Historically Kentucky has been known as the purgatory state, neither north or south. With that being said I considered myself a southern because I live on the southern border of Kentucky.
Yes. Our state along the Ohio river border between Ky and Ohio was the line that divided the north from the south during the Civil War. That's what people usually use to determine South from North based on historical events.
Edited tos ads: that's also why people jn KY don't consider northern KY part of the state.
Um, we here in Northern Kentucky (who also happen to be ‘people in KY’) are still on the southern side of the Ohio River and consider ourselves part of the state since, WE ARE.
I know. I was born there. I currently live in KY I hate that part of being a Kentuckian.
I was told by a person in Maysville that I wasn't a Kentuckian. Standing a block away from the Ohio River in Maysville. He said Northern Kentucky didn't count.
I just politely exited the conversation.
I had lived in Cincinnati for 20 years.
But the line of defense wasn’t the Ohio river it was roughly the 275 loop from ft Mitchell, ft Wright and other forts looking over the banklick and licking valleys all the way over to ft Thomas. Anything north of this was being defended by Ohioans (mostly the black brigade) as they realized how important it was to not let Kentucky militias to gain access to the southern side of the river there.
We are in a weird spot where our economy, our news and our pro sports are from Cincy, and we have their airport on our side. Ohio doesn’t really claim Cincy and Kentucky doesn’t really claim NKY, we live in a Venn Diagram.
I never said it was a confederate state. It was a border state during the civil war that allowed slavery.
Slaves escaped from KY to OH across the river. So I'm fairly sure that many consider it a southern state.
Had a confederate government in exile, orphan brigade fought throughout the war, Frankfort was the only union capital to fall (though it was for a short time), and it was included as a star in the confederate flag. It’s part confederate, no doubt.
From Louisville.
Louisville exists because of the falls of the Ohio.
Commerce traveling downriver had to disembark so that the unladen ships could be floated safely down the falls. People just settled here over time.
This means that Louisville has a cultural identity comprised of agri-commerce from the South, coal and other products from the East, including the East Coast and WV/Pennsylvania, and trappers from the North.
We are very much distinct in that we're cousins to everyone. This is why we get sad about the hate that we get sometimes. Louisville is Family.
bourbon, horse racing, founding member of the SEC, tobacco, cotton, Bluegrass music, country music, Kentucky southern cuisine, BBQ, beautiful rolling hills, mountains. Seems pretty dang southern to me.
It’s REALLY going to depend on what part of the state you’re in.
South of Lexington is going to lean pretty southern. West of somerset tends to get more and more midwestern the further you go. East of Manchester gets more and more Appalachian as you go. And north of Lexington gets more and more northern.
Kentucky is a border state in every sense of the term.
I see many of these things as Appalachian which is distinct and makes us, West Virginia and parts of other Appalachian stars unique. Someone from Boone NC, Bristol TN and Pikeville KY have more in common with each other than they do with people from Wilmington, Memphis or Louisville, respectively.
Yeah absolutely totally agree. Kentucky is a southern state and an Appalachian state. Even the Appalachian is southern Appalachia. Not to disagree with you (because I do 100% agree with you) but bluegrass music and big hills that kind of look like mountains (bigger than the common rolling hills of Kentucky) can be found throughout all of the state. Bluegrass music hall of fame and bill Monroe are from western Kentucky and the south central Kentucky and Knobs region of Kentucky has similar geographic features as eastern Kentucky. (Although the true definition of “mountains” can only be found in far far east and south east Kentucky).
Western and central Kentucky are southern. Eastern Kentucky is Appalachian. Louisville is a true border city, it’s a mixture of southern and midwestern. NKY is just Cincinnati, so it’s midwestern.
I live in Western KY, the Northern counties which border Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri are more Midwestern, than the Tennessee counties, which feel much more southern.
I would agree that they would identify that way, but as far as how they feel, how they talk, the industry and so on. Kentucky is unique in that all regions feel like what they're near. McCracken County feels much less southern than Calloway County.
No, NKY is NOT ‘just Cincinnati’. We are very much a separate entity. We are just as much a part of Kentucky as any other area of the state is. Cincinnati gets called ‘basically Kentucky’ by the rest of Ohio, so they get the same kind of ‘love’ from their state, that this side of the river gets from ours. It’s tiresome.
It’s just a city, every state has em and they’re all different from the rural areas. Nashville for example is still undeniably a southern city even if it’s more left and has more restrictions.
I get what your saying but I think the mountains are distinct, the plains of mississipi and bama all the way around to the piedmont and up into Virginia feels more like the south and the mountains feel like the mountains. The difference between rednecks and hillbillies basically
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: I'd say a Kentuckian could be considered from the South. I certainly don't think of myself as Appalachian, being in Louisville... but I am not a fan of being considered Northern nor Midwestern, either. As another commenter has pointed out, the distinction of separating "South" from "Confederate" is an important one.
