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It's nice to read somebody who actually knows what they are talking about. This idea that OKC is "southern to the core" is simply not true if for no reason other than the founders of the Boomer movement were mostly northerners. OKC originally had more northerners that southerners at it's founding.
As for Oklahoma, I think it's Southernness is increasing due to the fact that a lot of people are moving to Oklahoma City from the rural South, but the town is off the radar for people from urban areas and northern/west coast states.
I'm actually of the opinion that both urban areas in Oklahoma are becoming less and less Southern, not more. I think most of the people moving to OKC right now are people from rural Oklahoma, followed by people from Texas and California, and not the rural South at large. But generally the youngest generation in OKC and Tulsa don't speak with Southern accents, even compared to young people in rural Oklahoma and especially compared to the older generations. Also the "young" parts of OKC are not particularly rich in any distinct regional/local culture (aside from a hipster BBQ joint on 23rd), which doesn't give me any hope that young people in Oklahoma are concerned with retaining more elements of Southern culture. I would be interested in any data or source you have come across that indicates that OKC is a destination for people moving from the South outside Oklahoma and Texas.
The western third of Texas...out where the county highways are called Ranch to Market instead of Farm to Market, is Southwestern still though, in my opinion.
El Paso is closer to San Diego than it is to Houston.
As for Oklahoma, I think it's Southernness is increasing due to the fact that a lot of people are moving to Oklahoma City from the rural South, but the town is off the radar for people from urban areas and northern/west coast states.
No, not at all.
Of the OKC metro's 405,000 domestic migrants (born in US but outside of Oklahoma), 7.4% are from the Northeast, 27.7% from the Midwest, 41.4% from the South, and 23.5% from the West.
Of OKC's 180,000 domestic migrants (born in US but outside of Oklahoma), 8.6% are from the Northeast, 27.6% from the Midwest, 40.8% from the South, and 23.1% from the West.
Metro-to-metro migration data from 2009-2013 show that OKC gained:
5,800 from DFW
4,600 from Tulsa
1,700 from LA-San Bernadino
1,100 from Houston
800 from Atlanta
700 from SF-SJ
600 from Phoenix
600 from San Antonio
500 from New York-Newark
500 from San Diego
500 from KC
500 from Chicago
500 from Denver
500 from Las Vegas
5,900 from large Western metros (3,900 from West Coast metros),
3,400 from large Midwestern metros,
2,100 from large Northeastern metros,
3,500 from large Southern metros (excluding FL, TX, OK),
1,700 from large Florida metros,
and 8,000 from large Texas metros.
From the same ^data, 40,000 moved from other metro areas to OKC, and 18,000 moved to OKC from outside metro areas within the US.
Three voters did not vote for Arizona or New Mexico... What?
I'm guessing they're joke votes.
I voted all of them except for Kansas and Hawaii even though I added them both as options in the poll.
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