Things to do / Travel Guide
Delmarva Peninsula
Given the beautiful beaches, bountiful sea, and overwhelmingly popular summer tourism industry, it is not a surprise that many Delmarva Peninsula year-round residents earn their livelihoods in the areas of tourism and seafood trade. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, has a population of around 1,500 people, 98% of which are Caucasian, with the remaining 2% distributed among various ethnic groups. Ocean City, Maryland has a year-round population of slightly more than 7,000 people, many of whom are employed by the city itself. About 95% of Ocean City's permanent population is Caucasian; 2.5% is African American and the remaining 2.5% represents individuals belonging to various ethnic groups. Chincoteague, Virginia continues this pattern with a population of around 4,300 people, 96% of whom are Caucasian; 1% are African American and the remaining 3% represents residents belonging to various ethnic groups.
One of the nation's poultry capitals, located further inland than the above seaside communities, Salisbury, Maryland is perhaps the greatest exception to the above demographic trends. Considered the “Crossroads of Delmarva,” Salisbury is the main commercial area for the region, with Perdue Farms being a principle employer. Salisbury's population is about 24,000, 60% white, 32% African American, 3% Native American, and 5% distributed among various ethnic groups.
Eastern Virginia
The eastern Virginia area is home to the largest, most ethnically-diverse cities in the region. Richmond is Virginia's capital, with a population of about 200,000 people, and its demographics are somewhat unusual. Within Richmond, there is a large and historic population of African Americans. The majority of the city's Caucasian residents live in the suburbs. There are also a number of Richmond residents belonging to various ethnic groups living throughout the city, as well as in its suburbs. Richmond's top two employers sit just outside the city limits, Capital One Financial Corporation and Phillip Morris. The city is also home to eight Fortune 500 companies (only five other metro areas in the U.S. have more Fortune 500 companies than Richmond) and Richmond is known for its advertising agencies and advertising-related businesses.
Norfolk is known, principally, for being home to Norfolk Naval Station, the world's largest naval station and one of Norfolk's largest employers. The major military center has a population of about 235,000 people, about half of whom are Caucasian and half of whom are African American, with a smattering of residents from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. In addition to being a military town, Norfolk is consistently on the forefront of medical advances in the areas of diabetes, plastic surgery, dermatology, and obstetrics.
Virginia Beach, though actually a suburb of Norfolk, is Virginia's largest city with a population of around 450,000 people, 70% of which are Caucasian, 20% are African American, 5% are Asian, and 5% Hispanic of any race. Guinness World Records lists Virginia Beach as having the longest pleasure beach in the world - more than 35 miles long. Many locals earn a living from tourism, the Naval Air Station Oceana is actually Virginia Beach's largest employer.
North Carolina Shore and the Outer Banks
Generally speaking, North Carolina shore towns are quaint, quiet, and largely Caucasian. Wilmington's population of approximately 100,000 people is 70% Caucasian, 25% African American, and 5% distributed among various ethnic groups. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a major employer, and Wilmington's EUE Screen Gems Studios North Carolina claims more than 300 movie, television, and commercial productions, including the well known Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill.
The year-round crowd in the Outer Banks is sparse, to say the least. Most Outer Banks communities have less than 3,000 full-time residents, the overwhelming majority of are Caucasian. Duck and Corolla have less than 500 people each and Kill Devil Hills' permanent population is about 6,000. Manteo, on Roanoke Island, has only a population of about 1,000 people, also mostly Caucasian, but also 10% is African American and 3% Hispanic, primarily Mexican and Peruvian.
Quiet, isolated seafaring villages and winsome coastal hamlets, naval ports, and bustling cosmopolitan cities and centers for fine arts, history, and culture - the local flavor of eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland communities are as distinct as the types of sand that dot its shores.
Local Flavor on the Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula is largely comprised of quaint small coastal towns. Reveling in the isolated, self-referential local lifestyle, one popular bumper sticker reads, “There is no life west of the Chesapeake Bay.” The area does have a subtle culture of its own. Stick around a little and you'll catch wind of the local linguistic idiosyncrasies that pepper Delmarva Peninsula conversations in a quiet, unassuming kind of way. “'Em ahr,” you'll overhear from a Delmarva resident, meaning “them are.” Delmarva Peninsula residents are extremely proud of and concerned with their local newsworthy events. While Delmarva residents do not isolate themselves from the national “goings on,” they are particularly passionate about issues that effect their region - local politics, controversies over bridge construction and fish stocking projects, and the cutting-edge rocket launches that take place over at the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, are just a few of the recurring items in local papers. From time to time, Delmarva Peninsula residents have proposed to secede from their respective states and form a new State of Delmarva. To this effect, legislation has been submitted to the Maryland General Assembly three times, most recently in 1998.
