queerenbian:

copperbadge:

rsfcommonplace:

mapsontheweb:

US divided by cultural identity.

I can see some room for argument.  In fact, I can see a lot of room for argument.  Grew up in Denver and if pushed, would probably say Mountain States (even though Denver itself is the Queen City of the Plains.)  But Boston, for all that it’s New England, sure as heck isn’t Maine when it comes to cultural identity.

@copperbadge  So is Austin not exactly Texas?

I would agree with that, with some caveats – Austin is much more liberal than most of Texas, and I would say at least somewhat more liberal than even most of the other big cities in the state. As Molly Ivins said, it’s the small blue dot in the big red state.

That said, Austin is the capital of the state, so a lot of real bullshit gets passed into law here. And “more liberal than the rest of Texas” is a low bar to pass, so I wouldn’t treat that as a recommendation of any kind – you can’t go to Austin and get the kind of culture, politically, you’d get in, say, a big coastal city, or even Chicago. That’s not a slam on Austin, I’m just pretty cautious when I say “Austin isn’t like the rest of Texas” because it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still heavily influenced by the state surrounding it. 

i feel like…. AR isnt midwest at all? it’s very culturally southern

Why doesn’t “Northeastern Highlands” include Vermont? Or maybe, since Boston and Maine aren’t culturally identical, Vermont, Maine, and part of New Hampshire should be grouped into a separate region labeled “Lumberjacks.”