re: Does anyone really have "Southern Pride"?

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sure, they exist, but to the degree of those in south? not even close

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Dude, some part of Eastern Ohio look like Mississippi with mountains.

Born and raised in Louisiana here.

I've traveled all over the country and now live in Alabama and being from Louisiana is a great conversation piece I have. People love talking about Louisiana, the food, the culture etc. I've prideful of being from Louisiana and being Southern, but being form Louisiana is higher up to me, mostly because I learned to cook so damn good.

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You can't go anywhere else in this world and find a place like Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama.

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maybe New Orleans?

there are plenty of poverty places in the midwest and the midlands similar to Miss and Alabama - those places are everywhere.

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there are plenty of poverty places in the midwest and the midlands similar to Miss and Alabama - those places are everywhere.

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No

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The rest of the country is pretty much identical as far as culture goes with the exception of California

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Now that, I disagree with, and I say that having lived all over the country. Not that the South isn't pretty different, but the Midwest is awfully different from the West Coast and from the Bos-Wash corridor.

The Mountain West is actually pretty close to the South culturally in a lot of ways. There are large parts of California, Washington, and Oregon that are much closer to the South than they are to their own fellow statesmen. A place like St. Louis or Indianapolis is way, way different than Boston or DC.

Boston is the only US city outside of the South I've visited that felt like it had it's own identity and embraced it. Everywhere else was just like "whatever" about their city's history.

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"Thank God I'm not from (insert state)"

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It's not the south but my answer would be Ohio. I can't find any redeeming qualities about Ohio.

But you're right but I also think it's mainly good natured ribbing.

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There's no other place in the country that's similar to New Orleans or Lafayette and the surrounding regions

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i agree.

there are only a few unique places in the country and New Orleans is def one of them.

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Boston is the only US city outside of the South I've visited that felt like it had it's own identity and embraced it. Everywhere else was just like "whatever" about their city's history.

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I would argue that older, more historically important cities with deeper reservoirs of culture and identity in general are more likely to have a strong identity and embrace it. They've probably had an outsized influence on Americana than their size warrants.

Pittsburgh
Baltimore
St. Louis
Milwaukee
San Francisco (though becoming less so)
Boston
New Orleans
Charleston
Memphis
Philadelphia (my experience has been that they have enormous civic pride)

Portland doesn't quite meet that criteria, but they absolutely have a hell of an identity and go out of their way to embrace it.

It's probably not an accident, either, that a lot of those aforementioned cities tend to have absolutely fanatical sports fans compared to their peers which lack the same kind of identity. Places like Atlanta or Charlotte (and Nashville is becoming this way) have more in common with Phoenix and San Diego in that way.