Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Historically, Miami (and I still think this city is Southern) and perhaps DC were Southern cities that were not questioned at anytime if they belonged in the region. But with rapidly changing demographics, this changed and diluted it to the point where people have to look for it to see if the South still exists. This is what is currently happening in DFW at this point. Culturally, the city is starting to look north towards KC and the rest if the Great Plains Midwest.
Do people in Dallas even want to be perceived as being Northern?
Quite frankly, I think Dallas' over all ties to the Midwest are vastly overstated. Virtually the entire southern half of the metro is rooted in southern culture and is nowhere close to being what DC is; closer to Miami, but still more typically southern.
It is overstated if you think in the frame of mind of the Midwest only being Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. Just as the South isn't monolithic, the Midwest isn't either. And while you're focusing on the black population of the metro which is home to the majority of the regions Black population, there are over 5 million more people in DFW that has different experiences. That's why there was a long thread about Dallas "Southerness" in their forum.
I don't think Dallasites care, honestly. What's Northern anyway and what does that mean?
What I mean is Dallasites wanting to abandoned their Southern traits in favor of North traits.
Examples:
Downplaying their Southern accents in favor of a more Northern sounding accents.
Having restaurants that cater more towards northern cuisines over southern cuisines. People in general preferring to eat northern cuisine over southern cuisines.
Becoming more of a liberal city instead of a being a conservative city politically.
Having a more urban and centralized infrastructure as oppose to being a sprawling and suburbanized city.
Having a much stronger emphasis on improving mass transit such as subways, commuter rail, light rail, etc.
Pro-sports being more popular than college sports.
It seems that there has been some discussion in other threads about the South as far as what cities are considered to be part of the South (DC, St. Louis, and Dallas have been debated).
So, here's a list of potentially Southern cities, CHECK ALL THAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE PART OF THE SOUTH.
Why did you make your choices?
Do you see the South being defined more by geography or more by culture?
Looking forward to seeing the results
Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, and Oklahoma City are non-negotiable. Take them off the list. These are definitely southern cities.
What I mean is Dallasites wanting to abandoned their Southern traits in favor of North traits.
Examples:
Downplaying their Southern accents in favor of a more Northern sounding accents.
Having restaurants that cater more towards northern cuisines over southern cuisines. People in general preferring to eat northern cuisine over southern cuisines.
Becoming more of a liberal city instead of a being a conservative city politically.
Having a more urban and centralized infrastructure as oppose to being a sprawling and suburbanized city.
Having a much stronger emphasis on improving mass transit such as subways, commuter rail, light rail, etc.
Pro-sports being more popular than college sports.
I don't this makes Dallas northern nor should it but I'll answer.
Dallas has always been a pro sports town. In fact, pro sports is far more popular then college in Dallas. It's very opposite of most Southern cities especially Atlanta.
Dallas is already a decently liberal city politically. It's not like the coasts but it's getting more liberal each year.
Most of the newest city growth of Dallas is indeed urban and dense in and around uptown and downtown Dallas and there is an emphasis on mass transit. I believe DART is the most extensive LRT system in the nation. Ridership is still average though. Around 100k a day. There are two commuter rail lines now and another one is proposed as well. Personally, wanting to increase urbanity IMO is not a northern trait. It's emphasized more because they are older cities but it's not like every city throughout America hardly infills.
You will meet many Dallasites with neutral accents. Born and raised Dallasites but no, the accent mostly will still be there and there's nothing wrong with that
What exactly are northern cuisines? Point is, Dallas is very close to being a border city. It's close to the Southwest and Midwest. It's still mostly Southern but the other influences are there and its noticeable. The ones in DFW that hold on to their Southern characteristics the best in DFW is Dallas. Same way in Miami and same way with older Blacks in DC.
I'd say in order of southernness from my own experience:
Dallas (stereotype of everything that is either eloquent about the south or flashy about the south. despite midwestern transplants, Dallas IS the south)
Jax (could even be considered part of the dirty south, but like Atl, Charlotte, and Raleigh is actually more "northern transplant" than southern redneck)
Houston (seemed less southern than Dallas on the surface, but definitely still the dirty south)
Tampa (a confederate flag flies on a large 150 ft pole at the intersection of I-4 and I-75, similar situation as Jax with a huge southern population and lots of rednecks, but TONS of transplants, Hispanics, and non-southerners as well)
DC (seems more southern to me than northern, though it's not really "southern")
NoVa (DC seemed more "southern" to me than Northern VA, odd right?)
Orlando (still has tons of southern FL "natives" and rednecks, much of the entire west side is southern, but New York/Puerto Rican transplants now dominate since the 1990s)
Louisville (seemed pretty definitively midwestern to me)
St. Louis
Austin (didn't seem southern at all)
SA (just drove through, but didn't feel southern to me at all)
I haven't been to the other cities to comment.
That's because Austin sits at the crossroads of the South & Southwest hence the name of its large music festival going on right now.
San Antonio, although right down the road is not Southern, its strictly Southwestern.
It is overstated if you think in the frame of mind of the Midwest only being Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. Just as the South isn't monolithic, the Midwest isn't either. And while you're focusing on the black population of the metro which is home to the majority of the regions Black population, there are over 5 million more people in DFW that has different experiences. That's why there was a long thread about Dallas "Southerness" in their forum.
I'm considering the entire Midwest, when I make that statement. I'm also not just talking about black Dallasites. I've met whites there who clearly had ties to the South.
My point still stands. Dallas isn't anywhere near DC, in this regard.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
