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I think of Texas as it’s own thing as well. It does share similarities with different regions. However I feel that the Houston/ Beaumont area can be categorized more so than the other cities in Texas. I travel a lot from Alabama to Austin area and it all kinda feels the same to me until I get past Houston. I get the Texas is Texas vibe throughout most of the state but I feel like I’m in the Deep South still when in Houston or Beaumont.
In my opinion I fee Dallas is similar to OKC, Amarillo and eastern New Mexico, if Eastern NM had a huge city I think it would feel like a Dallas.
El Paso is more like New Mexico than it is Texas.
Austin and San Antonio feel like they are their own thing, very much Texan.
Deep South TX feels kinda international with its Texan vibe
Amarillo and Lubbock feel midwestern with slight southern notes
Growing up in Virginia, "Upper South" wasnt something used alot around me if at all, we just knew Virginia was the South...
"Deep South", on the other hand, was a familiar phrase and pretty much everywhere that wasn't in the Mid-Atlantic South is what we considered Deep South...
Did a year in middle school in Memphis and while the city brands itself as Mid-South, that doesn't mean it excludes itself as Deep South. It absolutely is Deep South, and for the record, I spent time in Nashville and Knoxville (have family in Knox) over the years too and they were Deep South as well. Certainly not "upper south" in the vein Urban Va is, and while there are obviously distinctions between West, Middle, and East Tennessee, there are ties that bind---->for gotdamn sure I've never been in Nashville and felt like I was anywhere in the Midwest lol (and again nor the Upper South)...
The entire state of Tennessee is deeply southern...
This is the first I've heard someone grouping TN in its entirety as a Deep South state. Knoxvillle is Appalachia though--still Southern, but not Deep South.
I think of Texas as it’s own thing as well. It does share similarities with different regions. However I feel that the Houston/ Beaumont area can be categorized more so than the other cities in Texas. I travel a lot from Alabama to Austin area and it all kinda feels the same to me until I get past Houston. I get the Texas is Texas vibe throughout most of the state but I feel like I’m in the Deep South still when in Houston or Beaumont.
In my opinion I fee Dallas is similar to OKC, Amarillo and eastern New Mexico, if Eastern NM had a huge city I think it would feel like a Dallas.
El Paso is more like New Mexico than it is Texas.
Austin and San Antonio feel like they are their own thing, very much Texan.
Deep South TX feels kinda international with its Texan vibe
Amarillo and Lubbock feel midwestern with slight southern notes
I've probably had this conversation a thousand times on C-D. LOL So to me Houston is a southern international metropolis. Nowadays imo most metropolitan areas with a bulk of transplants and immigrants have a diluted southern vibe to them. That's only because their so much more than just the south. So do I consider Houston to be the DEEP SOUTH? Nah not really. But if you consider Southwest Louisiana the DEEP SOUTH than Houston shares similarities with that region in some aspect. But culturally because it's such an international cosmopolitan city it doesn't feel really like the deep south. Even Atlanta deep south culture is a little diluted due to it being a transient heavy cosmopolitan city. I do think Atlanta is more rooted in Deep South culture though than Houston.
As far as Beaumont imo once you drive into the Golden Triangle it's really hard to differentiate the area from Southwest Louisiana. They look the same, have similar accents, have similar cuisine. If you consider Lake Charles Deep south than why wouldn't Beaumont be in that conversation?
Growing up in Virginia, "Upper South" wasnt something used alot around me if at all, we just knew Virginia was the South...
"Deep South", on the other hand, was a familiar phrase and pretty much everywhere that wasn't in the Mid-Atlantic South is what we considered Deep South...
Did a year in middle school in Memphis and while the city brands itself as Mid-South, that doesn't mean it excludes itself as Deep South. It absolutely is Deep South, and for the record, I spent time in Nashville and Knoxville (have family in Knox) over the years too and they were Deep South as well. Certainly not "upper south" in the vein Urban Va is, and while there are obviously distinctions between West, Middle, and East Tennessee, there are ties that bind---->for gotdamn sure I've never been in Nashville and felt like I was anywhere in the Midwest lol (and again nor the Upper South)...
The entire state of Tennessee is deeply southern...
Nashville is definitely not in the Deep South. Same goes for Knoxville.
I've probably had this conversation a thousand times on C-D. LOL So to me Houston is a southern international metropolis. Nowadays imo most metropolitan areas with a bulk of transplants and immigrants have a diluted southern vibe to them. That's only because their so much more than just the south. So do I consider Houston to be the DEEP SOUTH? Nah not really. But if you consider Southwest Louisiana the DEEP SOUTH than Houston shares similarities with that region in some aspect. But culturally because it's such an international cosmopolitan city it doesn't feel really like the deep south. Even Atlanta deep south culture is a little diluted due to it being a transient heavy cosmopolitan city. I do think Atlanta is more rooted in Deep South culture though than Houston.
As far as Beaumont imo once you drive into the Golden Triangle it's really hard to differentiate the area from Southwest Louisiana. They look the same, have similar accents, have similar cuisine. If you consider Lake Charles Deep south than why wouldn't Beaumont be in that conversation?
I’d include Houston in the Deep South. It has that typical Louisiana/Gulf Coast feel to me that’s very common in Mobile and Southern Mississippi. For the first time, I was traveling through East Texas right after Harvey, and it reminded so much of the Deep South with pines and dirt roads; northern Greater Houston feels just like that too. Houston doesn’t look that much different from Beaumont, which is Lake Charles’s twin; it also doesn’t look that much different from Baton Rouge, Greater New Orleans, and many parts of Mobile.
