Is DC a Northeast City (districts, state, compared, place)
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This thread is pure entertainment and not meant to be taking seriously. Because I really don't want to believe that there are soo many ignorant people in this thread that actually believe that Maryland/DC are not part of the South. There is nothing about DC/Maryland that would prove that it isn't par of the Southern Region and there is nothing about DC that would be comparable to the Cities of the Northeast.......
.IMO,.basically if your grandparents were from D.C they definitely have or had a southern accent..nowadays its a dialect..folks will carry their words rather than pernounciate the whole thing...Theres alot of local slang used in D.C that they wont understand up north or down south but will use slang from both regions interchangeably .....I dont think they listen to chopped and screwed music like that in the NE like in D.C....ppl in D.C dont even use the word "yo" like the NE its "young"......IF ppl were to like go-go outside of DC it would most likely be in VA or even NC more so than even Baltimore or NY.....but def it isnt the south either
What do people who actually live in Washington DC think about this question?
From my experience in talking with people, the general view here is that that "the south" starts somewhere between DC and Richmond.
A clear majority would agree with the statement that:
DC is not southern. The culture is far more northern than southern.
Although, many would add it has some vaugely southern traits, mostly related to the city's A-A population (many of who have roots in the true south).
DC's whites are the same liberal urban yuppies that you find in SF, Chi, or Bos.
Whether DC is NE is a little harder to say. Most would say mid-atlantic. But, if forced to chose between NE and South, it would not be universal, but a solid majority would (probably) go with NE.
What do people who actually live in Washington DC think about this question?
I've lived in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. for almost 4 decades (I know, shocking) and have never heard anyone refer to D.C. as a southern city during this period. I didn't know this was even controversial until I came to C-D. lol.
The D.C. area always felt northern to me, since if you live here you know it shares similarities and is a lot more regionally connected with Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City than with other areas. (I can't seem to get away from New Jersey especially for some reason, maybe because such a high concentration of people live in that state.) But I guess there are some southern influences here too among part of the African American community, which makes it somewhat transitional.
BTW, I think the argument about northeast cities being defined by an industrial, blue-collar white ethnic base is important historically. But this factor has become significantly less relevant in modern times as northeast cities are re-inventing themselves and transforming into largely white-collar cities with more diverse populations. So, Washington, D.C. and the other traditionally northeast cities are becoming more, not less, like one another over time.
Having said this, it's also a nice change of pace to be able to get a stronger southern cultural vibe as you head further out passed northern Virginia and even to parts of southern Maryland like St. Mary's County.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 10-28-2010 at 09:04 AM..
BTW, I think the argument about northeast cities being defined by an industrial, blue-collar white ethnic base is important historically. But this factor is becoming significantly less relevant in modern times as northeast cities are re-inventing themselves and transforming into largely white-collar cities with more diverse populations.
This is still very relevant. It's not the simple fact that the north had lots of factories and the south did not; it's also the fact that factories attracted immigrants whose culture truly defined the identities of northeastern cities. Because DC never had an Ellis Island-type mass influx of immigrants, it has developed an identity that is completely different from Boston, Philly, and New York.
And I just don't buy the argument that DC has become more northeastern due to migration. First, there are a lot of people who move to DC from places like California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, etc, so I fail to see how they make the region more "northern." Second, that argument could be made for many cities. Has Charlotte become more northern because of the presence of large commercial banks and an influx of Yankees? What about Atlanta? I don't think I've ever met someone who was actually from Atlanta. And what of South Florida? That's pretty much an extension of Long Island.
DC's population boom has made it less southern, perhaps not southern at all, but you could say the same thing about Atlanta. Just because a bunch of people move to a city from all over does not make it a northeastern city.
AA's in all cities across the US have some southern influences. It would be foolish to argue that the southside of Chicago or Detriot has more southern culture than DC based on the way they talk. And you would never classify Chicago as a southern city. That being said, if you look at DC's characteristics, it definitely does not follow the patterns of its southern counterparts. Is it northen like Boston and NYC? Yes on some accounts and no on some accounts.
AA's in all cities across the US have some southern influences. It would be foolish to argue that the southside of Chicago or Detriot has more southern culture than DC based on the way they talk. And you would never classify Chicago as a southern city. That being said, if you look at DC's characteristics, it definitely does not follow the patterns of its southern counterparts. Is it northen like Boston and NYC? Yes on some accounts and no on some accounts.
In what ways is Washington, DC similar to Boston and New York?
In what ways is Washington, DC similar to Atlanta?
I posted something about 40 pages back but here is a snippet of some of the characteristics DC shares with northeastern cities.
Miles of rowhomes
Large downtown core
Similar density
Compactness
Educated populace
High % of transportation usage
Fast paced
Multiple cultural ammenities
Extremely liberal and democratic
Similarities with Atl
High income AA population
High % of AA owned businesses
Suburban make up in AA community is similar (PG County)
AA Mayor(s)
I dont see why anyone would want DC to be lumped in with the NE. And no I dont think its a part of the South either. Putting it in any category takes away from the uniqueness of the District to me. It is the premier city of the Midatlantic region. It is the gateway to the North/South depending on your direction of travel.
And honestly, if you were to ask a DC native if they were the NE or the south, they would more than likely say neither, ........Im from DC!! or This is DC!! lol
DC people are funny. They have a lot of pride and all they care about is "DC"
I dont see why anyone would want DC to be lumped in with the NE. And no I dont think its a part of the South either. Putting it in any category takes away from the uniqueness of the District to me. It is the premier city of the Midatlantic region. It is the gateway to the North/South depending on your direction of travel.
And honestly, if you were to ask a DC native if they were the NE or the south, they would more than likely say neither, Im from DC!! or This is DC!! lol
This is kinda the problem for me here. Alotta people are agreeing that D.C. is Mid-Atlantic, not Northeastern, but a huge subsection of the Northeast is Mid-Atlantic. The two major general regions it's split into is New England, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI and CT, and the Mid Atlantic, NY, NJ, and PA. Then there's also Baltimore, which most people also seem to be agreeing is Northeastern, but it's in Maryland which is Mid Atlantic and may or may not be Northeastern? There's also Delaware, which is Mid Atlantic, ok, but if you had to pick a larger region I'd definitely pick Northeastern not Southern.
The point is, the whole problem with saying it's Mid Atlantic is that it doesn't really specify anything. Both NY and VA are Mid Atlantic states, but NY is Northeastern and Virginia is Southern, so what's the deal here? Mid Atlantic belongs to both North and South, with some people I've talked to, it's like you call a place that might be Northeastern Mid Atlantic if it's not exactly Southern but they don't wanna "give it" to, or admit that it's in the Northeast.
If Mid Atlantic belongs to both, I'd just call D.C. the transition zone to the Northeast because honestly, that's what it is today. When you've entered the D.C. area, you've entered the Northeast. Why is NOVA not the "real Virginia"? Obviously whoever says that doesn't think of it as very Southern...
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