[SthrnZeta]

I lived in GA and I was born in SC. I know "the south" and NoVa isn't it. Period. I have way too many friends who were born and raised in NoVa who have traveled to other parts of VA and have rightfully declared themselves not Southern. NoVa is an interesting gray area of VA and I, like the OP, always identified more with being from DC due to the close proximity. And I don't know anyone who would call DC southern. When I told people where I was from (and I think this is true for a lot of people from NoVa) I would say I was from the DC area unless I knew the person was familiar with that region.

In short, I'm sure we can all bring up points why NoVa is or is not southern. BUT, speaking from my experiences growing up there (8th grade through college) and having lived in SC prior to that, I would never have considered that area to part of the South. It had nothing to do with the presence of confederate flags on farms but I will say, once I moved to Prince William county, that felt like a whole new world and I have many friends from there who would agree.