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I lived in Philadelphia for 17 years and never heard anyone say "Bada Bing, Bada Boom." Likewise, I have never heard anyone use this expression in the DC area.
Hee hee... you were probably saying it yourself and didn't even notice.
Drum roll, cymbal crash. Or B-B, B-B, if you prefer.
People from Boston, NYC, Philly, and Bmore will tell you sound country likewise people Richmond, Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham will swear up and down you're northern. At the end of the day, this region/category s**t is retarded. If anything the census should be based on time zones, but hey thats our American Gov't for you.
So true. I have meant many people from Southern VA that tells me they can't do this up north thing. Up north to them is Washington DC and points north.
DC is unique (for any region), but definitely part of the Northeast. Unlike like most major East Coast cities in the North and South, DC has no real distinctive accent. The building height restriction and other quirks also make DC different. At the same time in terms of transit (heavily used and multiple modes of mass transit), politics (very Democratic), economics (knowledge-based), demographics (relatively wealthy), and density (10K/sq. mi, no major Southern city outside of FL has a density of >5K sq. mi.) DC (and arguably it's close in Virginia suburbs to the south) is truly Northeastern.
DC is unique (for any region), but definitely part of the Northeast. Unlike like most major East Coast cities in the North and South, DC has no real distinctive accent. The building height restriction and other quirks also make DC different. At the same time in terms of transit (heavily used and multiple modes of mass transit), politics (very Democratic), economics (knowledge-based), demographics (relatively wealthy), and density (10K/sq. mi, no major Southern city outside of FL has a density of >5K sq. mi.) DC (and arguably it's close in Virginia suburbs to the south) is truly Northeastern.
DC lacks most of the things that northern cities possess. I mean, what's DC's equivalent of Southie or Grays Ferry?
Physical Layout: Northeast
Transportation Ridership: Northeast
Huge Downtown Core: Northeast
Walkable Neighborhoods and Connectivity: Northeast
Weather: Northeast
Educated Populace: Northeast
Cosmopolitan: Northeast
Political Makeup: Northeast
Cultural Ammenities: Northeast
Social Makeup: Northeast
Pace of Life: Northeast
Density: Northeast
Large Commercial Office Space: Northeast
Diversity: Northeast
High Per Capita Income: Northeast
High Housing Prices: Northeast
High Cost of Living: Northeast
High Employment: Northeast
High Taxes: Northeast
Multiple Institutions of Higher Learning: Northeast (Would you consider Georgetown a southern school or one associated with NE schools like Villanova, St. Johns, Seton Hall)
Last edited by DC's Finest; 11-03-2010 at 09:24 AM..
Physical Layout: More like Philly and Bmore or Atlanta and Houston
Transportation Ridership: More like Boston or Atlanta
Huge Downtown Core: More like Philly or Atlanta
Walkable Neighborhoods and Connectivity: More like Atlanta or Philly
Educated Populace: Northeast
Political Makeup: Northeast
Cultural Ammenities: Northeast
Social Makeup: Northeast
Pace of Life: Northeast
Density: Northeast
Diversity: Northeast
Per Capita Income: Northeast
Housing Prices: Northeast
Cost of Living: Northeast
Employment: Northeast
Taxes: Northeast
Institutions of Higher Learning: Northeast (Would you consider Georgetown a southern school or one associated with NE schools like Villanova, St. Johns, Seton Hall)
How is it totally false? You're assuming that cultural amenities, diversity, cost of living, good schools, and liberalism are the exclusive province of northeastern cities. You focus only on the things that DC has in common with the northeast (which a number of different cities also have in common with the northeast, btw), but wholly ignore all of the dissimilarities.
