Kentucky.... specifically Louisville...south or midwest? (Springfield, Jeffersonville: house, living, restaurants)

[Steve-o]

missymomof3, Oak Grove is on the TN border, near Clarksville, TN (where Ft. Campbell is).

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Louisville does feel like a mix to me. Everything about it does. The downtown area is gives Louisville a rustbelt like appearance, and you hear many midwestern and Southern accents. The Louisville accent itself doesn't even sound distinctly southern to me...it's "twanged" a bit but very flat compared to the rest of the south. I also think Lexington has the same type of mixture to it given Cincinnati (A Midwestern city) is just about an hour north and the dialect sounds relatively flat compared to the rest of the South. I've honestly always felt the whole Golden Triangle of Kentucky draws flavor from both the Midwest and the South. The lifestyle in both these cities doesn't strike me as either too laid back or too fast-paced. i dunno...they may be more Southern than midwestern in the end, having been to both cities I would say that there is a very noticeable Midwestern and Southern presence in both of these cities. And given both are basically within the Ohio valley I just call it in between. Personally unless we are talking about cities like Paducah which are not far north of the Tennessee border, it really doesn't strike me as correct to call a city in the Ohio valley as the South. It's kind of guess a matter of opinion. I've heard people argue for the Southern component and for a mixture. I would never however include Louisville and Lexington in the Midwest and not in the South, that is obviously incorrect.

If you go outside of downtown to the south and southwestern parts it is quite a bit different.

[rgb123]

Everyone I have ever met from Louisville sounds Southern...not midwestern in any way! In fact, I get in trouble for calling it LOU-IE-VILLE they all say LOUVULLE (or something like that, I can never get it right).

I just passed through this weekend....so I was on the lookout for the real transition. What suprises me is that I think the southern culture is moving north more than it is south. The waffle houses go all the way up to Indianapolis now!! That has always been an indicator to me. I have driven I-65 a few times, and I never remember seeing any waffle houses so far into Indiana.

I stopped on the north side of the Ohio River to walk in the park....Jeffersonville is it? Not sure but it looked like a cute little place to live with a great view of Louisville. But anyway....no, not what I would consider midwestern and the river certainly doesn't split the culture.

I would say there is more of a Southern influence all the way up to Indy....and most people I know from the upper mid-west will at least notice a large cutural difference when visiting anywhere south of Indy (or living there...as one of my friends lives in Crawfordsville, IN and he thinks it is quite southern). Sure its a blending of cultures there.....but truly Louisville is a southern city.

[EnjoyEP]

When driving from north (midwest) to south (deep south) and I stop in Louisville, I always have had these impressions:

a) Louisville, and Kentucky, really seems to be that "border" from north (midwest) to south.

b) Louisville is an underrated strikingly very nice city

There is no way I would consider Louisville to be midwestern though. I think it is on that "border" - at least to me - but should be regarded as a first southern city rather than a final midwestern city. Louisville is the south.

[TerrySRA]

All of Kentucky is in the South.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by TerrySRA

All of Kentucky is in the South.

i disagree. the parts of Kentucky in the cincinnati metro area qualify as the Midwest easily. It's a very noticeable difference from the rest of Kentucky.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

When driving from north (midwest) to south (deep south) and I stop in Louisville, I always have had these impressions:

a) Louisville, and Kentucky, really seems to be that "border" from north (midwest) to south.

b) Louisville is an underrated strikingly very nice city

There is no way I would consider Louisville to be midwestern though. I think it is on that "border" - at least to me - but should be regarded as a first southern city rather than a final midwestern city. Louisville is the south.

Agreed. The only problem i've always had though is that if Louisville and Lexington have to be considered Southern, what does that make Huntington, WV and Charleston,WV? I've always thought both of these cities to be in somewhat the same category as Louisville and Lexington, as being on that border region between the North and South. I'd never include any of these cities in the Midwest but would say they are on that "border" and should be regarded as being the northernmost Southern cities if "border" does not suffice with anyone.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

If you go outside of downtown to the south and southwestern parts it is quite a bit different.

I agree. In areas like Paducah you are unquestionably in the South.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by rgb123

Everyone I have ever met from Louisville sounds Southern...not midwestern in any way! In fact, I get in trouble for calling it LOU-IE-VILLE they all say LOUVULLE (or something like that, I can never get it right).

I just passed through this weekend....so I was on the lookout for the real transition. What suprises me is that I think the southern culture is moving north more than it is south. The waffle houses go all the way up to Indianapolis now!! That has always been an indicator to me. I have driven I-65 a few times, and I never remember seeing any waffle houses so far into Indiana.

I stopped on the north side of the Ohio River to walk in the park....Jeffersonville is it? Not sure but it looked like a cute little place to live with a great view of Louisville. But anyway....no, not what I would consider midwestern and the river certainly doesn't split the culture.

I would say there is more of a Southern influence all the way up to Indy....and most people I know from the upper mid-west will at least notice a large cutural difference when visiting anywhere south of Indy (or living there...as one of my friends lives in Crawfordsville, IN and he thinks it is quite southern). Sure its a blending of cultures there.....but truly Louisville is a southern city.

If you were on 65 then that was Jeffersonville. My sister just moved there two years ago after having lived in Colorado and Missouri for the 8 years before that. We're sure glad to have her back!
As far as Indy is concerned my former sunday school teachers just moved up there after the hubby was transferred and they talk about what a different world it is.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by ajf131

I agree. In areas like Paducah you are unquestionably in the South.

I mean in Jefferson County where Louisville is. Each part of the city is different. The southwestern part is totally different than the Highlands and the Highlands is different than the West end and the West end is different than the far east end, etc.