do Maryland residents consider themselves as "Southerners?" (Baltimore: move, arena)

[springheel24]

Try asking natives from Boston or Gloucester or Brattleboro whether they consider Maryland part of the North; 10 out of 10 people would probably escort you to the local health clinic for evaluation with a history book in tow (hyperbole). The same might happen if you asked a local from Montgomery or Biloxi if they considered Maryland part of the South.

Maryland is a melting pot of both regions but on balance seems to have more of a southern influence. I, and all of my colleagues who have recently relocated here from Boston (to Annapolis in my case) are constantly pointing out how different Maryland is from the North. Setting aside the clear historical leanings for a moment… It is the subtleties that make Maryland so different in my mind. Examples include the slower speed at which people walk, the comparatively young age at which people get married and have children, the architecture, the accents, the questions asked during casual conversation with strangers, the fried chicken for sale at convenience stores, etc. If you grew up in Maryland, these indicators may not be that apparent - which may be why so many locals in the Annapolis area incorrectly assume that their town is ‘northern’. When we left Boston, I was told to reside in Annapolis because it would remind me of home… not so much. It is plausible that many who have relocated here from deeper south may have similar symptoms of culture shock.

This seems to be a common topic for debate among people within this region. I find it fascinating how shocked some Marylanders (and D.C. residents) are to the idea that they are not considered ‘northern’ by those in the North. In the end, I imagine that Maryland will always be best described as a tweener; not quite southern enough to be considered ‘southern’, nor ‘northern’ enough to be considered Northern. Maybe it’s time to embrace the Mid-Atlantic tag and call it a day?

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by $mk8795

So by judging your comment that will mean that Majority of Virginia , North Carolina(Raleigh-Durham Triangle and Charlotte), Georgia(Atlanta), and Florida(Orlando and South Florida) is not part of the South due to those areas losing their Southern Culture.....

I don't think anyone considers South Florida (Orlando, Tampa, and anything below) to be "southern." As for the rest, if you think MD's DC suburbs are just like the "majority of Virginia," North Carolina's Cities, and Atlanta you need to actually visit those places. I was in Charlotte earlier this year and even downtown the majority of the people you talk to have very obvious Southrn accents.

[KeyserSoze]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

I think you make a good point Keyser. Do we not consider the suburbs of Atlanta "the south" just because much of their heritage has been built over?

Exactly. The same thing is said for Florida.

Originally Posted by Giantwon

LOL........you mean up into the late 70's

Maybe down there, but the first house my relatives lived in most of their lives was built in the 50s. This is in PG, near DC.

[WVMountainMan]

Originally Posted by michgc

When I grew up in Pennsylvania, I always thought of Maryland as "The South." Then when I went to college, I became friends with a couple of girls from Baltimore, and they laughed at me. They did not think of themselves as being from the South. Now that I live in Northern Virginia, I agree that Baltimore and DC are more like Mid-Atlantic states. Having said that, I think certain parts of the state are somewhat southern.

Yeah my father is from Pennsylvania so I see where you’re coming from. But to be honest in southern Virginia/West Virginia a Marylander is considered a "Yankee". I contacted the trailer park and asked, they just aren’t agreeing with Maryland being part of the club.

[eaduke]

I've lived in many different places around the region- Madison,VA- Southern,MD- Cumberland,MD- Romney,WV- Gettysburg,PA- Parkersburg,WV among others with a lot of my family from Virginia and St.Mary's Co MD. While going to school in a few of these areas the only place I ever was asked about my accent was Gettysburg. I had no trouble in Southern,MD or Virginia or Romney for that matter.

Maryland was a slave state. I always thought Calvert-St.Mary's and Charles Counties had a lot of southern flavor with their tobacco farms and such. Of course there's probably not a lot of those anymore.Cumberland was a little bit different but I never really felt out of place there either. I didn't hear really any southern accents in Cumberland but over in Romney some folks had a touch of it and some didn't.

In the Parkersburg area some people have quite a bit of an accent and some do not. However I feel most of WV fits more with the South since it was part of Virginia.I had no trouble with my Virginia accent here either since most people in the South understand one another pretty well even if their accent is slighty different. There's a place just North of Parkersburg called Henderson Hall that was a plantation that usually had around 100 slaves working it at any given time.That was right across the river from freedom in Ohio.

MD is quite a bit different these days but it's still below the Mason-Dixon line.

[Giantwon]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

Correct. The Washington suburbs as we know them today were farmland up until the 50's when they started buying out and building.

Then you need to define what you call "the Washington Suburbs".Farmland was still plentiful in Charles ,Calvert and St.Marys's all the way into the late 70's till the anti smoking lobby wiped out the tobacco farms.

[WVMountainMan]

Originally Posted by cpterp

Okay, for arguments sake, lets say that Maryland was as Southern as Alabama before the Civil War, that there may still be "southern" areas on the Eastern Shore and Southern MD (the latter still up for debate), and that even though the state fought for the Union/North and refused to secede all the citizens hated it, but the fact is that the state at large, in 2009, is dominated (economically, culturally, politically) by Central MD which I'm sure everyone can agree is "northeastern."

Quick fact: Yesterday I found out the United Methodist Church grouped Maryland in its Northeast Conference along with Delaware, DC, and West Virginia. Yet another organization that groups MD in the NE/Mid-Atlantic.

But please tell me what part of West Virginia is on the Atlantic ocean? WV is southern Appalachia.

[WVMountainMan]

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?

Really if Marylanders want to call themselves southerners, that’s cool. But most Northern Virginian’s don’t consider themselves southerners so this could lead to some confusion (lol) but WHATEVER.

Well lets take a look though (I forgot about the term bible belt)

Bible Belt


Or by accent


Old south/Deep south influence map

[KeyserSoze]

^ It's been stated before that the Bible Belt map is wrong. There is Old South influence/relics in Maryland, and I'd really like some verification of the existence of an authentic Northeastern accent that can be found in Maryland, as well. It's not the most "Southern" place, but I wonder what makes people totally exclude Maryland, or at least the "qualifying parts" from the South when it has history, influence, and ties to the region.

[westsideboy]

WVman, The dialect map leaves much to be desired. Here is a better one:
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atla...p/NatMap1.html

The Deep South/Old South map pretty much confirms what many of us have been saying that Southern Maryland and the Lower Eastern Shore are Southern in culture.