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Here in eastern Pennsylvania I hear the term east coast to describe out particular area.
I also hear mid Atlantic along with Northeast to also describe where I live.
I believe we are a transitional area here and are truly in the middle between the mid Atlantic and the Northeast.
In my experience, when people say East Coast, they generally mean the Northeast from Maine down to DC, including Pennsylvania and Vermont which are actually on the coast. Eastern Seaboard on the other hand generally encompasses everything along the coast from Maine down to Florida. The only time I ever see/hear East Coast referencing the entire Eastern Seaboard is on certain weather channels.
I'm from the Northwest, and I generally perceive the East Coast to include the New England and Mid-Atlantic states, whilst dismissing NC, SC and GA (along with FL to a bit of a lesser extent) as purely Southern, regardless of the fact that all four of those states are indeed eastern and coastal. Perhaps regional politics has formed this perception?
And actually, I tend to think in terms of "back east" rather than "East Coast," which is likely the reason why I include certain non-coastal states (i.e. VT, WV and PA) in my perception of "East Coast."
I think everyone has explained pretty well why they don't include the Southeast in the East Coast. What I'm wondering is why a perfectly valid (and more precise) name for this part of the country - the Northeast - has been usurped.
I'm from the Northwest, and I generally perceive the East Coast to include the New England and Mid-Atlantic states, whilst dismissing NC, SC and GA (along with FL to a bit of a lesser extent) as purely Southern, regardless of the fact that all four of those states are indeed eastern and coastal. Perhaps regional politics has formed this perception?
And actually, I tend to think in terms of "back east" rather than "East Coast," which is likely the reason why I include certain non-coastal states (i.e. VT, WV and PA) in my perception of "East Coast."
Am I making sense here?
Yeah and thats how I view it as an Easterner.
Its all pretty relative. Theres no black and white to it IMO, and people that try to do that I find quite silly.
Out west I would refer to CA, OR, WA, and also AZ, NV, MT, etc.
I do consider Miami as East Coast as well, culturally. What else would it be? This is in terms of East/West only.
Okay, here's one for you. When I moved to Portland OR and told people I was from Chicago, Illinois most people insisted I was from "back East." I said "No, Illinois is in the Midwest." They said, "No, Colorado is in the Midwest, Illinois is Back East."
As one person here explained it to me, anything east of the Rockies is East. The Rockies to the Cascades is Midwest. West of the Cascades is West. So coming from Chicago, I was from "Back East" and that was that.
I admit I was never good in geography but that never sounded quite right to me.
The Term "East Coast" is used much more broadly than just the Bos-Wash Corridor.
Hes....
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