What does Delaware have more in common? Pennsylvania/New Jersey or Maryland/Virginia?

[DelawareLiz]

Rdlr and Pine to Vine's posts are 100 percent accurate in my opinion, particularly all the details in Pine to Vine's.

Lifelong DE resident for almost forty years and have never moved away, with most of those years at or near the Delaware beaches. Like rdlr, I can relate to MD Eastern Shore more than any other surrounding state-even considered moving there but didn't because (as Pete stated) it has a neutered political climate and the taxes are insane. I love so many things about the Eastern Shore of MD and I frequent the state quite often--mostly the Berlin and OC/west OC area. It has SO much to offer! Events, festivals, great craft beer gatherings . However, I cannot relate to MD across the bridge and it doesn't remind me of below the ditch DE at all....no way, no thanks. Great parks over there though.

NJ?? I can see similarities between lower DE and southern Jersey, but I don't feel the kinship. Northern Jersey has some pretty areas though, and I have met some really great people from NJ. However, I rarely visit the state--too much traffic, risky drivers, and wayyyyy too many scary areas.

PA?? Not sure about that one--maybe some ties between northern DE and southern PA. It is a northern state where DE is Mid Atlantic. I have met some really friendly people from PA though.

Virginia isn't even is the same ballpark as any part of DE. It's definitely the south. I have spent quite a bit of time down there these past ten years and been out and about to local events and restaurants. My parents live on a small farm near Parksley, and their neighbors are unlike anyone I've met in DE. They are all genuinely friendly and down to earth with true southern accents (which does not exist in DE natives). They are very slow paced and have each other's backs. The accent isn't as strong as somebody from Appalachia or South Carolina or other parts of the deep south, but it's certainly a very southern lifestyle in VA. True southerners laugh at DE residents and transplants who try to "sound southern" and fly rebel flags. I laugh at them as well.

[dghornock]

Northernmost Delaware are ethnically the same as greater Philadelphia with large numbers of Germans, Italians, and Irish. The culture in Hockessin, Yorkyln, Pike Creek, Newark and Wilmington are very different from the the remainder of the state. Areas to the south are very much like eastern Maryland (all but much of the eastern shore) and eastern Virginia, along the 1-95 corridor, which are largely Anglo- Celtic and African American. The remainder of Delaware is weakly Southern as much of it's neighbors to the west and southwest. This area has a large Catholic population and is still moderate to liberal politically. Many of the people living in most of Delaware and Maryland are from north of the Mason and Dixon Line originally. It is still the area that needle palms (blue palmetto) are grown outside and cottonmouths are spotted occasionally, and Confederate flags are sometimes flown or are seen on cars or trucks, and the black population is sizable. Even the weather cannot decide, it is like Philadelphia one day and like south of Richmond the next.

[longneckone]

Originally Posted by rdlr

When transplants ask me:
"Where can I find a good Philly cheesesteak".....Answer: Philly
"Where can I find a good NY pizza"...................Answer: NY

Delaware Cheesesteak for me, and Grotto Pizza.

We do have a great deli here on Long Neck which makes great Hoagies and Phila Cheese Steaks.
I think NNC is closely related to Philadelphia and the fact that Sussex County is considered part of Delmarva should leave no question there.

[doctorjef]

I know that many people here in northern New Castle County are highly orientated to Philadelphia, but I've very little interest in that city or PA in general and I know a few people here who don't look to Philly as the hub of our area. It's unfortunate that Wilmington doesn't have a tv station affiliate of a national network -- I'd prefer to hear much less about Philly, and much more about DE. WHYY PBS is technically here, but devotes very little time to events and things of interest in DE.

[Mimidae]

Speaking for New Castle County, it has more in common with PA/NJ. But even in NCCo, there are shades of the more southern states. I'm sure those in the rural south of the state may identify more strongly with MD/VA.