Tell me about Southern Illinois. ( Little Egypt) (Chicago, Carbondale: wedding, college)

[Pincho-toot]

I'm curious to know a bit about Southern Illinois, and the Upland south in general. Especially since I have a little webshow that takes place there. What's life like there? What are the people like? What kinda music is from there? ( I'm assuming country and heartland rock are popular there :P) What is the whole culture like?

[BLS2753]

More southern than midwestern, culturally and politically.

Towns along the interstate highways have some vitality. Those not on the interstates are dead.

The only center of commerce is the Carbondale-Marion corridor, along IL13.

The corners of the region, rely on Cape Girardeau MO (west), Paducah KY (south), and Evansville IN (east), for goods and services.

4 states are within about an hour's drive. St. Louis and Nashville 2-3 hours, depending on one's location in the region. Other than being in the same state, there's very few ties to Chicago, or other parts of IL for that matter.

I'm describing the area along and south of IL13, which most natives consider "Little Egypt". Some consider it to extend north to I-64, but that area is somewhat different culturally, due to it's closer proximity to St. Louis.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by BLS2753

More southern than midwestern, culturally and politically.

Towns along the interstate highways have some vitality. Those not on the interstates are dead.

The only center of commerce is the Carbondale-Marion corridor, along IL13.

The corners of the region, rely on Cape Girardeau MO (west), Paducah KY (south), and Evansville IN (east), for goods and services.

4 states are within about an hour's drive. St. Louis and Nashville 2-3 hours, depending on one's location in the region. Other than being in the same state, there's very few ties to Chicago, or other parts of IL for that matter.

I'm describing the area along and south of IL13, which most natives consider "Little Egypt". Some consider it to extend north to I-64, but that area is somewhat different culturally, due to it's closer proximity to St. Louis.

Agreed the culture is significantly more Midwestern in that area. Now that doesn't mean they don't vote conservatively or that they don't listen to country music, of course. Both of those are certainly rural Midwestern traits as well.

[john.beard]

Different people have different opinions as to what southern Illinois is. I am from Mt. Vernon, which sits on the intersection of I-57/I-64. We are southern Illinois, but it does have a slightly more Midwestern feel than a town such as Harrisburg or Vienna....

Southern IL,(which I consider any town with a 618 area code) is heavily connected to St. Louis, and areas east of Mt. Vernon seem to love Evansville, Indiana.

Mostly conservative politically, southern Illinois (also called Little Egypt) is slow to embrace change and very connected to "the south" ideologically.

I'd say there are four sections to southern Illinois. The metro east area near St. Louis, the area north of Mt. Vernon to almost Effingham, Mt. Vernon south to Marion, then the last being south of Marion to Cairo/Metropolis.

Southern Illinois has no connection to Chicago as a general rule of thumb.

[Scottiegal]

Correct, there is no connection between the Chicagoland people and the downstate people. The accent is different, politic views, way of life, everything. I would even venture to say the down staters connect more with St. Louis than Chicago.

[Papillons2]

As a long-ago SIU-Carbondale student, I'd also mention that one of the biggest differences between much of Southern Illinois and the rest of the state is the terrain -- it certainly can't be described as mountainous, but it's definitely rugged by Illinois standards. People who don't know the area and assume the entire state outside the Chicago area is as flat as a pancake and covered with cornfields are shocked when I describe places like Giant City State Park and Garden of the Gods. There are also large lakes and the Shawnee National Forest. In my opinion, the only area of Illinois that even comes close in terms of natural beauty is the northwest corner of the state with the Mississippi Palisades and Galena.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by Papillons2

As a long-ago SIU-Carbondale student, I'd also mention that one of the biggest differences between much of Southern Illinois and the rest of the state is the terrain -- it certainly can't be described as mountainous, but it's definitely rugged by Illinois standards. People who don't know the area and assume the entire state outside the Chicago area is as flat as a pancake and covered with cornfields are shocked when I describe places like Giant City State Park and Garden of the Gods. There are also large lakes and the Shawnee National Forest. In my opinion, the only area of Illinois that even comes close in terms of natural beauty is the northwest corner of the state with the Mississippi Palisades and Galena.

I think the areas along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers are quite nice. NW IL is also fairly scenic. The Lake Michigan coastline is nice. Southern IL and the Garden of the Gods are very pretty and I think many people even in Chicago would be surprised to learn such a place exists in IL.

[gardener34]

agreed, with them being more in tune w/St. Louis, that's what radio stations they listen to. Lots of Cardinals fans down there in Southern IL.

[Papillons2]

To give you an idea how far "south" Southern Illinois is, here are some driving-time comparisons (from Mapquest) from Carbondale to Chicago and two large "Deep South" cities:

Carbondale-Chicago: 5 hours, 18 minutes (mostly via I-57)
Carbondale-Birmingham: 6 hours, 6 minutes (mostly I-57, I-24, I-65)
Carbondale-Atlanta: 7 hours, 14 minutes (mostly I-57, I-24, I-75)

When I lived in Birmingham for a few years back in the '80s, I made the drive to Carbondale once for a college friend's wedding and set aside about 9 hours for the trip, not knowing exactly how long it would take. This was back in the day of 55-mph speed limits, but even so I got there in less than seven hours and had plenty of time to kill.

[cuja1]

Originally Posted by Papillons2

To give you an idea how far "south" Southern Illinois is, here are some driving-time comparisons (from Mapquest) from Carbondale to Chicago and two large "Deep South" cities:

Carbondale-Chicago: 5 hours, 18 minutes (mostly via I-57)
Carbondale-Birmingham: 6 hours, 6 minutes (mostly I-57, I-24, I-65)
Carbondale-Atlanta: 7 hours, 14 minutes (mostly I-57, I-24, I-75)

When I lived in Birmingham for a few years back in the '80s, I made the drive to Carbondale once for a college friend's wedding and set aside about 9 hours for the trip, not knowing exactly how long it would take. This was back in the day of 55-mph speed limits, but even so I got there in less than seven hours and had plenty of time to kill.

That's another thing that I like about So. IL is its proximity to southern cities.