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They are like east-west mirror images of each other, but I think Tennessee has a more urban Appalachian culture and it doesn't have a coast. Those are the major differences between the two, for starters.
I'm definitely aware of the Delta region in Arkansas which a lot of people seem to forget. As an outsider, it just seems that Arkansas is a little more like Tennessee. You've got Memphis's metro area that crosses into the state and the shared Delta geography and culture, and I've heard that Little Rock resembles Memphis on a smaller scale (although I've not been to Little Rock so I'm not sure how accurate that is). And northwest Arkansas seems like a mix between Knoxville (college atmosphere, corporate headquarters) and the Tri-Cities area (multinodal metro), both of which are in the mountains like the Fayetteville area.
I'd say this is a really accurate assessment. The only thing a can tell you is that NW Arkansas was a chore to get to from the rest of Arkansas until about 20 years ago. Windy two land roads. It was much easier to get there from Tulsa or Springfield, MO than it was to Little Rock. Heck it was tough to even get to Ft. Smith which was only 50 miles away on those roads. As a result, Springfield and Tulsa played significant roles for the people of NW Arkansas. I'm not sure east Tennessee was ever that remote to the rest of the state.
I'd also say that the multinodal concept between the two areas is spot on with Fayetteville being the southernmost "node". However Fayetteville and Knoxville are nothing alike. Knoxville seems a lot older, bigger, more industrial (at least historically) than does Fayetteville. OTOH, the corporate part of the NW Arkansas nodal areas seem to be located in the northern most nodes of Bentonville and Rogers.
Another thing I was thinking is that for the most part, the outmigration from NW Arkansas to Oklahoma is strictly UA grads getting jobs in Tulsa or maybe Bartlesville. Eastern Oklahoma to Arkansas migration is more often seen in the non-white collar sector.
I'd enjoy hearing the opinions of people who live in those areas.
While this is true a lot of Arkansas is delta and shares that in common with Mississippi and southern Arkansas is pine forest which is also much like a lot of Mississippi. While Oklahoma shares the Ouachita mountains with Arkansas and to a lesser degree the Ozarks these areas in Oklahoma are sparsely populated. The people who live there (in Oklahoma) are very much like Arkansans but there just aren't very many of them.
I just don't think the Oklahoma/Arkansas connection is that strong. Fayetteville area is tied to Tulsa to some degree I suppose.
Tulsa media covers UA sports teams as "local". It's a fairly short drive.
NC and SC are very similar. But you could divide NC up, with western NC and eastern TN, the NC piedmont with either SC or VA, and the coastal plain with SC.
NC and SC are very similar. But you could divide NC up, with western NC and eastern TN, the NC piedmont with either SC or VA, and the coastal plain with SC.
Completely agree. Western NC and eastern TN are not only geographically similar, but also historically. Southern VA (or the so called "tobacco belt" to Virginians) is very similar to the North Carolina Piedmont. You can easily compare Virginia towns such as Martinsville, Danville, South Boston, Galax, South Hill, and Farmville to North Carolina towns such as Reidsville, Eden, Mt. Airy, Burlington, Hillsborough, Roxboro, and Oxford. Eastern NC (coastal plain) can definitely be compared to eastern SC, southeastern VA, and southern GA. Honestly, you can pick out great similarities with every state NC borders (SC, VA, GA, and TN).
NC and SC are very similar. But you could divide NC up, with western NC and eastern TN, the NC piedmont with either SC or VA, and the coastal plain with SC.
I would say that Arkansas has more in common with Mississippi than with Oklahoma.
The part of Oklahoma that is "like Arkansas" is virtually devoid of people. However, There are a lot of Arkansas people that end up in Tulsa. But Oklahoma is way more bonded to Texas culturally and economically. It's not even a contest.
This is, for the most part, accurate.
I still maintain that the western tiers of Arkansas are still very similar to much of Oklahoma's culture. And by culture I'm referring to dialect, religion, food, customs, the way folks relate, etc. I don't think Arkansas is as influential on Oklahoma as Texas. It might be better stated that Texas is more influential, in general, on Oklahoma and Arkansas. As one of my ol' buddies from western Arkansas (Springdale to be exact) told me one time, he's always been made to feel (whether by relatives, Texans, or the local/national media) that Arkansas is "Texas Jr." I think many Okies feel/think that way. I don't, but it's still there in the consciousness of the Oklahoma/Arkansas natives, nonetheless.
This truth is not hard to understand when one considers Aceter's salient point that most states exhibit cultural overlap on the borders/edges and more distinction as one moves to the interior of said state.
For Oklahoma it is Texas which influences it the most with Arkansas a distant second, Missouri/Kansas a very distant third, and New Mexico/Colorado a very distant fourth.
You didn't see enough of Arkansas if you think it's like Oklahoma.
I'm guessing he meant culturally (clearly some similarities between OK/AR) and not topographically (very diverse in some ways between the two states).
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