Missouri...Southern or Midwestern? (Kansas City, St. Louis: hospital, title, school)

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by britdaw

I love SE Missouri. I'd give anything to move back... You're right, it's very flat (which SUCKS during tornado weather!) but we do have the best sweet tea you can find anywhere. I remember going to New York a few summers ago and ordering iced tea in a TGI Friday's up there. When the waitress brought it back, it was some kind of herbal tea that they normally served hot and she just put some ice in it. It wasn't even sweet! I was like "WHOA, I need to teach you guys how to make tea." LOL And if you do go to Lambert's next time you're down that way, be sure to eat a roll for me! I'm 6 months pregnant and I've been craving some Lambert's something fierce! LOL
I hope the New Madrid fault stays quiet. No one up there has earthquake insurance (most companies won't offer it, surprise surprise), so it would be a travesty if a big earthquake happened.
Oh yeah, which part of STL are you in? One of my cousins lives in Creve Couer (sp?).

Grew up in Clayton, now live in St. Louis City on the Saint Louis University campus.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by JohnKing67

In Ohio I generally thought you had to get pretty close to the Ohio river before you started hearing any trace of a southern accent but it's been awhile since I've been to southern Ohio. Any particular reason why the Southern influences are moving further north? I don't think Sweet tea has caught on here in Northeast Ohio. Anyway, sorry for getting off the Missouri topic.

ARe you kidding me? I've heard some slightly southern-sounding accents in both Columbus and Dayton. Northern Ohio, Northern Indiana, and Northern Illinois have no Southern accents and little or no Southern influence. However, i have heard some slightly Southern-sounding accents in both Dayton and Columbus, even though they sounded more Midwestern. Ohio and Indiana and Missouri have taken on a large number of Waffle Houses and Cracker Barrels lately, and i'm pretty sure McDonald's is now selling sweet tea almost everywhere north of the Mason-Dixon I believe...Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Missouri all started serving sweet tea at McDonald's roughly 2 to 3 months ago. In addition, all three of the states have unusually high numbers of Baptists second only to Catholics (14% roughly for Indiana and Ohio, around 20% or so for missouri). In addition, indiana, ohio, and missouri, especially indiana and missouri, lean towards the right politically. Central Indiana and Central Ohio on down to the Ohio River, like from what i've heard from central missouri on down to roughly the latitude where the Ohio hits the Mississippi, have either plain accents, slight traces of Southern accents, or the occasional true Southern accent. I know the states well and have heard the accents for myself many times, especially having friends and relatives in all three C's of Ohio, obviously, the Northern half of OHio has nothing Southern. In all of Indiana and Ohio and most of Missouri, they still are not anything close to real Southern accents but some of their pronunciations are consistent with the way Southerners pronounce things..they sound Midwestern with a slight touch of Southern pronunciations. There is some southern influence in Ohio and Indiana in the central and southern parts...not the northern halves of the states though. Bottomline, Ohio and Indiana are never truly Southern in any of their parts...Missouri is only truly Southern in the extreme Southern parts of the state. THe Lower Midwest (excluding Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, and Northern Ohio, which qualify as the Upper Midwest) again has Southern characteristics to it, which makes sense given that it borders on the Upper South. U.S. 60 is roughly the northern boundary of the South and the southern boundary of the Midwest. But there can is some Southern overlap north of U.S. 60..it is not EXACTLY the boundary but close enough. in Kentucky, the Southern influences obviously dominate north of U.S. 60 where it is at lexington and in Virginia, the Southern influences appear to dominate all the way to just below D.C. and that little part of Virginia we like to call Northern Virginia. indiana has sweet tea as far north as Terre Haute I believe. Southwest Missouri 50 years ago did not have sweet tea, now it does. Southern Illinois now has it. There is no doubt southern influences have moved north of the Mason-Dixon everywhere. The real truth is that you generally don't start hearing TRUE Southern accents in noticeable numbers until you get to the Ohio River and U.S. 60. But you can definitely hear traces up to 100 miles north of the Ohio River and U.S. 60 for these three states. The Ohio River around Cincinnati is inaccurate as the Southern boundary...there you have to get south of the Cincy burbs in Kentucky before you start to hear true Southern accents.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by ajf131

ARe you kidding me? I've heard some slightly southern-sounding accents in both Columbus and Dayton. Northern Ohio, Northern Indiana, and Northern Illinois have no Southern accents and little no Southern influence. However, i have heard some slightly Southern-sounding accents in both Dayton and Columbus, even though they were overall Midwestern. Ohio and Indiana and Missouri have taken on a large number of Waffle Houses and Cracker Barrels lately and i'm pretty sure McDonald's is now selling sweet tea almost everywhere north of the Mason-Dixon. I know they are in missouri and illinois. Central Indiana and Central Ohio on down, like from what i've heard from central missouri on down, have traces of Southern accents. I know the states well and have heard the accents for myself. In most of these states, they still are not anything close to the real Southern accents but some of their pronunciations are consistent with the way Southerners pronounce things..they sound Midwestern with a slight tinge of Southern pronunciations. There is some southern influence in Ohio and Indiana in the central and southern parts...not the northern halves of the states though. Bottomline, Ohio and Indiana are never truly Southern in any of their parts...Missouri is only truly Southern in the extreme Southern parts of the state. THe Lower Midwest (excluding Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, and Northern Ohio, which qualify as the Upper Midwest) again has Southern characteristics to it, which makes sense given that it borders on the Upper South. U.S. 60 is roughly the northern boundary of the South and the southern boundary of the Midwest. But there is overlap in between these areas obviously.

