do Maryland residents consider themselves as "Southerners?" (Baltimore: house, college)

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by LA_86

Also, in the majority of the restaurants, if you want sweet tea you have to put the sugar in yourself. I think that should give you your answer

Haha that's definitely one indicator that you're in the south! Although in a lot of Virginia (not just the DC burbs) if you ask for iced tea you'll get unsweetened tea as well.

[KeyserSoze]

Well I'm originally from Tennessee, and Maryland feels Southern to me. Not in the Southern sense of where I'm from, but Southern nonetheless. I've been to Pennsylvania and New York. They have the authentic Northeast feeling. Maryland's Northeast feeling doesn't feel authentic, among other things. Just my opinion.

As for people in Maryland being friendly -- I'd say it largely depends on what you're doing during the day. During the peak of traffic, for example, people are more on edge because they want to get home. But most people I've met are courteous.

[fjennell]

Originally Posted by garine

Thanks for asking that. We may have a job offer in the middle, suburban part of the state -between Washington DC and Frederick. We are a family with school-age kids.

That area will not feel southern at all and IMO the whole DC/MD/NOVA area is not "friendly" overall.

[chtucker18]

no i dont think so

[mikey jam]

Maryland is not South, people think of it because it is south of the Mason-Dixon line. In reality the M&D line was surveyors marking the boundaries between Md, PA and Delaware. I always wondered way when most of Delaware is Eastern Shore style no one ever says it is Southern. Some of New Jersey is more southern than Baltimore as well. Unfortunately the surveyors were off and Pa gained the northern territory of MD. Also MD lost territory to Smith Island over land battles as well.

[Merlander]

Originally Posted by garine

Looking for the attitude of people who live in the area. The Deep South has the contradictory reputation of southern hospitality and heavy Bible Belt Christianity mixed with intolerance and racism.

Where does Maryland fit in with those stereotypes?

I wouldn't say Maryland has "southern hospitality", esp. not in the sense you'd find in the Carolinas and further south. But folks in MD are friendly, IMO. And Md. is also not known for "bible belt Christianity", per se. But there are quite a few Christians througout, esp. Catholics, Lutherans, etc. You won't find nearly as many Baptists as further south, in GA, MS, etc. So again, a different flavor.

The Mason-Dixon line is nowadays little more than a historical fact. In Frederick where I live, there has been a large influx over the years of transplants from PA, and other northeast states. In these parts, you're more likely to see a Steelers or Ravens bumper stickers/jerseys than Redskins. This wasn't the case 20 yrs ago, and that is an indicator in itself. Western Md. is more like western PA and WVA, IMO, and even many of the central sections of Md seem more like southern PA than, say, piedmont VA.

I would concur more or less with the characterization of the eastern shore and southern MD as being more "southern."

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by mikey jam

Maryland is not South, people think of it because it is south of the Mason-Dixon line. In reality the M&D line was surveyors marking the boundaries between Md, PA and Delaware. I always wondered way when most of Delaware is Eastern Shore style no one ever says it is Southern. Some of New Jersey is more southern than Baltimore as well. Unfortunately the surveyors were off and Pa gained the northern territory of MD. Also MD lost territory to Smith Island over land battles as well.

Baltimore does not have a southern feel at all, come to Southern MD and you will see what I am talking about... MD is a small state but has a lot of diversity... This is part of what makes us people that don't live in the central part mad, is that everyone assumes like all of MD is like DC or Baltimore...

[ki0eh]

My wife who graduated from Flintstone HS (back when it existed) drinks sweet tea. One of her family's property corners was set by Mason & Dixon (although re-marked in 1902). But I remember a lady who used to write a history column in the Times-News talking about Cumberland as a "southern city" and thinking that was kind of laughable.

[westsideboy]

In response to the OP, I lived in Frederick for about 4 years and found it to be a friendly place. It was about an even mix of natives and transplants, with more transplants in the city itself and burbs, and more natives in the farming regions and small towns. There has been a lot of growth there in the last 30 years or so and overall I would describe it as an exurb, or "satellite city" of D.C.

You do get some people with the suburban rush-rush mentality and disinterest in the local community, as well as some mistrust and skeptism of newcomers from the locals. Overall though, I would rate it as one of the best places in the state for new residents. The further south you go on I-270 towards D.C the stronger the suburban mentality.

[westsideboy]

My grandma whose family has lived in MD since about 1740 or so, made iced tea so sweet it made your teeth hurt. You can also get sweet tea in alot of restaurants now, although I would attribute this more to the fattening of America than being indicitive of Southern culture.

It is important to remember that culture boundaries are normally not hard and fast like natural features such as rivers, or geopolitical ones like the Mason-Dixon line. Instead, cultural regions gradually transition from one to another, cultural artifact by cultural artifact. Maryland is right in the middle of these two large, very different regions and serves as a transition area between the two. If you look for characteristics of the North, you will find them. If you look for characteristics of the South, you will find them. Maryland is a border state, always was, still is today, and probably will continue to be so for some time.