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Chris I would say people in the very southern parts of WV may actually be true southerners similar to people from Kentucky and Tennessee, but not deep southerners.
I mentioned this in the General US Forum, but some of my relatives on my mother's side (grandparents) moved from rural Greene County, PA (Jefferson to be exact) to Akron, OH way back in the 1940's. From stories I am told, people in Ohio commented on their "southern accent."
I know a guy who moved from Beaver Falls, PA to Bridgeport, CT and according to him, they called him a southerner.
Now I grew up primarily in Clarksburg and I never considered it a southern town. It's funny because I read an old article about a family who moved from Clarksburg to Chicago in the 1950's to look for work and the article called people from Clarksburg "southern migrants", grouping them with the whites that moved from the deep south.
I think West Virginians are generally grouped with the South no matter where they are from in the state.
CT the reason for that is Texas is so big. If WV was the size of Texas it could easily stretch into parts of PA, NY, Ohio, WV, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Maybe further.
People need to remember south doesnt begin at state lines. Culture and attitude transcends such boundaries.
I think Mid-Atlantic could be a good description for a cross between NE and Southern (Not deep south). Also Appalachian can be similar to southern culture but yeah Appalachia in Northern PA is different than Appalachia in Kentucky.
Chris I would say people in the very southern parts of WV may actually be true southerners similar to people from Kentucky and Tennessee, but not deep southerners.
I think that some individuals can relate to the South, but it would be hard for me to say that areas in WV are Southern. Please don't forget that Appalachian and Southern are two different cultures, and WV is the capital of Appalachia.
In terms of social character, the real "South" actually would begin somewhere in South Carolina, move westward, and end in the middle of Texas. Everything north of that up to New Jersey would be Middle Atlantic. But, when they paint us in a very positive light like that, I certainly have no problem with them including us in the South.
North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky are southern. Do you really think that you have to go all the way to South Carolina to be in the South?
North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky are southern. Do you really think that you have to go all the way to South Carolina to be in the South?
Parts of Virginia are. I would say NOVA is not very southern and as much more in common with the NW than the south. Same thing with North Carolina, but it is more southern as a whole than Virginia. Still NC is mostly not deep south. South Carolina is for sure.
I think that some individuals can relate to the South, but it would be hard for me to say that areas in WV are Southern. Please don't forget that Appalachian and Southern are two different cultures, and WV is the capital of Appalachia.
Actually, WV is the only state that is entirely in Appalachia, but Pittsburgh would lay claim to being the Capital.
North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky are southern. Do you really think that you have to go all the way to South Carolina to be in the South?
There are definitely parts of Virginia that don't have a southern character. And, there are parts that have an Appalachian but not a southern character.
Pittsburgh is most definitely Appalachian. There's Appalachia to its left and Appalachia to its right. Why else would it be so incredibly hilly? I agree that it is also Midwestern and Rustbelt in character, but that can also be said of a lot of West Virginia as well.
As for Northern Virginia, it's still the South. Up until the last several decades, it was nearly as Southern as any other part of Virginia. The recent massive influxes of transplants, bringing with them the way they talk, act, live, etc. has given the area a Northeastern-esque culture, but the summers are still hot and unbelievably humid, the few locals still there from before the mass invasion have Southern accents, and the parts of NoVa that are still rural still have a Southern feel. Just because an area becomes heavily influenced by outsiders doesn't mean it changes its underlying identity. The same things could be said of Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. These were wholeheartedly Southern until the transplants took over.
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