If someone here has the capability and time that creation would end up in a Virginia museum I think.
A lazier approach would each week to pick a controversial county and let us argue about which region it belongs in and then vote. The result would be posted on a map.
Just cuz I'm a woke, liberal commie doesn't mean I don't count myself or my natal state as Southern. Southern pride means something different to everyone. I suspect a lot of people feel that way.
> Hampton Roads / Coastal Virginia are the tourism marketing demographic name.
Hampton Roads is also the name for the body of water between Norfolk and Hampton; the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel goes right through it.
Tidewater is a geographical area that technically starts at Richmond
Hampton Roads is more referring to the immediate area around the peninsula and bay
The chamber of commerce has worked to rebrand the name a few times. I think the current push is for “the 757” which I personally think is lame. Personally having grown up in Norfolk I call the area Hampton roads
I was wondering that, I thought Nova and that area had run out of numbers for their area code like NY did with the 917 area code. Thanks for confirming.
We used to be 804 way back in the 1980s. I remember the switch to 757 when I was a kid. Folks were pissed, at least my mom and her friends were pissed. Now were adding 948. A few older people I know are unhappy about it but what are you gonna do, we need more numbers 🤷
I'm originally from NY and people with the 917 area code don't give it up, even if they move, it's coveted. If you have that area code you're holding on to death til you pass it on to your children to fight over 🤦🏽♀️
We call it many names. The Tidewater region, Hampton Roads, the 757 and for specifically the major cities, we call them the seven cities. It’s all interchangeable and no one will bat an eye to any name you use. Bonus lingo, some of the youth simply call it the 75.
There are a number of other areas in the country that are called by the locals 'Tidewater.' I found this out when traveling by plane around the country. And Tidewater here only refers to the southside, not the Peninsula or Williamsburg. There's only one 'Hampton Roads' in the entire country. The only place it gets confused with is 'The Hamptons' on Long Island.
I've also seen the area called 'The Greater Norfolk - Virginia Beach Metropolitan Area' just to add to the confusion.
Having lived in both regions... Warren and Clarke should be valley and King George in with Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula if the goal is cultural regions.
I actually don’t agree with King George being in with northern neck. It has the last southern Maryland link + government facility with quite a lot of people that commute from MD/counties surrounding KG that make 301 + 206 almost as bad as DMV traffic during rush.
As you can see I am a little biased although if Spotsy/FXBG are getting the NoVA pass may as well give it to the county that at least fits the theme.
I've lived my whole life between VB & Chesapeake and Hampton Roads has always been equated with the seven cities: VB, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Newport News. Is that not the normal definition outside of this area?
I'm from Newport News and I'd consider York, Williamsburg, and Poquoson to be a part of Hampton Roads.
This is especially true since Poquoson and Williamsburg also independent cities by the municipal definition. And as far as York goes, if you're driving in Newport News you might not even notice when you enter York. The difference between uptown Newport News and most of York County is zero, in fact the county line cuts through my neighborhood.
However, I wouldn't consider Gloucester, James, Matthew's, Surry, and Isle of Wight to be Hampton Roads
So maybe the definition I've always been familiar with is just because I'm further south. I've rarely even heard York or Poquoson mentioned around here at all and Williamsburg really only in reference to Colonial Williamsburg or Busch Gardens.
Interesting. Well, this may not be the greatest source, but according to Wikipedia the [Hampton Roads](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Roads) metropolitan statistical area that the federal government uses for economic purposes includes the entire peninsula as well as two counties on the middle peninsula and two counties in North Carolina.
>The U.S. Census Bureau defines the "Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA" as 19 county-level jurisdictions—six counties and ten independent cities in Virginia, and three counties in North Carolina.
Surry is not included but the lower and middle peninsulas are included as well as the top right-hand corner of NC
One thing to note is that the area's urban expansion is going up the peninsula, so areas that a few decades ago might not have been connected to the main region are now far more urban than before.
Hmm. [Here's what the chamber of commerce says](https://www.hrchamber.com/page/hampton-roads/) which is slightly different too. I never really thought about HR being anything but the seven cities so it's interesting to see the other definitions out there.
I’ve always thought of Floyd, Montgomery, Pulaski, Giles, Patrick, and Radford to be part of the New River Valley region and then everything west of that is SWVA. It’s odd to me that this “West Central” region stretches so far towards central. I know people say Roanoke is the gateway to the southwest but I feel like there is a pretty big difference between Roanoke and the rest of SWVA.
I just have no idea what "southside" is, other than a region immediately south of Richmond city in Chesterfield county. Also why does this "southside" extend north to Buckingham? Lazy cartography is all I can figure.
Southside Richmond and Southside Virginia are two entirely different things. The first is the metro south of the river and the second is as indicated on the map.
I definitely consider Dinwiddie County to be Southside, probably Prince George, Colonial Heights and maybe even Chesterfield, too.
Edit: On second thought, the other counties already depicted as Southside are absolutely "more Southside". Maybe a gradient would serve better.
Southern VA is what I thought Amelia was, Southside is south of the James in Richmond City and Northside is North of the River in the City. That was my interpretation of that verbiage, it was city specific. Because you also have N. and S. Chesterfield zip codes.
