Is Virginia sunbelt?

[rvabread22]

Kind of, yes. Because in the 1960s Northern Virginia was part of that Sunbelt boom. After air conditioning there was big move with businesses from the Northeast to places in Northern Virginia and around DC. D.C. was considered the South's Gateway.

[Diff1]

I was only taking about appearance and architecture because of all of the new shinny cookie cutter buildings, only exceptions would be parts of Arlington, Alexandria, and maybe Fredricksburg if that counts

[Poquoson7]

The built environment of most of Hampton Roads is a carbon copy of sunbelt regions largely developed after WW II and catering to the automobile. Think strip malls, cul de sacs, wide boulevards, condos, garden apartment complexes etc.
The area may not be "officially" sunbelt but in reality is a mirror image of other sunbelt regions.

[Spazkat9696]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

I guess when your average winter has 100'' of snow and sub zero weather we could be looked at as a sunbelt state.

VA is a pretty big state. I know our winters are nothing like that.

[rvabread22]

Originally Posted by Spazkat9696

VA is a pretty big state. I know our winters are nothing like that.

I know. That is ridiculous. Compared to most places, Virginia gets quite a bit less snow on average.

[Borntoolate85]

Originally Posted by Poquoson7

The built environment of most of Hampton Roads is a carbon copy of sunbelt regions largely developed after WW II and catering to the automobile. Think strip malls, cul de sacs, wide boulevards, condos, garden apartment complexes etc.
The area may not be "officially" sunbelt but in reality is a mirror image of other sunbelt regions.

I'd still say that Southside/Hampton Roads qualifies more than any other region of Virginia. IMO Hampton Roads/Norfolk is more like Jacksonville than it is like NYC/Philly and some winters in that part of the state pass without a measurable snowfall similar to cities like Atlanta, New Orleans, and Dallas. They are also further from the mountains that can generate cloudiness in the winter and on the edge of the Gulf Stream's influence. Northern Virginia on the other hand is more similar to say Kentucky in terms of being transitional between a true subtropical, sunbelt feel and a mid-latitude climate. Even though it has a lot of new development, it still has a more comprehensive transit/Metro system that you'll ever find compared to any city further south.

The Richmond area sort of falls in between. Some years/seasons, it feels sunbelt, but others, it feels midland. But generally speaking, I typically see Interstate 40 as the traditional northern boundary of the Sunbelt (and southern boundary of the Upper South), with a few exceptions to include all of Eastern North Carolina, Hampton Roads, and none of the Southern Appalachians.

Overall though, Virginia is not a Sunbelt state but does contain a portion with noticeable characteristics of the region.