This makes me think of the "alien" factor. While other Americans (say "Yankees" - am I allowed to say that? :runaway:) may not partake in certain elements of Southern culture like NASCAR or grits or whistlin' Dixie or Jeff Foxworthy comedy, these things will still be familiar to them.

In the case of Quebec, the vast majority of its culture is basically foreign to other Canadians. In many cases they aren't even aware of its existence. Let alone being aware of some rough details (like NYers would at least be about Southern culture). I have actually had "other Canadians" (admittedly not the sharpest tools in the shed) argue with me that Quebec doesn't have a feature film industry, its own game shows and talk shows, etc. These people think that Quebec being different and "French" (sic) just means watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Captain Marvel dubbed in French.

^ Quebec: hockey, bagels, poutine, Celine Dion and the reason why road signs in northern New York and Vermont are in French. Oh, and William Shatner.

What? No. Not being southern won't make it northern. If VA banned sweet tea, grits and antebellum architecture, it would not be become northeast.

NoVA feels like most major metropolitan areas; the regional quirks have been flattened out with newcomers from other elsewhere. Hell, NYC is becoming a watered down version of its former self. I think eventually, most major cities will be tied to their region and become generic America with the areas surrounding them retaining their identities.

One is assuming that all southern states are the same culturally......I can't imagine Virginia and Mississippi were ever the same in every aspect.

Northern Virginia feels like a Northeastern Metropolis. Once you get below Stafford it feels more "traditional" southern. I didn't feel like Richmond was some southern backwater...but it's not as high end as Fairfax County. I haven't been to Virginia Beach in 38 years.

As for Delaware...it used to feel southern once you crossed over the canal but now with so many new homes being built and occupied from new arrivals from New Jersey and points north along the now completed Route 1 expressway that goes from I-95 in Christiana (just south of Wilmington) to Just Above Lewes/Rehoboth Beach...the Northeast Corridor has crept all the way towards Dover and the Beach Towns were not very "southern" Now any town below Dover along US 13 feels more southern...and the accents sound more southern.

The last time I was in Virginia was maybe 2 years ago on a hot summer day, driving up I-95 and on the dirt frontage road just off the Interstate I spotted a jacked-up pickup with a bunch of guys in cut off jean jackets and girls in daisy dukes and the truck had a Confederate flag waving from the roof.

You can't make this up!

This was of course further than closer to the DC metro area.

We could also consider the reality that traditional Southern culture ( hillbillies, country, religious, social conservativism, etc) is seen in rural areas nationwide, beyond the geographical limits of the South. In that case, the more urban a place become, the less "Southern" it is.

Yes, it's becoming more "standardized American" not "Northeastern."

Yep, going down Route 66 from Chicago, as soon as you hit Wilmington you see confederate flags and NASCAR:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3094...7i16384!8i8192

Hell, that's everywhere. I've seen it in Ohio, Arizona and even California.

Hence all the comments about such and such a rural part of a northern U.S. state being "Alabama, only with snow".

yeah, this is literally the first town outside the Chicago Metro area :haha:

and New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut...

That's true everywhere: the more urban a place, the more "culturally international" / the less "culturally local" it'll be.

^^^ So based on that definition train, NYC is not Northeastern, Chicago is not Midwestern, LA and SF are not Western, etc.

Well, talk about Virginia - here's some news about Maryland...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...ry/ar-BB1cm8N0


Maryland House leader pledges repeal of state song over Confederate imagery -

The Speaker of Maryland's House of Delegates said Tuesday that the legislature will pass a bill repealing the status of "Maryland, My Maryland," as the state's official song due to its Confederate themes and negative depiction of former President Lincoln....

They are becoming less so over time. Urban America is becoming homogenous. Houston was redneck and honky tonk when I was a kid but now pretty much like any other major US city. New York is far less New York than it used to be.

Well this is surprising - US census even considers Delaware part of the South!

https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/map.../us_regdiv.pdf

last night's georgia surprise had me going back to Manitopiaaa's awesome MSA election results thread and i realized something i didn't fully appreciate about VA's blue shift.

we all know that the biggest driver of that shift is and has been NOVA, but a big reason why the state wasn't even close is the fact that the #2 and #3 MSAs (richmond and virginia beach) were also very safely blue.

in fact, richmond's MSA, with a +14.7 for biden, was bluer than all other major midwest/rustbelt metros with the exception of chicago and the twin cities. yes, the richmond MSA was even ever so slightly bluer than metro detroit and metro cleveland, and virginia beach was only a fraction of a point behind them. color me surprised.

It always has been in my mind. Just like Maryland.

Most of Delaware is south of Mason-Dixon.