Where does Virginia begin to feel ‘Southern’?

[Anonymous]

There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People with southern accents are so stupid.

I have a southern accent. I don’t think I am stupid. What an unkind thing to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People with southern accents are so stupid.

This post is definitely from someone who lives outside of Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People with southern accents are so stupid.

Bless your heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

There’s really not difference between rural Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

There’s really not difference between rural Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.

The people who settled there are different. The people who live in rural Pennsylvania are desecendents of Quakers, whereas the people who live in rural Virginia settled for the fertile land. The people who live in rural Virtinia were likely slave owners centuries ago who came from the English Isles, where as Pennsylvania rurals have roots from all over Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

There’s really not difference between rural Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.

The people who settled there are different. The people who live in rural Pennsylvania are desecendents of Quakers, whereas the people who live in rural Virginia settled for the fertile land. The people who live in rural Virtinia were likely slave owners centuries ago who came from the English Isles, where as Pennsylvania rurals have roots from all over Europe.

+1

[Anonymous]

Ashland Virginia and south of that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

There’s really not difference between rural Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.

The people who settled there are different. The people who live in rural Pennsylvania are desecendents of Quakers, whereas the people who live in rural Virginia settled for the fertile land. The people who live in rural Virtinia were likely slave owners centuries ago who came from the English Isles, where as Pennsylvania rurals have roots from all over Europe.

“Many of the earliest Scots-Irish immigrants (of the 1720s and 1730s) first settled in Pennsylvania. Many then moved down from Pennsylvania into Virginia and the Carolinas.”

https://electricscotland.com/history/america/scots_irish.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:As a person from the actual south (Georgia)- not until Staunton/Roanoke/ south of Richmond. The people who say western Loudoun past Leesburg are wrong, that’s just rural. Charlottesville is a major college town. It isn’t southern, its identity is UVA. Nowhere within 50 miles of here for sure. Woodbridge isn’t “the south,” it’s just not suburban nova. And confederate flags aren’t the metric, those fly in every state because every state has racists.

Another southerner here. I’m from Mississippi. Nothing in Virginia feels southern to me until about Richmond. And even that’s a stretch.

You’re from the deep south. To us northerners this feels like the south.

That’s why those of us who ARE from the south are defining why most of VA isn’t really the south. Of course it “feels” south if you’re from New York but it’s actually not that southern in personality or character in much of the state and definitely not in any part that is near-ish to this metro area.

Virginia, yes all of Virginia even Arlington and Alexandria, WAS southern decades ago. In the 80s you would hear folks with southern accents all throughout Virginia, regardless of if you’re from Roanoke or Reston. That being said, as transplants and infrastructure change the overall landscape of an area, it begins to change. Like in Georgia, Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs feel nothing like the south. Charlotte NC, despite being at the border with SC, is unnoticeable from any Northern city.

I was a toddler in the 80s, why would I care what this place was like then. We are talking now. Reston is not southern. Charlotte is the most anonymous and characterless big city I’ve ever been to so I wouldn’t include it in this conversation regardless and even Atlanta feels less southern than it did when I was growing up in Georgia because it has become a city of transplants.

[Anonymous]

I've lived many years in Texas, a few years in Alabama and some years in DC. I would say once you leave the DC metro area and get into the rural sticks is "southern". It just gets more "southern" the further south you go.

That being said, when I lived in Alabama (20 yrs ago fwiw), anyone from Virginia especially DC was viewed as a "northerner" and never really fit in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

There’s really not difference between rural Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.

The people who settled there are different. The people who live in rural Pennsylvania are desecendents of Quakers, whereas the people who live in rural Virginia settled for the fertile land. The people who live in rural Virtinia were likely slave owners centuries ago who came from the English Isles, where as Pennsylvania rurals have roots from all over Europe.

“Many of the earliest Scots-Irish immigrants (of the 1720s and 1730s) first settled in Pennsylvania. Many then moved down from Pennsylvania into Virginia and the Carolinas.”

https://electricscotland.com/history/america/scots_irish.htm

Lots of German immigrants followed this same path from Pennsylvania.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right across key bridge

Don’t kid yourself

It starts to feel Southern in MD to me.

Seriously though, once I see places named after traitors to the US government, it feels Southern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of confusion here between what is rural and what is Southern.

Rural Virginia= Southern , if it’s rural, that means it retained its original settlers without much influence from transplants or urbanization. All of Virginia is historically southern, unless there has been mass urbanization or migrants flocking there. I graduated from Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, and some of the kids and teachers there had southern accents. When I went to DC’s teacher parent meeting, the teacher there had a southern accent, as did the parents. In Leesburg (northern towards Lucketts), right next to the Potomax River, where it is still relatively rural and untouched.

There’s really not difference between rural Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.

This is true. Philly in the East, Pittsburgh in the West, and Alabama in between.