# Dopers currently living in "The South" (USA) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245 "2014-09-22T14:24:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/61 "2014-09-23T18:07:42Z")
After living in the Detroit Metro area for 40 years, I moved to the Memphis TN area juuuust over a year ago for a career opportunity. Still getting used to all the differences, both large and subtle, but enjoying it overall. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/62 "2014-09-23T18:49:53Z")
Atlanta, Georgia because of job, but a Virginia gentleman at heart. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/63 "2014-09-23T18:57:32Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > A courtesy bump with a summary. Still no WV “southerners”? **jtgain** grew up in and now resides in WV. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/64 "2014-09-23T19:31:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > **jtgain** grew up in and now resides in WV. Thanks for that. I looked back at the old thread I pointed to in the OP and checked [this post from 08-15-2006](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7682569&postcount=202) where there was this summary: > [@](#): > > Counts by State: > > # TX 38 TN 34 FL 32 GA 26 VA 22 NC 17 KY 12 AL 11 SC 8 OK 6 LA 5 MD 4 MS 4 AR 3 WV 2 > > Total 224 So as we approach 100 Votes in the current tally here’s how things compare: ```auto View Poll Results: Which Southern USA state do you currently call home? This poll will close on 09-22-2015 at 09:28 AM Texas 17 18.28% Georgia 13 13.98% North Carolina 13 13.98% Florida 9 9.68% Tennessee 9 9.68% Virginia 8 8.60% Maryland 4 4.30% Missouri 4 4.30% South Carolina 4 4.30% Louisiana 3 3.23% Oklahoma 3 3.23% Alabama 2 2.15% Mississippi 2 2.15% Arkansas 1 1.08% Kentucky 1 1.08% West Virginia 0 0% Other (please specify) 0 0% Voters: 93 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/65 "2014-09-23T20:46:56Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I’m in Charlotte, and I can not for the life of me understand why people think North Carolina is south. > > To me, NC is east-coast, and “the south” starts in SOUTH Carolina. Really? Take a drive through, oh, let’s say, Warrenton, and tell me how southern North Carolina isn’t. Or Laurinburg. Or Rocky Mount. Hell, you don’t have to go that far - just go to a Sunday School class at Myers Park United Methodist. My family’s from North Carolina, since 1763, and I love it; but ain’t no question it’s the South. For Pete’s sake, y’all almost elected Richard Petty Secretary of State a few years ago! Me, I’m a thirty-year Atlantan. In the South, as we say, but not of it. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/66 "2014-09-23T20:51:51Z")
Atlanta itself is very southern. Marietta, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, etc. more accurately fit your description. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/67 "2014-09-24T01:53:36Z")
One milestone reached: ```auto View Poll Results: Which Southern USA state do you currently call home? This poll will close on 09-22-2015 at 09:28 AM Texas 17 17.00% Georgia 15 15.00% North Carolina 15 15.00% Florida 9 9.00% Tennessee 9 9.00% Virginia 8 8.00% Missouri 6 6.00% Maryland 5 5.00% South Carolina 4 4.00% Louisiana 3 3.00% Oklahoma 3 3.00% Alabama 2 2.00% Mississippi 2 2.00% Arkansas 1 1.00% Kentucky 1 1.00% West Virginia 0 0% Other (please specify) 0 0% Voters: 100 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/68 "2014-09-24T02:56:56Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I’m in south Florida, which I’m not sure counts. Culturally, we’re not really “south”, despite being really far > south, geographically. This, exactly. Although I think I live a good 10 minutes further south… I’ll go pop over to **Revtim** ’s thread and see how the discussion is going. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/69 "2014-09-24T12:54:29Z")
My money’s on one of these to be the first with 20 votes: Georgia --------15 14.29% North Carolina 16 15.24% Texas -----------18 17.14% Will that happen today? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/70 "2014-09-24T13:03:26Z")
What sort of thing qualifies a place as Southern? Most places you don’t schedule activities like social gatherings or volunteer projects too early on Sundays because you might lose participants to church. In the South you include Wednesday nights in that. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/71 "2014-09-24T13:27:10Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > What sort of thing qualifies a place as Southern? > > Most places you don’t schedule activities like social gatherings or volunteer projects too early on Sundays because you might lose participants to church. > > In the South you include Wednesday nights in that. Good question. In my lifetime the Sunday thing has been dwindling as an influence but it’s still strong in some areas. Mostly rural I’d suggest, but even in the cities I’ve lived in there are enclaves where Church is the main, if not only, reliable social function for some folks. Perhaps an unbiased start to such a conversation might be found at [Southern United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States) I would personally lean toward: 1. weather 2. food 3. love of sports 4. ancestry and family 5. “friendliness” as a norm ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/72 "2014-09-24T13:27:38Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I’m in Charlotte, and I can not for the life of me understand why people think North Carolina is south. > > To me, NC is east-coast, and “the south” starts in SOUTH Carolina. I live in Raleigh, which stopped being a southern city in the early 80’s. True of a lot of southern cities, really. The rural areas of NC are still southern for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/73 "2014-09-24T13:37:39Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Side topic: I’m a little surprised at the small showing for Arkansas. Is there an Oklahoma thing going on there as well, you reckon? > > All I know for sure is that Billy Bob Thornton is from there and if there is a quintessential Southerner working in movies and TV these days it’s Billy Bob. I was born in Arkinsaw, but moved out when I was 2. Moved back in my teens for 3 years. It’s the smallest southern state by population, unless you count WV, so there’s not going to be much a Razorback presence here, statistically speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/74 "2014-09-24T15:39:46Z")
I’m just curious if other regions of the USA boast a strong Doper contingent. I don’t remember seeing a similar thread calling for people to self-identify by state or some other grouping of states. For that matter, I’m not even sure what other groups of states (except maybe New England) have the same sort of affinity as The South. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/75 "2014-09-24T15:55:48Z")
It has happened! > [@](#): > > Texas 20 18.02% Who’s next? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/76 "2014-09-24T17:24:28Z")
Texas is Texas, no parts, even East Texas, are Southern. And true Texans even consider the parts that are now part of other states that were once part of the Republic still Texas, such as most of the Rocky Mountains. 😃 When we go skiing, it perturbs many of the locals when I say it’s good to be back in Texas! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/77 "2014-09-24T17:42:30Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I would personally lean toward: > > 1. weather > 2. food > 3. love of sports > 4. ancestry and family > 5. “friendliness” as a norm It’s gonna be in the 80’s and clear all day. Let’s get some plate lunch an’ take the keikis to watch da Bows at Aloha Stadium! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/78 "2014-09-24T18:00:16Z")
Yeah, but that’s _south_ Hawaii ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/79 "2014-09-24T18:52:47Z")
Texas all my life. Grew up in the Rio Grande Valley but have since lived in central and south central Texas. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245/80 "2014-09-25T06:33:55Z")
“South” to me means “used to be slave” Which means KY stays, and DE is missing. No, they didn’t join the CSA, but were slave states anyway. Why WV and OK are on the list is anybody’s guess. WV split with VA about ten minutes after VA split with the USA - with their argument supporting secession, VA was not in a position to object (let alone try to fight hill country people on their home ground). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-currently-living-in-the-south-usa/699245.md?page=5)