Do you Consider NOVA/VA a Southern State/Mentality? (Norfolk: college, Mennonites)

[leighland]

Originally Posted by pcity

Try downtown Annandale. If that isn't equivalent to Koreatown, I don't know what is.

Where is "downtown Annandale"? I don't drive around too much and would like to visit. Does it look like LA's Koreatown?

http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/e.../Koreatown.jpg

http://www.hubbuzz.com/images/cache/...fb-2-Large.png

[NOVAChick]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

Agreed. The white population here resembles the white population in the South (largely Protestant and of Anglo-Saxon ancestry) more than the white population in the Northeast (which has a lot more Southern and Eastern Europeans). It's why everyone complains that there are no good places to get red sauce or bagels around here.

I'll probably get reamed over the coals for saying this, but sometimes NoVA reminds me of a greener, slightly less diverse Los Angeles. Lots of Asians and Latinos, lots of sprawl, a weak "sense of place"...

It's so funny you said this, I wrote this description about NOVA but haven't posted it yet b/c I was in the middle of my homework but I'm going to post it and wait for the feedback to come in...lol.

[NOVAChick]

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

Yeah, I don't think this place is southern at all. I made a comment about the weather to a friend of mine from the South last winter, and I even said something like, "for a place that is technically part of the South, it sure is cold..." and she still upbraided me for supposedly calling Northern Virginia a Southern place.

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

But it's not like the New England I grew up in, either, so I don't really buy it when people say it's "just like" the North. NoVA just doesn't seem to have any regional identity, even though it does have tons of history. This is both good and bad - the place I grew up was much more "colorful," and I do have fond memories of that color, but NoVA is much more hospitable to outsiders because there's not a complex local culture you have to understand in order to fit in here.

I think the regional identity of NOVA is East Coast. Kind of like how people consider California the West Coast. I think that is honestly the best way to describe it. It's a melting pot of cultures like Cali and it's got the "East Coast" vibe as some would say like how Cali has the "West Coast" vibe. I loved Cali, btw, it was so beautiful. Anywhere I can find the ocean, I'm game.

But yea, that would be a great way to identify NOVA. From my own perception of myself and growing up in NOVA, I see East Coast people as a cool crowd. A lot of people from the NOVA area are very career-driven. When I stopped working to go back to college full-time, my friends lost it....lol. I know people in other places actually consider me to be anal-retentive b/c I am so focused and hyper...lol. But my friends are the same way so I guess I got it from my environment kind of.

When I was younger, Manassas was preppy and Manassas City was more hood. Manassas Park kind of reminded me of Manassas City. Some of my friends lived in Manassas Park and my dad lived there. We hung out in Alexandria (where my best friend is from), DC and MD to escape the 'burbs...lol. MD and DC seemed to be a little more hood and a little more laid back mentality based on the people I chilled with and saw/met while we were out and about. I always saw MD and DC as more urban, even if you went further into MD. My aunt lives in Upper Marlboro and my cousin's family lives in Baltimore. Alexandria kind of has the DC and MD vibe too.

NOVA always seemed a little more suburban to me. However, I don't know what the adults were like in DC and MD except for my friends and family and they would say things like, "What up, cuz" in more of a southern drawl type accent. I wasn't sure if they were doing that on purpose or if that was really their accent...lol. But people in NOVA seemed to have different accents, like an accent from up North more or from somewhere. I remember we used to visit my grams in the South and everyone in her church would be like, "You talk so propers" lol. I didn't even know my accent was that different from anyone else until I went back to AL to visit my family.

I love DMV and I appreciate ALL the areas because that was the fun of living in the good DMV and that's what I look forward to when I move back. I like all the different cultures and that people can kind of just let their hair down and be themselves and find a place in the DMV that works for them. I do think people have to really be ready to embrace the city life to live there b/c there are so many cultures and a lot of people live there. DMV can also be kind of fast-paced, especially NOVA/DC. I'm not 100% sure about MD, it seemed to not be as fast-paced but probably more fast-paced than somewhere in the South or Mid-west (hubby and ALL his family are from OH, we visit about once a year minimum). I love it there too. Very pretty with a lot of parks and his family is awesome and down-to-earth.

There aren't too many places I have been to that I have hated. As a military brat, you learn how to adapt to different places/people and to appreciate those differences. This is based on myself, sibs, cousins and other military brats that I have met over the years.

