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Well, when I think of the North, I think of fast paced, liberal, urbanized, educated, nonreligious and diverse. Northern rural Maine doesn't seem that way at all. But I guess we have different perspectives. I happened to vote for Massachusetts.
When I think of the South, I think of slow paced, conservative, rural, less educated, religious and homogenous societies.
The problem is that your definitions are stereotypes, not necessarily based on the whole truth.
The South is more populated than the northeast. True, it is a large land mass, but it's not a rural region throughout much of the region. The I-85 corridor from the Durham area on down to Atlanta has a large population. Florida has a large area of development across the I-4 corridor and along the coasts. Texas has the "Texas Triangle". On top of that, you have the Gulf Coast development area from Pensacola on over to Baton Rouge. You also have other, more isolated cities, such as Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, as well as numerous other cities.
The South is more religious, and I'm thankful that it is a characteristic of our region, but it is definitely more diverse on the whole than the northeast. As a whole, the northeast has less "diversity" (not a bad thing) outside of the Bos-Wash corridor, while the South has a lot of "diversity" even in many rural areas, not to mention the city. The South is just as fast-paced in the cities of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, etc. as places like Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C. New York City, true, there is nothing to compare to, but the same can be said of all places in the U.S. The New York City area doesn't define the northeast. You mention the South as being rural, but I've done a bit of traveling across the northeast, and it is a very rural region outside of the Boston-Washington Corridor. It's definitely more rural than the south. Driving across Maine, northern New Hampshire, into Vermont, upstate New York and down into central Pennsylvania is the equivalent of driving along the lesser populated coastal plains of the South, from North Carolina down into southeast Georgia. While there are a lot of people on the coasts of Florida and the Gulf Coast region, the Atlantic Coast region of the South, particularly of the Carolinas and Georgia, are not as populated as the Piedmont areas. I feel that a lot of northeasterners, driving south on I-95, get the wrong idea of the South by that freeway's remoteness once south of Petersburg, VA on down to just north of Savannah, Georgia.
Look, there is a difference between "deep north" and "most northeastern style culture". In fact, a HUGE difference.
The deep north, like the deep south, is cultural and geographical.
If you want to know what state best represents the northeast itself then I say New York.
You can find all northeastern cultures in that state. From the Pennsylvanian rural to the New England rural to the Urban cores. New York has a touch of it all due to it's location, topography and size.
New york is where the cultures meet. And in a broader sense, it's also where Appalachia meets the Great lakes.
Deep South: Very Conservative
Vermont: Very Liberal/Socialist
Deep South: Religious
Vermont: Not religious much at all
Deep South: Southern Twang or Drawl
Vermont: New York or French-inspired accent
Deep South: Southern Hospitality
Vermont: Deeply reserved
It's not Maine, as many people in Maine are conservative in nature, and are also more religious than Vermont. It's not Massachusetts, being that although the people are very liberal, they're not as reserved as a place like Vermont, and they do have a higher conservative population than in a place like Vermont. It's not New York, as the upstate has a fairly decent-sized conservative population, and being that parts of Appalachia New York look like the rural south with different accents and the lack of a Baptist population. The people also tend to be a bit more friendly than what you'll find in Vermont.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever
It's not New York, as the upstate has a fairly decent-sized conservative population, and being that parts of Appalachia New York look like the rural south with different accents and the lack of a Baptist population. The people also tend to be a bit more friendly than what you'll find in Vermont.
I just want to add that the rural parts of NY north of Appalachia are also very similar to the south.
The problem is that your definitions are stereotypes, not necessarily based on the whole truth.
The South is more populated than the northeast. True, it is a large land mass, but it's not a rural region throughout much of the region. The I-85 corridor from the Durham area on down to Atlanta has a large population. Florida has a large area of development across the I-4 corridor and along the coasts. Texas has the "Texas Triangle". On top of that, you have the Gulf Coast development area from Panama City to Houston. You also have other, more isolated cities, such as Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Jackson, Little Rock, Charlotte, and many small cities like Shreveport, Montgomery, Huntsville, Columbia, Chattanooga as well as numerous other cities.
Words of wisdom passed down from a very wise individual: "Sometimes the idiot in the room... is you."
You asked a question, then included a poll with the States you wanted to include as possible answers, then call others stupid when they pick one of the choices you gave them . Maybe you should take from the answers that YOUR perception is the one that is wrong, instead of assuming the majority of those who answered are wrong. It could be your perception of the South is wrong and very biased toward the huge misconception that the NE is so much better, brighter, and lively than the lowly South.
1+ If the OP didn't want everyone's opinion, he shouldn't have asked the question. An internet message board is the wrong place to go if all you're looking to do is validate your own opinions. Of course disparaging Maine within the first few posts probably didn't help either.
1+ If the OP didn't want everyone's opinion, he shouldn't have asked the question. An internet message board is the wrong place to go if all you're looking to do is validate your own opinions. Of course disparaging Maine within the first few posts probably didn't help either.
The OP is indeed confusing. In one sentence it asks us for the most representative state of the Deep North and the next sentence it asks for the state the most opposite of the Deep South. The two are not necessarily the same thing.
In addition it lists most of the Northeastern states but leaves out the Midwestern States which are also part of the "Deep North". Some of these states; Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan would be good choices for this poll.
I do agree with the OP on one thing however. Maine IS NOT the most representative state of the "Deep North". Most of the Deep North, Northeast or just plain North, does not look like Maine. It is actually one of the most unique states in the Union.
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. Maybe you should take from the answers that YOUR perception is the one that is wrong, instead of assuming the majority of those who answered are wrong. It could be your perception of the South is wrong and very biased toward the huge misconception that the NE is so much better, brighter, and lively than the lowly South.
