Where is the North/South divide sharpest? (transplants, live)
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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Where a long the Mason-Dixon line, or the north south boundary, is the transition sharpest? Where is it the blurriest? I'm guessing it's blurry in a lot of areas, like maybe Missouri, but for historical reasons might be quite sharp in Virginia and the Ohio River. I.e., by sharp I mean where does the change happen fastest.
My impression is that historically the boundary has been blurred in most areas. I'm not sure whether there might not be some local exceptions to this, but in general it seems to have been true that the borders are blurred. There usually seem to be transitional zones between regions, with a mix of characteristics from both sides of the boundary zone. This seems to be true around the edges of the South, as with other regions. Southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, along with parts of northern Kentucky, seem to have a mix of Southern and Midwestern characteristics. In Texas and Oklahoma you'll find a blend of traditional Southern (with a capital S, as in southeastern) culture and the cowboy/rancher/oil-drilling vibe of the West and Southwest.
One area that may have developed into a more sharply distinct boundary in recent decades is along the east coast. Western Maryland, Maryland's Eastern Shore, and maybe southern Delaware, seem to form a transitional zone between north and south. However, the strip between Baltimore and the D.C. metro area, including the Virginia suburbs, really seems to be an extension of the Northeast. Maybe Washington used to be a Southern city, but now this Balt./Wash. strip extends the Northeast south from NJ. As you head south from D.C., you leave the Virginia suburbs, and--boom!--you're in the South.
Interestingly, though, things change over time. With all the northern transplants settling in North Carolina, especially around the Triangle area, the middle of the east coast might eventually develop into a kind of stutter-step transitional zone: You leave the D.C. suburbs and quickly find that you're in an area with a Southern feel, then maybe it will become more mixed in north-central NC before jumping back into being purely the South as you get closer to SC. Time will tell what the details will be, but you can be sure that things will not always be exactly as they are now.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Just in my neck of the woods I'd say it's pretty blurry along the Ohio River from just NE of Louisville to Cincinnati - I tend to think of anything north of a line from La Grange to Sadieville to be more Northern culturally. I think the contrast from SW Louisville down to Paducah is pretty stark compared to Indiana & Illinois
I think around Highway 60 in Missouri the change is very sharp. South of Springfield, Joplin, Monett, and Cape Girardeau, it seems like Midwestern influences evaporate and it becomes the South. I like to think of Highway 60 west of the Mississippi as the Mason-Dixon line all the way into the Texas Panhandle.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ogre
My impression is that historically the boundary has been blurred in most areas. I'm not sure whether there might not be some local exceptions to this, but in general it seems to have been true that the borders are blurred. There usually seem to be transitional zones between regions, with a mix of characteristics from both sides of the boundary zone. This seems to be true around the edges of the South, as with other regions. Southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, along with parts of northern Kentucky, seem to have a mix of Southern and Midwestern characteristics. In Texas and Oklahoma you'll find a blend of traditional Southern (with a capital S, as in southeastern) culture and the cowboy/rancher/oil-drilling vibe of the West and Southwest.
One area that may have developed into a more sharply distinct boundary in recent decades is along the east coast. Western Maryland, Maryland's Eastern Shore, and maybe southern Delaware, seem to form a transitional zone between north and south. However, the strip between Baltimore and the D.C. metro area, including the Virginia suburbs, really seems to be an extension of the Northeast. Maybe Washington used to be a Southern city, but now this Balt./Wash. strip extends the Northeast south from NJ. As you head south from D.C., you leave the Virginia suburbs, and--boom!--you're in the South.
Interestingly, though, things change over time. With all the northern transplants settling in North Carolina, especially around the Triangle area, the middle of the east coast might eventually develop into a kind of stutter-step transitional zone: You leave the D.C. suburbs and quickly find that you're in an area with a Southern feel, then maybe it will become more mixed in north-central NC before jumping back into being purely the South as you get closer to SC. Time will tell what the details will be, but you can be sure that things will not always be exactly as they are now.
Yes, from what I've heard Richmond is a very southern city, at least culturally and the way people live. I think part of the reason is Virginia folk - southern or not - are more established than say those in Texas who might have only lived in the area for 150 years, as opposed to 250+ in Virginia. Outside the area of the original M/D line: the Pennsylvania/Maryland border the south kinds of bleeds quite deeply into the heartland of America, especially in a westward direction as far as the Inland Empire and Bakersfield, except in cities like Phoenix. I don't think Washington D.C. was ever that Southern, actually. The Northeast corridor will probably make Virginia less southern in decades to come.
Just the deep Appalachian counties. I take that back, the Midwest reaches the Ohio and beyond in Cincy, because northern Kentucky (Florence, Covington etc) is part of the Midwest being so connected to Ohio.
From what I've heard, the Ohio River is anything but a sharp boundary - I'd say it's pretty well within Southern territory.
Where do people come up with this drivel? Go to Evansville, IN; New Albany, IN; Cincinnati, OH; and Athens, OH. Then go to Henderson, KY; Elizabethtown, KY; and Ashland, KY. If you don't see the major difference, you are not paying attention.
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