Northwest Arkansas is southern. But how southern is it? (Fayetteville: live, retired)

[Red Wolf]

Most of my TV stations are out of Memphis .

Amazing that a city sitting on the border with Mississippi calls its group of new car auto dealers--------" mid-south"

[bjrush]

Originally Posted by stlouisan

If the dividing line is I-44 in Missouri, that means that some of the St. Louis metro area would be classified as southern.

I don't mean it to be that strict, I agree that STL is very much midwestern.

[Red Wolf]

I would consider I-44 to be the dividing line if it ran east from Springfield instead of north east.

Actually, the "line" could be placed just a little south of I-70 .

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by Red Wolf

I would consider I-44 to be the dividing line if it ran east from Springfield instead of north east.

Actually, the "line" could be placed just a little south of I-70 .

I don't think the line could be placed that far north. It doesn't just go from Midwest to South in the blink of an eye. Being where I'm at, I could tell you that for certain. A transition zone starts roughly below I-70...you're not actually in the South itself until you get to around Springfield, etc...Columbia and Jefferson City are more Midwestern than Southern for sure. The U.S. Highway 60 corridor basically. Southwest Missouri is a complex blend of cultures, however. My father is from Joplin and does not consider himself to be a Southerner. My impression of Joplin and Springfield is that while they may have strong southern influences, they just are not southern like their neighbors due east...Sikeston, Dexter, etc. I might consider them to lie on the border of the south and also the border of the transition zone to Midwest. Same thing with Cape Girardeau.

It's always been my impression that U.S. Highway 60 functions as the northern border of the South, and that U.S. Highway 50 acts as the southern border of the Midwest. The area in between these two highways I always have believed is a transition zone between the two regions.

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by Red Wolf

Most of my TV stations are out of Memphis .

Amazing that a city sitting on the border with Mississippi calls its group of new car auto dealers--------" mid-south"

Memphis is located right where the mid-South meets the Deep South. It also isn't that far south of Kentucky and the Missouri bootheel. I would say that cities like Memphis, Little Rock, and Chattanooga are both Mid-South and Deep South. Memphis also doesn't really have the history of a Deep South city from my understanding...it was always a secondary recipient to the culture of New Orleans.

[Red Wolf]

Originally Posted by stlouisan

I don't think the line could be placed that far north. It doesn't just go from Midwest to South in the blink of an eye. Being where I'm at, I could tell you that for certain. A transition zone starts roughly below I-70...you're not actually in the South itself until you get to around Springfield, etc...Columbia and Jefferson City are more Midwestern than Southern for sure. The U.S. Highway 60 corridor basically. Southwest Missouri is a complex blend of cultures, however. My father is from Joplin and does not consider himself to be a Southerner. My impression of Joplin and Springfield is that while they may have strong southern influences, they just are not southern like their neighbors due east...Sikeston, Dexter, etc. I might consider them to lie on the border of the south and also the border of the transition zone to Midwest. Same thing with Cape Girardeau.

It's always been my impression that U.S. Highway 60 functions as the northern border of the South, and that U.S. Highway 50 acts as the southern border of the Midwest. The area in between these two highways I always have believed is a transition zone between the two regions.

As a Minnesotan who has traveled many times between northern AR and MN, I always started feeling southern influence anywherebelow I-70.

As we passed thru small towns with numerous Baptist churches, we kmew we weren't in the mid-west anymore.

Stopped a few times in Bolivar ( 30 miles north of Springfield ) and saw signs for Southwest Baptist college. Also checked city-data and saw 63% of the residents who are church goers are Baptists.

To a northerner, those are a few signs you aren't in the midwest anymore.

(also, below I-70 is where I first get asked about my "northern accent " )

I do believe a person from the north observes thing while traveling and stopping heading south that a resident of MO does not observe.( some may be slight, but they are there )

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by Red Wolf

As a Minnesotan who has traveled many times between northern AR and MN, I always started feeling southern influence anywherebelow I-70.

