Alabama stitched into the Mid-Atlantic with a strong British flair. Virginia has a very distinct history and a very isolated culture. It is arguably the closest in the closest culture to that of the British American settlers. It was designed as such.
So I would instead say that Virginia and the surrounding region feels more like the Chesapeake than New England. It is much more accurate than more southern.
I thought settlers in New England mostly came from Southwestern England. I still remember reading an old book(written in the late 1700s or early 1800s) about the NE region and one British visitor described the early New England accent as "a whiny tone I find hard to describe, possibly coming from their west country origin". He might've been mistaken though.
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