Ah, the age-old question. Well, at least for some of us. After spending a year in Ohio for college as a Kentuckian, I have become much more interested in people's thoughts on this question. When I introduced myself as a Kentucky native in Ohio, more people than not responded with something along the lines of "Wow, you're from the South!" To be honest, I had never really considered myself to be from the South, or at least not the Deep South. Not to mention, Kentucky shares a state line with Ohio.
Interestingly enough, when I ran into a high school friend shortly after returning to Kentucky for the summer, she recounted her experience as one completely opposite from mine. She attended school in Alabama, and when she introduced herself as a Kentuckian, she was labeled as a Northerner. So then, what is the truth? Is Kentucky in the South?
Officially speaking, the answer is yes since Kentucky is below the Mason-Dixon line. But if we are going off official answers, we must also remember that Kentucky was a border state in the Civil War and never actually seceded from the Union. Can there be such a thing as an official answer? Some things are best left up to interpretation.
Kentucky has plenty of elements of Southern living. Historical architecture with long porches and hanging ferns, Kentucky Fried Chicken, rolling hills, sweet tea, Southern drawls, expansive horse farms, country music, whiskey and bourbon (and related distillery tours) and the extravagant Kentucky Derby all make up its DNA.
However, not everyone has a Southern accent, you can order unsweet tea most anywhere, and the high society hat-wearing and horse-watching is not an everyday affair.
Hmmm, we seem to be right back where we started.
A more fascinating question then becomes: what defines the South? Is it merely tradition and charm? How much of a state like Florida, geographically located in the South and hotter than a furnace, would you consider to be a 'Southern establishment?'
When my family vacations up North, or even while I am away at college, I recall Kentucky with fond Southern lenses. When we head down South, I am ready to return to a less-direct Southern lifestyle by the end of the experience.
Perhaps, then, Kentucky gets the best of both worlds. My old Kentucky home has all the Southern charm and a little something more. Dust off those Derby hats, y'all, because we Kentuckians are already counting down to next year.
