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For anyone who's visited both the Upper South and the Lowland South have you noticed any difference in the cultures between the two or would you say its all one southern culture? I'm from a city in the deep south and have family in the country so I know the deep south pretty well. I know that the two definitely have a diverging history with the lower south being the home of the great plantations and the upper south being more Scots Irish and home to more Yeoman farmers than plantations but is there any noticeable difference outside say Appalachia?
For anyone who's visited both the Upper South and the Lowland South have you noticed any difference in the cultures between the two or would you say its all one southern culture? I'm from a city in the deep south and have family in the country so I know the deep south pretty well. I know that the two definitely have a diverging history with the lower south being the home of the great plantations and the upper south being more Scots Irish and home to more Yeoman farmers than plantations but is there any noticeable difference outside say Appalachia?
Absolutely there are differences.
In my opinion, the main difference I notice is that the Lowland South holds social status as more important than the Upland South.
My running joke about where I work is that the less money you make, the nicer vehicle you drive. It seems like lots of people try to prove things by what shoes & clothes they wear and what they drive around here. Where I grew up on the Upland South/Lower Midwest border, people are generally more salt of the earth. They don't have fancy clothes and cars, sometimes even if they are wealthy. They grew up hearing stories about how their grandparents & great grandparents toughed it out through the depression & that still resonates with them. From my experience, those from the Upland South are more likely to hunt & grow their own food vs. those in the Deep South.
This stuff applies to rural areas. I'm not sure if there are differences in urban areas.
Demographics are a big difference. In the Deep South, you see Black folks in both the rural and urban areas. Black folks are definitely in the urban Upper South, but in the rural parts, it's quite different. That makes for some noticeable cultural differences when it comes to music, culture, food, etc.
Demographics are a big difference. In the Deep South, you see Black folks in both the rural and urban areas. Black folks are definitely in the urban Upper South, but in the rural parts, it's quite different. That makes for some noticeable cultural differences when it comes to music, culture, food, etc.
When I think of the Upland South, the American Christian hymn, "Farther Along," immediately comes to mind. The Lowland South is more of a "Dwelling in Beulah Land" kind of place, IMO.
In my opinion, the main difference I notice is that the Lowland South holds social status as more important than the Upland South.
My running joke about where I work is that the less money you make, the nicer vehicle you drive. It seems like lots of people try to prove things by what shoes & clothes they wear and what they drive around here. Where I grew up on the Upland South/Lower Midwest border, people are generally more salt of the earth. They don't have fancy clothes and cars, sometimes even if they are wealthy.
This has been my experience as well. Delta-South and Deep South people seem to be obsessed with class-structure to an odd degree. I'm not sure how to explain it.
It manifest as very much a "who's your deddy and what does he do for a living?" type of thing, and also a sort of desperate need to be perceived as having social status or wealth, or to "belong to the good ole boy's club", even if that just means getting to hunt ducks on private land.
Deep South culture seems more brash, loud and ostentatious, while Upland South culture tends to be the opposite. I thought of the difference while watching the scene in Ozark where Mr. Snell was telling the parable of the Hillbilly and Redneck go for a stroll...
Deep South tend to be poorer and less educated than the Upper South. Deep South people tend to be a lot more friendly and well mannered as well. Deep South has a lot more blacks than the Upper South. These are general themes not always true but most people agree on.
In my opinion, the main difference I notice is that the Lowland South holds social status as more important than the Upland South.
My running joke about where I work is that the less money you make, the nicer vehicle you drive. It seems like lots of people try to prove things by what shoes & clothes they wear and what they drive around here. Where I grew up on the Upland South/Lower Midwest border, people are generally more salt of the earth. They don't have fancy clothes and cars, sometimes even if they are wealthy. They grew up hearing stories about how their grandparents & great grandparents toughed it out through the depression & that still resonates with them. From my experience, those from the Upland South are more likely to hunt & grow their own food vs. those in the Deep South.
This stuff applies to rural areas. I'm not sure if there are differences in urban areas.
This may be true. Down here in the coastal South you have a lot of those beach redneck types walking around in Sperry Top-siders and wearing $300 Costa’s. And of coarse you need the $50k F-250 to complete the image.
Deep South culture is blacker than Upper South culture.
Deep South is Blacker in rural areas from slavery era and more Redneck alike IMO.. Plenty of Conservative Good ol Boy's in Politics as well..
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