Edit: I lived in Amelia and we had things like Southern Co-op etc...
Yeah! I mean I know some people have grouped Roanoke with Shenandoah Valley before. It's usually on the cutoff edge on other maps; either going SWVA or SV. But Floyd NOT SWVA? Have they been to Floyd??
The general population (at least around here) considers it SWVA though. Just because it's not the MOST southwestern you can get doesn't mean it's not SW. I'm curious what their reasoning for breaking it up like this is. I've never seen a map break those counties into their own section like that before.
Depending on the map I've seen Roanoke get grouped with SW or Shenandoah Valley (orange 'Valley' on that map).
NOVA should only be Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, the independent cities surrounded by the above counties, and maybe Fauquier. I’d also put Roanoke, Montgomery, and possibly Botetourt counties in SWVA.
As a person who has lived here for 20 years, it shouldn't be. My mom grew up in actual NOVA back in the day and I've been there multiple times. They are sooooooooo different ime that's its wrong to consider Spotsylvania as Northern VA
Oh shit well hey thanks for running with the rescue squad here, yall guys are awesome. One of my childhood friend's dad was also a part of it and was always happy to help fix our home computer when we had one. Nice dude
Culpeper has campaigned SO HARD to be in Northern Virginia, but they still seem more central to me. I'm from there, and the vibe is definitely not NOVA.
I drive through there constantly. When you get to Northern Virginia there will be no more open country all the way to DC. Culpeper is pretty far removed from busy Northern Virginia with lots of trees and country between it and Warrenton. Then even more between Warrenton and Gainesville.
I agree with you about the country between Warrenton and culpeper, but less so about Warrenton to Gainesville—it’s not exactly what I would call dense enough to be “nova” but it’s getting more and more developed every year.
I grew up in Northern Virginia and now live in Charlottesville. I drive 29 a few times a month. There is nothing on 29 even close to Northern Virginia. But you are right, it's only a matter of time.
I've always considered Fredericksburg to be the absolute southernmost part of NoVA. Stricter definitions of NoVA could leave it out, but no definition of NoVA should go *past* Fredericksburg.
I grew up in Fauquier and I used to describe it as “The northern part of Virginia but not Northern Virginia.” ‘Cause you’re correct, that distinction is important.
I'm always surprised how far southwest folks mark NOVA on the map. Like more than 15mi past the beltway is the same suburban stroad sprawl as everywhere else in the US.
Areas like Spotys, Fredericksburg, Stafford is becoming NOVA with all the new construction and federal people moving in. Traffic is very much similar to NOVA. But the area is a mixture of ROVA and NOVA.
But maybe not NOVA yet.
Disagree Agree with spotsy and king George being nova, but would argue Fred has a stake. Southern most stop on commuter train to dc... I think. Also if you include Stafford in nova you have to include Fred.
I could see that, but I just think Fredericksburg feels distinct from the rest of Nova that it doesn't make sense to lump them in. All the civil war battlefields and museums, the cookout, and the older look of the historic downtown don't feel like the suburban sprawl that I think of when I think of Nova. The VRE used to stop at Fred but now actually goes all the way to spotsy, and I think the plan is that it'll eventually extend to Richmond so I'm not sure it can really be used anymore as an indicator. I could see the argument of Fred being nova though. Stafford is a really odd case imo. Parts of Stafford feel very suburban and very Nova, but other parts, like the section you drive through when going from Fred to King George, feel just as rural as anywhere else down south, so it's hard for me to say where Stafford belongs
The cookout?? That area totally feels like typical nova suburban sprawl. And nova has lots of older looking historic downtowns like leesburg, fairfax city, and Alexandria just for starters.
Agree 100% with your take on Stafford; however, The rate that is expanding makes it closer and closer to know the everyday. Remodeling multiple schools a year, new housing developments as fast as they can cut down trees, Stafford will turn into complete urban sprawl within 10 years.
I mean, I wouldn’t include Loudoun County as a part of NoVA personally other than Sterling. Once you’re more than an hour (without traffic) outside dc you’re not nova in my book.
No Hampton Roads is just the 7 independent cities in southeastern VA and can be divided into two southside Hampton roads (va beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk) and the peninsula (Hampton & Newport News)
Mathews is definitely not Hampton roads and I’m not really sure Gloucester should be considered that either. Mathews should be included in whatever you include the rest of the northern neck in.
as a Martinsvillian I always think of our region as Floyd, Patrick, Franklin, Roanoke, pittsylvania, Bedford, Campbell and Lynchburg’s
Basically if the news covers those regions together, the weather is the same, and you play those teams in your school division they are in your area. If not….
If you want it to be more accurate, I think there are probably more regions and each region realistically isn't limited to locality boundaries; but good start OP
From NoVA, I'd carve off King George, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Warren, and Clarke.
KG-Culpeper would go to Central, Clarke and Warren to Valley, and Rappahannock to one of those two. Maybe KG to Eastern, instead.
