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

[ecko_complex24]

NOVA used to have a southern feel back in the day. See I am a native to this area. Most people here aren't. You have a huge influx of people here from the northeast. Most of the times you can spot a native from a non- native but, a lot of the natives have moved further away from here. Personally I'm starting to become disenchanted with it myself (traffic, big building, etc.) Does'nt have the southern feel anymore it used to though way back in the day.

[eastli84]

Well, I think this area has a large mix of Northern and Southern influences (hence, the term Mid Atlantic). I have noticed Republicans in Virginia are MUCH more conservative than Republicans in states in the Northeast (NJ, NY, CT), which may be a turn off to the large number of northern transplants. This would cause them to vote for the Democrat...which would lead to this region being very blue.

[FlyDrive100b]

Originally Posted by eastli84

Well, I think this area has a large mix of Northern and Southern influences (hence, the term Mid Atlantic). I have noticed Republicans in Virginia are MUCH more conservative than Republicans in states in the Northeast (NJ, NY, CT), which may be a turn off to the large number of northern transplants. This would cause them to vote for the Democrat...which would lead to this region being very blue.

That would be true if it weren't for the fact the many people in the new york city suburbs vote for conservative republican politicians , moderate republicans in the northeast have not been elected lately and have lost political strength , for a while you had conservatives who would vote moderate on certain issues, but recently not much so.

[loveautumn]

California is definitely, absoluely broken into two areas, Southern California and Northern. And they are very different in so many ways, I won't go into it. People here don't usually even say they are from California...they say where they are from, LA, SD, Bay Area, etc. It is very territorial here. At one time there was talk of dividing into two states, North California and Southern California, but that will never happen...

I'm just posting this because one poster thought that California was very "united" and that is far from the truth, have to remember it's a huge state, millions and millions of people. It's like rolling the whole eastern seaboard into one state and trying to make it work.

[bs13690]

Ya, I think NOVA is definitely not Southern and has a different attitude than the rest of VA. More specifically, the DC area. Front Royal is as far north as what people call NOVA and it is very different.

[ecko_complex24]

yea I agree NOVA is not southern at all anymore. You have to go down to areas of spotsylvania and caroline counties to get that southern feel

[homeiswhereIlaymyhead]

Do you have live oaks dripping with spanish moss? If so, you are southern.

[TPL]

Originally Posted by NOVAChick

I fell into the MD thread by accident when I clicked on a link at the bottom of a NOVA topic that I thought would have similar information to what I was already reading about.

And someone asked if the people of MD felt like MD had a southern mentality and do they see MD as the South. I guess they were asking if MD acted like a state in the south (e.g. GA, AL, Mississippi). Or if the MD culture was like that of the deep south's culture? Like where people drink really sweet Iced tea and hunt, etc. And I know people hunt everywhere but those are the best examples I can think of right now...lol.

I was born in AL but only lived there for about 3 years then moved to NJ then VA (hazard of being a military brat...lol).

I constantly have this argument with people though because they say VA is the south but I consider it the East Coast. I know that "technically" we are the South because of the Mason Dixon line but we don't act like Southerners in NOVA and I don't see why I should agree to be a type of culture that I am not. I think southern VA is more like the deep south. I remember when I used to go to VA beach, it seemed like the culture became more southern.

I don't really associate myself with the deep South mentality because where I grew up in Manassas, no one acted like how people in the South act. My mom's fam is from AL and my dad's is from Louisiana, so I know.

People acted (and still act) like they are from up north in Manassas. I had never thought about any of this when I was growing up. Then some people who usually had never been to NOVA would say stuff about VA when I went in the Army. But I had always seen myself as being from the East Coast and that was it.

Ok, so I wanted to know...How does everyone else see NOVA? And just VA in general? And why? And which parts do you think are the most like the deep South?

Also, do you think we should call ourselves Southerners and consider ourselves Southerners even though we don't act like the people from the deep South?

I'm trying to say this in the most PC way possible without sounding like a bigot, but Maryland is far too New Yorker Jewish to ever be the South. Anyone who's lived around NYC knows the sort of people I'm talking about (Note: This is not an anti-Semitic comment, not by a long stretch, but it is my personal observation based upon certain groups of people, and my experiences with them (I'm only talking about the extremely leftist-liberal Jewish folks, the sort that bump into you at the supermarket with their fur coats and gold jewelry stacks, and then don't care about it)).

When my family came down to NoVa from New York, it was my father's first time really living in VA (Even though he worked at Norfolk), but my mother and her family were originally from Southern VA. She lived on Ft. Myer as a kid, but she also lived in Petersburg, VA, so NoVa to her was always more associated with Washington, D.C., whereas Petersburg, VA, VA Beach, etc. were all "Real VA". They almost considered living in MD, but my mom found it WAY too leftist New Yorker. She didn't consider NoVa to be Virginia at all, but she much preferred it to Maryland in terms of attitude.

Btw, if you look at the politicians and voting records, you will find that my assertions about Maryland are actually quite scientific as well. They actually are one of the most ardent Democrat/Liberal states in the nation, even though people often overlook such due to the very reasons for which you mention (Quite a few people consider it too Southern to be anything close to resembling MA, CA, or any typically liberal State, but it is). VA on the other hand is obviously more Conservative (NoVa is liberal, but somewhat Moderate).

I would also like to point out the fact that "Southern" and "Deep South" are not one-in-the same. The Deep South, is the DEEP South (ie, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, etc.). Virginia is simply Southern, or "The South". Virginia has always been, in my view, more of a sophisticated Southern State (In Colonial times it was the wealthiest colony, and throughout history it has produced the greatest number of Presidents, and multitudes of highly educated, and noteworthy American heroes/Patriots/etc.).

[TPL]

Originally Posted by bs13690

Ya, I think NOVA is definitely not Southern and has a different attitude than the rest of VA. More specifically, the DC area. Front Royal is as far north as what people call NOVA and it is very different.

Every part of the Commonwealth is different. For instance, I don't like the area between Woodbridge and Ashland, because I consider it more hickish. The Shenandoah is gorgeous territory, and there are some wonderful folks out there, but certain parts of it are far more like WV (Which I don't really care for, even though I know some great people from there). The Tidewater is the area outside of NoVa which I truly like the best, because I'm so used to it (I guess part of it has to do with the MIL). South Central VA is much closer to the Tidewater in terms of personality and attitude, and I have some really close family friends down there who are farmers.

[TPL]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

California is definitely, absoluely broken into two areas, Southern California and Northern. And they are very different in so many ways, I won't go into it. People here don't usually even say they are from California...they say where they are from, LA, SD, Bay Area, etc. It is very territorial here. At one time there was talk of dividing into two states, North California and Southern California, but that will never happen...

I'm just posting this because one poster thought that California was very "united" and that is far from the truth, have to remember it's a huge state, millions and millions of people. It's like rolling the whole eastern seaboard into one state and trying to make it work.

I was just talking to some of my neighbor's family last month, and they're from NorCal. They said the EXACT same thing as you, and they completely despise SoCal. My mother was born out in San Francisco, CA back in the day, and my father was stationed out there (He lived in Oakland, CA). It was such a different world back then however, and the Leftists/Gays hadn't yet taken over (The Gay people had their own neighborhood, but it wasn't like now-a-days). The moment they took over, they kicked out the Military, and then everything spiraled down from there. It's a shame too, because it's such a beautiful area (My Uncle used to own a home on the hill overlooking the Bay).