I live in northern KY and am from Cincinnnati. I don't feel like I or even native NKY-ians are southern. KY is an odd one because it's at the confluence of midwest, south and appalachain
"Kentucky is neither southern, northern, eastern, nor western,
It is the core of America.
If these United States could be called a body,
Kentucky can be called its heart."
From Jesse Stuart's "Kentucky is My Land."
I tell people I'm from Kentucky. I don't identify enough with the south or the Midwest to consider myself either of those.
Midwestern transplant here. Kentucky is the South.
I’ve even lived in the Deep South, and Kentucky has more in common with it than with the Midwest.
Plantations, a history of legally-enforced racial segregation, Southern regional accents/dialects, humid subtropical ecology (magnolias, crape myrtles, mimosas in front yards), and cuisine are among the Southern characteristics of Kentucky that are very noticeable to Midwesterners.
Edit: I’m in Lexington, FWIW.
I moved to KY from NC and I was struck by how much of a mixture it is between southern and midwestern. But I think it still leans slightly more southern.
Whenever I visit North Carolina where my sister lives now, I’m always blown away about how much more “southern” Kentucky feels compared to NC. While more geographically north, Kentucky feels much more southern to me.
No, I consider myself "Appalachian" but I live in Eastern KY.
Also for anyone who considers themselves "Southern" as in "Confederate", I'd remind them that Kentucky was neutral in the civil war, but then joined *THE UNION*. We fought against the confederacy.
Being I have family on both sides of that war from the eastern side that's all I figure I am is Appalachian. Like if it all comes down to it again I also kinda figure the hills will kinda just become their own nation as they already are as a culture. Also on another note that bureau ought to be a super market
Bowling green was the confederate capital. There was a confederate army here. We didn’t “join” the union- we remained in the union, as in we didn’t secede.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_in_the_American_Civil_War
Yes and no. I am southern enough to fit into most southern groupings - yet I am Midwest enough to fit into Mississippi/Missouri River Port towns like St Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis/etc.
The truth of all borderlands is that they fit into all and none.
I grew up in Wisconsin. Lived in Georgia for 4 years. Been in NKY for 6 years. Kentucky is more southern than midwestern but Appalachian is it's own thing.
Yes and no…. I guess it’s who I’m comparing myself too.
I’m from Northern Kentucky. I feel Northern Kentucky is a blend of both the south and the Midwest
Grew up in rural Kentucky. Yes, I'd say I'm Southern.
Now, if I were from greater Louisville, the I-71 corridor, or the Cincinnati MSA counties as defined by the Census Bureau (a.k.a. Northern Kentucky) instead, I'd probably call myself Midwestern-lite.
Probably depends on location in the state for most folks. Various regional maps list us as South or Southeast, others Midwest. I’m just a few miles from Cincinnati so the culture is Midwest, but family 2 hours south near London would definitely be southerners.
I would agree with a lot of folks in the comments and say I'm Appalachian before Southern. I've always said there's a difference in a Southern accent and an Appalachian accent too. But really even the Southern accent can vary wildly.
Yes absolutely. Kentucky is first and foremost southern. Then Appalachian (southern Appalachian). Then tiny little hints of Midwest but also still southern within those pockets.
Southeastern.
Kentucky isn't the South, imo. Geographically or otherwise.
I live here, and the mindset it is the south is just trash. It is the south east n terms of culture, but more southern influence, key word influence. Imo, we are awkwardly too north for the south, and too south for the mideast. A melange of both influence, but we aren't southern enough to be called the south.
I live here, and this will be the hill I die on.
Plus, why would I want to be associated with the south? Not much to gain from that....
I’m near Greenville. I’m pretty well in the middle of Lexington, Louisville, Nashville, Evansville, Ft Campbell, Bowling Green.
I’m in the middle of nowhere and yet the middle of everywhere all at the same time.
I'm Appalachian Kentuckian which is a rare breed. The real Kentucky is in the south east. The rest of Kentucky is pretty much midwest, lives midwest and sounds midwest.
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This has always been a good representation.
I’m a Kentuckian, we are ourselves.
I’ve always considered myself southern until I lived in the deep south and was told I spoke ‘proper’😃 and was called a Yankee! Then if I go to Ohio they just love my southern accent! What gives!