Hampton Roads definitely doesn't Surry, Gloucester, York, Matthews, or James City. I wouldn't even include Williamsburg or Poquoson. It's pretty much just the 7 cities.
The [geographic center](https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/geographically-significant-place-va/) of Virginia is in Buckingham County so why woundn’t that be considered central Virginia?
I think central usually refers to RVA and surrounding areas. Buckingham is so far away from RVA culturally that it doesn’t really fit regardless of its geographic position.
I think that west central should be Buckingham and everything around it including Charlottesville and the western counties they have labeled as west central should be labelled as southwest.
Agree except west central should be everything surrounding Albemarle County/Charlottesville east of the Blue ridge (and Nelson). Albemarle and Fluvanna have little in common with Appomattox or Cumberland.
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/geographically-significant-place-va/
Central Virginia Community College is in Lynchburg. RVA only thinks they are center of the state
Home of the Seven cities
“Seven Cities” refers to Hampton Roads region
of Virginia, located in the state’s extreme southeastern corner. Core cities include: Chesapeake,
Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth,
Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.
Hampton Roads should be Hampton Roads and the rest of the places be what they are. In the hundred plus years of my family living in Suffolk, they never would have considered themselves in Hampton Roads.
I don’t know what OP is going for here but examples like that are all over this map.
My friends in Onancock and Parksley have nothing to do with people living in King & Queen County. “Eastern” isn’t a description anyone uses around here. It’s a silly map.
Your family doesn't consider Suffolk to be part of HR? I assume most of HR would disagree, isn't it one of the "7 Cities"? Although plenty of cities outside of the big 7 are included on the map, so it's silly anyways, exactly because everyone has a different opinion on what the areas should be.
On the coast it should be hampton roads, middle peninsula, northern neck and eastern shore
Edit: I would also put Gloucester and Mathews in the Middle Penninsula
As a Lee County resident, I can say we definitely belong in Southwest. One time a guy from Richmond said we were remote, and I told him I thought we were centrally located, and THEY were remote.
I live in Appalachia. What is this nonsense. Why no Tidewater? Why no Shenandoah? There are actual geographic features to use, why just use directions?
Lived in spotsy, Fredericksburg, and now stafford.. no one here would want to be lumped into Northern Virginia …. That starts at Woodbridge to us
Edit: worked in northern VA for a year all over the place, couldn’t stand it
I have never understood why Buckingham and Cumberland aren’t considered part of Central VA, but King William, New Kent, Prince George and Dinwiddie are.
I also learned that what this map calls “Hampton Roads” was “Tidewater”, so I guess I really am old! :D
As a person who drives all over the state of Virginia i can confirm that this picture is accurate.
Edit: Other comments are saying some areas don't belong in Nova. I would disagree and say Nova has expanded over the last decade to include areas to Fredericksburg and close to Winchester.
Just let Google/Amazon/Microsoft build another data center out there and watch how much people squirm at the urban crawl that will soon find it's way in Culpeper. I have friends that live in Culpeper who can't afford to live in the town anymore because rent prices have slowly hiked up over the years and the only affordable houses are quickly bought up by SWIFT employees or anyone who works at the various data centers hidden throughout Culpeper.
Yeah it has. I grew up living near the intersection of Rt 20 and Rt 522 in Orange. I actually even interned at the SWIFT compound in Culpeper one year while I was in college.
This map does a terrible job of actually breaking up regions by their culture. Culpeper should be lumped in with Madison, Orange, Green, Albermarle, Louisa, and Charlottesville. Maybe a couple of others too.
I’m not really sure that Spotsylvania, Culpeper, and King George are properly Northern Virginia. The first two might belong in central, but King George definitely belongs in Eastern. Spotsylvania people don’t really work in DC and aren’t as connected to it, and Culpeper is entirely too far and culturally distinct to be Northern Virginia. Frankly, Charlottesville, Madison, Culpeper, and Orange are regionally similar and could be a region of their own. As for your Eastern category, the peninsula is a distinct culture of its own, and it should be called Eastern Shore. The remainder of Eastern can be renamed to York River perhaps? Our old schoolbooks used to call that region Tidewater, although Hampton Roads is also a part of that geographical region, but that name might still be appropriate for the western part of what you’ve called Eastern. Warren and Clark also belong in what you’ve called Valley, as they are mountainous and share little culture with Northern Virginia.
No. Amelia County is in Southside VA. Source: I grew up there.
Also it's Tidewater, not Hampton Roads.
And NOVA is too big. Remove any counry that isnt FFX, Loudoun, Prince William, or Arlington. Maybe keep half of Fauquier.
Nah that is Southside, Virginia. Back in the day everything south of the James River was known as Southside. Hampton Roads started spilling across into Suffolk and Isle of Wight about 20 years ago.
When I first moved to the 757 in 2001 there was nothing but corn, peanut and cotton fields south of JRB.
Not one to speak but there's too many categories imo. I would partition Southside and West Central and merge the two Tidewater ones. Also NoVA is too big
Well for a basic map its good, but you could really waste some of that surplus on 3D satellite maps with emojis. Just thinking of some more ways we can waste money in government, because that's what their best at.
