Is the split between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state getting worse? (Richmond: home, job market)

[vasinger]

I grew up in Northern Virginia (I was born in 1979) and I experienced a place that while "different" than other areas of Virginia, was not so different that it felt like another state.

My teachers had southern accents and I grew up with a Virginia accent and we even took the "Civil War" seriously. When I was teenager I noticed that things were growing rapidly (about 1994 and on) my area had changed almost overnight with so many new people moving in. I grew up near Leesburg and then lived in Countryside-Sterling area then way out to Philmont near Middleburg which was a lot more like "the real Virginia" in how people acted and spoke.

I currently live in Richmond. This area up til about Stafford feels much like how Virginia and the South feel to me.
Now I visit NOVA and it really is another place. The people I talk to there say they don't want to have anything to do with Virginia- they are from "Northern Virginia". When I was growing up the sentiment was they were still very much Virginians, but the area was more transient and had people from all over

With the recent election being the way it was with NOVA being more liberal and the rest of Virginia being more for Bush, it really seems Northern Virginia wants nothing to do with us.

What do y'all think?

[tenken627]

Originally Posted by vasinger

I grew up in Northern Virginia (I was born in 1979) and I experienced a place that while "different" than other areas of Virginia, was not so different that it felt like another state.

My teachers had southern accents and I grew up with a Virginia accent and we even took the "Civil War" seriously. When I was teenager I noticed that things were growing rapidly (about 1994 and on) my area had changed almost overnight with so many new people moving in. I grew up near Leesburg and then lived in Countryside-Sterling area then way out to Philmont near Middleburg which was a lot more like "the real Virginia" in how people acted and spoke.

I currently live in Richmond. This area up til about Stafford feels much like how Virginia and the South feel to me.
Now I visit NOVA and it really is another place. The people I talk to there say they don't want to have anything to do with Virginia- they are from "Northern Virginia". When I was growing up the sentiment was they were still very much Virginians, but the area was more transient and had people from all over

With the recent election being the way it was with NOVA being more liberal and the rest of Virginia being more for Bush, it really seems Northern Virginia wants nothing to do with us.

What do y'all think?

I don't think this "split" between Northern Virginia and the rest of Virginia is getting worse because of cultural differences per se.

I think it has more to do with the fact that so much of Virginia's revenues comes from Northern Virginia (almost half), but Northern Virginia gets so little in return for it. Many schools have become overcrowded and the roads have become horrible for traffic because of such little or delayed funding from the state government in Richmond.

I know you talked about the horrible traffic in Northern Virginia in the past, but what can you do if your state government doesn't want to help fund new roads or public projects? This transportation package that was just passed is basically making Northern Virginia pay extra on top of what they are already paying.

I do agree that the wealth should be spread and benefit all of Virginia, but can't the state realize that Northern Virginia is a very vital part of the state and provide some type of relief? A healthy Virginia needs a healthy Northern Virginia.

[vasinger]

I know that most people I have talked to resent Richmond because thats where taxes go

But as far as Northern Virginia creating most of the wealth- I would agree. But some people in Northern Virginia do view other parts of Virginia as backward or far behind them socio economically, and that simply isn't true.

Most of Virginia is not as rich as NOVA but it is not all that far behind.

Even Southwest Virginia isn't;without merit.

But Richmond and the surrounding areas are almost as rich as Northern Virginia. Not quite as developed. Also, Hampton Roads area is really a clone of NOVA in the Southeast part of the state.

[tenken627]

Originally Posted by vasinger

I know that most people I have talked to resent Richmond because thats where taxes go

But as far as Northern Virginia creating most of the wealth- I would agree.

Then why isn't there more funding to help Northern Virginia to help with all of it's problems without making Northern Virginia pay even more?

Paying 400% for needed public works to get 100% funding would hurt anyone. A vibrant, bustling NoVa only helps other Virginians, so why squeeze it?

[saganista]

Assuming that current economic trends persist, NoVa is always going to be picking up the tab for a good part of the rest of the state. I don't see much problem in that. But it would be nice if the rest of the state could muster up at least a little more respect for the needs of NoVa and the other economicaly advanced areas that are paying the bulk of the freight.