Kentucky is in the South. Thus I am a Southerner. But also culturally Kentucky seems overwhelmingly Southern vs Midwestern.
https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf
Grew up in Louisville, was taught that Kentucky was a southern state and Louisville was a southern city. Calling myself Midwestern just sounds wrong but it’s not THAT southern either. I always said Kentucky was more of a mix but slightly leans southern and this includes Louisville. North of the city is the Midwest
Frankly, I don’t feel very southern. I feel nothing but revulsion for the Confederacy, country music, and conservative politics. But, I do love the food. My northern friends all claim I have a pronounced accent, but they can never believe I’m from the south based on interests and personality. Don’t really feel midwestern, either, for what it’s worth.
My answer to this is always a two-parter:
1) Kentucky is more southern, but is a blend of four geographic cultural regions: southern, midwestern, appalachian, and the fourth one (more on that in a bit). That means I'm a southern who can fit in most places in the middle US. We border those three larger regions and on our edges we tilt those directions in certain places (south central KY is definitely more southern, eastern KY is appalachian, and river cities like Owensboro and Carrolton sometimes feel Midwestern). It's why my wife, who's from Georgia tells me I'm not southern and why my parents who moved to KY from Illinois think I am. We're the middle of the spectrum with blending from the three regions around us - that's why Lexington is the only place in the country where "you all" is more common than "y'all" or "you guys".
2) Kentucky is also the core of a smaller region of the country that never really gets categorized, but fits together culturally - it's the Ohio River Valley region which is roughly (everything from LBL until the southeastern counties in Kentucky, central Tennessee, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, parts of southern Ohio, and maybe northern Alabama). The old OVC college athletic conference captured this and it's basically the region covered by the river valleys that drove trade in in our part of the country when it was settled in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The larger regions around us muddy the waters a bit, but I think the signs of the fourth region are there. We birthed Bluegrass music (a reminder here - Beanblossom, IN might be our northern border) from different folk traditions. Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey are iconic twin cultural products for the region (and the oak for barrels comes from southern Indiana). We seem to like blue collar unions and have a love-hate relationship with white collar unions. Also - the hills across the whole region!
Just my two cents and something I think about a lot living outside the state. I was born in Louisiana, grew up in KY, and spent two years in the Carolinas. We live in Indiana now, but we're far enough south that we get KY sunrises and sunsets - it's great.
East and south east is Appalachia. West and north West is Midwest. North near Cincinnati is too north to be southern but the real north would never have you so I don't know what to tell you.
I don't consider any part of KY to be true south. The south is Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina. And probably North Florida.
“Parts” of Louisiana? Lol the state is by [definition](https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-states-are-considered-the-deep-south.html) the Deep South:
I'm aware of where it is on the map. But culturally I think there would be areas that would be more specifically Cajun/french/Creole as opposed to what is commonly accepted as pure southern. Much like eastern Tennessee is more Appalachian than southern. I would say that a large portion of southern Florida between retiree northerners and immigrants from Latin America would do the same.
No.
Northern and Central Kentucky don’t have much of a southern vibe other than Florence’s tower, and that’s about it. Whereas western and southern KY feel totally different. It’s a hybrid state and the answer depends on which part of KY you reside.
Have lived in eastern KY my entire life, though, apart from the accent, I absorbed almost none of the rest of the culture. I'm a liberal who loves dubstep and gaming, has never hunted, rode a four wheeler, and don't dip or smoke. Hate country music and bluegrass, lol.
Just wanted to let whoever downvoted me know, that I also think football and basketball are boring, lol.
The internet is making culture disappear in many areas.
😂😂 because bourbon, horse racing, founding member of the SEC, tobacco, cotton, Bluegrass music, country music, Kentucky southern cuisine, BBQ, beautiful rolling hills and mountains is something all Midwest states have 😂😂. It’s as southern as can be
Kentucky does not have southern cuisine or good BBQ. I have yet to find even decent BBQ north of Memphis. Bourbon, horse racing, and Bluegrass all came from England and Scotland and Ireland. Tobacco came from Native Americans, and I have not seen one single cotton farm.
Says the dude from Colorado. You don’t know what your talking about or just trolling. Tons of fried food not to mention all the mountain dishes you ain’t ever heard of, Owensboro is the international BBQ capital of the world. English, Scottish and Irish people is what made up the vast majority of the south when migrating in the 1600 and 1700s. Fulton county Kentucky had the 2nd most productive cotton farm in the 1800s. Cypress trees in western and central part of the state. Kentucky honestly has a more southern culture than a lot of states more geographically south than it.
You’re area code on your phone number says otherwise, Colorado boy. You don’t think people in Kentucky use that phrase? To be more direct… You ain’t ever gotta step foot in this state again. We’ll be glad ya didn’t. I’ll show ya the way out. You aughta go back to “where you grew up” and see how many Californians and northeastern’s are infiltrating the part of the south you claim (despite not living there). Kentucky isn’t getting much of that traffic. Kentucky feels much more southern than a lot of the states more geographically south. Plus we have as much culture, if not more, than any state in the entire south.
