It's official: Maryland is a NORTHEASTERN state! (vs., demographics)

[ialmostforgot]

Originally Posted by MDude25

I wish you fools would stop arguing about this. Maryland is a mid-atlantic state, it is neither southern nor northeastern. The Mason-Dixon line has lost its relevance, today the real border between North and South is the Potomac River.

So Maryland is northern but not northeastern?

Could you explain how the Potomac River is the new boundary? Especially because Indian Head, MD is more southern than Reston, VA.

[MDude25]

Originally Posted by ialmostforgot

So Maryland is northern but not northeastern?

Could you explain how the Potomac River is the new boundary? Especially because Indian Head, MD is more southern than Reston, VA.

Maryland is Mid-Atlantic plain and simple. You could say the north starts with NJ and up.

Doesn't matter what towns are more northern and southern in either MD or VA the totality of the states is what I am looking at. Winchester, VA is further north than most of Calvert county yet it is more culturally southern than places like Waldorf, La Plata, and other towns there. Look at the states as a whole.

Maryland is a liberal over-run Mid-Atlantic state. Yes, eastern shore is culturally different and so is western MD, the state altogether is neither northeastern nor southern just a Mid-Atlantic liberal state flooded by Democrats. So it is both culturally and politically different from most of the Southern states as well.

Could you explain how the Potomac River is the new boundary?

Because Virginia is the first real southern state you hit as you go down I-95, and the natural border between MD and VA is the Potomac River thus it becomes the border where the South begins. Virginia unlike Maryland has retained its southern roots and culture for the most part, and even celebrates it. Maryland has transformed.

[Infinite_heights77]

Maryland purists will fight to keep the state from being associated with anything Northeastern.

[KeyserSoze]

Originally Posted by MDude25

Doesn't matter what towns are more northern and southern in either MD or VA the totality of the states is what I am looking at. Winchester, VA is further north than most of Calvert county yet it is more culturally southern than places like Waldorf, La Plata, and other towns there. Look at the states as a whole.

You really can't look at the state of Maryland (or most other states for that matter) as a whole and determine what region it belongs in. That ignores the complex cultural differences in the various regions of the state. Winchester VA is about 70 or so miles west of DC in the northern reaches of the Shenandoah Valley. The DC sprawl hasn't extended that far out and it isn't a place full of transplants. The opposite is true for places like Waldorf or La Plata, where they are still in the eye of the ever increasing sprawl of the DC area.

Also, Winchester may seem more Southern, but the same can't really be said about Front Royal, which is about 20 or so miles to the south of Winchester, or Fredericksburg which is further down 95.

[Infinite_heights77]

You really can't look at the state of Maryland (or most other states for that matter) as a whole and determine what region it belongs in. That ignores the complex cultural differences in the various regions of the state.

*Interesting point! MD's "complex cultural differences" are quite interesting.

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

You really can't look at the state of Maryland (or most other states for that matter) as a whole and determine what region it belongs in. That ignores the complex cultural differences in the various regions of the state. Winchester VA is about 70 or so miles west of DC in the northern reaches of the Shenandoah Valley. The DC sprawl hasn't extended that far out and it isn't a place full of transplants. The opposite is true for places like Waldorf or La Plata, where they are still in the eye of the ever increasing sprawl of the DC area.

Also, Winchester may seem more Southern, but the same can't really be said about Front Royal, which is about 20 or so miles to the south of Winchester, or Fredericksburg which is further down 95.

[U146]

Originally Posted by MDude25

Maryland is Mid-Atlantic plain and simple. You could say the north starts with NJ and up.

Doesn't matter what towns are more northern and southern in either MD or VA the totality of the states is what I am looking at. Winchester, VA is further north than most of Calvert county yet it is more culturally southern than places like Waldorf, La Plata, and other towns there. Look at the states as a whole.

Maryland is a liberal over-run Mid-Atlantic state. Yes, eastern shore is culturally different and so is western MD, the state altogether is neither northeastern nor southern just a Mid-Atlantic liberal state flooded by Democrats. So it is both culturally and politically different from most of the Southern states as well.



Because Virginia is the first real southern state you hit as you go down I-95, and the natural border between MD and VA is the Potomac River thus it becomes the border where the South begins. Virginia unlike Maryland has retained its southern roots and culture for the most part, and even celebrates it. Maryland has transformed.

I disagree. Most of Maryland is Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern with only Southern Maryland being part of the South.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by U146

I disagree. Most of Maryland is Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern with only Southern Maryland being part of the South.

How much firsthand experience do you have with Maryland? Just curious.

[sniffablecow]

Originally Posted by MDude25

Maryland is Mid-Atlantic plain and simple. You could say the north starts with NJ and up.

Doesn't matter what towns are more northern and southern in either MD or VA the totality of the states is what I am looking at. Winchester, VA is further north than most of Calvert county yet it is more culturally southern than places like Waldorf, La Plata, and other towns there. Look at the states as a whole.

Maryland is a liberal over-run Mid-Atlantic state. Yes, eastern shore is culturally different and so is western MD, the state altogether is neither northeastern nor southern just a Mid-Atlantic liberal state flooded by Democrats. So it is both culturally and politically different from most of the Southern states as well.



Because Virginia is the first real southern state you hit as you go down I-95, and the natural border between MD and VA is the Potomac River thus it becomes the border where the South begins. Virginia unlike Maryland has retained its southern roots and culture for the most part, and even celebrates it. Maryland has transformed.

I think what ialmostforgot is saying is, mid-atlantic is still considered northeastern, but lowkey. I agree with you for the most part, but I would say it is a middle state, not mid-atlantic.

[sniffablecow]

To be honest guys, my idea is to have a region that only includes Maryland and Delaware. These states are CLEARLY too hard to categorize in one region. Whether you make it north or south, there will always be debaters that will prove it not true or at least not a good standard. Even if you call it the mid-atlantic, that will not be good enough, or not true, since mid-atlantic is actually a low-key region of the northeast. I was thinking of calling this region the middle east states of the US. If you live here, you can just call it the mid-east I guess. I understand that there is another mid-east, but it is not a big deal. I find the region I made descent, since both of these states are diverse.

[ialmostforgot]

Originally Posted by sniffablecow

I think what ialmostforgot is saying is, mid-atlantic is still considered northeastern, but lowkey. I agree with you for the most part, but I would say it is a middle state, not mid-atlantic.

Yes, in formal contexts except meteorology, Mid-Atlantic=NE. Washington post's PA to NC region is more aligned with what weather forecasters tend to say.

In an informal context, the Middle Atlantic is usually not the northeast, but Virginia, DC, Maryland and Delaware instead.