As we passed thru small towns with numerous Baptist churches, we kmew we weren't in the mid-west anymore.

Stopped a few times in Bolivar ( 30 miles north of Springfield ) and saw signs for Southwest Baptist college. Also checked city-data and saw 63% of the residents who are church goers are Baptists.

To a northerner, those are a few signs you aren't in the midwest anymore.

(also, below I-70 is where I first get asked about my "northern accent " )

I do believe a person from the north observes thing while traveling and stopping heading south that a resident of MO does not observe.( some may be slight, but they are there )

So you're inferring that I'm stupid because I live in Missouri, is that correct? Missouri residents don't know what's southern vs. what isn't? We should have the best idea out of anybody given the fact we border both northern and southern states. I already told you once, and I'm not going to tell you again, a transition zone to the South starts below I-70, but you are not in the actual South until you get to far Southern Missouri. Southern influences do exist below I-70, but they are not overwhelming until you reach the southern part of the state. And using one demographic alone, religion, to classify a state as being Southern, is just dumb. You have to use every demographic that's available.

So by your logic, I-70 is a hard dividing line between the actual South and the actual North. And if an area has mostly Baptists, it must be Southern. If it looks like a duck, it must be a duck. Great theory, if it were actually true. Also, none of these Baptist counties are dry off alcohol. By your definition, at least 1/3 of Illinois is Southern. Missouri is 50% Midwestern, 25% transition, and 25% truly Southern. Overall, it is more Midwestern than it is Southern.

And being from Minnesota, you probably sound slightly Canadian, which is a foreign accent to people in Missouri, because we don't hear Upper Midwest accents that often. People in much of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, etc. would all be curious about how you talk as well. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan all have accents that sound strange to me...they all sound strange to the rest of the Midwest too. If you're stating that General American is an accent foreign to people below I-70, nothing could be further from the truth.

[Red Wolf]

Originally Posted by stlouisan

So you're inferring that I'm stupid because I live in Missouri, is that correct? Missouri residents don't know what's southern vs. what isn't? We should have the best idea out of anybody given the fact we border both northern and southern states. I already told you once, and I'm not going to tell you again, a transition zone to the South starts below I-70, but you are not in the actual South until you get to far Southern Missouri. Southern influences do exist below I-70, but they are not overwhelming until you reach the southern part of the state. And using one demographic alone, religion, to classify a state as being Southern, is just dumb. You have to use every demographic that's available.

So by your logic, I-70 is a hard dividing line between the actual South and the actual North. And if an area has mostly Baptists, it must be Southern. If it looks like a duck, it must be a duck. Great theory, if it were actually true. Also, none of these Baptist counties are dry off alcohol. By your definition, at least 1/3 of Illinois is Southern. Missouri is 50% Midwestern, 25% transition, and 25% truly Southern. Overall, it is more Midwestern than it is Southern.

And being from Minnesota, you probably sound slightly Canadian, which is a foreign accent to people in Missouri, because we don't hear Upper Midwest accents that often. People in much of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, etc. would all be curious about how you talk as well. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan all have accents that sound strange to me...they all sound strange to the rest of the Midwest too. If you're stating that General American is an accent foreign to people below I-70, nothing could be further from the truth.

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't be so thinskinned and please don't put words in my mouth that you throw back at me.
I never said ANYONE in MO is stupid !

I don't believe I said a---hardline-- a ,either.

And yes, to most midwesterners an area wher Baptist is the most dominant religion is southern.

I actually agree with a lot of your observations, so calm down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Red Wolf]

and yes, perceptions are formed based on observations.

You have yours, I have mine.

[atomic meatloaf]

Fayetteville I would consider southern in culture and climate, though it is roughly 55% southern(yea this is all opinion totally) little rock to me would score a 80% southern rating new Orleans of course gets 100%! People are friendly, that's the best part and a general expectation of any southern place. There are probably 30% of the residents are from non-southern places, so the culture is pretty diverse. We are a mix of yuppies, students, hillbillies, rednecks, white, black, Latino, Korean, but overall a college town