As a Fort Worth native I have never considered Fort Worth to be "Where the West begin" Please Chime in (Houston: homes, neighborhoods)

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by subslug

You ever just gotten tired of a topic?

This one has given me tired head so, I'll just agree to whatever the majority decides.

It's pretty hard to explain how or why a place gives you a feeling, it either does or it doesn't.

cheers

Good one, Subslug!

LOL Lord know I have. Gotten tired of the topic of Texas' regional affiliation, that is.

I have "fought" this "battle" for years...and in the end, nothing is ever "proven". Because? There is really nothing to "prove" There is simply no "right" answer to it. All one can do is present evidence to back up whatever the position is...and after that, it can be accepted or rejected. Or countered.

As you say, it is pretty hard to describe. My Texas experiences and "facts" have always been that it is essentially Southern. Other folks don't get the same import. And "Southwest" can mean different things to different people...

In the final analysis, I think it is just what one feels themselves to be. If you feel Southern, then you are. If you feel Western, then you are.

In the end though, we are all Texans!

[loves2read]

MY BAD--I omitted the word NOT--meant to say that I would not change my mind--that Texas was NOT a southern state--
did not mean to agree with Texas Reb

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by loves2read

MY BAD--I omitted the word NOT--meant to say that I would not change my mind--that Texas was NOT a southern state--
did not mean to agree with Texas Reb

Oh heck, I think it was quite obvious, L2R, that we are polar opposites on this question. LOL To you Texas isn't Southern. To me it most emphatically IS essentially a Southern state. You stick with your opinion just as I stand solidly by mine. Nothing wrong with exchanging different viewpoints. As I mentioned earlier (as have others) there is no "right" answer anyway, right? In the end, we are just Texans agreeing to disagree *smiles*

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by hypocore

I actually love the fact that our Texas flag is the only one that can be flown at the same height as the US Flag!

Sorry, but that's an urban legend which greatly contributes to the perceived arrogance of Texans by people from around the US.

snopes.com: High Flier

[First24]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

In the final analysis, I think it is just what one feels themselves to be. If you feel Southern, then you are. If you feel Western, then you are.

In the end though, we are all Texans!

Well said. I agree with those sentiments exactly.

Peace all!

[hypocore]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Sorry, but that's an urban legend which greatly contributes to the perceived arrogance of Texans by people from around the US.

snopes.com: High Flier

awww man, burst that bubble! lol

[hypocore]

Just for the fun of it I sent out an email to a group of online friends that live predominantly East and North of Texas and asked them whether they considered Texas to be a Western or Southern state. I did not give them southwest as an option. haha

Here's what they've said so far: 2 West, 6 Southern and 3 Southwest
(there are 6 more who haven't replied yet)

"how about a south western state." from Virginia

"Never thought about it before. It's farther west so that's my answer and why....LOL" from Illinois

"My first answer would be southwestern but if I had to pick one Id say Southern" from New York

"My answer is southern, because it were a confederate state during the civil war also known as the war between the north and the south. LOL" from Pennsylvania

"Never really thought about it either but I am guessing I would say Southern." from Virginia

"It is both, depending on the context. During the Civil War, I think most Texans identified with the South, but we also think of cattle drives and cowboys, which most of us relate to the West. I think of Texas as being part of the Southwest, which has characteristics in common with both as well as some unique itself. (Painted Desert, Pueblos, etc.)" from Colorado

"I think of Texas as being south because you can't go more south. I mean you run into ocean anyway." from Minnesota

"Interesting question......at first I thought "western". Reason being is I just think of the the all the old cowboy movies....Then I said, wait, isn't it a Southern State? Have to say I don't know why I thought of that.......maybe it has to do with the warm temperatures you get in Texas......and we all know that South means a warmer climate than us in the North." from Massachusetts

"I would never have thought of it as Western. Always thinking of it as South." from Indiana

"What she said )" (It is both, depending on the context. During the Civil War, I think most Texans identified with the South, but we also think of cattle drives and cowboys, which most of us relate to the West. I think of Texas as being part of the Southwest, which has characteristics in common with both as well as some unique itself. (Painted Desert, Pueblos, etc.) ) from Michigan

"Hmmm... I think it should be its own country! lol...okay okay... Western." from Minnesota

It was just an interesting thing to see what those who don't live here have to say. My own little experiment I suppose. haha

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by hypocore

Just for the fun of it I sent out an email to a group of online friends that live predominantly East and North of Texas and asked them whether they considered Texas to be a Western or Southern state. I did not give them southwest as an option. haha

Here's what they've said so far: 2 West, 6 Southern and 3 Southwest (there are 6 more who haven't replied yet)

LOL That was fun to read, Hypocore! Thanks for posting it!

I have done similar ones "on my own" in the past, and yep, I noticed too that even if one specifically excludes "Southwest" from the list of choices, it is STLL going to be mentioned anyway!

On a related tangent, I have always thought that the "Southwest" choice -- even while very true as applies to Texas -- never completely answers the "question" (and of course, there is no "right" answer anyway) because the whole concept of the "Southwest" can be interpretted differently. For some (like me) it means the western part of the South. For others, it is defined as the southern part of the West. And there is disagreement as to where those two begin/end!

Anyway, again in the realm of just regional trivia, there was once a survey done where respondents across the country where asked to choose as to regional affliation. I will try and post the "map" later, but the choice of "South" among people from Texas was -- percentage wise -- about what your own friends "survey" indicates. Here is it:

****************

From the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, In Vol. 7, Number 3 of this journal (September 1987), in the article Changing Usage of Four American Regional Labels, Professor James R. Shortridge (Department of Geography, University of Kansas) seeks, through a statistically random analysis of identification cards sent out with a product, to identify contemporary trends of regional self-identification in terms of the four labels “East”, “West”, “South”, and “Midwest.” Here is a ranked list in terms of percentage of people who chose “South” as their primary regional identification.

More than 75%: 1. Louisiana – 194/199 – 97.49% 2. Mississippi – 72/75 – 96% 3. Alabama – 122/130 – 93.85% 4. Florida – 244/277 – 88.09% 5. Georgia – 147/168 – 87.5% 6. Tennessee – 156/190 – 82.11%

More than 50% 1. Arkansas – 56/77 – 72.73% 2. South Carolina – 66/91 – 72.53% 3. Texas – 526/739 – 71.18% 4. North Carolina – 87/145 – 60%

****************

[catman]

Originally Posted by kdogg817

Everybody is entitled to there but Fort Worth is not Western. Everything about Fort Worth speaks southern. WE IGNORE THE FACT FORT WORTH HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST CHURCHES PER CAPITAL THAN ANY OTHER CITY.

There is no need to shout. I'd like to point out that in West Texas, which most assuredly Western, many of the people in the little (and bigger) towns are extremely religious. The South has no monopoly on religiosity.

And that terminology of where the west begin is trash.

That's your opinion, a bit too forcefully expressed. I don't consider it polite to refer to others' opinions as trash.

I will admit this East Fort Worth and West Fort Worth are two completely different world.

We can agree on that. East Fort Worth is more Southern, more like Dallas, while West Fort Worth is more Western.

[TexasReb]

Here is about the best "modern day" map of the different regions of "South" I have ever seen. It recognizes the very real differences in most of Texas as opposed to the Southeast, but still makes the very accurate observation that the same is essentially Southern. Just that it contains a lot of characteristics of the "frontier West". A whole different thing than being grouped with the Rocky Mountain and/or interior Southwest in terms of regional affiliation vis a vis West and South.

Anyway, it is kinda neat, I think...

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr211/elikos91/south-3.jpg (broken link)