Here in Arkansas, Arkansas historians say that you’re only a true Arkansan if you’re born in central Arkansas due to the MASSIVE culture inspirations from neighbouring states the farther to the edge of the state you get. Is it like this anywhere else?
EDIT: Not saying I agree, just thought it was interesting.
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Texans who aren’t from the Dallas area sometimes like to call everything north of Dallas “south Oklahoma” but that’s mostly just regional jawjacking
A lot of transplants in NYC are annoying af. Born and bred New Yorkers are the ones that get the short end of the stick because of these people and their gentrification
You can move to the UP, but Yoopers are born not made.
Jackson
Memphis is often thought of its own little state within a state, since its geography and culture are vastly different from the middle and east grand divisions of Tennessee.
Nashville has been catching flak since it’s been one of the hottest places to move now
Knoxville is getting a bit contentious with the natives and the transplants, particularly people from Ohio, California and New York. People out of state buying houses WAY over the market value IN CASH and pretty much messing up the ability to buy a house for locals.
If I had to buy my house that I live in now, I wouldn’t be able to because it’s doubled in value in the property assessment and even then the property taxes are getting even more brutal.
Vancouver, WA is more Oregon than Washington in many people’s minds
Panhandle is also known at LA, or lower Alabama.
I can think of nothing like this really in Mass. The only thing i can think of is when kids say they live in Boston, but they really live in some suburb.
“due to the MASSIVE culture inspirations from neighbouring states”
What are the cultural differences?
I dont think this can be applied to Minnesota. Pretty much all of the state feels “Minnesotan.” There is a slight disconnect IMO with people from the far west of the state that may fit in more with the Dakotas, but its minor IMO.
Like there’s no part of the state that is super different from the general Minnesota identity which is a blend of the prairie farmlands, the lakelands the woodlands. All parts of the state experience brutally cold snowy winters, with differences in temps and snowfall but no part is spared. The accent could be heard anywhere in the state, tho is thickest in the far north.
Lets contrast that with Texas… where I lived before. The Mexican border area from El Paso down to Brownsville feels very different. Along this area, I only been to El Paso but EP, while still very much a part of Texas, is very different. It looks more like New Mexico or even Nevada, inland California etc. I never been to the RGV but from my understanding, the Mexican immigrant influence overpowers the general Texas-ness.
Like in Dallas, the Mexican culture is blended with that Texas culture. You can find many Texans of Mexican ancestry in Dallas who speak no Spanish, root for the cowboys and have a Texas twang. But places like Laredo are much more influenced from Mexico directly. Some of those towns are 95%+ Mexican.
Regarding my homestate of Florida… North Floridians will claim that South Florida isnt “real Florida” and South Floridians do the same about North Florida. Technically, N. Florida is more “true” Florida. Its how Florida was before so many people came from elsewhere. More Southern.
But you can’t take Miami out of Florida. Say what you want about West Palm Beach but Miami, even though its got strong Latin American influences, is still uniquely part of Florida. It would be like taking Vegas out of Nevada.
I don’t think California really has that dynamic. I suppose in some places there’s a division between people who moved there and people originally from there. And there are regional rivalries, but not usually with the undertone of someone being not a real Californian. It’s more like what *kind* of Californian you are. So Southern California is definitely the most stereotypical region, but I doubt if someone from there would say you’re not really Californian because you were from Sacramento or something.
South Florida isn’t Florida. I’m not sure what it actually is, but is sure as hell ain’t Florida.
Vail and Breckenridge probably. If you ask 20 people working in town where they’re from, maybe 2 or 3 will say Colorado.
Texas has a whole other thing going on (of course) I lived here in the early 1990’s and there was a lot of talk about the difference between “born and bred” Texans and the people who were born and raised elsewhere. The native Texans consider themselves superior as genuine Texans
But from the year 2000 until the present over 9 million people moved to Texas. That vibe from 1990 still exists but is greatly diminished.
One example.
I worked with a guy who is that quintessential Texan. He called non Texans “yankees”, said things like everything north of Texas is a frozen wasteland. He got to go on a trip to San Francisco and the Redwoods, came back saying he wasn’t impressed and he would prefer Lubbock(his hometown) over the Bay Area
He is a “dyed in the wool “ native Texan. Anything that isn’t of Texas is seen as inferior.
It’s a bit like an insider joke but it is not really a joke
Chicagoans say downstaters. Downstaters says Chicagoans. How either group feels about Chicago collar county suburbanites is a roll of the dice
The rest of Kentucky tends to make it very clear that we’re not true Kentuckians.
A number of years ago I had an eastern Oregonian tell me that western Oregon wasn’t the “real Oregon” and that western Oregonian men were all “effeminates” 😕. This was far before Portland, OR had its reputation or was even remotely hip. Let’s just hope he didn’t hurt too many people with his misogyny.
What “historians” say this?
In Washington, you’re considered Washingtonian if you’re born and raised anywhere in the state. Culturally, there’s a sharp divide between Eastern Washington and Western Washington (Cascade Mountains being the dividing line).
Extreme northwestern Indiana is seen more as an overflow of Chicago than a proper part of the state.
Vancouver (the other one) is basically Portland (i’m sure the vancouverites will disagree), but other than that, you just have to be born and raised.
Here in WV if you live in one of the two panhandles. It’s ridiculous. I’ve also seen them argue that someone who moved here before they were even five didn’t count as being a West Virginian. I’ve lived here for 34 years and I’ve had people who weren’t born yet when I moved here call me a Yankee (I’m from Texas) or say I wouldn’t understand because I’m a liberal out of stater 🙄
Va is pretty different culturally in different areas. You got the Nova people, the suburban folk on the Eastern side, and then put West you got the Appalachian country folk. I would say that I consider pretty much the entire State true Va except for Nova. In my mind Nova is DC, and is culturally more in line with the North East
~50% of NC adults weren’t born here, and that’s very much divided by where you are in the state [https://imgur.com/a/qg2mU1d](https://imgur.com/a/qg2mU1d)
I definitely come across some ribbing from more old-school folks who say that the areas that are vast majority transplant (basically Raleigh, Charlotte, some of the military towns, and the tourism-heavy counties) aren’t *real* NC due to this
Louisiana is divided between north and south.
Cajun/Creole culture is southern Louisiana, but northern Louisiana is more typically Southern. Central Louisiana is brackish, with influences from both. Baptist north, Catholic south.
We all like our gumbo and crawfish the same, though, and we all love LSU and the Saints, too. We may be different, but we’re all still one boot.
You’d better be glad my grandma isn’t alive anymore OP. She was from southern Arkansas. She’d have a lot to say to you.
Anyway, it’s Northern Virginia. They aren’t like the rest of us.
The greater Louisville area is often referred to as ‘kentuckiana’. Also northern Kentucky outside of Cincinnati is often referred to as southern Ohio or or just as Cincy light. But not to the point that anyone would actually tell someone from those areas they aren’t real Kentuckians.
We don’t claim NOVA.
Appearently if you live here for 20 m and leave the state, you are still from California….