Disagree here - as I've spent much time in these areas, and the influence and similar cultures that the southern parts of OH and IN share w/ Kentucky is very evident. For example, we've a plant in Vincennes, IN - nickname there is "Vintucky" for the area. From Columbus, IN on down, gets very Kentuckyfied in a hurry. Now, maybe that then should be qualified as a 'Kentucky Southern', not a say TN or GA southern... As the Kentuckians IMHO are more similar to my kinfolk in the Missouri Ozarks than to their brethren further south. In any case, as said again recently by the wise Plains10 , with all the movement of late, cross pollination of the various cultures are blurring the distinctiveness at a quite faster rate of late. However, still very to come across the little pockets of true culture within various areas, where it seems that folks have for the most part not changed much.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

Disagree here - as I've spent much time in these areas, and the influence and similar cultures that the southern parts of OH and IN share w/ Kentucky is very evident. For example, we've a plant in Vincennes, IN - nickname there is "Vintucky" for the area. From Columbus, IN on down, gets very Kentuckyfied in a hurry. Now, maybe that then should be qualified as a 'Kentucky Southern', not a say TN or GA southern... As the Kentuckians IMHO are more similar to my kinfolk in the Missouri Ozarks than to their brethren further south. In any case, as said again recently by the wise Plains10 , with all the movement of late, cross pollination of the various cultures are blurring the distinctiveness at a quite faster rate of late. However, still very to come across the little pockets of true culture within various areas, where it seems that folks have for the most part not changed much.

Well, appears I was wrong about Ohio and indiana then. This really does prove it then I guess. Illinois has to have some truly southern parts to it as well then. All of the Lower Midwest today (I choose to include Missouri in that arena), has either Southern influence or some truly Southern parts to it. Out of curiousity, ShadowCaver, where exactly in the Ozarks are you from? I've heard many confuse the Ozarks with the river bluffs of the Mississippi and Missouri...I always thought the foothills didn't even begin until around Rolla. What I've never been able to figure out is why Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio have more Southern influence in their Southern halves than Illinois. What is undebatable to me at least is that the Northern halves of three states are rightfully a part of the midwest. Cincinnati is a Midwestern city. My only question is what on earth does this make Kentucky...clearly Kentucky has to have some Midwestern influence to it or some type of cultural trade-off if Southern influence exists in significant amounts of three of the lower Midwestern states. i would imagine because of this that Kentucky has some Midwestern influence to it as well...it wasn't the impression i got when i visited there, but anyway....this is a discussion without an ending to it.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Well, appears I was wrong about Ohio and indiana then. This really does prove it then I guess. Illinois has to have some truly southern parts to it as well then. All of the Lower Midwest today (I choose to include Missouri in that arena), has either Southern influence or some truly Southern parts to it. Out of curiousity, ShadowCaver, where exactly in the Ozarks are you from? I've heard many confuse the Ozarks with the river bluffs of the Mississippi and Missouri...I always thought the foothills didn't even begin until around Rolla...

Born/raised in StL [just wee bit south of Lambert Field ]; lived near Hermann and then south of Rollah; then Bonne Terre area; then NE Indiana; a bit SW of Chattanooga; and now back in land of Hoosiers, ~15 miles from where I was before . Via work, caving/canoeing/waterfall/photo trips, and/or just bumming about, travel quite a bit - back roads, interstates, blue highways, greasy spoons, etc. and considered all of, for example, Missouri south of I-44 as 'home' As to southern Illinoise, can't say too much about that, as that is one area that I just bugger through for the most part as fast as can.

As to the definition of the "Ozarks"... lol, ya might wanna start another thread on that one... Me, I have three definitions - the general, the narrow, and the geological [and of course, the latter has a few subsets of its own too... ].

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

Born/raised in StL [just wee bit south of Lambert Field ]; lived near Hermann and then south of Rollah; then Bonne Terre area; then NE Indiana; a bit SW of Chattanooga; and now back in land of Hoosiers, ~15 miles from where I was before . Via work, caving/canoeing/waterfall/photo trips, and/or just bumming about, travel quite a bit - back roads, interstates, blue highways, greasy spoons, etc. and considered all of, for example, Missouri south of I-44 as 'home' As to southern Illinoise, can't say too much about that, as that is one area that I just bugger through for the most part as fast as can.

As to the definition of the "Ozarks"... lol, ya might wanna start another thread on that one... Me, I have three definitions - the general, the narrow, and the geological [and of course, the latter has a few subsets of its own too... ].