It is only fitting that the Delmarva residents would concern themselves with their own, local affairs. Each year thousands of people flock to the Delmarva Peninsula for summer fun and recreation and locals understandably want their towns and beaches to be as efficient, put-together, and beautiful as possible.
But with good reason, Delmarva coastal communities take delight in and make use of the sparklingly clean local beaches (like Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach, Delaware, and Ocean City, Maryland), and opportunities for fishing, kayaking, and wildlife observation. Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island take the annual July Pony Swim seriously, and the fact that their wild, Chincoteague horses have gained such national and international notoriety is a source of tremendous pride.
Local Flavor in Eastern Virginia
In eastern Virginia, Southern pride still flies high. You will often hear that slow, Southern drawl, benefit from the residents' polite, Southern-style manners, see Southern delicacies on area menus, and find that Civil War history monuments are just about everywhere you look.
Eastern Virginia also manages to straddle the past, present, and future in the most graceful way. Perhaps the most obvious example of this past-present-future blend is the town of Williamsburg. At Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area hundreds of costumed interpreters reenact Colonial lifestyle in what is one of the world's largest history museums. And yet, just across the way sits the widely-acclaimed liberal arts institution of the College of William and Mary. The fast-paced amusement park thrill rides of Busch Gardens add an even greater element of contrast to the city.
While the city of Richmond is decidedly fond of and connected to its Colonial and Civil War heritage, it is also a progressive, forward-looking place. Memorial sites, statues, monuments, and historical attractions abound at every turn, and Richmond simultaneously boasts one of the largest collections of Fortune 500 countries in the nation. Richmond residents are also known for their commitment to and patronage of the arts and culture. Additionally, perhaps because Thomas Jefferson wrote his Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom in Richmond, the city also boasts an extremely large concentration of places of worship and is often referred to as the “City of Churches.”
Virginia Beach and Norfolk add a military dimension to the eastern Virginia area. Virginia Beach is home to the Naval Air Station Oceana and Norfolk boasts one of the world's largest naval bases, Norfolk Naval Station. Otherwise, Virginia Beach invents itself time and again as one of the nation's top beach resorts and Norfolk is proudly a place of refined culture and the arts. Whereas once the Virginia Beach and Norfolk areas were often stereotyped as rigid and stiff military towns with a nightlife characterized by wild sailor parties and a somewhat unsavory bar scene, these elements hardly dominate the ambience. You will see servicemen and servicewomen in uniform walking the streets of the area, and you will watch military and commercial vessels ply the harbor fronts, but you will also find upbeat, trendy, culturally-rich downtown districts and neighborhoods. Above all, you will experience and enjoy that small-town, down-home friendly Southern attitude that both Virginia Beach and Norfolk folks intentionally maintain, despite the cities' growth and cosmopolitan air.
Local Flavor on the North Carolina Shore
While still Southern like eastern Virginia (barbecue and Southern culinary delights abound), and still tied to Civil War history, the North Carolina shore, particularly the Outer Banks, has a culture and a local flavor all of its own. North Carolina shore communities such as Edenton, New Bern, Beaufort, and Wilmington understand the worth of their historical heritage and have taken great pains to preserve local buildings and landmarks.
Wilmington is a bustling, small-yet-cosmopolitan city with its large University of North Carolina-Wilmington campus and television and film production studio. The majority of the towns along North Carolina's shore, however, are quiet, laid-back beachside communities and tiny fishing and seafaring villages whose ways of life and manners still reflect their 17th-century European heritage. Most of the locals' activities are sea-related. Fishing and boating are favorite pastimes and many folks rely on the booming summer tourism industry to make it through the long, quiet winters. Happily, quite a few of these hamlets, particularly in the Outer Banks (where locals still call themselves “Bankers”), retain their old-style feel.
Ocracoke Island is the quintessential example of Outer Banks culture. Native islanders still speak in what is referred to as the Ocracoke brogue, a dialect from the Scots-Irish settlers who colonized the area during the 18th century. You will hear Ocracoke residents say “hoigh toids,” instead of high tides, and use the phrase “comers ‘n' goers,” to refer to tourists and visitors.
The North Carolina shore is also home to a wealth of pirate and shipwreck legends. Many towns in the area, like Bath, Beaufort, and Ocracoke, get in on the Blackbeard scene and revel in their swashbuckling history.
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