Ok, back to NOVA...lol. My grandma never could understand how we even drove in our traffic...lol. She would complain about this or that but like anywhere, DMV is not for everyone and it's got some crazy traffic, like LA. I'm still not sure which one has the worst traffic, LA or NOVA (during rush hour). My friend is from South Central and they are pretty agressive drivers there with a bit of crazy traffic but I wasn't sure if that was their rush hour or not. She asked me to drive b/c she was too scared to drive in all the traffic and she knew I was an agressive driver from the good DMV....lol. I got us out of there safe and sound...hehe.

I don't ever claim to be just like the North b/c I have never been up north except OH where my hubby is from and they act like DMV folks in Columbus. You have the preppy/studious type b/c of OSU (which a large part of their culture there) and then you have the laid back, chill folks. But they all have very proper accents.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion and what I have observed during my travels.

I have never been to New England, athousandlogins. How do you think it is different from NOVA?

I did a lot of side talking (to support my "findings"..lol) but the gist is that NOVA is like an East Coast version of Cali if that makes sense...lol. Lots of diversity, beaches, amusement parks, cool people who have different accents and different attitudes. The traffic is there and both have their unclean aspects b/c it's the city and a big population even in the 'burbs. I see NOVA as the East Coast. Not the South or the North. That's my take on it anyway.

One more thing...on the West Coast, I don't think they go by North/South. I wonder if when ppl say "we are from up north", if they mean geographically-wise or like a way of life/culture? Cali is not considered a north or south location. It's just the West Coast to my understanding. I wonder why VA can't just go by that description without all the hoopla? I know all the history but how long ago was that...lol. I can appreciate history but things do change over time and can be seen differently. Cali and other parts of the country were very different many decades/centuries ago too but are now seen differently in modern times. I also think ppl still see NOVA as the "South" b/c they have never been to NOVA and that's all they know. When New Yorkers say it's the South, I think they are thinking geographically, like we are south of them. VA has rural places like anywhere else but I don't think that means that people can call our whole state Southern when a lot of the modern population are not Southerners.

Everything evolves. I think people should evolve with the way they think of NOVA as NOVA continues to evolve. Nothing really ever stays the same or things wouldn't have the chance to improve.

Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now...lol.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I moved here from the North in May and have yet to feel at all like a Southerner. I feel sort of as if I'm in New Jersey, only without the sexy accents, popped collars, and jokes about the pollution. It was actually only a few degrees warmer at my home this morning than it was at my parents' home back in the Northern PA mountains. I very rarely meet anyone here with a Southern accent. Chick-Fil-A was my only "hint" at Reston being Southern, and even then Pennsylvania is now finally getting them as well.

I know this is off on tangent, but Chick-Fil-A was already in the Pittsburgh suburbs by the time I was attending college in Pittsburgh back in 2000/2001. Pennsylvania has had some for a while.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

I know this is off on tangent, but Chick-Fil-A was already in the Pittsburgh suburbs by the time I was attending college in Pittsburgh back in 2000/2001. Pennsylvania has had some for a while.

So Scranton is just behind the curve ball on EVERYTHING?! Well, at least we spawned Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and "The Office."

[leighland]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

So Scranton is just behind the curve ball on EVERYTHING?! Well, at least we spawned Hillary Clinton, ?

I thought Hil was born and raised in Park Ridge (IL)

Oh and Philly burbs have the Chik fil a too.

[worldtravelermsk]

NoVa is not the south, but the low number of non-Hispanic Catholics makes it unlike the north, which it doesn't have in large quantities because it used to be the south.

Agreed, there definitely isn't a strong European Catholic population here. I have noticed though that there's a significant Jewish population here in NOVA and the DC area. Then again, this is all a product of recent migration.

Where is "downtown Annandale"? I don't drive around too much and would like to visit. Does it look like LA's Koreatown?

Koreatown in Annandale is roughly along the Little River Turnpike off of 495 in Annandale. Head eastbound towards Annandale and eventually you'll start to see signs in Korean.

Expanding on cultural districts in NOVA, there's also what I call "Little Persia" in Vienna, although it's sadly only two stores (Rose Kabab and Yas Bakery) across the strip from each other. It's nowhere near Little Persia in West LA but I have to say that NOVA has some of the best Persian food outside of LA, which I definitely love as I'm 1/2 Persian.

I think the regional identity of NOVA is East Coast. Kind of like how people consider California the West Coast. I think that is honestly the best way to describe it.

NOVAChick I also previously lumped NOVA in with the East Coast before I moved out here and a lot of my friends who are still back in the Midwest always ask me "how's the East Coast going?" I think NOVA being a part of the East Coast is the general opinion upon many Americans.

