Who can we really call the heart of the Southeast?

[EastSideResider]

**I didn't include Miami because I don't really consider that the "true" southeast. All Texas cities barely make the cut. That's your decision.

[qwertycc]

I'm a recent member, but I have looked through several of the "which city/state is better", "which city/road is most important to the south", etc. discussions. They all seem the same--people generally will vote for the city they are from or nearest to. Atlanta and Charlotte will likely be the top vote-getters since they are best represented in this subforum. However, looking at the South as a whole, those 2 cities have relatively little impact on Arkansas, Mississippi, central and southern Florida, western Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Texas--in other words a large portion of the South (even if you exclude Texas and Oklahoma and probably Maryland). And the impact of those 2 cities dissipates quickly across parts of Alabama, Tennessee, extreme Southern Georgia, and northern Florida & the panhandle. Why? Because you start to creep into the other listed cities' regional territories.

Each of the cities listed on the poll are very important to their own area and in turn, important to the Southeast. But not one of them is large enough (or so much larger than the others) or central enough or even so much more of an economic powerhouse (like NYC to the Northeast or the entire country for that matter) that the other cities listed and the rest of the South rely substantially more on a single city.

Of course, this is all my personal opinion, and probably not worth the laptop it was typed on.

[EastSideResider]

I agree... mostly. I think that Atlanta has always been thought of as the "heart" of the south. So others will probably vote for that. And for an economic powerhouse, Charlotte is the second biggest banking center in America. Nashville is home to country music (which I don't really care, but somebody probably does). Washington D.C. is self-explanatory. But I understand how there isn't one huge city that really affects the others. I'll make a note:

**Please don't be biased towards the city closest to you***

[NcSc74]

Im no geography wiz but if you include south florida and most of texas then Birmingham would be geograghically in the middle, sort of. Plus it has long roots that extend back to its heydays with southern charm that many people expect. Plus its in Alabama. If that doesn't scream the heart of dixie I don't know what does. Or mabye I just wanted to give the HAM some love.

[RiversideGator]

Birmingham, Alabama, Heart Of Dixie

[alon504]

Birmingham--no doubts

[Mobuchu]

Depends on how you use the word.

The HEART of the south to me would be Charleston, Savannah, or mayyybe New Orleans.....

[StevenRocks]

Atlanta is the best reflection of what the South has become. Savannah is more like the romantic ideal of the South.

[CSP]

I would call Atlanta the heart of the south regarding it being the "unofficial Capital of the South"

[bobliocatt]

i'll go with Birmingham.

[teshadoh]

I think between Birmingham & Atlanta that would be a good pick. Both bridge the three major cultural areas of the southeast - 'dixie', 'south atlantic', & 'south appalachia'.

How about a comprimise & say Anniston, AL is the heart of the southeast

[Jaylon]

Birmingham, AL

[A2]

I was born and raised in Birmingham and it was always considered the "Heart of Dixie" when I lived there. Plus the AL state tag used to carry that logo for the longest. Many SE states also recognized the AL as the "Heart of Dixie". I did not vote B'Ham, but believe I should have. If you look at a map you can see that B'Ham is the Bullseye in the SE. It is centraly located, and at one time was one of the largest cities in the South. INCLUDING ATLANTA. However, somewhere after the turn of the century, especially after the Great Depression Atlanta emerged as an "up and coming" city and Birmingham lost its designation as one of the leading cities in the South. As a mattter of fact B'Ham started to even go Backwards in the 50's and 60's. They lost tremendous population to surrounding counties and suburbs and steel production was no longer as important. During the IR, Birmingham was considered the Pittsburg of the south and many came to profit. Many of the tallest and most beuatiful structures of architecture are still in downtown B'ham and serve as a reminder to the boomtown it one was. The nickname, The Magic City was chosen as many said that it seemed like magic how a city could grow and prosper so fast. The city population expolded and construction ran wild. In many ways B'Ham has the characteristics of many Northern towns and cities (ie street grids).

Unfortunately, Now days the manufactoring economy takes a back seat to the service economy we now live in. It is truly sad that our dependence is now overseas for manufactoring.

Birmingham is not the only ones that lose out, but other cities like Charlotte lose. Charlotte's loss of being a textile king hurt thousands. The loss of jobs is staggering because of outsourcing overseas. Anywho, if I could change my vote I would.

A2

[ilektronik]

why is Baltimore on that list?

[RiverwoodCLT]

Birmingham, AL

The heart of the OLD DIXIE

Who is the heart of the New Dixie, maybe Atlanta

[A2]

Birmingham, AL

The heart of the OLD DIXIE

Who is the heart of the New Dixie,  maybe Atlanta

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Atlanta. For geographic location, plus they house the most Fortune 500 HQ's in the SE. (not including Houston). I still say that B'ham has some significance in its location. B'ham would be the literal Heart of Dixie and the SE. Atlanta is the figurative Heart because of its corporate diversity and Regional economic clout. The second cities to share in some of the fame would be Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh, and Memphis for reasons I think we would all agree too. JMHO. Jacksonville would also be an improtant city due to its location in the extreme corner of the SE, and its presence in being a southern city more so than Tampa, Orlando, or Miaimi. I am not inluding them as SE cities, because they just don't seem southern.

A2

[willacoochee]

True southern living would be in Willacoochee, GA. Little city, country living, and everybody knows everybody and your business!!

WILLACOOCHEE

[NCB]

Definitely Birmingham,AL

[goodbye]

Unquestionably Atlanta!

[ironchapman]

Either Bham, for tradition, or Atlanta, for business and location.

[Aporkalypse]

Culturally and geographically, Birmingham.

Atlanta has lost some of its Southern-ness because it has become a large, cosmopolitan city while Birmingham really hasn't.

[Florida]

My natural answer would be Tallahassee! But giving it much more thought, I think I'd choose Atlanta as the heartbeat of the South. It deserves that title.

[I-275westcoastflorida]

How the hell is Washington DC considered "true southeast" Anyway i dont consider any major southeast city "true" anymore due to the fact people move to the south more than anyother part of the country due to cheaper prices. Majority of Californians in the southeast move to florida and texas because california's house prices are so big they can afford great housing in this area. But the south is diverse now the best way to tell what the most southern city of a few states would be alot easier to determine. But as far as i would think it would be Birmingham, AL and Memphis and maybe parts of Atlanta i would say the most likely are "true".

[ATLBrain]

'hammy Alabammy, home of the SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE.

[depechecureguyorl]

Uhh...DC and Baltimore are on this list, but Miami is left out because it's not in the "true" southeast??? Some of the people in this "Southern USA" forum need to go back to school and take a Geography class. Then they'll see that Miami is a Southeastern US city. Oh, and if you're talking about "true south" as Dixieland, rebel yell, land of cotton, and all that jazz, then take a History class too and you'll also learn that era is "Gone with the Wind".