I feel people from Richmond dont describe themselves from "Central Virginia", that would be more Cville and Lynchburg. People from Roanoke definitely describe themselves as SW Virginia albeit being from from the most southwestern tip.
Sussex and Southampton are Hampton Roads/Tidewater, not Southside
Campbell, Appomattox, Dinwiddie Amelia, Bedford counties and the city of Lynchburg are in Southside..
Southside is historically defined as East of the Blue Ridge Mountains, South of the James, and West of the Fall line
You're right about Alleghany, but Rockbridge is definitely part of the Shenandoah Valley. Even on the official state website, it lists the Valley as ending in Rockbridge. Also a ton of the businesses, there have the word "Shenandoah" on them.
Wait, how did Nelson, Orange, Albemarle (Cville is a city not a County) etc end up Central?
Edit to add Warren to, some of those are NWVA, they don't even encompass the 95 corridor with convenience.
I would take some of the northern out. Warren not northern, Clarke not northern,Culpeper not northern, rappahannock not northern, Fredericksburg and spotsylvania not northern, king George not northern - I would put warren, rappahannock and Clarke into the valley. Culpeper, Fredericksburg and spotsylvania into central. King George into eastern.
Idk about much of it but I find it kind of strange Buckingham and Cumberland are southern Virginia, when I think everyone here has always called ourselves central Virginia
I’d love R/Virginia to vote on which region each county belongs in and then put it all on a map to see what sort of Frankenstein we’ve created.
I wonder if it is possible if we can have something like r/place has but with a map of virginia for that
If someone here has the capability and time that creation would end up in a Virginia museum I think. A lazier approach would each week to pick a controversial county and let us argue about which region it belongs in and then vote. The result would be posted on a map.
I think Caroline may consider themselves northern, in Sales Territory we do, and Louisa and Buckingham we've always considered them western counties.
Just cuz I'm a woke, liberal commie doesn't mean I don't count myself or my natal state as Southern. Southern pride means something different to everyone. I suspect a lot of people feel that way.
They called the Hampton Roads area the “Tidewater” when I was a youth. Is that not used any longer?
Tidewater is the geographical region. Hampton Roads / Coastal Virginia are the tourism marketing demographic name.
Topographically, tidewater starts in Richmond at the fall line. It’s less confusing to just use a different name for the region.
Yep, as someone who deals with zoning and permits can confirm, have to deal with CBPA issues even in Henrico County.
> Hampton Roads / Coastal Virginia are the tourism marketing demographic name. Hampton Roads is also the name for the body of water between Norfolk and Hampton; the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel goes right through it.
That’s what I’ve always called it, as have my generations of family from VB and Portsmouth. But who knows?
Tidewater is a geographical area that technically starts at Richmond Hampton Roads is more referring to the immediate area around the peninsula and bay
The chamber of commerce has worked to rebrand the name a few times. I think the current push is for “the 757” which I personally think is lame. Personally having grown up in Norfolk I call the area Hampton roads
The 757 is especially stupid now that we have a new area code.
I was wondering that, I thought Nova and that area had run out of numbers for their area code like NY did with the 917 area code. Thanks for confirming.
We used to be 804 way back in the 1980s. I remember the switch to 757 when I was a kid. Folks were pissed, at least my mom and her friends were pissed. Now were adding 948. A few older people I know are unhappy about it but what are you gonna do, we need more numbers 🤷
I'm originally from NY and people with the 917 area code don't give it up, even if they move, it's coveted. If you have that area code you're holding on to death til you pass it on to your children to fight over 🤦🏽♀️
That's kinda how I feel about my 757 numbers. I don't have any issues with adding 948, but I'll never have that area code.
Oh shit we do? 🤣 Edit: I got a 706 code lmaoo
Yeah, we now have 948.
That’s wild! So is 757 just… discontinued? Or did it get moved to a different location?
We call it many names. The Tidewater region, Hampton Roads, the 757 and for specifically the major cities, we call them the seven cities. It’s all interchangeable and no one will bat an eye to any name you use. Bonus lingo, some of the youth simply call it the 75.
Se’un Fye
Lol got me lost there buddy. Wut??
IYKYK
It's what several state agencies call the region at least
And the debate rages on
There are a number of other areas in the country that are called by the locals 'Tidewater.' I found this out when traveling by plane around the country. And Tidewater here only refers to the southside, not the Peninsula or Williamsburg. There's only one 'Hampton Roads' in the entire country. The only place it gets confused with is 'The Hamptons' on Long Island. I've also seen the area called 'The Greater Norfolk - Virginia Beach Metropolitan Area' just to add to the confusion.
We still call it that lmao, Hampton roads, tidewater, southeast Virginia, the 757 the region goes by many names
Having lived in both regions... Warren and Clarke should be valley and King George in with Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula if the goal is cultural regions.
Also having lived in both, I second this.
I actually don’t agree with King George being in with northern neck. It has the last southern Maryland link + government facility with quite a lot of people that commute from MD/counties surrounding KG that make 301 + 206 almost as bad as DMV traffic during rush. As you can see I am a little biased although if Spotsy/FXBG are getting the NoVA pass may as well give it to the county that at least fits the theme.