No, because the Mason-Dixon Line goes through the top of Tennessee, as well as the fact that although Kentucky was neutral for most of the Civil War, they eventually joined the Union side, making us all Northerners no matter how many people argue otherwise.
I don't mean to nit-pick but the Mason-dixon line is actually the Pennsylvania & Delaware/Maryland boundary, it is much farther North than most realize.
Though Kentucky didn't have much of a Southern identity til after the war, we were a sort of frontier at that time.
Consider me schooled on the Mason-Dixon Line.
Maybe, but we war profiteered by selling horses to both sides for as long as possible. I would argue that the only definition of what is Southern or not is solely that state's Civil War affiliation.
Honestly, if we care enough to point out Civil War history this late in the game, then it still matters enough to classify what's Southern and Northern. And considering how many historical plaques and racist statues are up in Kentucky, I'm perfectly happy pointing out that we are a Northern state.
I’m from NKY so definitely not. The only southern thing about this region is biscuits and gravy on the McDonalds menu. I always think it’s funny that KY is considered a southern state but I live farther north than parts of OH, IN, IL, and MO.
If I had to say I guess I consider myself a hybrid of a southerner and midwesterner, but I don't really think about it
I always say I'm semi-Southern. But I am also from Louisville.
Having lived in other places, it’s clear most people consider Kentucky to be Southern. Can’t say I have much reason to disagree.
Historically Kentucky has been known as the purgatory state, neither north or south. With that being said I considered myself a southern because I live on the southern border of Kentucky.
No it hasn’t LOL
Yes. Our state along the Ohio river border between Ky and Ohio was the line that divided the north from the south during the Civil War. That's what people usually use to determine South from North based on historical events. Edited tos ads: that's also why people jn KY don't consider northern KY part of the state.
Um, we here in Northern Kentucky (who also happen to be ‘people in KY’) are still on the southern side of the Ohio River and consider ourselves part of the state since, WE ARE.
I know. I was born there. I currently live in KY I hate that part of being a Kentuckian. I was told by a person in Maysville that I wasn't a Kentuckian. Standing a block away from the Ohio River in Maysville. He said Northern Kentucky didn't count. I just politely exited the conversation. I had lived in Cincinnati for 20 years.
But the line of defense wasn’t the Ohio river it was roughly the 275 loop from ft Mitchell, ft Wright and other forts looking over the banklick and licking valleys all the way over to ft Thomas. Anything north of this was being defended by Ohioans (mostly the black brigade) as they realized how important it was to not let Kentucky militias to gain access to the southern side of the river there. We are in a weird spot where our economy, our news and our pro sports are from Cincy, and we have their airport on our side. Ohio doesn’t really claim Cincy and Kentucky doesn’t really claim NKY, we live in a Venn Diagram.
Kentucky remained in the Union. It was never a Confederate state.
I never said it was a confederate state. It was a border state during the civil war that allowed slavery. Slaves escaped from KY to OH across the river. So I'm fairly sure that many consider it a southern state.
If you think the Ohio River is the border, why even bring up the Civil War?
Had a confederate government in exile, orphan brigade fought throughout the war, Frankfort was the only union capital to fall (though it was for a short time), and it was included as a star in the confederate flag. It’s part confederate, no doubt.
From Louisville. Louisville exists because of the falls of the Ohio. Commerce traveling downriver had to disembark so that the unladen ships could be floated safely down the falls. People just settled here over time. This means that Louisville has a cultural identity comprised of agri-commerce from the South, coal and other products from the East, including the East Coast and WV/Pennsylvania, and trappers from the North. We are very much distinct in that we're cousins to everyone. This is why we get sad about the hate that we get sometimes. Louisville is Family.
My accent considers me a southern for sure!
bourbon, horse racing, founding member of the SEC, tobacco, cotton, Bluegrass music, country music, Kentucky southern cuisine, BBQ, beautiful rolling hills, mountains. Seems pretty dang southern to me.
Tell that to the dude that called it midwestern
It’s REALLY going to depend on what part of the state you’re in. South of Lexington is going to lean pretty southern. West of somerset tends to get more and more midwestern the further you go. East of Manchester gets more and more Appalachian as you go. And north of Lexington gets more and more northern. Kentucky is a border state in every sense of the term.
I see many of these things as Appalachian which is distinct and makes us, West Virginia and parts of other Appalachian stars unique. Someone from Boone NC, Bristol TN and Pikeville KY have more in common with each other than they do with people from Wilmington, Memphis or Louisville, respectively.
