How different is Indiana from the rest of the Midwest culturally (Bloomington: live, stores)

[Chadro77]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Most of Indiana is very different from the rest of the Midwest. In food, culture, folkways, and religion. It is also a notably conservative state.

I just don't see it, maybe Evansville or down near Louisville. I mean, if you cut out Chicago, Indiana is almost a mirror image of Illinois in more ways than just geography.

I would actually say Ohio is the most un-Midwestern state out of the bunch.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

When I lived in Muncie, I knew very few 2nd and 3rd generation Hoosiers whose family came from Michigan, Illinois, or Ohio. Muncie is only about 30 miles from the Ohio state line and about 100 miles from the Kentucky, Illinois, and the Michigan state line, but I do believe there are more Hoosiers whose family moved to Muncie after WW2 came from Kentucky and Tennessee than Ohio, and definitely more than came from Michigan and Ilinois. I know New Castle is the same as Muncie and I highly suspect Anderson, Marion and Kokomo are the same way, too. Possibly even Richmond despite being 5 miles from the Ohio border. I bet Indianapolis is the same way, outside of Carmel and Far North old money sections of Indianapolis and it's Northern suburbs. Matter of fact, I'd venture to say blue collar working class whites whose family moved to Indiana from Kentucky and Tennessee since WW2 are going to make up a high percentage of the population of any of the Rust Belt towns in Indiana.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Depends on the religion. Some denominations are more "Southern" than others. Religion itself obviously not "Southern". A certain type of religion is.

There is a large Baptist and Pentecostal presence in Indiana. There are also more people with southern roots, in Indiana than in the rest of the rest of the Midwest.


One state over in OH my current state was settled by Connecticut Yankees. That influence can still be felt over 200 years later.


Neither is either good or bad. Right or wrong. They are just different.



Most of Indiana is very different from the rest of the Midwest. In food, culture, folkways, and religion. It is also a notably conservative state.

Your first post made it seem like you've never been to Indiana. This one doesn't do much to change that.

[censusdata]

I am a Kentucky native with long roots in that state who moved across the river from Louisville KY to Southern Indiana and have traveled up and down the I-65 corridor to Chicagoland and west along I-64 to Evansville. If you draw a line from Tell City to Seymour to Madison and south of that line it is a mix of Southern and Midwestern culture and accent, perhaps a bit more Southern leaning. I notice a big change when I go just from Seymour to Columbus in terms of the accents, almost feels like the boundary between Kentucky and Indiana is somewhere along the Jackson / Bartholomew county lines. Even though Evanvsille is far south in the state on the Ohio River it has a very Midwestern feel. I think Indiana's being more Republican leaning than other Midwestern states is due mostly to the White population being more British / Southern USA based in origin rather than being Germanic, Irish, or Polish origin like the rest of the Midwest.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I am a Kentucky native with long roots in that state who moved across the river from Louisville KY to Southern Indiana and have traveled up and down the I-65 corridor to Chicagoland and west along I-64 to Evansville. If you draw a line from Tell City to Seymour to Madison and south of that line it is a mix of Southern and Midwestern culture and accent, perhaps a bit more Southern leaning. I notice a big change when I go just from Seymour to Columbus in terms of the accents, almost feels like the boundary between Kentucky and Indiana is somewhere along the Jackson / Bartholomew county lines. Even though Evanvsille is far south in the state on the Ohio River it has a very Midwestern feel. I think Indiana's being more Republican leaning than other Midwestern states is due mostly to the White population being more British / Southern USA based in origin rather than being Germanic, Irish, or Polish origin like the rest of the Midwest.

This.

[Chadro77]

Originally Posted by sheena12

This.

Well the area he’s talking about probably isn’t even 1/4 of the state. You’re making huge generalizations about the whole state.

Your comment that Illinois and Ohio are similar tells me you’ve probably never really spent anytime in Illinois and it doesn’t look like you come to Indiana much either.

I’ve seen you drop this “Indiana isn’t really midwestern” line in more than one thread and people constantly refute you but you just ignore them and move on saying the same ole stuff. Illinois and Indiana are probably the two best representations of what the Midwest is to most Americans.

[Isleofpalms85]

Originally Posted by Chadro77

Well the area he’s talking about probably isn’t even 1/4 of the state. You’re making huge generalizations about the whole state.

Your comment that Illinois and Ohio are similar tells me you’ve probably never really spent anytime in Illinois and it doesn’t look like you come to Indiana much either.

I’ve seen you drop this “Indiana isn’t really midwestern” line in more than one thread and people constantly refute you but you just ignore them and move on saying the same ole stuff. Illinois and Indiana are probably the two best representations of what the Midwest is to most Americans.

Yep, both Indiana and Illinois were once the Great American Desert.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I am a Kentucky native with long roots in that state who moved across the river from Louisville KY to Southern Indiana and have traveled up and down the I-65 corridor to Chicagoland and west along I-64 to Evansville. If you draw a line from Tell City to Seymour to Madison and south of that line it is a mix of Southern and Midwestern culture and accent, perhaps a bit more Southern leaning. I notice a big change when I go just from Seymour to Columbus in terms of the accents, almost feels like the boundary between Kentucky and Indiana is somewhere along the Jackson / Bartholomew county lines. Even though Evanvsille is far south in the state on the Ohio River it has a very Midwestern feel. I think Indiana's being more Republican leaning than other Midwestern states is due mostly to the White population being more British / Southern USA based in origin rather than being Germanic, Irish, or Polish origin like the rest of the Midwest.

Precisely. When I was still living in Carmel, I met a guy at the bar from Seymour. He sounded a lot like me. I think Seymour is a telling line.

[dodeca]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

When I lived in Muncie, I knew very few 2nd and 3rd generation Hoosiers whose family came from Michigan, Illinois, or Ohio. Muncie is only about 30 miles from the Ohio state line and about 100 miles from the Kentucky, Illinois, and the Michigan state line, but I do believe there are more Hoosiers whose family moved to Muncie after WW2 came from Kentucky and Tennessee than Ohio, and definitely more than came from Michigan and Ilinois. I know New Castle is the same as Muncie and I highly suspect Anderson, Marion and Kokomo are the same way, too. Possibly even Richmond despite being 5 miles from the Ohio border. I bet Indianapolis is the same way, outside of Carmel and Far North old money sections of Indianapolis and it's Northern suburbs. Matter of fact, I'd venture to say blue collar working class whites whose family moved to Indiana from Kentucky and Tennessee since WW2 are going to make up a high percentage of the population of any of the Rust Belt towns in Indiana.

This recent story in the NYTimes seems to confirm your idea about the southern connections in the eastern indiana industrial cities.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...iendships.html

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by dodeca

This recent story in the NYTimes seems to confirm your idea about the southern connections in the eastern indiana industrial cities.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...iendships.html

My ex-girlfriend grew up in Anderson. She's 50. Her dad is in her 70s. Her grandfather came from Tennessee (near Cookeville) years ago for auto work. Madison seems to have strong connections to some north-central TN counties along the Cumberland Plateau than a lot of southern IN.