Maine-Virginia Eastcoast Area

[Ban]

I am working on a post-apocalyptic story set in a ruined megacity spanning the area from Maine to Virginia. Thing is, I've never been there, but thanks to the media I am familiar with American culture. I would really like some information on the different subcultures of this large region. I have noticed that when I read about this area that the cultural differences are largely lost on me, because they aren't as obvious as the language differences here in the old continent. So I would appreciate some American perspectives on this.

Furthermore, I would like some general information on the landscape. What color is the ground for example, what kind of flowers are common, that sort of thing.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Drakevarg]

I've never strayed farther east than Michigan since I was in diapers, so I couldn't really help there. This seems like it'd be better-suited to the Research forum though.

 

[Ban]

Yeah, I suppose so. I'll just wait for a moderator to see this and hopefully move it

 

[WooHooMan]

I've lived in Vermont, Philadelphia and the Carolinas and I couldn't really tell you anything about the flowers.
I've noticed some differences in New England, Great Lakes, central Pennsylvania, Northeast megalopolis and Carolinian cultures but I couldn't really summarize them.

 

[Devor]

I've moved this to the Research forum.

 

[Ban]

Thanks Devor

 

[Jerseydevil]

I'm in New Jersey, so I might be able to help a little. This is a very, very broad question that I won't be able to fully explain here, but I'll do my best. I'm describing NJ and some of the surrounding area, unless otherwise noted. I'm going to be bouncing around a bit, as things come to me, so I apologize for not having any continuity.

General: The area you are describing is divided into three zones; New England (Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire) Mid Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware), and Southern Atlantic which runs down the coast, but for your examples, includes Maryland and Virginia as well as the wretched hive of scum and villainy, Washington DC.

1. There's a little bit of everything as far as demographics. Most people are white, mostly of Italian decent, and Catholicism is the dominant religion. There is also a fairly large Polish/Slavic population, though most people from that part of the world worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. There is a bit of a Dutch population as well. We have a significant black population, and a very large Hispanic population, mostly from Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic. In the past few decades, there is an increase in immigrants from the Middle East. There is also a sizable Jewish population, especially in NYC and northern NJ. Racial tensions are really not that bad. There are issues, certainly, but not nearly as bad as the media may portray it.

2. Summers are hot and humid, winters are cold, with snow reasonably commonplace, but not excessive. More than a foot of snow is considered a cause for a State of Emergency. There are very few severe weather events, though we do get Hurricanes on occasion, but usually they are very severe rain storms (Sandy being a notable exception). We do sit right on top of an active fault line (the Ramapo fault if I'm not mistaken), but I have experienced precisely one earthquake, which was severe enough to shake a few windows and annoy my cat.

3. Life is fast paced. We tend to want to get where we need to go quickly, and hate delays and drivers are more than happy to let you know it. Some people joke that the middle finger should be the state bird. There was a study that showed that the automatic doors in stores open faster here than any other part of the country. In a similar note, we tend to talk quickly, merging several words into a single sound. Yes, fergeddaboudit' is an actual phrase we use. John Adams complained in the 1700's that he hated speaking to New Yorkers because they talked too fast. We tend to gesture a lot when we speak as well, probably due to the Italian population.

4. Taylor Ham is the greatest food ever. People who move out of state come back to pick up more. People out of NJ have no idea what I am talking about. Bagels are a popular here too, and not those rolls with a hole in it, frozen abominations found elsewhere.
In New England, seafood is very commonplace, Clams being very popular in Massachusetts, and lobster in Maine. Maryland is famous for its crabs, especially the soft shell variety. Pennsylvania is famous for scrapple, a disgusting concoction of various pig organs ground into paste, formed into a log, sliced and fried. It's an Amish thing.

