How "southern" is Kansas City? (St. Louis, Springfield: employment, college)

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

There's definitely a bit of a Southern influence here, but still more Midwest than South. So I voted the 2nd option. I'd call it 75% Midwest and 20% South, plus maybe 5% West.

That’s the correct answer.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

There's definitely a bit of a Southern influence here, but still more Midwest than South. So I voted the 2nd option. I'd call it 75% Midwest and 20% South, plus maybe 5% West.

Any southern influences in the Midwest north of I-80 is limited to Great Migration influences of the 20th century, almost exclusive to metro areas. Rural areas have next to no southern influences at all. In Missouri that is reversed with rural areas being more southern than the metro areas.

[kcbluesprings]

I've lived here all my life. Never once did I consider Kansas City having a southern feel to it. Not even a small part!!

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by Mattks

Kansas City has southern influence for sure, but its significantly more midwestern then southern. Even Springfield south of Kansas City is more midwestern then southern.

I'll disagree about that. Springfield is more southern than Midwestern in the Ozarks kind of way. Sure it's not deep south or delta south like the Bootheel is but overall it is more southern than Midwestern if you could only pick one.

There is some southern influence in KC but not very much. Some of the suburbs though have influences since they're part of what was once Little Dixie. Like Lafayette for example has some southern influences today.

Even St. Louis which is a midwestern city has maybe 5 percent southern influence left over. It's not very much though at all but I just don't know how to put my finger on it.

I will say about Missouri even in the areas that are considered midwestern, it still has a different feel than Ohio or IL. The state as a whole and most agree on this is that Missouri is 25 percent transition zone, a mix of both like southern Indiana and IL, 25 percent solid southern, and 50 percent midwestern.

Just the state in general regardless of location just feels different. To an extent I think it influences the state as a whole. Oh to put it this way, Missouri is the least Midwestern state out of all the midwestern states.

Missouri is the only midwestern state that has a chunk of the state that is actually located in the south. Even Southern Indiana doesn't really have anything like this. MO also has about 25-30 percent of the state that falls within the southern dialect line. Indiana doesn't come close to this, and also MO was a slave state and was claimed by the Confederacy and the Union.

[KC_Retiree]

I don't think KC is southern at all. Parts of Missouri, particularly the SE have a definite southern component but I don't get that vibe at all in KC. When I was growing up in KC, it was still mostly a post-war industrial center and it definitely had the feel of other large midwestern cities with a fairly dense city center and a lot of manufacturing. KC went through the same loss of industry pains as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh etc... As a legacy, however, union labor is firmly entrenched in the city which is something you definitely do not see in the south. I think KC looks west and southwest today and it definitely feels more like Denver without the mountains than it does Memphis. Some people associate the bbq thing with the south but that really is a function of KC's place at the pinnacle of the early 20th century meat packing industry than anything cultural even though some of the KC bbq leaders were from the south (and Texas).

[James Bond 007]

Originally Posted by kcbluesprings

I've lived here all my life. Never once did I consider Kansas City having a southern feel to it. Not even a small part!!

That's probably because you're so familiar with it. This may be one of those issues where outsiders and newcomers might have a better perspective on, because they haven't become accustomed to anything about it.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by KC_Retiree

I don't think KC is southern at all. Parts of Missouri, particularly the SE have a definite southern component but I don't get that vibe at all in KC. When I was growing up in KC, it was still mostly a post-war industrial center and it definitely had the feel of other large midwestern cities with a fairly dense city center and a lot of manufacturing. KC went through the same loss of industry pains as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh etc... As a legacy, however, union labor is firmly entrenched in the city which is something you definitely do not see in the south. I think KC looks west and southwest today and it definitely feels more like Denver without the mountains than it does Memphis. Some people associate the bbq thing with the south but that really is a function of KC's place at the pinnacle of the early 20th century meat packing industry than anything cultural even though some of the KC bbq leaders were from the south (and Texas).

Kentucky, and West Virginia were also unionized too. Then again that's the fringe south/upper reaches of the south.

If people in KY and WV were able to vote on right to work it wouldn't pass there as well. Both are blue collar states though that once had a lot of industry too. A lot in the mining industry in WV were union members.

I wonder if Right to Work will be repealed in KY if the democraps get back control of the house and senate this Nov. I believe in KY you only need a simple majority for veto overrides and not 2/3rd so if they try repealing it and the governor vetoes it then they can override him.

https://aflcio.org/2018/5/30/kentuck...ed-647-primary

[kcbluesprings]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

That's probably because you're so familiar with it. This may be one of those issues where outsiders and newcomers might have a better perspective on, because they haven't become accustomed to anything about it.

This may be true. Although, I will say that I spent 4 years in school, down in Springfield, and there was a definite southern feel to it.

[SunGrins]

I picked the top option but if we were talking about Jackson County I would probably have selected the second option. I think Independence has a little more southernness to it than KC. There has been a large influx of Irish and other immigrants in KC. Counties to the north across the river, Clay County (Jesse James) and Ray County (Richmond as the county seat) and Lafayette County (Battle of the Hemp Bales) to the east have a bit more residual southernness but they have to work at it sometimes so it seems fake and silly at times.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by kcbluesprings

This may be true. Although, I will say that I spent 4 years in school, down in Springfield, and there was a definite southern feel to it.

You would notice the southern aspects much more if you lived in the Midwest north of I-80.