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I get tired of the guy's rambling, but he does have a point. The primary officially recognized authority when it comes to regional designations is the U.S. Census Bureau which places Maryland in the South and historically it was always recognized as being Southern. Culture is one thing but geography is another. Maryland is still IN the South but isn't so culturally Southern anymore, unless one wants to argue that cultural shifts dictate geographical designations--in which case at some point a very wide swath of the South won't even be considered "the South" anymore in the future.
If it takes all that explaining it's certainly not southern.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CookieSkoon
Historically I suppose.
But when I see snow or Christmas shaped Pine trees I feel like I am certainly in the north.
It snows in Dallas. It snows in Shreveport too. Nothing like Maryland though.
I thinks it comes down to feel. I know people on this site wont agree because they can't find little charts and surveys, or other BS data, but it basically comes down to if a place feels southern. Baltimore definitely does NOT feel southern, neither does DC.
"Texas" South: It's own distinct culture and attitude, but with many southern attributes. "In the South but not of the South" was how I read it by a Texas forum poster a long time ago.
"Plains/Lower Midwest" South: Not entirely of the South, but with many Southern attributes. They didn't have active roles in the Confederacy. Even some twangs. Examples:
Oklahoma
Southernmost 30 miles of Missouri and the boot heel (the Confederate exception)
Southernmost 15-20 miles of Illinois
Indiana and Ohio do not count. Not even Evansville and Cincinnati have enough Southern attributes to wash out their "Midwestern-ness.
Upper South:
Kentucky (sans Louisville and N. KY)
Southernmost 50 miles of West Virginia
Southern 2/3 of Virginia
Northern 3/4 of North Carolina
Mid-South:
Arkansas
Tennessee
The rest of North Carolina
Northern 1/4 of Georgia
Northern 1/4 of Alabama
Northern 1/4 of Mississippi
Deep South:
South Carolina
The rest of Georgia
The rest of Alabama
The rest of Mississippi
Louisiana
Northern 1/5 of Florida, plus some scattered inland small towns
The rest of Florida has basically become a relocation tank for every place else on Earth. So, I don't count it as being "Southern."
Most of the northern rest of Virginia and northern rest of West Virginia have their own things going on culturally. Not quite South, not 100% Appalachia, but not nearly Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern. Just kinda...there. Urbanized/suburbanized NoVA, however, is plain ol' Northeastern these days. In Kentucky, Louisville and Northern Kentucky are strange Southern/Midwestern hybrids but are majoritatively Midwestern, enough to not be classified as Southern, IMO.
Maryland and Delaware don't count. Maybe their southernmost beach towns were heavily Southern influenced 50 years ago, but folks from farther northeast seem to have really influenced both states culturally now.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
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I have another spin to all this. In the deep south states of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, couldnt it be argued that extreme Northern GA, extreme Northern Alabama and some of the upcountry in SC are really more a part of the "upper south" than the deep south??? I'm pretty sure places like Rabun County, Towns County, White County and Union County in Northern Georgia have more in common with Eastern Kentucky, Western NC and even West Virgnia than then do with Albany, Macon, or Milledgeville.
If it takes all that explaining it's certainly not southern.
Then by that line of reasoning, Texas sure as hell ain't Southern because no other state's "Southernness" is extensively explained on here as your own state's. You could probably throw VA and FL in there as well.
Then by that line of reasoning, Texas sure as hell ain't Southern because no other state's "Southernness" is extensively explained on here as your own state's. You could probably throw VA and FL in there as well.
My own state is Louisiana. I'm NOT a Texan.
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