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It seems in the popular imagination the South always comes across as blue collar and working class while I think the opposite is true. Here's how I see it. in general, rural areas tend to be working class, while urban areas can be either white collar OR blue collar or a mix.
In both the south and north, the majority of people live in urban and suburban areas. I'd say that rural Georgia is just as working class as rural Pennsylvania or rural Vermont. BUT in terms of cities, the majority of cities in the South like CHarlotte, Raleigh, Charleston SC, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston, and Dallas have a very white collar reputation. Memphis and Nashville are mixed, while New Orleans has a blue collar reputation. However the Northeast and Upper Midwest are filled with working class, blue collar cities like Philadelphia, Newark, Detroit, Pittsburgh, most of upstate New York, most of Pennsylvania like Altoona, Johnstown, etc plus Cleveland too. New York City, Chicago, and Boston are mixed, while only Washington DC is a primarily white collar area, though even it has its ghetto element.
So overall I think its the South that is more white collar than the north.
It seems in the popular imagination the South always comes across as blue collar and working class while I think the opposite is true. Here's how I see it. in general, rural areas tend to be working class, while urban areas can be either white collar OR blue collar or a mix.
In both the south and north, the majority of people live in urban and suburban areas. I'd say that rural Georgia is just as working class as rural Pennsylvania or rural Vermont. BUT in terms of cities, the majority of cities in the South like CHarlotte, Raleigh, Charleston SC, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston, and Dallas have a very white collar reputation. Memphis and Nashville are mixed, while New Orleans has a blue collar reputation. However the Northeast and Upper Midwest are filled with working class, blue collar cities like Philadelphia, Newark, Detroit, Pittsburgh, most of upstate New York, most of Pennsylvania like Altoona, Johnstown, etc plus Cleveland too. New York City, Chicago, and Boston are mixed, while only Washington DC is a primarily white collar area, though even it has its ghetto element.
So overall I think its the South that is more white collar than the north.
No.......Many of those Southern cities and the Northern cities you mention as blue collar are mixed. You can find quite a few middle to upper middle class small towns in the North as well. Sections of the South are some of the poorest economically in the US as well.
Edit: To be clear, college graduation is pretty much used as a stand-in for blue collar/white collar these days. Adults in the south tend to have lower levels of education than in the Northeast, and even to a lesser extent the Midwest and West. Hence the more "blue-collar" reputation is somewhat defensible.
It seems in the popular imagination the South always comes across as blue collar and working class while I think the opposite is true.
That's not what the official data would indicate. The South is the poorest and least educated part of the U.S.
Texas usually isn't grouped in with the South, BTW. Most of it would be more West, or at least Great Plains, if anything.
Also, your impressions of the North seem to be strange. You consider Boston and NYC to be heavily blue collar, but Southern cities white collar? Huh? I think you're watching too many South Boston Irish mobster movies or something.
Newark, for instance, assuming you mean the area around Newark, is probably wealthier than any similarly sized area in the South. Northern NJ is the richest part of the second richest station in the nation, and the epicenter of NJ wealth is around Essex and Bergen counties. The city of Newark may not be rich, but it's a relatively tiny proportion of the overall area. The fanciest mall in the U.S. is just outside of Newark (Short Hills), as are some of the richest NYC-area suburbs.
Boston comes across to me as a mixed city, with the elite Ivy League colleges and New England old money fixed in with places like Southie and Charlestown and Dorchester.
Charlotte, Raleigh (part of the Research Triangle), and Atlanta are very white collar cities with a lot of new wealth that's been generated in the past few decades while many parts of the north are losing population and jobs. I personally consider New Jersey overall to be a very rough state with places like Camden, Newark, Trenton, Asbury Park and Atlantic City (which is very bad outside the Boardwalk area). Atlanta and Charlotte are known for banking and multiple companies based there while Pittsburgh is known for steel factories. Baltimore is in the middle but if you consider it north its also a very blue collar area. I used to live in that area and it is not as wealthy or upscale as most North Carolina cities. The average income in the South might be lower but the cost of living is also lower so the standard of living is the same or higher.
There are people who really swear that small towns in New England and even Minnesota are somehow classier than small towns in West Virginia and Tennessee.
Boston comes across to me as a mixed city, with the elite Ivy League colleges and New England old money fixed in with places like Southie and Charlestown and Dorchester.
Charlotte, Raleigh (part of the Research Triangle), and Atlanta are very white collar cities with a lot of new wealth that's been generated in the past few decades while many parts of the north are losing population and jobs. I personally consider New Jersey overall to be a very rough state with places like Camden, Newark, Trenton, Asbury Park and Atlantic City (which is very bad outside the Boardwalk area).
No offense, but I think you have no idea what you're talking about.
NJ is the second wealthiest state in the U.S. It's much, much wealthier than anywhere in the South. The five cities you mentioned aren't even 5% of the state.
"Pittsburgh is known for steel factories". Huh? It isn't 1950 anymore. There are no steel mills in Pittsburgh.
And excepting DC and maybe the Bay Area, Boston is extremely white collar, and not at all a "mixed city". Boston is much more white collar than the Atlanta area, with higher incomes, lower unemployment, lower poverty, etc.
"The cost of living is lower" has nothing to do with whether an area is more white collar. The cost of living is lower when there is less demand, or less developed economies, with a greater degree of labor exploitation. No one would say that Mexico is richer than the U.S. because you have lower labor costs, so some stuff is cheaper.
And West Virginia and Tennesse are in fact poorer than Minnesota and Massachusetts. Some of the poorest counties in the Eastern US are in those states (esp. W. Virginia).
No offense, but I think you have no idea what you're talking about.
NJ is the second wealthiest state in the U.S. It's much, much wealthier than anywhere in the South. The five cities you mentioned aren't even 5% of the state.
"Pittsburgh is known for steel factories". Huh? It isn't 1950 anymore. There are no steel mills in Pittsburgh.
And excepting DC and maybe the Bay Area, Boston is extremely white collar, and not at all a "mixed city". Boston is much more white collar than the Atlanta area, with higher incomes, lower unemployment, lower poverty, etc.
"The cost of living is lower" has nothing to do with whether an area is more white collar. The cost of living is lower when there is less demand, or less developed economies, with a greater degree of labor exploitation. No one would say that Mexico is richer than the U.S. because you have lower labor costs, so some stuff is cheaper.
And West Virginia and Tennesse are in fact poorer than Minnesota and Massachusetts. Some of the poorest counties in the Eastern US are in those states (esp. W. Virginia).
Seriously; thinking Mr. Lennox hasn't spent much time north of the Mason Dixon line.
Ironically enough; the areas of the south that he mentions that are "white collar"....are pretty much all cities where there is a heavy presence of northerners.
Cary, NC may be more white collar than Camden, NJ....but that doesn't mean that the south is more white collar than the northeast.....not by a longshot.
Last edited by just_sayin'; 11-11-2013 at 11:09 PM..
Incorrect. Texas is most certainly grouped with the South more than with any other region, and rightfully so since it is a Southern state.
I'd have to disagree. Texas is definitely more western than southern. I wouldn't ever consider it southern. Born and raised in the true south BTW.
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