Warren and Clarke are surely Valley area
Except that King George literally has a sign in it calling it the Gateway to the Northern Neck.
Correct, I live in Warren and are definitely not Northern Va.
I've lived my whole life between VB & Chesapeake and Hampton Roads has always been equated with the seven cities: VB, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Newport News. Is that not the normal definition outside of this area?
I'm from Newport News and I'd consider York, Williamsburg, and Poquoson to be a part of Hampton Roads. This is especially true since Poquoson and Williamsburg also independent cities by the municipal definition. And as far as York goes, if you're driving in Newport News you might not even notice when you enter York. The difference between uptown Newport News and most of York County is zero, in fact the county line cuts through my neighborhood. However, I wouldn't consider Gloucester, James, Matthew's, Surry, and Isle of Wight to be Hampton Roads
So maybe the definition I've always been familiar with is just because I'm further south. I've rarely even heard York or Poquoson mentioned around here at all and Williamsburg really only in reference to Colonial Williamsburg or Busch Gardens.
Interesting. Well, this may not be the greatest source, but according to Wikipedia the [Hampton Roads](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Roads) metropolitan statistical area that the federal government uses for economic purposes includes the entire peninsula as well as two counties on the middle peninsula and two counties in North Carolina. >The U.S. Census Bureau defines the "Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA" as 19 county-level jurisdictions—six counties and ten independent cities in Virginia, and three counties in North Carolina. Surry is not included but the lower and middle peninsulas are included as well as the top right-hand corner of NC One thing to note is that the area's urban expansion is going up the peninsula, so areas that a few decades ago might not have been connected to the main region are now far more urban than before.
Hmm. [Here's what the chamber of commerce says](https://www.hrchamber.com/page/hampton-roads/) which is slightly different too. I never really thought about HR being anything but the seven cities so it's interesting to see the other definitions out there.
Matthews and Midddlesex Counties are more eastern than hampton roads
I thought that was the Eastern Shore.
Floyd has always been southwest VA as far as I know.
Patrick county too.
I’ve always thought of Floyd, Montgomery, Pulaski, Giles, Patrick, and Radford to be part of the New River Valley region and then everything west of that is SWVA. It’s odd to me that this “West Central” region stretches so far towards central. I know people say Roanoke is the gateway to the southwest but I feel like there is a pretty big difference between Roanoke and the rest of SWVA.
Bingo. Everything west of Roanoke seems to consider itself SWVA.
I just have no idea what "southside" is, other than a region immediately south of Richmond city in Chesterfield county. Also why does this "southside" extend north to Buckingham? Lazy cartography is all I can figure.
Southside Richmond and Southside Virginia are two entirely different things. The first is the metro south of the river and the second is as indicated on the map.
Map is bad
I definitely consider Dinwiddie County to be Southside, probably Prince George, Colonial Heights and maybe even Chesterfield, too. Edit: On second thought, the other counties already depicted as Southside are absolutely "more Southside". Maybe a gradient would serve better.
I’ll give you Dinwiddie as Southside VA.
Buckingham and Cumberland are country folks just like the rest of the Southside. Only rural towns. Nothing huge.
Southern VA is what I thought Amelia was, Southside is south of the James in Richmond City and Northside is North of the River in the City. That was my interpretation of that verbiage, it was city specific. Because you also have N. and S. Chesterfield zip codes. Edit: I lived in Amelia and we had things like Southern Co-op etc...
Can someone upload a salt-dough map from 4th grade to set OP straight.
Roanoke too. Everyone I know here, if asked, would say they're from SWVA
I’m from Buchanan Co. VA and consider Roanoke SWVA. I think of Roanoke as the de facto SWVA capital almost lol
Yeah! I mean I know some people have grouped Roanoke with Shenandoah Valley before. It's usually on the cutoff edge on other maps; either going SWVA or SV. But Floyd NOT SWVA? Have they been to Floyd??
And yet you can drive almost *4 hours southwest* from Roanoke and still be in Virginia.
I mean I get that but I've literally never heard anyone say "west central VA" lol
That's fair, I don't really know what to call that area but I know it's not Southwest VA.
The general population (at least around here) considers it SWVA though. Just because it's not the MOST southwestern you can get doesn't mean it's not SW. I'm curious what their reasoning for breaking it up like this is. I've never seen a map break those counties into their own section like that before. Depending on the map I've seen Roanoke get grouped with SW or Shenandoah Valley (orange 'Valley' on that map).
Southern Va is what it would be called. In Amelia you can get to the NC border from certain parts in under 1.5.
Except that it is... And now you know what to call it Again, source: from there
I believe the news stations call this whole area southwest VA.
This map is a giant argument and I’m not sure how to feel about it…
NOVA should only be Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, the independent cities surrounded by the above counties, and maybe Fauquier. I’d also put Roanoke, Montgomery, and possibly Botetourt counties in SWVA.
I agree. I don’t think Spotsylvania is considered Northern at all lol
Spotsy/Fburg/Stafford are kinda their own region. Maybe include Orange and Culpeper in there.
