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I guess my experience with Virginia is more with the Southwestern Appalachian side of the State, so that is where my perception of the State is. I have never been to Virginia Beach or Richmond. Growing up in Ohio, my family would always travel down I-77 for vacations through Wytheville and the Jefferson National Forest. I also have a family friend who lives in Staunton, VA and I frequently camp in the Cumberland Gap and Breaks Interstate Park area of Virginia so I see a lot of similarities to Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Tennessee. So it seems that maybe outside of Southwest Virginia, much of the rest of the Commonwealth is different from KY and TN?
Yeah, Virginia is closer to Maryland. It's a Southern Mid-Atlantic state with strong ties to the ocean. It's more Chesapeake than Interior South like Kentucky and Tennessee.
Appalachia and Shenandoah above are somewhat similar to Kentucky and Tenessee, but are only 14.25% of the population. Nova is practically the Northeast and is 36.7% of the Commonwealth, Piedmont is like North Carolina to me, and Crownlands, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake are more connected to the sea.
Virginia by dint of having a coastline makes it different from Kentucky and Tennessee--not better, but just different. It means several things. It means having some of the oldest still existent cities as one of the original colonies, it means ports for commerce and influence, and it means beaches on the ocean which is a vastly different kind of topography which stretches inland as a coastal plain (Virginia is literally on the other side of the mountains). West Virginia is in some ways more comparable though it doesn't have particularly major cities.
Yeah, Virginia is closer to Maryland. It's a Southern Mid-Atlantic state with strong ties to the ocean. It's more Chesapeake than Interior South like Kentucky and Tennessee.
Appalachia and Shenandoah above are somewhat similar to Kentucky and Tenessee, but are only 14.25% of the population. Nova is practically the Northeast and is 36.7% of the Commonwealth, Piedmont is like North Carolina to me, and Crownlands, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake are more connected to the sea.
Lol what kinda regions are these?
Central Virginia (this is the first time I've ever heard "Crownlands") is only connected to the sea on Richmond's eastern counties and even then I want to be cautious with how i say "connected"--southeast counties like Charles City and Prince George (and Hopewell) are Tidewater-lite and have ties to The Tidewater; and northeastern counties like Caroline and surroundings are tied to the Northern Neck...
If the city of Richmond is connected to anything, the social and cultural ties here are noticeably greater to NoVA and DC than they are to the Tidewater. This one is an easy call. There goes that "connected to the sea" thing. Whoever gave you that map needs to be reprimanded lol. And just by your characterization of Central Virginia, it's evident you haven't spent much time outside of Northern Virginia (I was reared between both Northern and Central Virginia and know both quite well)...
An earlier post mentioned that he's seen Rich compared to other mid-sized Southern cities. Which is true, because Richmond is still a Southern City, however...Richmond is unique within the South in that Richmond does not view itself as a competitor to other Southern cities. We talk about it on here, but that doesn't reflect reality, not the government of this city, not the universities, not the pop culture, etc. The cities Richmond look to for inspiration are Northern cities. This doesn't mean that Richmomd isn't comparable to other Southern cities, because it is and any city can be compared to another--but Richmond isn't competing with Southern cities...
I guess my experience with Virginia is more with the Southwestern Appalachian side of the State, so that is where my perception of the State is. I have never been to Virginia Beach or Richmond. Growing up in Ohio, my family would always travel down I-77 for vacations through Wytheville and the Jefferson National Forest. I also have a family friend who lives in Staunton, VA and I frequently camp in the Cumberland Gap and Breaks Interstate Park area of Virginia so I see a lot of similarities to Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Tennessee. So it seems that maybe outside of Southwest Virginia, much of the rest of the Commonwealth is different from KY and TN?
Precisely, or at least in terms of non-urban areas within those states. Keep in mind, VA isn't a massive state, but it is a very long state, with portions stretching further west than Detroit. The three towns of Jonesville, Rose Hill, and Ewing, in Lee County in southwestern Virginia, are all west of all of West Virginia. This wedge of Virginia that juts westward into eastern KY and TN is culturally unique to other parts of Virginia. It would certainly have a lot more in common with eastern KY and TN in terms of the Appalachian south. Those areas don't vote like, or share some of the same cultural realities of the eastern metropolitan regions of VA. Cumberland Gap, VA in Lee County is actually physically closer to Montgomery, AL and Indianapolis than it is to the state capital of Richmond (which is nearly 7 hours away) let alone Hampton Roads and DC, which are both 8 hours away from there. To contrast that, it takes only 3.5-4 hours without traffic to go from Richmond to Philadelphia, several states away. You'll be in NY faster than if you try to drive to furthest reaches of VA from the capital. Geography is weird.
You said Richmond is not competing with southern cities, and that is not true. Richmond is not above it all like you are claiming.
But I didn't say Rich was "above" anyone...
You don't understand what I'm saying. It's good! Listen, I love you too, Shakeesha, I'll choose not to argue with you when it's clear you have a misunderstanding of what my point was...
You don't understand what I'm saying. It's good! Listen, I love you too, Shakeesha, I'll choose not to argue with you when it's clear you have a misunderstanding of what my point was...
Richmond is competing with southern cities, and that's that. You have no evidence that it is not.
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