do Maryland residents consider themselves as "Southerners?" (Frederick: fit in, living in)

[garine]

Looking for the attitude of people who live in the area. The Deep South has the contradictory reputation of southern hospitality and heavy Bible Belt Christianity mixed with intolerance and racism.

Where does Maryland fit in with those stereotypes?

[KeyserSoze]

So many generalizations in one post. This oughta be good...

I'm just gonna say that Maryland feels Southern to me, and leave it at that.

[Shandster]

I don't think of us as southern. Living in the 95 corridor my Maryland feels rushed. Culturally I feel we are more northern. When I travel east or west of where I am, the tone changes slightly. For me there is no community feel. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I don't mind that aspect of Maryland.

[JJacks]

No we are not southerners.

[tercel95]

I am from Southern MD and the people that were born and raised here are definitely what you would call "southern"... There are still places further south in St. Mary's county where people still have a lot of land and hunt on there own property...

In terms of stereotypes there is definitely a little more intolerance and close mindedness in Southern MD than other areas of MD, but it has gotten much better over the past few years due to the influx of transients as a byproduct of PAX River NAS... There is still a live off the land/water attitude from a lot of the locals... I saw rebel flags on jacked pickup trucks, but that has also died down over the years...

Southern MD is really rich in history with the bay and St. Marys city and all... Also MD has been a divided state for many many years... A lot of people in the Peoples Republic of MD forget about Southern MD and only think of the more urban areas...

[gr8doglove]

I'm born and bred in Maryland and in NO WAY do I feel like a Southerner! I don't see anything in Maryland that resembles the south and it's way of life/customs in any way.

I would say that Marylands Eastern Shore would be the exception because of it's close proximity to Virginia.

[westsideboy]

Maryland has always been a border state. The traditional divide was between the tobacco plantation regions in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore and the wheat growing family farm oriented areas along the Mason-Dixon line. Marylander's loyalties in the Civil War were largely along these lines.

These days the divide is more between the urban regions in the center of the state and the rural areas in the West, South, and East of the state. Since the majority of Marylanders live in the center of the state, surveys I have seen normally indicate about a majority claiming Northern identity. I would guess a majority in the rural counties on the Eastern Shore and maybe Southern Maryland would identify themselves as "Southerners" although I admit I have never seen county level data on the topic.

[goozer]

Originally Posted by garine

Looking for the attitude of people who live in the area. The Deep South has the contradictory reputation of southern hospitality and heavy Bible Belt Christianity mixed with intolerance and racism.

Where does Maryland fit in with those stereotypes?

No offense, but you should spend some time traveling in the "Deep South." There is a huge african-american population in states like South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and "intolerance and racism" are not adjectives that I frequently hear used to describe this big slice of the southern populace. It sounds like you have a specific southern white "Gone With The Wind" stereotype in mind that is not by any means indicative of what the majority of people are like in the south.

And for the record, while parts of Maryland may have southern aspects, I don't think there are any areas that conjure up the deep south "reputation" that you describe.

[mwruckman]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Maryland has always been a border state. The traditional divide was between the tobacco plantation regions in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore and the wheat growing family farm oriented areas along the Mason-Dixon line. Marylander's loyalties in the Civil War were largely along these lines.

These days the divide is more between the urban regions in the center of the state and the rural areas in the West, South, and East of the state. Since the majority of Marylanders live in the center of the state, surveys I have seen normally indicate about a majority claiming Northern identity. I would guess a majority in the rural counties on the Eastern Shore and maybe Southern Maryland would identify themselves as "Southerners" although I admit I have never seen county level data on the topic.

What I would add is that Delmarva is largely southern below the canal that connects the Bay with the Delaware river and divides Newcastle(Willmington DE) from the rest of the state. On the western shore the I-95 corridor is Northern but the two southern Md counties St Marys and Charles are just like the Va Tidewater (Southern). Caroll and Frederick counties plus the Western panhandle are Applachian (i.e. W VA or Central Penna).

[rubytue]

I was born and raised in Tennessee, now live in Harford county. No way would I consider this area "southern." It has its redneck element, sure. But you can find them anywhere. That alone does not make it southern, just as someone from Michigan who hunts, fishes, and has a car in their backyard. That said, you can occasionally find sweet tea.