Missouri...Southern or Midwestern? (Kansas City, St. Louis: versus, engineering, cold weather)

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by Flyover_Country

I said Cape is the Mason-Dixon line in Missouri; looks like I was off by only 10 miles

Well it's really hard to establish a line in the area. There are some Germans to my Southeast that are quite Midwestern. Then the western part of the county feels somewhat like Western KY (And IMO it's the only part of the state that feels like Western KY), and the SW Cape County is southern. Broadway in Cape is a pretty dang good line if your familiar with the city.

The blending of cultures; Just another reason why I love where I live.

[Snake Plissken]

My only experience with Missouri is St. Louis, which isn't southern AT ALL.

[onegoalstl]

Originally Posted by Flyover_Country

Missouri is a Midwestern state, with the exception of the very southeast part of the state. Once you go south of Cape and especially into the Bootheel, it's Dixieland for sure. The Ozark National Scenic Riverways area is also very Southern. It's pretty to go canoeing down it, but you're the Northerner if you canoe instead of tube, haven't gotten halfway through your first case of beer by yourself by 10:00 am, and wear a life jacket instead of just a wifebeater or no shirt at all.

However, many people in the Upper Midwest (the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan) consider Missouri to be Southern since a typical Missourian doesn't have the Minnesooooooota accent. After living in Missouri as well as a couple of upper Midwest states and one Southern state, most of Missouri is definitely Midwestern. Here's why:

- Missourians can't go deer hunting with buckshot and dogs as it is illegal, nor do very many go "coon huntin'." Noodling (hand catching of) fish is also illegal in Missouri.
- Missourians don't panic and crash their cars when there is a snow flurry. There actually has to be an inch of snow on the ground for them to do that.
- Grits, chitlins and hominy don't show up on very many menus in Missouri.
- Dixie horns are rare in Missouri, and when present, are nearly always installed a joke.
- The alcoholic beverages of choice in Missouri are beer and wine, not whiskey. Missourians also call whiskey "whiskey" and not "bourbon" like a real Southerner would.
- There are several popular high school sports in Missouri, not just football.
- Mizzou is in the Big 12, not the SEC. That's about enough all in itself to not make Missouri a Southern state right there.
- The entire town doesn't close on Sunday in Missouri like they do in the South.
- There are only a handful of Waffle Houses and no Krystal's in Missouri. Chick-Fil-As are also not all that common.
- Country music is on every other station Up North now, too.
- A soft drink is a pop or a soda, not a coke.
- "Greasy" in Missouri does not rhyme with "easy."

I;ve NEVER heard anyone call it pop here except for one person I work with, and that's because he's from central Indiana.

[onegoalstl]

Originally Posted by Flyover_Country

I said Cape is the Mason-Dixon line in Missouri; looks like I was off by only 10 miles

"Bourbon" in most of Missouri is a town in Crawford County. Somebody from down south did take a video of the water tower and said "Man, I wish!" in a drawl and sent it in to America's Funniest Home Videos though.

"Greasy" is pronounced like "Greece" the country with an extra "e" at the end. There is no "z" sound anywhere.

If you were to imopose the Mason Dixie Line cross country it covers just about the entire state. I don't make much of it anyways. Most of Maryland isn't southern, and part of WV extends well above it.

[Flyover_Country]

Originally Posted by onegoalstl

I;ve NEVER heard anyone call it pop here except for one person I work with, and that's because he's from central Indiana.

The pop/soda line seems to be around the 816 and 660 vs. 573 area code line. I have family in KCMO and they all say "pop" out there. Same goes for the Kirksville area and others in the north part of the state. In Columbia, it's mostly soda, except for the Kansas City and northern MO transplants that say "pop." St. Louis says soda as does pretty much the rest of the state.

[onegoalstl]

Originally Posted by Flyover_Country

The pop/soda line seems to be around the 816 and 660 vs. 573 area code line. I have family in KCMO and they all say "pop" out there. Same goes for the Kirksville area and others in the north part of the state. In Columbia, it's mostly soda, except for the Kansas City and northern MO transplants that say "pop." St. Louis says soda as does pretty much the rest of the state.

That could be why. Northern MO is different than the rest of the state. Thats closer to the midwest core. KC seems more western.

[OwenFam]

Originally Posted by onegoalstl

I;ve NEVER heard anyone call it pop here except for one person I work with, and that's because he's from central Indiana.

I was born and raised in Missouri (Springfield) and we all used the word, "pop".

[onegoalstl]

New climate averages out now for 1980-2010.

The average high and low temps for St. Louis in the winter is warmer, especially in Jan a couple degrees warmer.

Odd in the summer the average temp is little cooler. the warmest average high in Stl in the summer is now 89 degrees.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by onegoalstl

New climate averages out now for 1980-2010.

The average high and low temps for St. Louis in the winter is warmer, especially in Jan a couple degrees warmer.

Odd in the summer the average temp is little cooler. the warmest average high in Stl in the summer is now 89 degrees.

USDA plant zone hardiness continues to shift north as most areas of the US temperature averages seem to be warming at the rate of 0.75-1F every 20-30 years.

[onegoalstl]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

USDA plant zone hardiness continues to shift north as most areas of the US temperature averages seem to be warming at the rate of 0.75-1F every 20-30 years.

Its cycles. One thing I noticed the last 9 years I've moved back here is in the summers the 100 degree days we do get are not in the mid to upper 100s. Mostly in the lower 100s.

Especially earlier last century St. Louis had a lot of record highs in the 110 degree range.