First, I have already pointed out that DC never had a manufacturing base. You ignored this. Second, DC never had waves of late 19th/early 20th century European immigration. You ignore this as well and act as if this only makes a superficial difference. Third, and as a result of the first two things I mentioned, the northeast has very strongly-rooted blue-collar, Italian-Sicilian and Irish communities that are virtually non-existent in the DC area. And unlike DC, Boston, New York, and Philly are all MAJOR hard hat union towns. Are you going to tell me that none of those things truly define the northeast.
The best argument put forward for DC being a northern city is the fact that it is dense and in close proximity to the northeast. But that's not really convincing to me. The "Social Makeup" of the Washington, DC area is nothing like that of New York. What do you mean by that? True, DC has a train system, but that's a very recent thing, just like Atlanta's Marta system. And most northern cities don't have a highly educated population. Do you think Providence, Newark, and Philly are highly educated cities?
Finally, the "DC votes democratic" thing is not a good argument. Nearly all major cities go blue. And the Democrats in the northeast are often voting for a completely different set of issues than Dems in the DC area. Dems in DC are voting for free trade, protection of the environment, civil liberties, and stuff like that. The overwhelming majority of Dems in the northeast favor protectionism and are primarily concerned with preserving the strength of labor unions. It's not the same thing.
If a northern city, in your view, is defined by density, diversity, cultural amenities, an educated populace, high per capita income, and a fast pace of life, then a southern city must be defined by barns, racial and cultural homogeneity, no cultural offerings, and poor Stepin Fetchit incenstuous yokels. The truth is that there are southern cities that have plenty of cultural offerings, high per capita income, and diverse and highly educated populations, and northern cities with impoverished, poorly-educated, bitter, close-minded racist bigots.
It seems to me that most people on this board believe that southern cities are the complete antithesis of everything northern cities are supposed to be. That's a very bigoted view, imo, and one that does not comport with reality.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 11-03-2010 at 09:58 AM..
How is it totally false? You're assuming that cultural amenities, diversity, cost of living, good schools, and liberalism are the exclusive province of northeastern cities. You focus only on the things that DC has in common with the northeast (which a number of different cities also have in common with the northeast, btw), but wholly ignore all of the dissimilarities.
First, I have already pointed out that DC never had a manufacturing base. You ignored this. Second, DC never had waves of late 19th/early 20th century European immigration. You ignore this as well and act as if this only makes a superficial difference. Third, and as a result of the first two things I mentioned, the northeast has very strongly-rooted blue-collar, Italian-Sicilian and Irish communities that are virtually non-existent in the DC area. And unlike DC, Boston, New York, and Philly are all MAJOR hard hat union towns. Are you going to tell me that none of those things truly define the northeast.
The best argument put forward for DC being a northern city is the fact that it is dense and in close proximity to the northeast. But that's not really convincing to me. The "Social Makeup" of the Washington, DC area is nothing like that of New York. What do you mean by that? True, DC has a train system, but that's a very recent thing, just like Atlanta's Marta system. And most northern cities don't have a highly educated population. Do you think Providence, Newark, and Philly are highly educated cities?
Finally, the "DC votes democratic" thing is not a good argument. Nearly all major cities go blue. And the Democrats in the northeast are often voting for a completely different set of issues than Dems in the DC area. Dems in DC are voting for free trade, protection of the environment, civil liberties, and stuff like that. The overwhelming majority of Dems in the northeast favor protectionism are primarily concerned with preserving the strength of labor unions. It's not the same thing.
If a northern city, in your view, is defined by density, diversity, cultural amenities, an educated populace, high per capita income, and a fast pace of life, then a southern city must be defined by barns, racial and cultural homogeneity, no cultural offerings, and poor Stepin Fetchit incenstuous yokels. The truth is that there are southern cities that have plenty of cultural offerings, high per capita income, and diverse and highly educated populations, and northern cities with impoverished, poorly-educated, bitter, close-minded racist bigots.
It seems to me that most people on this board believe that southern cities are the complete antithesis of everything northern cities are supposed to be. That's a very bigoted view, imo, and one that does not comport with reality.
Thanks you for this post.
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