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I voted: New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Texas
New York State is huge, but I'd only downstate NY (NYC/Tri-State Region) is part of the Mid-Atlantic. Otherwise, I'd say far Upstate NY is pretty much the Northeast.
In my opinion, Maryland should be considered the Mid-Atlantic although it is below the famous man-made Mason Dixon Line. Who cares about the Mason Dixon Line if it doesn't play the role in geography? That was there for historical reasons (separating the North and the South). Maryland is too much in the midpoint of the East Coast to be considered the South.
West Virginia is hard to classify as the Midwest or the East. I consider Pennsylvania as the East, but West Virginia stretches under the eastern half of Ohio.
Kentucky is hard to classify as the Midwest or the East. Virginia is such a large state that Virginia stretches pretty far (almost stretching halfway through Ohio).
Oklahoma is hard to classify. It's in the very middle (left to right) of the country, but in my opinion, it should be considered "South"
To me, it's stupid that people classify Texas as the Southwest. I think it's too much in the center. The line dividing the arid western half and the humid eastern half of the US is pretty much the center of the country (from left to right). Texas has the line running through approximately through its center (pretend global warming didn't happen to shift that line yet). Texas in the middle of the East and the West. So I consider it the South.
NY state is a mix of several distinct regions coming from someone who grew up there and traveled all over the state
Maryland kind of threw me off until I stayed for a while. Even though it is below the Mason-Dixon Line, it doesn't seem particularly Southern in feel based on other Southern states I've been in. I agree that it seems mostly Mid-Atlantic.
West Virginia to me is simply part of Appalachia It has a lot of Southern characteristics as well based on my time there but it's mostly Appalachian.
Kentucky is definitely Southern to me, especially once you get south of Louisville. Florence and Louisville have a bit of an almost Midwest feel to them but the rest of the state is definitely a Southern one. You can trust me on this as I lived there for 8 years
Oklahoma still bedevils me, lol. Is it Midwest/South? To me it seems like it's too far South to be part of the Midwest and seemed more South than Midwest though it has kind of it's own unique "feel", just like Texas does.
Agree with Texas. It has so many different regions and spans such a large area that it's hard to categorize. It is definitely in the southern part of the US so there's no mistaking it for any other part of the country but only parts of it feel classically Southern. It geographically extends quite a distance so I guess it's region is just "Texas"
NY state is a mix of several distinct regions coming from someone who grew up there and traveled all over the state
Maryland kind of threw me off until I stayed for a while. Even though it is below the Mason-Dixon Line, it doesn't seem particularly Southern in feel based on other Southern states I've been in. I agree that it seems mostly Mid-Atlantic.
West Virginia to me is simply part of Appalachia It has a lot of Southern characteristics as well based on my time there but it's mostly Appalachian.
Kentucky is definitely Southern to me, especially once you get south of Louisville. Florence and Louisville have a bit of an almost Midwest feel to them but the rest of the state is definitely a Southern one. You can trust me on this as I lived there for 8 years
Oklahoma still bedevils me, lol. Is it Midwest/South? To me it seems like it's too far South to be part of the Midwest and seemed more South than Midwest though it has kind of it's own unique "feel", just like Texas does.
Agree with Texas. It has so many different regions and spans such a large area that it's hard to categorize. It is definitely in the southern part of the US so there's no mistaking it for any other part of the country but only parts of it feel classically Southern. It geographically extends quite a distance so I guess it's region is just "Texas"
Out of the states I listed, the only three I visited were Maryland, New York, and Texas. Maryland is very Mid-Atlantic feeling (and is geographically the midpoint of the East Coast). Maryland is just like New Jersey (I grew up in NJ). Maryland is crowded, has a lot of traffic, very populated most places you go around the state, has ghetto cities like most of NJ's cities, etc. The only difference is the people seem nicer there, the parks are more scenic (especially due to the Chesapeake Bay), and the food scenery is better.
How is Oklahoma NOT southern? It is at a very low latitude with a torrid sun angle combined with high heat and humidity.
If we are speaking only in geographic terms, sure, Oklahoma is more southern than Kansas — end of discussion. But it can be pretty hot and humid in Iowa and some other Midwest states. One can’t deny that there are some counties that border Arkansas and ne Texas that would have some southern culture and panhandle country is western. Tulsa and OKC are the population centers and they seem more Midwest or Great Plains than anything else. Wind farms, oil wells, and cowboy culture are pretty entrenched. The Great Plains extend almost to the Mexican border from Canada so I’d have to consider Oklahoma as a plains state.
If we are speaking only in geographic terms, sure, Oklahoma is more southern than Kansas — end of discussion. But it can be pretty hot and humid in Iowa and some other Midwest states. One can’t deny that there are some counties that border Arkansas and ne Texas that would have some southern culture and panhandle country is western. Tulsa and OKC are the population centers and they seem more Midwest or Great Plains than anything else. Wind farms, oil wells, and cowboy culture are pretty entrenched. The Great Plains extend almost to the Mexican border from Canada so I’d have to consider Oklahoma as a plains state.
The Midwest has come to stand for everything between the Rockies and Appalachians that wasn't part of the Confederacy, but in reality there are 2, if not 3, solid sub regions. I see the Great Lakes/Rust Belt, North Woods, and Plains. The US EPA Ecoregions do a pretty good job with those boundaries.
The Great Lakes are your traditional/original/whatever Midwest. Being from Iowa, I've always found Ohio's status as a quintessential Midwestern state weird, when it's closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the Mississippi River. But to much of the country it's absolutely that. The Lakes Midwest has an economy that's more industrial/manufacturing, with the major cities along the Great Lakes serving as the hub. It's more urban, but there's still plenty of agriculture. More forested as well. I'd say Ohio, lower Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and parts of Illinois comprise this. It blows my mind when people refer to West Virginia or Pennsylvania as having Midwest connections, but there's a lot of overlap between those places and eastern Ohio or Michigan.
The Plains would be mostly situated west of the Mississippi, although Central Illinois seems to fit from a cultural, topographical, and economical stand point. This is open country dominated by agriculture. Corn and soybeans in the east giving way to wheat as you go west, with lots of large scale livestock, particularly hogs and cattle. More rural, with the big cities being smaller than east of the river. Agriculture and energy production (increasingly wind, and also oil in some parts) are the big economic drivers. I'd say that all of Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas, Kansas, and large parts of Minnesota and Missouri comprise this. A good chunk of Oklahoma and even northern Texas/Texas Panhandle look/feel this way. I'd also agree that Tulsa/OKC have more in common with KC/Des Moines/Omaha than they do Southern cities like Memphis, Nashville, or Atlanta. That's where the OK alignment with the Midwest comes into play.
The North Woods is the smallest region. It's sparsely populated, and the economy revolves around logging, mining, and tourism. There aren't any large cities, there isn't any agriculture, and the vegetation, topography, and climate are quite a bit different than the rest of the Midwest. This is comprised of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the northern half of Wisconsin, and the parts of Minnesota north and east of I-94.
Of course this is all just my opinion, but that's how I've always seen this part of the world, and I think a lot of folks would agree.
Six of those states/districts ain't even the South.
No you are factually wrong. The official Census definition of those states as the South. So complain and give your “hell-to-the-naw” to the Federal Government! And to Wikipedia!
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