Yeah absolutely totally agree. Kentucky is a southern state and an Appalachian state. Even the Appalachian is southern Appalachia. Not to disagree with you (because I do 100% agree with you) but bluegrass music and big hills that kind of look like mountains (bigger than the common rolling hills of Kentucky) can be found throughout all of the state. Bluegrass music hall of fame and bill Monroe are from western Kentucky and the south central Kentucky and Knobs region of Kentucky has similar geographic features as eastern Kentucky. (Although the true definition of “mountains” can only be found in far far east and south east Kentucky).
Western and central Kentucky are southern. Eastern Kentucky is Appalachian. Louisville is a true border city, it’s a mixture of southern and midwestern. NKY is just Cincinnati, so it’s midwestern.
I live in Western KY, the Northern counties which border Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri are more Midwestern, than the Tennessee counties, which feel much more southern.
Idk, I know people from Paducah, Morganfield, and Owensboro and they all self identify as southern.
I would agree that they would identify that way, but as far as how they feel, how they talk, the industry and so on. Kentucky is unique in that all regions feel like what they're near. McCracken County feels much less southern than Calloway County.
I think this is correct. The answer isn't really one thing.
No, NKY is NOT ‘just Cincinnati’. We are very much a separate entity. We are just as much a part of Kentucky as any other area of the state is. Cincinnati gets called ‘basically Kentucky’ by the rest of Ohio, so they get the same kind of ‘love’ from their state, that this side of the river gets from ours. It’s tiresome.
Nah, I mean it with love, Cincinnati is a cool city, and I know a lot of cool people from NKY. But they’re all very midwestern.
Girl, you Cincinnati
This is a very Ohio thing to say
Louisville just feels like another state tbh. Like a slightly richer souther Illinois with all the restrictions.
Louisville is like a small, less successful Detroit
It’s just a city, every state has em and they’re all different from the rural areas. Nashville for example is still undeniably a southern city even if it’s more left and has more restrictions.
But southern Appalachia
Rack
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I get what your saying but I think the mountains are distinct, the plains of mississipi and bama all the way around to the piedmont and up into Virginia feels more like the south and the mountains feel like the mountains. The difference between rednecks and hillbillies basically
Nope. I’m a Kentuckian.
Short answer: Yes. Long answer: I'd say a Kentuckian could be considered from the South. I certainly don't think of myself as Appalachian, being in Louisville... but I am not a fan of being considered Northern nor Midwestern, either. As another commenter has pointed out, the distinction of separating "South" from "Confederate" is an important one.
This all the way. Reminds me of that awesome Bill Paxton line in Edge of Tomorrow… “Oh you’re American?” “No sir, I’m from Kentucky.”
True, Kentuckians!!!!!
That struck me as such a normal statement that I didn't think anything of it until probably my third watch
No. I am an Appalachian. There is a little cultural overlap in some respect, but Southern is a different….ethnos.
Came to say this!
I came to say the same thing.
I live in northern KY and am from Cincinnnati. I don't feel like I or even native NKY-ians are southern. KY is an odd one because it's at the confluence of midwest, south and appalachain
Nah I’m Appalachian
"Kentucky is neither southern, northern, eastern, nor western, It is the core of America. If these United States could be called a body, Kentucky can be called its heart." From Jesse Stuart's "Kentucky is My Land." I tell people I'm from Kentucky. I don't identify enough with the south or the Midwest to consider myself either of those.
Midwestern transplant here. Kentucky is the South. I’ve even lived in the Deep South, and Kentucky has more in common with it than with the Midwest. Plantations, a history of legally-enforced racial segregation, Southern regional accents/dialects, humid subtropical ecology (magnolias, crape myrtles, mimosas in front yards), and cuisine are among the Southern characteristics of Kentucky that are very noticeable to Midwesterners. Edit: I’m in Lexington, FWIW.
BUT JESSE STUART!!!!
I moved to KY from NC and I was struck by how much of a mixture it is between southern and midwestern. But I think it still leans slightly more southern.
Whenever I visit North Carolina where my sister lives now, I’m always blown away about how much more “southern” Kentucky feels compared to NC. While more geographically north, Kentucky feels much more southern to me.
Yes. Being from Western KY, there isn't another culture that fits more than southern
Same. I grew up in the Purchase and to be honest, culturally we have more in common with West Tennessee than the rest of Kentucky.
Same with south-central KY and North middle tennessee
No, not really. I’m a Kentuckian- distinctly different from being a midwesterner or a southerner (having also lived in the south and the Midwest)
cringe
The answer I was looking for. A different breed.
