Is San Antonio considered southern or southwestern? (Houston, Dallas: tornadoes, gated)

[buffy888]

Growing up in San Antonio, I always thought of it as the South. Later I lived in Galveston and realized that seemed much more southern to me than San Antonio did.

I have often heard of Texas referred to as the Southwest, but in my mind the term Southwest automatically conjures up images of Arizona, New Mexico, coyotes howling, turquoise...

I'd guess I would say that I would consider San Antonio more Southwestern than Southern, but if referring to myself I would more likely say I was from the South rather than the Southwest. Which of course makes absolutely no sense, even to me.

[Steel Man]

How about Texas being West-southern?

[rd2007]

or it being the Republic of Texas and San Antonio being the largest city in the south central portion of that Republic..

I don't think it's ever a good thing to try to characterize anything in Texas in comparison with the rest of the country

[ryneone]

Originally Posted by rd2007

or it being the Republic of Texas and San Antonio being the largest city in the south central portion of that Republic..

I don't think it's ever a good thing to try to characterize anything in Texas in comparison with the rest of the country

I agree.

[WorldTexan]

Texas is in a category all its own. Our Great State sits at the western end of the South, the eastern end of the Southwest, at the bottom of the Great Plains, and north of Mexico. And guess where SA (and sometimes Austin) sits, right smack in the middle of it all.

Texas was a member of the Confederacy, which gives a certain ideological/historical link to the South. San Antonio shares some cultural ties with the South - think sweet tea, chicken fried steak and a more conservative nature. Not to mention we love our Country Music.

Texas has historical ties to our southern neighbor. While you definitely see the Mexican influence in South Texas, by the time you reach SA things have blended more with Texan/American culture to create our unique TexMex food and culture - think chicken fried steak with chili con carne or a sausage taco.

As for SA being southwestern, that's hard for me to see. One of my roommates is from New Mexico and I dated someone who grew up in Arizona, neither of them ever seemed to understand where I'm coming from. Plus southwestern culture has a very strong Native American influence, which San Antonio definitely lacks. El Paso may be Southwestern (and closer to California), but SA definitely is not.

So we're a little bit of everything, which makes us hard to classify. Personally, when people ask me where I come from, what my culture is, what I dream about, I answer with one word - TEXAS.

[Merovee]

San Antonio is definitely the gateway to the West. Houston and Dallas are in the South. Overall though the state shares many things with both regions. There were not many cowboys in the past venturing into other Southern states even as Texas was part of the Confederacy. There were many Germans who chose to flee the war rather than fight for the South. Some fled back to Europe while others tried to make it into Mexico. A few were caught and hung as traitors on the way.

[crazedchef]

Hi,

I have pondered this question myself and IMHO I agree that Texas is a world unto itself.

It has so many flavors within its borders:

Beaumont to El Paso : 742 miles

Beaumont to Chicago : 770 miles

El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas (556 miles v 636 miles)

King Ranch in South Texas is larger than Rhode Island

Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union ) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and may divide into 5 states.

These interesting facts were taken from a much larger e-mail about Texas. These just stood out in my mind.

The Republic of TEXAS!

crazedchef

[OzzyRules]

People probably consider San Antonio to be southwestern because of the Alamo and the missions.

[SA Greed]

When I think Southern, I think LA, MS, GA, & AL. I see grits on menus and an accent that doesn’t quite fit in Texas. I don’t see Texas as Southern like I see those States. I see Texas as, Texas. Nothing else like it or ever will be. When people refer to the south in a diminutive manner, I don’t take offence because I don’t think of Texas as part of someone’s conversation when they are referring to the “South”. One thing I do hate is when people assume everyone in Texas wears cowboy hats and rides horses.

[ChrisSA_wxatUIW]

Originally Posted by SA Greed

When I think Southern, I think LA, MS, GA, & AL. I see grits on menus and an accent that doesn’t quite fit in Texas. I don’t see Texas as Southern like I see those States. I see Texas as, Texas. Nothing else like it or ever will be. When people refer to the south in a diminutive manner, I don’t take offence because I don’t think of Texas as part of someone’s conversation when they are referring to the “South”. One thing I do hate is when people assume everyone in Texas wears cowboy hats and rides horses.

Exactly

That's why I never think of Texas as "The South"