Is NOVA Part of the Northeast? (Richmond, Hampton: living in, centers, authority)

[michgc]

I'm a Philly native, too! We definitely don't see the Italian neighborhoods in DC like you do in Philly or even their influence - no pizza places every 3 blocks. Growing up (in the suburbs actually), it seemed like everyone was Italian or Irish or German. Most of the people I knew were Catholic. In NoVA, I don't meet nearly as many Catholics or Italians. But of course there are people there from every religion and nationality from all over the world, too. It definitely has an international feel to it.

In some ways, DC is "northeastern" in that it is a relatively big city. It has a great influence (obviously) and it has many northeastern residents in its midst. On the other hand, its roots are more of a sleepy southern town, especially when you cross over the river into Virginia. The effect of Richmond on Northern Virginia cannot be denied, and when your kids learn that "their" state was part of the confederacy, you think "Hey we're not Yankees anymore."

On the other hand, having just moved to North Carolina a year ago, I definitely see where NC is much more southern than NoVA ever was, and it's easy for people down here to lump DC with Balto., Philly, NYC, and Boston.

Having said all that, I'd agree that DC is firmly mid-Atlantic.

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by valentro

People in Philadelphia and Boston fart and think it's funny. I see it in every damn bar and in public parks there. It seems to be socially acceptable in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Thank god, don't see or in this case hear much of that here. Seriously those guys up there have the weirdest sense of humor ever.

They're just trying to keep each other warm. It gets cold up there, every little bit helps.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

They're just trying to keep each other warm. It gets cold up there, every little bit helps.

In a way, it would be rude not to express flatus in cold weather.

[CAVA1990]

Historically San Francisco is more Northeastern than NoVA. Something about places with large numbers of 19th and 20th century Irish and Italian immigrants made for their liberal politics.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Historically San Francisco is more Northeastern than NoVA. Something about places with large numbers of 19th and 20th century Irish and Italian immigrants made for their liberal politics.

When people there pass gas, do they call it a velvet fog?

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

Also, do a lot of people in NOVA identify by Catholic parish?

No, not really. The Diocese of Arlington is large (21 counties, 68 parishes and 6 missions), and the parishes are really spread out as you get further from the cathedral in Arlington. There are more than a few people (such as my family) who are registered in a different parish from the one in which they reside. (In my case, we find our parish to be too conservative, and we had a personal issue with one of the priests several years ago, so we tried out some of the parishes that are staffed by non-diocesan priests and ended up loving one about 13 miles away in a different county. We are not the only ones from our neighborhood to make the journey.) Also, parochial schools aren't quite the big deal here as they are (or were) in cities where the public schools aren't good, which affects parish identity. Only slightly more than half of the parishes have an elementary school.

[pcity]

Considering how many people here are from PA/NJ/NY, I don't see how we could be that different from the Northeast.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by pcity

Considering how many people here are from PA/NJ/NY, I don't see how we could be that different from the Northeast.

Perhaps I have a distorted view since I live in an area heavily populated by current and former military officers, many working at the Pentagon, most of whom didn't arrive from the Northeast. We have a lot of Southerners, Midwesterners and Westerners here.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Historically San Francisco is more Northeastern than NoVA. Something about places with large numbers of 19th and 20th century Irish and Italian immigrants made for their liberal politics.

Yeah, I'm not sure if large numbers of Irish and Italians adds up to "liberal politics." It's often the Italians and Irish in Staten Island who are howling for secession from the uber-liberal and Godless New York City. The Irish in Northeast Philadelphia have also grumbled about seceding from the rest of the city. These are the same ethnic whites that resisted Obama during the 2008 primaries, which led to crushing, double-digit defeats in Massachusetts (despite Deval Patrick being governor and endorsing him), Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He even lost New Hampshire by a significant margin.

White Democratic voters in the DC area are probably more similar to white Democratic voters in the Research Triangle or the Bay Area. They have different values from many of the union card holding, socially conservative Democrats in Staten Island.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Perhaps I have a distorted view since I live in an area heavily populated by current and former military officers, many working at the Pentagon, most of whom didn't arrive from the Northeast. We have a lot of Southerners, Midwesterners and Westerners here.

Do these Southerners, Midwesterners and Westerners make NOVA "northern," in your opinion?