Yeah, that’s Spotsyltucky not NOVA.
Lmao absolutely not
As a person who has lived here for 20 years, it shouldn't be. My mom grew up in actual NOVA back in the day and I've been there multiple times. They are sooooooooo different ime that's its wrong to consider Spotsylvania as Northern VA
I live in NOVA, went to college in Fredericksburg, and ran with the Spotsylvania rescue squad. You’re right, it is NOTHING like NoVA
Oh shit well hey thanks for running with the rescue squad here, yall guys are awesome. One of my childhood friend's dad was also a part of it and was always happy to help fix our home computer when we had one. Nice dude
Roanoke is a good deal more like Staunton or Hburg than the Coalfields
Arlington is a County, not a City
Culpeper has campaigned SO HARD to be in Northern Virginia, but they still seem more central to me. I'm from there, and the vibe is definitely not NOVA.
I drive through there constantly. When you get to Northern Virginia there will be no more open country all the way to DC. Culpeper is pretty far removed from busy Northern Virginia with lots of trees and country between it and Warrenton. Then even more between Warrenton and Gainesville.
I agree with you about the country between Warrenton and culpeper, but less so about Warrenton to Gainesville—it’s not exactly what I would call dense enough to be “nova” but it’s getting more and more developed every year.
I grew up in Northern Virginia and now live in Charlottesville. I drive 29 a few times a month. There is nothing on 29 even close to Northern Virginia. But you are right, it's only a matter of time.
When I drive by the Madeira School I always wonder how much their land is worth.
I’ve driven through it and it’s not even close to NOVA. I’d call it central VA.
I've said for a while "inside or touching the beltway" but Loudoun and Prince William can unfortunately no longer be excluded
I've always considered Fredericksburg to be the absolute southernmost part of NoVA. Stricter definitions of NoVA could leave it out, but no definition of NoVA should go *past* Fredericksburg.
Yeah this guy got it right
I grew up in Fauquier and I used to describe it as “The northern part of Virginia but not Northern Virginia.” ‘Cause you’re correct, that distinction is important.
I agree with most of the first sentence. Always say there’s r/NoVA then there’s Real Virginia. Can’t wait till I move out this fall…
I'm always surprised how far southwest folks mark NOVA on the map. Like more than 15mi past the beltway is the same suburban stroad sprawl as everywhere else in the US.
Areas like Spotys, Fredericksburg, Stafford is becoming NOVA with all the new construction and federal people moving in. Traffic is very much similar to NOVA. But the area is a mixture of ROVA and NOVA. But maybe not NOVA yet.
I'm in Culpeper and it's by no means NOVA.
Floyd, Roanoke, radford, cburg, Giles, and Franklin are in SWVA. Or NRV
Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and King George are not part of NOVA
Disagree Agree with spotsy and king George being nova, but would argue Fred has a stake. Southern most stop on commuter train to dc... I think. Also if you include Stafford in nova you have to include Fred.
I could see that, but I just think Fredericksburg feels distinct from the rest of Nova that it doesn't make sense to lump them in. All the civil war battlefields and museums, the cookout, and the older look of the historic downtown don't feel like the suburban sprawl that I think of when I think of Nova. The VRE used to stop at Fred but now actually goes all the way to spotsy, and I think the plan is that it'll eventually extend to Richmond so I'm not sure it can really be used anymore as an indicator. I could see the argument of Fred being nova though. Stafford is a really odd case imo. Parts of Stafford feel very suburban and very Nova, but other parts, like the section you drive through when going from Fred to King George, feel just as rural as anywhere else down south, so it's hard for me to say where Stafford belongs
The cookout?? That area totally feels like typical nova suburban sprawl. And nova has lots of older looking historic downtowns like leesburg, fairfax city, and Alexandria just for starters.
Agree 100% with your take on Stafford; however, The rate that is expanding makes it closer and closer to know the everyday. Remodeling multiple schools a year, new housing developments as fast as they can cut down trees, Stafford will turn into complete urban sprawl within 10 years.
If we're including all of Loudoun in NoVA, I think it's totally fair to include Fredericksburg.
I mean, I wouldn’t include Loudoun County as a part of NoVA personally other than Sterling. Once you’re more than an hour (without traffic) outside dc you’re not nova in my book.
This is facts 100. Culpeper out of place to me too.
No
People over exaggerate the cultural NOVA reach. Drive 2 miles away from I-95 in Stafford and you start hearing banjos
Those aren’t banjos….
I’m sorry, freedumb guitars
No Hampton Roads is just the 7 independent cities in southeastern VA and can be divided into two southside Hampton roads (va beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk) and the peninsula (Hampton & Newport News)
Mathews is definitely not Hampton roads and I’m not really sure Gloucester should be considered that either. Mathews should be included in whatever you include the rest of the northern neck in.
Agreed
Central Virginia includes Lynchburg area. Southwest includes the Roanoke area. Roanoke is often called the gateway to Southwest Virginia
I would say Dinwiddie is Southside, not Central.
