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Old 06-19-2016, 08:28 AM
 
Location: South Jersey
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It's entirely within the South, in my view (parts of Missouri & Oklahoma are also Southern).
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Old 06-19-2016, 11:46 AM
 
Location: USA
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Well...... sounds like there is no true definition since we are kind of stuck in between a couple options. Between southern and mid-western.
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Old 06-19-2016, 12:07 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
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There are two separate questions in this thread. The first question is the thread title, to which the answer is clearly, "Arkansas is part of the South. It is a southern state."

The second question has to do with a portion of Arkansas, namely the north-west corner of the state. Yes, the nature of that part of the state is somewhat different from the rest of it. Most states are large enough to have differences of many kinds within their borders, and Arkansas is no exception. The differences may be in climate, in the socio-economic and political and cultural feel, etc. Off-hand, I don't know how to characterize north-west Arkansas in just a few words.

Before someone gets upset about my location, I have spent quite a bit of time in Arkansas.
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Old 06-19-2016, 12:35 PM
 
Location: Leaving fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada
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Arkansas is a Southern state. By many measures it's a Southern state.

Taste it's food: barbecue, biscuits, cornbread, greens, gravy, fried, well (almost everything). Don't forget the pecan pie, sweet potato casserole and homemade ice cream.

Look at it's crops: catfish, cotton, rice, soybeans.

Listen to it's music: Country (Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Glen Campbell, Conway Twitty), Blues (Levon Helm, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson). Not to mention the King Biscuit Blues Festival, held in Helena.

Read it's authors, Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; John Grisham, A Painted House; Charlaine Harris, Shakespeare Series; then you'll know Arkansas is a Southern state.

Even geographically it sits in the South. Not in the Deep South, but in the South just the same.
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Old 06-19-2016, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyryztoll View Post
Quite true. I lived in Georgia for 20 years......that is the DEEP south. Little Rock is somewhat similar, but once I get north of the river the "flavor" of everything just seems to change. The spoken accents lose some of their twang, as well. That's just from my brief experience traveling the state.

The southwestern contention I just don't get. When I think of the southwest I think of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, not a lush green place like Arkansas.
certainly I would agree: southwestern, not in anyway. OK is, geographically southern and fought for the south, but they really are southwest, as is Texas for that matter, especially west of Dallas to the NM border

Obviously we all see AR in a different light, you and I see it one way, others are being very technical. Yes, it is a southern state geographically but most people living here identify it with the mid west. Anyone who said part of Mo is southern leaves me wondering where that came from? Again, through the years this has been debated here.
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Old 06-19-2016, 01:13 PM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by photobuff42 View Post
Arkansas is a Southern state. By many measures it's a Southern state.

Taste it's food: barbecue, biscuits, cornbread, greens, gravy, fried, well (almost everything). Don't forget the pecan pie, sweet potato casserole and homemade ice cream.

Look at it's crops: catfish, cotton, rice, soybeans.

Listen to it's music: Country (Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Glen Campbell, Conway Twitty), Blues (Levon Helm, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson). Not to mention the King Biscuit Blues Festival, held in Helena.

Read it's authors, Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; John Grisham, A Painted House; Charlaine Harris, Shakespeare Series; then you'll know Arkansas is a Southern state.

Even geographically it sits in the South. Not in the Deep South, but in the South just the same.
I am not quite sure where you have lived or visited in our state but the foods you mentioned are not commonly found in areas north of little Rock; go to any restaurant, like Golden Corral, neighborhood mom and pop places or basic chains: you will not sweet potato anything other than maybe fries, greens, cornbread, homemade ice cream and even grits are hard to find except for the chain restaurants that offer grits regardless. Pecan pie can be found almost anywhere in the country; as for bar b cue, we, normally see bar b cue places referred to as Kansas city bar b cue. Cat fish, heck we got cat fish in NM and it is everywhere in Kansas and Mo.

