Which neighbor do you like better? Maryland or North Carolina? (Norfolk: transplants, travel)

[nickluva]

If you had no other choice but to move to either Maryland or North Carolina which one would you choose?

[roanoker 4]

I would definately pick Maryland. The history of Virginia and Maryland are more similar than Virginia and North Carolina. Of course, here in the southern part of VA, more people would pick North Carolina as their favorite due to the familiarity of the people and their culture. I think if you did a poll of North Carolinians they would pick another southern state, rather than Virginia. I have my doubts if Virginia is still as "southern" as it once was.

[NENC]

Maryland? No native Virginian in their right mind would pick Maryland over North Carolina! Maryland and Virginia actually have very different histories. Maryland was settled by Catholics escaping religious persecution in England. Virginia was a plantation based economy more closely aligned with her sister Southern States like the Carolinas. This is the reason that Virginia more closely identified (and joined) the Confederacy.

Maryland is definitely more of a Northern State while Virginia has always been a Southern State. Outside of Northern Virginia (metro DC) and the immediate urban areas, Virginia is still very much a Southern State. Maryland has never been a Southern State.

[roanoker 4]

The entire state of Virginia wasn't in favor of splitting from the Union and joining the Confederacy. Roanoke existed as a tiny hamlet during the Civil War, unlike points east such as Lynchburg & Richmond. The pockets of resistance of joining the Confederacy were here and in western VA, especially the Shenandoah Valley. After the Civil War, the railroad discovered Roanoke and western VA. It built the economy here with the assistance of the railroads in Maryland and points north. The railroad defined this area, with no help from the neighboring state of NC. I would say there were strong ties between Maryland and Virginia.

[NENC]

While it may be true that there were pockets of resistance to the Confederate cause in Virginia (this was true of other Confederate States as well...the western mountains of NC, parts of East Tennessee and North Alabama), as a whole, I believe Virginia has FAR more in common with North Carolina than Maryland.

I am a native of extreme Southeastern Virginia (grew up 15 miles from the NC border) so admittedly my sphere of influence includes North Carolina and nothing of Maryland. I have lived in Northeastern North Carolina for the past 12 years, attended UNC in Chapel Hill, and traveled widely around the state of NC. As a native Virginian, I have always felt far more at home in North Carolina than in Maryland. Maryland for the most part seems quite foreign to me. Places like Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, and Lynchburg seem to be much more similar to Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro than to Baltimore or DC. Likewise, rural Virginia reminds me a lot of rural NC whereas rural MD (outside of the Eastern Shore) reminds me more of rural PA or NJ.

[roanoker 4]

I too am a native of Virginia, growing up in Roanoke. My father was from here but his dad grew up in western Maryland around Hagerstown. It seems like there was a mass migration of railroad workers from Hagerstown to Roanoke when the Norfolk & Western Railroad was started. As a small kid my family here in Roanoke would spend summers in Hagerstown and I got to know the Maryland people. I have noticed the mountain people of western VA are very different from the eastern part of the state. Around Martinsville, Danville, Norfolk, NC has a big influence, whereas here in the mountains it doesn't.
Our newspaper here did an article about the history of Roanoke and it said the area that most resembles its history is Knoxville, TN. I live about 90 miles from Greensboro and visit there often and while it is a pleasant city, I cannot see many similarities between it and Roanoke. Oddly, Greensboro started as a railroad town and not a textile town but it never forged ties with this part of the state, like Hagerstown did. Also, I think Northern VA(north of Charlottesville & Fredericksburg) will soon define this state for the future.
It definately has little connection with NC( or the southern part of VA).

[crittersitter]

NC. Maryland is basically sanctuary state to illegal aliens. Way too liberal for me. Even though NC is having big problems with the infux of illegals they are trying to tackle it. They tend to be more southern and conservative.

[desertsun41]

I lived in Chesapeake for a while. I miss it badly. We traveled down to NC very often and enjoyed everything we seen and did. We also boated down the ICW through much of the northern end of NC. Simply beautiful.

We also traveled to Maryland often. The Boat shows in Annapolis were a favorite trip and every summer we rented a place in Crisfield, Maryland right on the water. What a wonderful little town. Is the Captains Galley still there? Last I was there it closed because they were converting the outdoor crab cafe into a full indoor restaurant. They bragged that that 7 Crabs went into every Crab cake. They were the best Crab Cakes in the world.

Given a choice? North Carolina's Outter Banks would get me.

[NENC]

Roanoker, sounds like your family ties to MD influenced you. I do respect your opinion but I honestly don't see much similarity between VA and MD with the exception of maybe the immediate metro DC areas of Northern Virginia. However most Virginians outside of metro DC see Northern Virginia as the exception rather than the rule as far as Virginia's identity goes. I worked in downtown Richmond for a while in state government and the joke there was that the "real" Virginia started south of the Rappahannock River (Fredericksburg) and that Virginia should just let Northern Virginia secede and become its own state (or at least part of MD/DC) because it was so different from the rest of the state.

In my visits to western Virginia, I have never seen much there that's like Maryland. In fact, people in western Virginia (Roanoke, Bristol, Lynchburg) seem to have heavier Southern accents than folks in eastern Virginia do. I do agree however that Virginia has become one of the least "Southern" of the Southern states. Florida may be the only Southern state less "Southern" than Virginia now.

Back to the original question, I personally like NC much, much better than MD. NC has better beaches, better mountains, better hospitality, better universities and colleges, and they speak the language of 3/4 of Virginians (meaning they are fellow Southerners). Maryland is the North to me and as such cannot be a better neighbor to Virginia than North Carolina is.

[roanoker 4]

There is a new book out(can't remember the author) who talks about this
cultural drift that is developing along state lines. Some southern states are talking seriously about "seceding" once again.
Also, if you drive from Charlotte/Greensboro/Durham/Raleigh along I-85/40
the megalopolis that is developing rivals Northern VA. How long with NC stay
"southern" when so many "transplants" are calling NC home? Give it 5-10 years. Myrtle Beach SC is another example. I was there recently and it was named one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S. Just about every other car had NY tags. Enjoy that southern style while it lasts!!