Do Richmond people feel an affinity to Baltimore? Baltimore from a Richmond comparitive? (Chesapeake: live, plantation)

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by pantin23

Still calling Richmond "southern" because of events over 150 years ago is an absurd joke. I would say RVA appears more, and more Northeastern by the decade.

It's still southern.

[goofy328]

Why is Southern a bad thing?

Back in Ohio we just are. None of this Northern/Southern foolishness. No need to define yourself as anything. One thing I miss about the Midwest.

People say; we're more Northeastern as time goes on. Why does that even matter?

[Magicstar1]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

It's still southern.

Richmond is Mid-Atlantic. Not Northern and not southern. It does not make sense to say that any place is simply Northern or Southern when so many cultures exist within both regions. I most certainly agree that people need to stop associating Richmond with the confederacy. Being southern is not a bad thing, but neither is being simply Mid-Atlantic. People who want to talk about Richmond need to have lived in the city for a long period of time or have done research on the culture of Richmond, otherwise, people need to understand the importance of speaking once and listening twice. Simply visiting a city a few times and then making assumptions based on what you see and hear does not give you knowledge of that place. Richmond, Virginia is a truly unique city that is hard for some people to truly grasp, but it is worth the time to learn about. Yes,

https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.co...-of-the-south/

[WineNot]

Magicstar1: Agreed. But for those who insist that Richmond is southern, how about a compromise? Richmond is a Mid-Atlantic city with Southern roots.


goofy328: It's a north/south thing. You can't understand it unless you're native to the east coast.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by WineNot

Magicstar1: Agreed. But for those who insist that Richmond is southern, how about a compromise? Richmond is a Mid-Atlantic city with Southern roots.


goofy328: It's a north/south thing. You can't understand it unless you're native to the east coast.

One of these days I'm going back home. You're never really part of the East Coast unless you're born here. Some people are able to assimilate into it. I've been here 10 years and old habits die hard. It's hard enough here I can't fathom New York.

A lot of the how people talk and how they are, whatever I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

[WineNot]

The thing about whether Richmond/Virginia is southern or not has been going on for decades. And as time goes on and the city and state gets less and less southern, the more people who want them to be southern will yell.
I'm sorry you're not happy here and hope you'll be able to go back home. I understand that feeling.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by WineNot

The thing about whether Richmond/Virginia is southern or not has been going on for decades. And as time goes on and the city and state gets less and less southern, the more people who want them to be southern will yell.
I'm sorry you're not happy here and hope you'll be able to go back home. I understand that feeling.

Well some people just can't accept change. As the Mid Atlantic grows some of the old timers that don't have anything to lose will leave. Those that can't afford to start over will just have to deal with it.

I'm not unhappy I'm more indifferent. I guess that is part of what it's like to live here. It's very large, which I love, but it isn't as clean as what you get in the Midwest and everything is faster. Midwest has it's bad areas but parking is never an issue and the roads and the sidewalks are wider. Alleys are wider. Everything is tight here. And they tax you on every little thing. I sort of miss that laid back. Even the larger cities like Chicago and Detroit it's sort of chill.

I like Virginia but I think there are two Virginias. One for the locals and one for everyone else.

[murksiderock]

Tu

Originally Posted by WineNot

The thing about whether Richmond/Virginia is southern or not has been going on for decades. And as time goes on and the city and state gets less and less southern, the more people who want them to be southern will yell.

Only people not familiar with Richmond seem to think this is a new thing. I've recalled several occasions as a youth of this occurring in the early 2000s, I'm not surprised there was a debate before then...

Originally Posted by goofy328

One of these days I'm going back home. You're never really part of the East Coast unless you're born here. Some people are able to assimilate into it. I've been here 10 years and old habits die hard.

This is funny but I get it. I spent most of my adolescence and had most of my education here. I think that I assimilated pretty well into RVA (not into Tidewater, though! Lol). But as I've noted in the past, there were different moments throughout my youth where I was reminded that I stood out. A part of California never left me and only in recent years have I grown to embrace that...

That said I love Richmond and Virginia and it will always be a part of me as well...

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by VA All Day

Can't speak for Ohio but in Chicago there seems to be no shortage of midwesterners that falsely think they're superior to southerners (among others).

Well. It is sort of the same thing. It is the same place; different geographically, but similar on too many levels to waste time discussing. I see Chicago as an amalgamation of efforts to escape the deep South. Detroit the exact same way. Once the reasons for settling there change, the environment changes and the scales tilt the other way. This is one of the major problems with comparisons between the Midwest and the Northeast. The areas are heavily populated for two entirely different reasons, and the people that flourish in one won't like the other. But there is a deeper connection Chicago has with the South, particularly the deep South, that no one aware of the history should feel that way. It isn't in a vacuum, and neither is New York. It may be physically isolated from other areas but it still shares the DNA of areas it doesn't want to acknowledge exists. Maybe this is why we have so many Chicago vs New York, Chicago vs Houston threads on here.

[Magicstar1]

Originally Posted by WineNot

Magicstar1: Agreed. But for those who insist that Richmond is southern, how about a compromise? Richmond is a Mid-Atlantic city with Southern roots.


goofy328: It's a north/south thing. You can't understand it unless you're native to the east coast.

Thats fine. But that is also true for most Mid-Atlantic cities. Baltimore has Southern roots, Washington has Southern roots, Annapolis has southern roots.

The reason I separate the Mid-Atlantic from the South is because it was settled and founded by different groups of people than most of the south. It is geographically defined by the Chesapeake Bay. It is southern in a way. Just different than the majority of the south.