Wow...it sounds like you grew up less than 6 miles from me. I grew up in Clayton, now reside in the city on the Saint Louis University campus. Here is the map which says the official Missouri Ozark counties. This one I might actually tend to agree with although I think Springfield, which is at the top of the Ozark Plateau, needs to be included as well. Anyways, feel free to respond to that, but let's allow the thread to continue its course. Appears to be full of new twists and unexpected turns every second.

Missouri Ozarks Regional Explorers

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Wow...it sounds like you grew up less than 6 miles from me. I grew up in Clayton, now reside in the city on the Saint Louis University campus. Here is the map which says the official Missouri Ozark counties. This one I might actually tend to agree with although I think Springfield, which is at the top of the Ozark Plateau, needs to be included as well. Anyways, feel free to respond to that, but let's allow the thread to continue its course. Appears to be full of new twists and unexpected turns every second.

Missouri Ozarks Regional Explorers

ajf131,
What are your questions regarding meteorology? I took some meteorology classes in college, but am currently getting my degree in Geography and Geographic Information Systems. I plan to get into the city planning and urban planning field with the possibility of working for (a) city.
Meteorology requires a lot of math, but I hear that you really do not use that much higher level math once you get your degree in that field and go out in the workplace. Working has a meteorologist can be a high stress type of job. It is probably a good career field to get into because of the variety of jobs you could get with a degree in meteorology.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by Plains10

ajf131,
What are your questions regarding meteorology? I took some meteorology classes in college, but am currently getting my degree in Geography and Geographic Information Systems. I plan to get into the city planning and urban planning field with the possibility of working for (a) city.
Meteorology requires a lot of math, but I hear that you really do not use that much higher level math once you get your degree in that field and go out in the workplace. Working has a meteorologist can be a high stress type of job. It is probably a good career field to get into because of the variety of jobs you could get with a degree in meteorology.

Hehe...sounds a lot like engineering. I guess I was wondering if you might be able to tell me which areas of it might pay the most...i've just heard it is in really high demand these days.I don't expect you necessarily to know the exact answer....but i figured you might have had a good look at the jobs that were available for it in the fiel. i guess like do storm-chasers make the most typically or what...where in the United states did you yourself ever envision being a meteorologist in i guess and why.. I've already taken all the calculus courses for math that are available...my current major is as an aerospace engineer, but I have always been fascinated by the weather ever since i was a little kid. I'm into stuff anywhere from storm-chasing to just analyzing data and analyzing conditions to predict weather or to just sitting in a room analyzing incoming data. IF you are unable to answer this it's completely understood, again...since you mentioned meteorology as being a field you considered going into I thought you might be somebody I could ask regarding this...an extra opinion always helps me out.

[northbayeric]

One claim I've heard before is that St. Louis is the most difficult major city in the United States to be a meteorologist. In a place like Newport Beach or San Diego, CA, the weather forecast is almost always "Mostly sunny after areas of morning low clouds and fog" whereas in St. Louis it can darn do almost anything given its Midwest location, where colder Canadian air meets the warmer, more moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Would you know if this claim is a valid one, Plains10 or ajf131?

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Hehe...sounds a lot like engineering. I guess I was wondering if you might be able to tell me which areas of it might pay the most...i've just heard it is in really high demand these days.I don't expect you necessarily to know the exact answer....but i figured you might have had a good look at the jobs that were available for it in the fiel. i guess like do storm-chasers make the most typically or what...where in the United states did you yourself ever envision being a meteorologist in i guess and why.. I've already taken all the calculus courses for math that are available...my current major is as an aerospace engineer, but I have always been fascinated by the weather ever since i was a little kid. I'm into stuff anywhere from storm-chasing to just analyzing data and analyzing conditions to predict weather or to just sitting in a room analyzing incoming data. IF you are unable to answer this it's completely understood, again...since you mentioned meteorology as being a field you considered going into I thought you might be somebody I could ask regarding this...an extra opinion always helps me out.

Their are several fields that you can go into. The most stressful and highest paying field in meteorology is broadcast meteorology. A minor in journalism is helpful if you are interested in pursuing that aspect. The big aspect regarding broadcast meteorology is the presentation of facts and graphics regarding weather forecasts in a concise and efficient manner. Typically, computer models are helpful at forecasting the weather and can aid the meteorologist if he can interpret all of the data correctly. The salaries for broadcast meteorologists can run well over six figures with Tom Skilling being one of the highest paid meteorologists in the business.
The other area that has solid demand would be working for the NWS. (National Weather Service) They have many branch officies scattered all over the country that employ people that have a degree in meteorology. I belileve the work is divided up into shifts with people working a variety of hours because the weather never takes a break ya know.
Other options would be working for Government agencies that require accurate forecasting. I am not familiar with that area. This is typically the public sector employment.
The other agency is the Climate Prediction Center. This center is based out of Asheville, NC. If you decide to pursue a degree in climatology then you would probably want to at least get a tour of the CPC.