And I think that's in some sense the other side of the coin that the OP refers to. That old-boy, Old South ethos -- drawn from days of Jim Crow, mint juleps, and no air-conditioning -- has indeed been replaced in NoVa (and elsewhere in the state to varying degrees) by a more open, more progressive, more modern world view. You'd be hard-pressed these days to find folks in NoVa who still feel any sense of personal loss or insult over the outcome of the Civil War. That was hardly the case here in the 1950's. That was hardly the case here outside the Beltway in the 1970's. It wasn't a matter of invasion that brought this change about -- it was far more a matter of erosion on the one hand, and just plain money on the other -- but an awful lot of down-state conservatives (Republicans, these days) still seem indignant over these burgeoning enclaves of Yankee imperialism and ingenuity that have come to sully all that the Old Dominion for them once stood for. And with a wink to the old boys back home who vote for them year after year, these folks are still bent on making the occupiers pay.

To them, I'd say that the War ended a hundred and forty years ago. None of us alive today had a dog in that fight. When are you going to let it drop and start working with your neighbors instead of resenting them?

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by saganista

Assuming that current economic trends persist, NoVa is always going to be picking up the tab for a good part of the rest of the state. I don't see much problem in that. But it would be nice if the rest of the state could muster up at least a little more respect for the needs of NoVa and the other economicaly advanced areas that are paying the bulk of the freight.

And I think that's in some sense the other side of the coin that the OP refers to. That old-boy, Old South ethos -- drawn from days of Jim Crow, mint juleps, and no air-conditioning -- has indeed been replaced in NoVa (and elsewhere in the state to varying degrees) by a more open, more progressive, more modern world view. You'd be hard-pressed these days to find folks in NoVa who still feel any sense of personal loss or insult over the outcome of the Civil War. That was hardly the case here in the 1950's. That was hardly the case here outside the Beltway in the 1970's. It wasn't a matter of invasion that brought this change about -- it was far more a matter of erosion on the one hand, and just plain money on the other -- but an awful lot of down-state conservatives (Republicans, these days) still seem indignant over these burgeoning enclaves of Yankee imperialism and ingenuity that have come to sully all that the Old Dominion for them once stood for. And with a wink to the old boys back home who vote for them year after year, these folks are still bent on making the occupiers pay.

To them, I'd say that the War ended a hundred and forty years ago. None of us alive today had a dog in that fight. When are you going to let it drop and start working with your neighbors instead of resenting them?

But besides taxes, what is it that Northern Virginians dislike about the rest of the state? What is so wrong about being a Virginian, and not "Northern" Virginian?

Also, a person from NOVA will get enraged if an outsider suggests in anyway shape or form that they are "Southern". That just seems silly and pathetic to me.

What is wrong with being Southern? I take that as a compliment. It means you have manners, probably.

I would never want to be associated with the Northeast, and I realize that Virginia is now increasingly on the cusp between North and South (and North Carolina is starting to feel it too) but I just don't get this "I'm not from Virginia, I'm from NOVA" bit.

The Northeast to me doesn't represent progress at all. It represents loud and brash and tacky.

[saganista]

That's a stumper, alright. I can't think of any reason why one group might have issues with another for merely stealing their money while calling them loud, brash, tacky, and generally lacking in manners. Sounds like another case of good old Southern Hospitality to me...

[jb124]

As a life-long resident of NoVA, I've always considered NoVA to be a separate state, or really just Fairfax and Arlington counties. Now I'd have to draw the line somewhere around the Occuquan (sp?) river or maybe even Fredericksburg.

I say it's a different state because when I went to school in central VA I experienced a significant culture shock. They had a totally different way of life and population compostion down there. Not that it was exactly bad, I think it was good for me to spend four years there to give me perspective.

[car54]

"....Also, a person from NOVA will get enraged if an outsider suggests in anyway shape or form that they are "Southern". That just seems silly and pathetic to me.

What is wrong with being Southern? I take that as a compliment. It means you have manners, probably."


I think that's because the vast majority of people in NOVA are from elsewhere...and they usually cling to their regional identities forever, or at least for a very long time. I've been in NOVA all my life and don't mind being called "southern"...I've been called a lot worse!

But, to me "southern" often conjurs provincialism. Example: I used to work with a guy that married a gal that lived in Warrenton and even after 30 years of living there, he never felt welcome. He said that the locals never let him forget that he's a "come-here"...and always will be.

[jb124]

Originally Posted by car54

I think that's because the vast majority of people in NOVA are from elsewhere...and they usually cling to their regional identities forever, or at least for a very long time.

Yeah your post makes a lot of sense; many people who live in NoVA came from either another part of the US or another country altogether. It's tough to resist the extremely stable job market and high salaries. So it's natural to assume NoVA would develop a different personality then the rest of VA.