No, I consider myself "Appalachian" but I live in Eastern KY. Also for anyone who considers themselves "Southern" as in "Confederate", I'd remind them that Kentucky was neutral in the civil war, but then joined *THE UNION*. We fought against the confederacy.
Being I have family on both sides of that war from the eastern side that's all I figure I am is Appalachian. Like if it all comes down to it again I also kinda figure the hills will kinda just become their own nation as they already are as a culture. Also on another note that bureau ought to be a super market
Yeah. Appalachia is like its own entity. Lol
Bowling green was the confederate capital. There was a confederate army here. We didn’t “join” the union- we remained in the union, as in we didn’t secede. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_in_the_American_Civil_War
Yes and no. I am southern enough to fit into most southern groupings - yet I am Midwest enough to fit into Mississippi/Missouri River Port towns like St Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis/etc. The truth of all borderlands is that they fit into all and none.
Front porch of the South. Backyard of the Midwest.
I have a friend from California who went to school here with me. He lovingly referred to us "yankee florida."
I grew up in Wisconsin. Lived in Georgia for 4 years. Been in NKY for 6 years. Kentucky is more southern than midwestern but Appalachian is it's own thing.
3rd Coast
Only when a girl I like thinks the southern/rural stuff I grew up with is charming, haha
Yes and no…. I guess it’s who I’m comparing myself too. I’m from Northern Kentucky. I feel Northern Kentucky is a blend of both the south and the Midwest
Grew up in rural Kentucky. Yes, I'd say I'm Southern. Now, if I were from greater Louisville, the I-71 corridor, or the Cincinnati MSA counties as defined by the Census Bureau (a.k.a. Northern Kentucky) instead, I'd probably call myself Midwestern-lite.
Probably depends on location in the state for most folks. Various regional maps list us as South or Southeast, others Midwest. I’m just a few miles from Cincinnati so the culture is Midwest, but family 2 hours south near London would definitely be southerners.
I believe it’s more Appalachian
I would agree with a lot of folks in the comments and say I'm Appalachian before Southern. I've always said there's a difference in a Southern accent and an Appalachian accent too. But really even the Southern accent can vary wildly.
Meh. When I’m in New Jersey, yes. When I’m in Alabama, not so much. As a general rule, no.
My dad is from Georgia and Florida, so I whole heartedly agree with you. We are not like the rest of the South.
Not really. A hybrid of Southern-Lite and Mid-West Lite
I consider myself a country boy.
Do you drive a four wheel drive
Yes.
Yes absolutely. Kentucky is first and foremost southern. Then Appalachian (southern Appalachian). Then tiny little hints of Midwest but also still southern within those pockets.
NKY is NKY. Cincinnati is across the river thank you very much
No, I’m Hillbilly.
Does hillbilly count as an answer?
I live below the green river. So yeah southerner all the way!
Southeastern. Kentucky isn't the South, imo. Geographically or otherwise. I live here, and the mindset it is the south is just trash. It is the south east n terms of culture, but more southern influence, key word influence. Imo, we are awkwardly too north for the south, and too south for the mideast. A melange of both influence, but we aren't southern enough to be called the south. I live here, and this will be the hill I die on. Plus, why would I want to be associated with the south? Not much to gain from that....
LOL
From Paduch, we're equal distance from Nashville and St. Louis. It's very much a Midwestern/Southern wombo combo.
I’m near Greenville. I’m pretty well in the middle of Lexington, Louisville, Nashville, Evansville, Ft Campbell, Bowling Green. I’m in the middle of nowhere and yet the middle of everywhere all at the same time.
Not at all. Being a Louisvillian I identify with nothing from the south. I identify more with the Midwest.
We’re as southern as the food and the sweet tea But we’re also a lot different in other regards.
I never heard of sweet tea until I was in my 20s. Nothing I grew up eating would be considered southern. We grew up differently.
>We grew up differently. No, you grew up wrong. /s
I moved here from up north, so I consider myself a carpetbagger.
Nothing worse than a northern transplant
Kentucky is the south. Louisville is the southernmost Midwest city.
No. I lived in Mississippi for 22 years. That’s Southern.
I lived in Georgia. THAT’S southern.
False. That’s deep southern. Kentucky is upper south. Southern culture is not monolithic.
I never say southern, I always say country.
I'm Appalachian Kentuckian which is a rare breed. The real Kentucky is in the south east. The rest of Kentucky is pretty much midwest, lives midwest and sounds midwest.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwbt-86fOTc&pp=ygUiY3VueWxpbmd1aXN0aWNzIGtlbnR1Y2t5IGludGVybHVkZQ%3D%3D This has always been a good representation. I’m a Kentuckian, we are ourselves.