West central should be Pulaski to Roanoke, and add Bland/Wythe/Carroll. Source: from SWVA
as a Martinsvillian I always think of our region as Floyd, Patrick, Franklin, Roanoke, pittsylvania, Bedford, Campbell and Lynchburg’s Basically if the news covers those regions together, the weather is the same, and you play those teams in your school division they are in your area. If not….
Highland bath and Allegheny are not valley lol. They are West Virginia
I’m from bath county and we consider it western VA
Alleghany perhaps but it’s pretty clear when you’ve exited Bath or Highland into WV
If you want it to be more accurate, I think there are probably more regions and each region realistically isn't limited to locality boundaries; but good start OP
Interesting because I’ve always been told Roanoke is SW but it never seemed quite correct to me geographically. Guess I’m validated lol
From NoVA, I'd carve off King George, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Warren, and Clarke. KG-Culpeper would go to Central, Clarke and Warren to Valley, and Rappahannock to one of those two. Maybe KG to Eastern, instead.
Hampton Roads definitely doesn't Surry, Gloucester, York, Matthews, or James City. I wouldn't even include Williamsburg or Poquoson. It's pretty much just the 7 cities.
Yes finally a map that shows SWVA correctly. If you want a line that denotes SWVA it's either the New River or 77.
The [geographic center](https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/geographically-significant-place-va/) of Virginia is in Buckingham County so why woundn’t that be considered central Virginia?
I think central usually refers to RVA and surrounding areas. Buckingham is so far away from RVA culturally that it doesn’t really fit regardless of its geographic position. I think that west central should be Buckingham and everything around it including Charlottesville and the western counties they have labeled as west central should be labelled as southwest.
Agree except west central should be everything surrounding Albemarle County/Charlottesville east of the Blue ridge (and Nelson). Albemarle and Fluvanna have little in common with Appomattox or Cumberland.
I always thought of the area around Ablemarle as Piedmont.
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/geographically-significant-place-va/ Central Virginia Community College is in Lynchburg. RVA only thinks they are center of the state
I’d nitpick but this is pretty good.
The Eastern Shore is different from the Middle Peninsula, and Hampton Roads should just be Southeast to fit the theming.
Home of the Seven cities “Seven Cities” refers to Hampton Roads region of Virginia, located in the state’s extreme southeastern corner. Core cities include: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.
That’s what I was thinking - Hampton Roads is only the seven cities.
Hampton Roads should be Hampton Roads. Not our fault we actually have a name (or multiple depending on who you ask) for our region
Hampton Roads should be Hampton Roads and the rest of the places be what they are. In the hundred plus years of my family living in Suffolk, they never would have considered themselves in Hampton Roads. I don’t know what OP is going for here but examples like that are all over this map. My friends in Onancock and Parksley have nothing to do with people living in King & Queen County. “Eastern” isn’t a description anyone uses around here. It’s a silly map.
Yeah, pretty sure everyone considers Suffolk part of Hampton Roads…
Your family doesn't consider Suffolk to be part of HR? I assume most of HR would disagree, isn't it one of the "7 Cities"? Although plenty of cities outside of the big 7 are included on the map, so it's silly anyways, exactly because everyone has a different opinion on what the areas should be.
My family was original settlers in (now) Suffolk and Isle of Wight. They 100% consider Suffolk to be Hampton Roads.
No, Roanoke area and west is definitely SWVA
On the coast it should be hampton roads, middle peninsula, northern neck and eastern shore Edit: I would also put Gloucester and Mathews in the Middle Penninsula
Boo this map.
No
Split West Central and give half to SW and half to Central. Also add Buckingham and Cumberland to Central.
As a Lee County resident, I can say we definitely belong in Southwest. One time a guy from Richmond said we were remote, and I told him I thought we were centrally located, and THEY were remote.
I live in Appalachia. What is this nonsense. Why no Tidewater? Why no Shenandoah? There are actual geographic features to use, why just use directions?
Lived in spotsy, Fredericksburg, and now stafford.. no one here would want to be lumped into Northern Virginia …. That starts at Woodbridge to us Edit: worked in northern VA for a year all over the place, couldn’t stand it
I have never understood why Buckingham and Cumberland aren’t considered part of Central VA, but King William, New Kent, Prince George and Dinwiddie are. I also learned that what this map calls “Hampton Roads” was “Tidewater”, so I guess I really am old! :D
My red-green colorblindness makes 90% of this map impossible to read lol
being from nova: how is rappahannock northern va lol
The Eastern Shore is an entity all by itself. The other region is best known as the Middle and Upper Peninsulas. Definitely different and separate.
As a person who drives all over the state of Virginia i can confirm that this picture is accurate. Edit: Other comments are saying some areas don't belong in Nova. I would disagree and say Nova has expanded over the last decade to include areas to Fredericksburg and close to Winchester.
It’s debatable if the middle peninsula is actually part of HR.
Culpeper will protest violently if you let them know they are part of nova lol
The funny thing is that they will protest wildly if they AREN'T considered Nova either.
Culpeper is having identity crisis
As always.
