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. 
Atlanta, Georgia because of job, but a Virginia gentleman at heart.
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 where there was this summary:
So as we approach 100 Votes in the current tally here’s how things compare:
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
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.
Atlanta itself is very southern. Marietta, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, etc. more accurately fit your description.
One milestone reached:
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
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.
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?
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
I would personally lean toward:
- weather
- food
- love of sports
- ancestry and family
- “friendliness” as a norm
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.
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.
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?
It has happened!
Who’s next?
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!
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!
Yeah, but that’s south Hawaii
Texas all my life. Grew up in the Rio Grande Valley but have since lived in central and south central Texas.
“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).