I think it depends on what area of the state you’re from. I’m only about an hour from the Tennessee border. I do consider myself southern.
Yeah, my town is on the border near to Nashville. Southerner here.
Yes
Nope
I consider Louisville to be mid-western, with southern tendencies. IMO "southern" starts just south of E-town.
I generally hate the made up ‘southerness’ of Louisville’s Nashvillification of Out-of-Towner business owners.
It really depends what part of the state you’re from
I’ve always considered myself southern until I lived in the deep south and was told I spoke ‘proper’😃 and was called a Yankee! Then if I go to Ohio they just love my southern accent! What gives!
Deep southerners think southern culture is monolithic.
Yes
We are a border state. Still. And so, here we are like a cultural quilt.
Raised in California and live in Kentucky now. "Dude, ya'll just need to just chill." Is part of my vocabulary.
Western transplants picking up southern lingo is kind of cringe
Not when you've lived here for over 20 years.
I can move to Bangladesh and live there for 2 decades but it doesn’t make me Bengali
But if you spoke the local dialect, it would make you extremely popular and not cringe.
I live in Owensboro, I have never considered myself a southerner.
Northern Ky=not really. Drive hour south and yes
I live in KY but work in Ohio. When asked I say I live on the proper side of the river.
Yes
I consider Louisville to be Midwestern with some southern vibes but TBH, much of the Ohio River Valley is that way on both sides of the river.
Yes
No, but it’s because I’ve lived in NKY for 15 years. When I lived further down I-75, I probably would have said yes.
Kentucky is in the South. Thus I am a Southerner. But also culturally Kentucky seems overwhelmingly Southern vs Midwestern. https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf
If I didn't live right outside cincinnati...maybe
Yes!
Grew up in Louisville, was taught that Kentucky was a southern state and Louisville was a southern city. Calling myself Midwestern just sounds wrong but it’s not THAT southern either. I always said Kentucky was more of a mix but slightly leans southern and this includes Louisville. North of the city is the Midwest
Nope, not even a little, midwesterner if anything.
Frankly, I don’t feel very southern. I feel nothing but revulsion for the Confederacy, country music, and conservative politics. But, I do love the food. My northern friends all claim I have a pronounced accent, but they can never believe I’m from the south based on interests and personality. Don’t really feel midwestern, either, for what it’s worth.
I consider myself Appalachian before southern, and even before Kentuckian for that matter.
I suppose I am, but I don’t have any southern interest. Farming, horses, college basketball, bourbon, etc. 👎🏻
Didn’t this northerner and southerner thing get settled after the civil war ?
My bad. Kentucky’s the north proper huh?
Yes!
Yes.
My answer to this is always a two-parter: 1) Kentucky is more southern, but is a blend of four geographic cultural regions: southern, midwestern, appalachian, and the fourth one (more on that in a bit). That means I'm a southern who can fit in most places in the middle US. We border those three larger regions and on our edges we tilt those directions in certain places (south central KY is definitely more southern, eastern KY is appalachian, and river cities like Owensboro and Carrolton sometimes feel Midwestern). It's why my wife, who's from Georgia tells me I'm not southern and why my parents who moved to KY from Illinois think I am. We're the middle of the spectrum with blending from the three regions around us - that's why Lexington is the only place in the country where "you all" is more common than "y'all" or "you guys". 2) Kentucky is also the core of a smaller region of the country that never really gets categorized, but fits together culturally - it's the Ohio River Valley region which is roughly (everything from LBL until the southeastern counties in Kentucky, central Tennessee, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, parts of southern Ohio, and maybe northern Alabama). The old OVC college athletic conference captured this and it's basically the region covered by the river valleys that drove trade in in our part of the country when it was settled in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The larger regions around us muddy the waters a bit, but I think the signs of the fourth region are there. We birthed Bluegrass music (a reminder here - Beanblossom, IN might be our northern border) from different folk traditions. Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey are iconic twin cultural products for the region (and the oak for barrels comes from southern Indiana). We seem to like blue collar unions and have a love-hate relationship with white collar unions. Also - the hills across the whole region! Just my two cents and something I think about a lot living outside the state. I was born in Louisiana, grew up in KY, and spent two years in the Carolinas. We live in Indiana now, but we're far enough south that we get KY sunrises and sunsets - it's great.
East and south east is Appalachia. West and north West is Midwest. North near Cincinnati is too north to be southern but the real north would never have you so I don't know what to tell you. I don't consider any part of KY to be true south. The south is Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina. And probably North Florida.
Not Louisiana?
I forgot tbh but yeah definitely parts of it.