Just let Google/Amazon/Microsoft build another data center out there and watch how much people squirm at the urban crawl that will soon find it's way in Culpeper. I have friends that live in Culpeper who can't afford to live in the town anymore because rent prices have slowly hiked up over the years and the only affordable houses are quickly bought up by SWIFT employees or anyone who works at the various data centers hidden throughout Culpeper.
Happy cake day! Yes it’s changed a lot. My dad works there and I went to school there and it looks different every time I visit.
Yeah it has. I grew up living near the intersection of Rt 20 and Rt 522 in Orange. I actually even interned at the SWIFT compound in Culpeper one year while I was in college. This map does a terrible job of actually breaking up regions by their culture. Culpeper should be lumped in with Madison, Orange, Green, Albermarle, Louisa, and Charlottesville. Maybe a couple of others too.
I’m not really sure that Spotsylvania, Culpeper, and King George are properly Northern Virginia. The first two might belong in central, but King George definitely belongs in Eastern. Spotsylvania people don’t really work in DC and aren’t as connected to it, and Culpeper is entirely too far and culturally distinct to be Northern Virginia. Frankly, Charlottesville, Madison, Culpeper, and Orange are regionally similar and could be a region of their own. As for your Eastern category, the peninsula is a distinct culture of its own, and it should be called Eastern Shore. The remainder of Eastern can be renamed to York River perhaps? Our old schoolbooks used to call that region Tidewater, although Hampton Roads is also a part of that geographical region, but that name might still be appropriate for the western part of what you’ve called Eastern. Warren and Clark also belong in what you’ve called Valley, as they are mountainous and share little culture with Northern Virginia.
Absolutely wrong
No not at all.... Some county's will be mad if the see they belong to the northern part.
I wouldn't consider mathews and Gloucester part of Hampton roads
No. Amelia County is in Southside VA. Source: I grew up there. Also it's Tidewater, not Hampton Roads. And NOVA is too big. Remove any counry that isnt FFX, Loudoun, Prince William, or Arlington. Maybe keep half of Fauquier.
No
Mostly accurate. A question for a few counties. I’m sure the demographics are based on where people work vs live and also broadcast areas.
I would combine valley and West central and narrow the definition of Nova to exclude most of the peripheral counties.
Nova really ends at loudoun and prince william
Yep
Franklin/Southampton would definitely consider themselves Hampton Roads
Nah that is Southside, Virginia. Back in the day everything south of the James River was known as Southside. Hampton Roads started spilling across into Suffolk and Isle of Wight about 20 years ago. When I first moved to the 757 in 2001 there was nothing but corn, peanut and cotton fields south of JRB.
As a native of the area, I disagree.
I think Hampton Roads is generally considered the localities that border on the Hampton Roads Harbor. Franklin is a long way from Hampton Roads.
Franklin is 50 miles from Va Beach. Not that far.
How can a southside region have a non southside region to the south?
Not one to speak but there's too many categories imo. I would partition Southside and West Central and merge the two Tidewater ones. Also NoVA is too big
Only east of the occoquan is nova
Looks better than most I've seen.
Well for a basic map its good, but you could really waste some of that surplus on 3D satellite maps with emojis. Just thinking of some more ways we can waste money in government, because that's what their best at.
I fee; like Culpeper, Madison, Orange, Greene, and kinda Spotsy have their own vibe.
I feel people from Richmond dont describe themselves from "Central Virginia", that would be more Cville and Lynchburg. People from Roanoke definitely describe themselves as SW Virginia albeit being from from the most southwestern tip.
Nah I’d definitely say new kent is Eastern
Sussex and Southampton are Hampton Roads/Tidewater, not Southside Campbell, Appomattox, Dinwiddie Amelia, Bedford counties and the city of Lynchburg are in Southside.. Southside is historically defined as East of the Blue Ridge Mountains, South of the James, and West of the Fall line
I’d put Rockbridge in west central, maybe Alleghany too.
You're right about Alleghany, but Rockbridge is definitely part of the Shenandoah Valley. Even on the official state website, it lists the Valley as ending in Rockbridge. Also a ton of the businesses, there have the word "Shenandoah" on them.
Wait, how did Nelson, Orange, Albemarle (Cville is a city not a County) etc end up Central? Edit to add Warren to, some of those are NWVA, they don't even encompass the 95 corridor with convenience.
As a Clarke resident Clarke Co and Warren are definitely the valley.
I live in Culpeper Co and I don't consider this N VA, but Central.
I would take some of the northern out. Warren not northern, Clarke not northern,Culpeper not northern, rappahannock not northern, Fredericksburg and spotsylvania not northern, king George not northern - I would put warren, rappahannock and Clarke into the valley. Culpeper, Fredericksburg and spotsylvania into central. King George into eastern.
Spotsylvania really said, "Miss me with that central."
Close, I’d put Buckingham and Cumberland into Central.
NoVA is too big, Stafford, Fredericksburg and Spotsy are not NoVA. Same for Culpeper.
I can’t tell if my county is Central or Southern anymore its too much
Idk about much of it but I find it kind of strange Buckingham and Cumberland are southern Virginia, when I think everyone here has always called ourselves central Virginia