Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is there an appreciable population that has these "southern lite" characteristics? No. Especially not by comparison to Indiana and Ohio. Southern Illinois (true Southern Illinois) is just too sparsely populated.
I'm from Louisiana and in my opinion, no part of Illinois is part of the South. Yes the far southern part has Southern influences, just like far southern Ohio has Southern influences but that doesn't mean its part of the south, just like even though Mexican culture is heavy in South Texas, that's still not part of Mexico.
I do include Kentucky as the South EXCEPT for the Cincinnati suburbs and I include Virginia EXCEPT the DC suburbs and I include the southern half of West Virginia. Illinois is clearly and solely a Midwestern state. The only Midwest state that can arguably also lie partly in the South is Missouri and only the Ozarks and the Bootheel. The vast majority of Missouri including Kansas City and St Louis are clearly Midwestern.
I'm from Louisiana and in my opinion, no part of Illinois is part of the South. Yes the far southern part has Southern influences, just like far southern Ohio has Southern influences but that doesn't mean its part of the south, just like even though Mexican culture is heavy in South Texas, that's still not part of Mexico.
I do include Kentucky as the South EXCEPT for the Cincinnati suburbs and I include Virginia EXCEPT the DC suburbs and I include the southern half of West Virginia. Illinois is clearly and solely a Midwestern state. The only Midwest state that can arguably also lie partly in the South is Missouri and only the Ozarks and the Bootheel. The vast majority of Missouri including Kansas City and St Louis are clearly Midwestern.
I don't think you understand. There is plenty about southern IL that is similar to the south, but almost nothing similar about it to the north. Parts of southern IL are further south than parts of Kentucky, Virginia, and pretty much all of West Virginia. In fact, Cairo is further south than the northern border of New Mexico and Arizona. Now I know we always lump entire states into one region, but the reality is southern IL shares no connection to northern Illinois other than it's in the same state. If I could classify southern IL, IN, even OH into anything, it would be southern, not Midwestern.
I don't think the Mexico analogy fits, as the south is a completely debatable region all to itself, whereas Mexico is a well defined country.
From the sounds of it, you've never been to southern IL. There's absolutely nothing Midwestern about Cairo and Metropolis, even Mt Vernon and Effingham other than is in a northern state, but the area itself can almost certainly not be classified as northern. Definitely not "deep south", but "south", I would definitely say yes. Not just culturally and in terms of dialect, but also in terms of physical layout.
I don't think you understand. There is plenty about southern IL that is similar to the south, but almost nothing similar about it to the north. Parts of southern IL are further south than parts of Kentucky, Virginia, and pretty much all of West Virginia. In fact, Cairo is further south than the northern border of New Mexico and Arizona. Now I know we always lump entire states into one region, but the reality is southern IL shares no connection to northern Illinois other than it's in the same state. If I could classify southern IL, IN, even OH into anything, it would be southern, not Midwestern.
I don't think the Mexico analogy fits, as the south is a completely debatable region all to itself, whereas Mexico is a well defined country.
From the sounds of it, you've never been to southern IL. There's absolutely nothing Midwestern about Cairo and Metropolis, even Mt Vernon and Effingham other than is in a northern state, but the area itself can almost certainly not be classified as northern. Definitely not "deep south", but "south", I would definitely say yes. Not just culturally and in terms of dialect, but also in terms of physical layout.
The most south I've been in Illinois are Pocahontas and Greenville, and while they're certainly country, they didn't have a particular Southern feel, not even compared to southern West Virginia or North Carolina. However I admit I haven't been to the most southern reaches of Illinois. But my definition of the South is already more broad than many people's from South Louisiana, I have many friends who don't even consider North Carolina to be the South.
Would you say that far southern Illinois is more Southern than southern Indiana and southern Ohio?
The most south I've been in Illinois are Pocahontas and Greenville, and while they're certainly country, they didn't have a particular Southern feel, not even compared to southern West Virginia or North Carolina. However I admit I haven't been to the most southern reaches of Illinois. But my definition of the South is already more broad than many people's from South Louisiana, I have many friends who don't even consider North Carolina to be the South.
Would you say that far southern Illinois is more Southern than southern Indiana and southern Ohio?
Not in my experience, especially given how small the population is in southern Illinois compared to southern Indiana and southern Ohio. And these regions are really only in the lightest sense slightly southern influenced...nothing like NC, SC, GA, LA etc.
Not in my experience, especially given how small the population is in southern Illinois compared to southern Indiana and southern Ohio. And these regions are really only in the lightest sense slightly southern influenced...nothing like NC, SC, GA, LA etc.
I think we'd be lying to ourselves if we didn't say southern IL is at least on par with Kentucky and TN, even AR in terms of southern-ness.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