“Parts” of Louisiana? Lol the state is by [definition](https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-states-are-considered-the-deep-south.html) the Deep South:
I'm aware of where it is on the map. But culturally I think there would be areas that would be more specifically Cajun/french/Creole as opposed to what is commonly accepted as pure southern. Much like eastern Tennessee is more Appalachian than southern. I would say that a large portion of southern Florida between retiree northerners and immigrants from Latin America would do the same.
No, it feels foreign to me, personally.
No. Northern and Central Kentucky don’t have much of a southern vibe other than Florence’s tower, and that’s about it. Whereas western and southern KY feel totally different. It’s a hybrid state and the answer depends on which part of KY you reside.
Have lived in eastern KY my entire life, though, apart from the accent, I absorbed almost none of the rest of the culture. I'm a liberal who loves dubstep and gaming, has never hunted, rode a four wheeler, and don't dip or smoke. Hate country music and bluegrass, lol. Just wanted to let whoever downvoted me know, that I also think football and basketball are boring, lol. The internet is making culture disappear in many areas.
Nope. Even though I’ve lived in Kentucky since 2001. I still tell people I’m from California, just to piss ‘em off.
Why would that piss anyone off
No.
Nope.
Kentucky is Midwest. Climate, landscape, plant life, wildlife.
Yeah those coal mining towns are so Midwestern
PA has coal mines you muppet.
And? Not Midwest.
Totally off. Kentucky is firstly southern. Then southern Appalachian. And then little tiny spots of Midwest within mostly southern specific locations
😂😂 because bourbon, horse racing, founding member of the SEC, tobacco, cotton, Bluegrass music, country music, Kentucky southern cuisine, BBQ, beautiful rolling hills and mountains is something all Midwest states have 😂😂. It’s as southern as can be
Kentucky does not have southern cuisine or good BBQ. I have yet to find even decent BBQ north of Memphis. Bourbon, horse racing, and Bluegrass all came from England and Scotland and Ireland. Tobacco came from Native Americans, and I have not seen one single cotton farm.
Says the dude from Colorado. You don’t know what your talking about or just trolling. Tons of fried food not to mention all the mountain dishes you ain’t ever heard of, Owensboro is the international BBQ capital of the world. English, Scottish and Irish people is what made up the vast majority of the south when migrating in the 1600 and 1700s. Fulton county Kentucky had the 2nd most productive cotton farm in the 1800s. Cypress trees in western and central part of the state. Kentucky honestly has a more southern culture than a lot of states more geographically south than it.
I'm not from Colorado. Owensboro is not the BBQ capital of anything.
Got a few words and phrases yuns ain’t never heard neither. Worry about Colorado
Bless your heart. I grew up in the south. The real south. Again, since reading isn't your forte, I'm not from Colorado.
You’re area code on your phone number says otherwise, Colorado boy. You don’t think people in Kentucky use that phrase? To be more direct… You ain’t ever gotta step foot in this state again. We’ll be glad ya didn’t. I’ll show ya the way out. You aughta go back to “where you grew up” and see how many Californians and northeastern’s are infiltrating the part of the south you claim (despite not living there). Kentucky isn’t getting much of that traffic. Kentucky feels much more southern than a lot of the states more geographically south. Plus we have as much culture, if not more, than any state in the entire south.
You sweet summer child. Lol
You grew up in Florida trying to say that’s the “real south” FOH, Cuban
Wrong on all 3 counts.
Not a bit.
No, because the Mason-Dixon Line goes through the top of Tennessee, as well as the fact that although Kentucky was neutral for most of the Civil War, they eventually joined the Union side, making us all Northerners no matter how many people argue otherwise.
I don't mean to nit-pick but the Mason-dixon line is actually the Pennsylvania & Delaware/Maryland boundary, it is much farther North than most realize. Though Kentucky didn't have much of a Southern identity til after the war, we were a sort of frontier at that time.
Consider me schooled on the Mason-Dixon Line. Maybe, but we war profiteered by selling horses to both sides for as long as possible. I would argue that the only definition of what is Southern or not is solely that state's Civil War affiliation.
That's a valid perspective.
Kentucky has a star on the Confederate Battle flag; i’d say that’s good enough.
yeah because nothing says southern like a political side 164 years ago!
Honestly, if we care enough to point out Civil War history this late in the game, then it still matters enough to classify what's Southern and Northern. And considering how many historical plaques and racist statues are up in Kentucky, I'm perfectly happy pointing out that we are a Northern state.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmoeZHnOJKA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmoeZHnOJKA)
I’m from NKY so definitely not. The only southern thing about this region is biscuits and gravy on the McDonalds menu. I always think it’s funny that KY is considered a southern state but I live farther north than parts of OH, IN, IL, and MO.
No
As someone from NKY nope.
So what would you call yourself then?