I agree that Houston (and Atlanta) is an international metropolis. On the other hand, from research, it seems that a great bulk of Houston’s transplants are from Louisiana and other parts of the south. It’s definitely more Deep South than DFW and Miami. I’ll rank Houston after Atlanta for Deep South big cities.
Texas is such a unique place. I think its size allows it to have such a variety in feels and cultures.
It’s so crazy how the scenery immediately changes between Tyler and DFW, where as the the scenery stays the same between Houston and Beaumont for the same distance. It’s crazy how bayou culture/scenery changes into prairies, which changes into the Hill Country. Out in west Texas, you have the southwestern and dusty looks.
It would be interesting to see how Texas would be, if each chunk was divided into its on state. I know Houston, Beaumont, and parts of East Texas would be in a “state” that’s very reminiscent of the Deep South.
I've probably had this conversation a thousand times on C-D. LOL So to me Houston is a southern international metropolis. Nowadays imo most metropolitan areas with a bulk of transplants and immigrants have a diluted southern vibe to them. That's only because their so much more than just the south. So do I consider Houston to be the DEEP SOUTH? Nah not really. But if you consider Southwest Louisiana the DEEP SOUTH than Houston shares similarities with that region in some aspect. But culturally because it's such an international cosmopolitan city it doesn't feel really like the deep south. Even Atlanta deep south culture is a little diluted due to it being a transient heavy cosmopolitan city. I do think Atlanta is more rooted in Deep South culture though than Houston.
As far as Beaumont imo once you drive into the Golden Triangle it's really hard to differentiate the area from Southwest Louisiana. They look the same, have similar accents, have similar cuisine. If you consider Lake Charles Deep south than why wouldn't Beaumont be in that conversation?
Having lived there, I don’t consider southern Louisiana as the Deep South. It’s one of, if not the most, unique cultures in the USA, and no where traveling throughout the rest of the country including the rest of the south does it feel similar. Particularly the area around Lafayette. By the time you’re in Lake Charles, the Cajun culture is already less dominant. That’s how unique the Acadia, Lafayette and surrounding Parishes are. Also having lived in SWLA, its extremely easy to differentiate Beaumont, but that’s probably because I lived there. I could see why others would find it so similar.
As for Houston, I wouldn’t say the southern culture is “diluted” because it’s definitely there. But it’s there alongside so many other cultures so it’s more of a mixed feeling than anything.
Texas is such a unique place. I think its size allows it to have such a variety in feels and cultures.
It’s so crazy how the scenery immediately changes between Tyler and DFW, where as the the scenery stays the same between Houston and Beaumont for the same distance. It’s crazy how bayou culture/scenery changes into prairies, which changes into the Hill Country. Out in west Texas, you have the southwestern and dusty looks.
It would be interesting to see how Texas would be, if each chunk was divided into its on state. I know Houston, Beaumont, and parts of East Texas would be in a “state” that’s very reminiscent of the Deep South.
This 100%.
Thats kind of why I think a lot of people recoil when there is an attempt to group all of Texas into one thing. This is especially bothersome by those who have had very limited experience in the state or have never been here, yet act as authorities.
The bottom line is that while all the major Texas cities have similarities, that doesnt make them all one thing. They are different. Of the major cities, Houston is the only one that physically resembles parts of the Deep South. The others dont really at all. DFW resembles the Great Plains and Austin and San Antonio resemble the Hill Country which is specific to that region.
As far as DFW and Houston are concerned, both are borders for multiple regions. DFW is where the South meets the Great Plains. Houston is where the South meets the Hispanic regions of South Texas (and Latin America for that matter). A city like Atlanta doesnt really have that. While it could be said Atlanta is where the Deep South meets the Appalachians, its less culturally defined. Houston and DFW are Southern but thats not all they are, where as Atlanta is more strictly Southern.
To the point where cities that are full of transplants and immigrants make a city less culturally a part of a specific region, yes they absolutely do whether we like it or not. That does not mean Houston, DFW, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, etc. are all of the sudden not southern but I would say they are less so that place like Memphis or Birmingham which are clearly located in the South but have few transplants and immigrants.
Lets look at Birmingham vs. Charlotte as an example.
Residents of each metro area that were born in another state:
Charlotte: 1,055,716 (461,206 in other states in the South)
Birmingham: 226,046 (141,125 in other states in the South)
Foreign born population by metro area:
Charlotte: 288,358
Birmingham: 43,068
Percentage of metro area born outside of state or outside of US:
Charlotte: 51.0%
Birmingham: 23.3%
While we can say that both cities are southern, I think its also fair to say Birmingham is much more strictly southern whereas Charlotte will have more aspects to their culture due to the transplants and immigrants.
as far as dfw and houston are concerned, both are borders for multiple regions. Dfw is where the south meets the great plains. Houston is where the south meets the hispanic regions of south texas (and latin america for that matter). A city like atlanta doesnt really have that. While it could be said atlanta is where the deep south meets the appalachians, its less culturally defined. Houston and dfw are southern but thats not all they are, where as atlanta is more strictly southern.
To the point where cities that are full of transplants and immigrants make a city less culturally a part of a specific region, yes they absolutely do whether we like it or not. That does not mean houston, dfw, charlotte, atlanta, nashville, raleigh, etc. Are all of the sudden not southern but i would say they are less so that place like memphis or birmingham which are clearly located in the south but have few transplants and immigrants.
+1
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