Also, as weird as it sounds, I actually get a few West Coast vibes from NOVA. For one, there are a lot Safeway grocery stores here which I didn't even think existed east of CO - it's a shame though that my local Safeway is awful and nothing like the Safeway I remember from out West. And whenever I'm out by suburban Leesburg, Ashburn and Sterling I almost feel as if I'm in the suburbia McMansion section of Orange County. The Dulles Greedway also kind of reminds me of those toll roads in the OC foothills. Tyson's Galleria, which is dubbed the "Rodeo Drive of the East Coast", definitely feels like a ridiculously upscale OC/LA shopping mall; there I've seen people dressed as if they're straight from Beverly Hills/West Hollywood. From all of this, I've always thought that it would be profitable to open up either a Del Taco, Jack in the Box or an El Pollo Loco here as it could attract business from all of the West Coasters out here.

I think NOVA is just a mix of a lot of cultures/regions which makes it hard to concretely define. But that is definitely the reason why I like it here; I've always had a love for melting pot areas.

[NOVAChick]

Originally Posted by worldtravelermsk

Agreed, there definitely isn't a strong European Catholic population here. I have noticed though that there's a significant Jewish population here in NOVA and the DC area. Then again, this is all a product of recent migration.



Koreatown in Annandale is roughly along the Little River Turnpike off of 495 in Annandale. Head eastbound towards Annandale and eventually you'll start to see signs in Korean.

Expanding on cultural districts in NOVA, there's also what I call "Little Persia" in Vienna, although it's sadly only two stores (Rose Kabab and Yas Bakery) across the strip from each other. It's nowhere near Little Persia in West LA but I have to say that NOVA has some of the best Persian food outside of LA, which I definitely love as I'm 1/2 Persian.



NOVAChick I also previously lumped NOVA in with the East Coast before I moved out here and a lot of my friends who are still back in the Midwest always ask me "how's the East Coast going?" I think NOVA being a part of the East Coast is the general opinion upon many Americans.

Also, as weird as it sounds, I actually get a few West Coast vibes from NOVA. For one, there are a lot Safeway grocery stores here which I didn't even think existed east of CO - it's a shame though that my local Safeway is awful and nothing like the Safeway I remember from out West. And whenever I'm out by suburban Leesburg, Ashburn and Sterling I almost feel as if I'm in the suburbia McMansion section of Orange County. The Dulles Greedway also kind of reminds me of those toll roads in the OC foothills. Tyson's Galleria, which is dubbed the "Rodeo Drive of the East Coast", definitely feels like a ridiculously upscale OC/LA shopping mall; there I've seen people dressed as if they're straight from Beverly Hills/West Hollywood. From all of this, I've always thought that it would be profitable to open up either a Del Taco, Jack in the Box or an El Pollo Loco here as it could attract business from all of the West Coasters out here.

I think NOVA is just a mix of a lot of cultures/regions which makes it hard to concretely define. But that is definitely the reason why I like it here; I've always had a love for melting pot areas.

I completely agree with the Tyson's Galleria comparison! lol. I have never been to some of the other places that you compared but I have been to Hollywood (and seen it on tv) and it reminds me of Tysons.

I am also a huge fan of "melting pots". Less judgements tend to occur when there are a mix of cultures so people are more comfortable being themselves.

Good call on bringing some Cali flavor to NOVA. I am sure NOVAians would love it. My mouth is watering just thinking about some Jack in the Box...lol.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

So Scranton is just behind the curve ball on EVERYTHING?!

Yeah, pretty much. Where I grew up outside Philly, all the malls had Chick-Fil-A and there was a standalone location 10 minutes from my house. This isn't recent either- they've all been around for at least 15 years, probably more. When I went to college at Penn State, there was a Chick-Fil-A in the student center that I often frequented.

In fact, NoVA seems to have FEWER Chick-Fil-A's than Philly. The only ones I know about inside the Beltway are Landmark and Ballston malls. Pentagon City and Springfield Malls lack Chick-Fil-A and I've never seen a standalone location in this area.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by leighland

Where is "downtown Annandale"? I don't drive around too much and would like to visit. Does it look like LA's Koreatown?

http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/e.../Koreatown.jpg

http://www.hubbuzz.com/images/cache/...fb-2-Large.png

It is much less dense than that first picture, but there are quite a few businesses with Korean characters on the sign.

Try Korean barbecue at Il Mee (near the corner of Little River and John Marr) and then head to the Korean bakery across the parking lot (can't remember the name... Shira or something like that?). Judging by the clientele, the bakery is quite authentic. You won't see too many white people in there.