Welcome! I grew up there also, and just moved back last year. For as much is a hated it for being rural(ish) back then, I love it now for the same reasons. It pretty much is like a little pocket of people who think they are in the South though.
I lived in St. Mary's county for over a decade.I was born and raised in southern maryland. People there definitely believe they are from the south. Same if not worse for those from Tennessee.
I’ve lived almost as far south as you can get in the cont U.S. for the past 30 years and it’s more like the north. I think Georgia and Alabama are considered the deep south. They forget there’s another 400 miles of country south of them.