5. We do not act like the cast of Jersey Shore. They're from Long Island anyway.

6. The foothills of the Appalachian mountains run through the state, especially to the west and north of NJ. The south is more flat with marshes and sandy soil, especially towards the coast, though more inland, the ground is very fertile and support a number of farms. About a third of the world's eggplant is grown here. Broad leaf forests cover the state, at least where they haven't been cut down for development, mostly of maple, red and white oak, ash, and birch. There are pine trees in the creatively named Pine Barrens, found in the south, though. The largest cities and population centers are in the north, close to NYC where most people commute.
Most of the region, from Maine south to Georgia is similar, with hills and mountains covered in broad leaf trees. Autumn in New England and the more rural areas of the Mid Atlantic are stunning to say the least.
The movie Last of the Mohicans was filmed in North Carolina, but the topography and foliage is very similar. The Appalachian mountains runs through the area, though that is farther west, Mostly western PA and West Virginia.

7. Wildlife consists of grey squirrels, found everywhere, eastern cottontail rabbits, also found everywhere, white tailed deer, raccoon, turkey, many types of songbirds, red tailed hawks (the mascot of Montclair State University, my Alma Mater), opossum, and many fish species, including large and small mouth bass, perch, bluegill, and sunfish, which are mostly bone and make terrible eating. Trout are stocked and there is a fine for catching one without a trout stamp on the fishing license. There is a small but stable elk population in western Pennsylvania. We have a black bear problem, one that is trying to be solved through increased hunting (going from none at all to a little bit), but this is controversial to say the least. There are coyotes here too, though not as common as out west. I have never seen one, but people at my shooting range have to deal with them all the time.There is a variety, called the Eastern Hybrid (apparently a combination of coyotes and domestic dogs) that is much larger and more aggressive than is normal. Several people have been attacked, and a woman was killed by one a few years ago in a suburb of Washington DC. They seem to target women joggers for some reason.

8. New York City is mostly liberal in it's politics, much to the annoyance of the rest of the state. New York State is very rural, and has mostly conservative values. The same can be said for Pennsylvania (liberal Philadelphia, conservative everything else). New England is generally liberal as well, but somehow Vermont has the loosest gun laws in the country. In Pennsylvania, gun ownership is a way of life, and the opening of hunting season is an almost religious holiday. New Jersey is liberal, generally speaking, as it is mostly urban, as is Delaware. Virginia is a swing state, and votes either conservative or liberal.

9. The whole region was industrialized, in an area known as the Rust Belt. Pennsylvania especially was famous for its steel production, though these plants shut down in the 1970s, something that is still a sore topic. Billy Joel's Allentown is about this.

10. The water off the Jersey shore is a dark, dull green (think olive drab, and you're not too far off). It used to be a dingy brown from the pollution, but clean up efforts paid off, I guess. Riptides are common, and the water is choppy, even on sunny, cloudless days.
There's plenty more, but I can't think of it at the moment. I'm happy to answer any questions or clarify anything.

 

[KC Trae Becker]

Jerseydevil's reply was excellent. My own experience is also from New Jersey, mainly south Jersey and Pennsylvania. I would differ on only one thing. The statement that this is mostly a Catholic area. New England is primarily protestant. Pennsylvania is part of the Bible belt of Protestants. Perhaps the cities have a huge Catholic population but the rural areas are primarily protestant. So I would say the area is closer to 50/50.

Also I can add information about flowers, the only area Jerseydevil didn't feel comfortable covering. I assume you want to know about the native flowers, because the soil can support most plants a person would want to plant, assuming the plant's needs are taken into consideration. The native plants are harder to discover because there is little old growth forest left. Most of the forests in the area are relatively young, due to extensive farming, and not good representations of native species. That said, the Appalachian Mountains have a large number of mountain laurels, comparable in quantity to the pines in the Pine Barrens of NJ. Blue bells are common in the lower areas, as are blueberries, spice bush, and many introduced species like dandelions and honey suckle. Kudzu is a serious problem in the south states.

 

[Ban]

JerseyDevil and KC Trae Becker, thank you very much for this highly detailed description. Honestly, you've answered all the questions I initially thought of, but when I come up with some more I'll be sure to ask.