The list of country and western entertainers is just country and western, not necessarily southern, but you are right.
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Old 06-19-2016, 01:23 PM
 
Location: Leaving fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
certainly I would agree: southwestern, not in anyway. OK is, geographically southern and fought for the south, but they really are southwest, as is Texas for that matter, especially west of Dallas to the NM border

Obviously we all see AR in a different light, you and I see it one way, others are being very technical. Yes, it is a southern state geographically but most people living here identify it with the mid west. Anyone who said part of Mo is southern leaves me wondering where that came from? Again, through the years this has been debated here.
Maybe those people you are referring to are transplants. Many, many people have moved to Northwest Arkansas because of the opportunities there and have influenced the culture, but it's still part of the rest of the state. Native Arkansans know Arkansas is a Southern state. You can't really separate Northwest Arkansas from the rest of the state, in my opinion.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
I am not quite sure where you have lived or visited in our state but the foods you mentioned are not commonly found in areas north of little Rock;
I was born there, educated there, learned good food there, everywhere from Bella Vista to Little Rock, everywhere from Prescott to Helena. All over the state.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
The list of country and western entertainers is just country and western, not necessarily southern, but you are right.
All from Arkansas...

Last edited by photobuff42; 06-19-2016 at 01:53 PM..
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Old 06-19-2016, 02:06 PM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by photobuff42 View Post
Maybe those people you are referring to are transplants. Many, many people have moved to Northwest Arkansas because of the opportunities there and have influenced the culture, but it's still part of the rest of the state. Native Arkansans know Arkansas is a Southern state. You can't really separate Northwest Arkansas from the rest of the state, in my opinion.


I was born there, educated there, learned good food there, everywhere from Bella Vista to Little Rock, everywhere from Prescott to Helena. All over the state.


All from Arkansas...
I realize they are all from AR. remember I live here now> I have no idea when you left. But I am sure it has changed, especially NWA. I wonder when you lived in Bella Vista? I ask because it is anything but southern in tradition and culture and it is hard to find anyone living here, that was born in AR. The only southern accents you hear are from those who have relocated from places like Texas. We have a lot of those people

Yes, of course NWA is part of AR, but it is, culturally nothing like most of the state. That is my point. I have already said, geographically, of course it is southern.

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this. as I have mentioned, this topic comes up about every year or so and always with the same results: no true majority!
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Old 06-19-2016, 02:23 PM
 
Location: USA
2,830 posts, read 2,618,172 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by photobuff42 View Post
Arkansas is a Southern state. By many measures it's a Southern state.

Taste it's food: barbecue, biscuits, cornbread, greens, gravy, fried, well (almost everything). Don't forget the pecan pie, sweet potato casserole and homemade ice cream.
Have to comment on the food, I'm from south Louisiana (which is definitely south ) but since living here, I've never seen anything sweet potato nor pecan pie. Bar-b-q is not necessarily southern nor is ice cream. The cornbread and greens maybe, I've seen them sold at once local cafe, although the greens here are terrible, not like we cooked them in Louisiana.

Now biscuits, I'm not sure, is that a southern thing? Don't northerners eat biscuits and gravy? We didn't eat biscuits and gravy down in LA and I always thought it was a more northern thing. We ate ours with butter and jelly.

As for fried, well let's face it, you can make a leather shoe taste good if you batter and fry it, but I again don't think it's much of a southern thing. First time I ever ate chicken fried steak was in Wyoming. I had never heard of frying a steak before that.
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Old 06-19-2016, 02:54 PM
 
Location: Fishers, IN
6,485 posts, read 12,473,921 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hollynla View Post
Me and my cousin (who lives in Colorado) were discussing this and are both confused. In the ozark region of Arkansas, I consider to be a midwestern area, the southern part of the state is the south. Looking on google, Arkansas is considered a southern state. Being from Louisiana, I just don't feel I am in the south up here. What do YOU consider northern/northwest Arkansas?

The maps in general can give you several different answers. My cousin lives in Guffey CO. She said most of the locals consider it the midwest / west/ high prairieland. Maps should it as "mountain".
Absolutely no one in the Midwest thinks of Arkansas as a Midwestern state. And when I lived in Arkansas, I never met a local who identified as Midwestern. They thought of me and my family as yankees.
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