I live in Virginia, before George W Bush was President, Virginia was reliably Republican, low crime and English speaking.
Yep. I remember. Dad was stationed at the Pentagon just as I was starting high school. He ended up taking another assignment in the DC area three years later since we kids were getting older and wanted to stay in one school for once in our nomadic lives. His final assignment before retiring after 28 years was in Norfolk and he did the weekend commute thing. (I was off at college by then.)
Even after I left home, Fairfax County was always nice when I went back for visits during Christmas and usually in the summer as well. I occasionally brought a friend who had never been to DC and wanted to see the sights. I had fun playing tour guide.
Like you said, it was conservative, safe and American back then.