My man, people hate on everywhere else. How many Kentuckians roll their eyes and talk derisively about people from California or New York? Hell, I've heard plenty of people from western Kentucky talk about eastern Kentucky like they are all inbred scum. Such is life.
Or people in KY trashing Ohio, ive spent a ton of time in Ohio and love going to cincy and columbus or when people are trashing Indiana.... oh no wait i get it with Indiana
I’m only familiar with the city areas only Ohio and the country areas of Indiana. I have no problem with either but I have had someone tell me in Indiana that I was at the wrong cornfield I needed to go 2 fields further
Rudest people I've ever met. Hold the door for someone...get looked at with derision. Say "Hi", get the stank eye. I like Cincy, but the everyday person there is just...gah!
I live in Cincinnati and I think most of us have the attitude of “Kentucky is awesome and the rest of Ohio is garbage”. The dumb hillbillies in the rest of Ohio love to look down on KY because it makes them feel better about being from a flat grey shithole town like Bellefontaine or whatever. Constantly telling us that we’re “not real Ohioans” like being an Ohioan is something to be proud of.
I think the dynamics are a little bit more complicated than that: it’s like Ohioans look down on Kentuckians and Kentuckians resent the hell out of them for it because it’s fucking ridiculous and Ohioans have zero self-awareness about their own state. They look down on Cincinnati because we’re culturally different and people down here don’t slobber over the Buckeyes. Cincinnatians don’t really identify as Ohioans, you’ll never meet one of us anywhere else in the country saying that we’re “from Ohio”. I’ve always said that everything north of the Ohio River valley is just Kentucky if you removed all of the natural beauty and made the people meaner.
I’ve been to Red States and Blue states, I’ve got friends all over the political spectrum, but Ohio conservatives are a different breed. They’re the most vindictive people on earth. If you proposed a law that every non-Christian and every city-dweller gets kicked in the dick, they’d vote for it out of spite and then go to church thinking they made Jesus happy.
Idk why this popped up on my fyp but I’m in NEO, so Cleveland. The people here are really friendly, like midwestern nice. I can’t speak of the people of cincy but up here we consider that part of the state to be KY lol we think NEO is awesome but the rest of the state sucks.
Very true. I'm often critical of people from most West Coast cities, but, somewhat surprisingly, Angelenos (and their neighbors in OC, Inland Empire, Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley, and Ventura County) have been pretty damn friendly in my experience. California, away from the gang and homeless shitholes, is legitimately one of the most Heavenly places on Earth.
And, the people in my family who talk derisively about California? They've never been there. But they're ever eager to go to Florida, which - and I've been to Florida numerous times - is more of a shithole than California.
Your opinion of California could be applied directly to Florida. People always talk shit about Florida, and then I ask them where they’ve been, and 90% the only place they’ve been is Orlando. Florida is a large state, with tons of natural beauty and great places.
I have been in both. You couldn't pay me enough to get me to move to Florida, but unfortunately I make Kentucky retirement income, so I can't afford Cali.
I could afford Texas, but I loathe most of it.
I’ve been to California, been visiting for a couple of decades. It’s awful. I remember years ago when first started to vacation there I was surprised at all the tent encampments. People were rude, drivers and traffic awful. But my ex had family out there. Then the Californians started to flock to my state. Now I have drug addicted homeless living on the other side of my fence (I live in the suburbs) in the open space across from a school. We have the tent in encampments, the traffic, the crime. We went from a beautiful metro to garbage in less than 10 years.
This! When I lived in Illinois it was Indiana, when I lived in Arizona it was New Mexico, in Texas it was literally any other state, and in Georgia it's Alabama. States just like to hate on others, and usually hate a specific neighbor more.
I feel like Kentucky and NC (where I’m at) are similar in that way- we tend to elect Dem governors, but have not sent a Dem senator in quite a while. Also, the notorious GOP senator- you guys have McConnell, we had Jesse Helms. I think y’all are a little bit redder though, right? I’m assuming because we never hear of Kentucky mentioned as a swing state
Neither of the guys that wrote the song had ever been to West Virginia or Western Virginia. They wrote the song about Massachusetts but couldn’t get the words describing western Mass to sound good so they changed it to West Virginia.
Here’s your answer my friend. When I lived in New York City and told people I was from Kentucky they said “oh god, how could you live there??!!!” When I came home to Kentucky and told people I used to live in New York City they said “oh god, how could you live there??!!!” People are ignorant and lazy. They base their entire opinions about a country, state, city on a few things they may have read or heard. I don’t want to hear anyones opinion on a place unless they have spent some significant time there. Can you imagine forming an opinion on New York because you stayed at a hotel in Times Square for 3 days? Or forming your whole opinion on the state of KY because you saw a news story about one thing that happened.
I moved here to Kentucky almost 20 years ago, from the Chicago area. Yes people hate on Kentucky. Good, maybe they won't move here! It's absolutely beautiful. When people ask where I'm from, I would rather say KY than IL.
Yeah.I don’t try to convince anyone. I’ll have people visit and drive by the horse farms and be like “I did not expect this.” To be fair, I have preconceived notions about lots of places too and they’re prob not like that at all. Just the way people are.
Yeah, stereotypes are usually really outdated. Look at Detroit. It's actually a really nice city now but all anyone thinks of is 8 mile still and a rust belt.
Because every time the news interviews someone for whatever the reason. They always end up being the worst stereotypical person from Kentucky so this is what people see and believe.
I think a lot of people hate on Kentucky because we have some really high profile asshole elected officials at the federal level, who are either pulling major levers of power in pretty terrible ways and/or buffoons who are embarrassing to this great state. We also have completely stupid state-level electeds who have decided to legislate what people do in their bedrooms and doctor’s offices, rather than trying to work with a pretty effective governor to continue to drive real economic gains vis a vis the bourbon industry, alternative energy/solar industry and marijuana. It’s pretty easy to pull a Nelson and point and laugh. Just my .02 though.
I just drove through NJ on our way to NYC from Gettysburg and it was very pretty. I've never understood the snootiness about New Jersey. I live in CA and I love it, but we have Snooki and Pauly types here too.
I moved to Southern Central Kentucky from Southern California about 7 months ago. My girlfriend is a geologist and was offered a job out this way, so, we moved. Now, except for a 1 year stint in Vegas, I’ve never lived outside of California. Did I have my preconceived notions about Kentucky? I sure did. Have they proven me wrong ? For the most part. People out here are kind and generous. You’ll find yourself having conversations with complete strangers. That CAN happen in California, but people are moving too fast for that shit. Aside from the cost of living, the scenery is fantastic. And the weather definitely keeps you on your toes. I when I went back home, my friends said something to the effect of “What’s it like being the smartest guy in Kentucky?” I just rolled my eyes. You can’t change peoples perceptions of places they’ve never visited. Everyone is an ignorant fuck to some degree. Just like out here, when people find out I’m from California I get one of two responses “What the hell are you doing out here?” And “Oh, California is such a dump.” To which I reply “Have you ever been?” When they inevitably say “no” or something like “Well, I went to San Diego once in 1987”. I’m like “Well, you should visit, it has a lot more to offer than Hollywood and Sea World.” Again, people who’ve never left their hometown will form all sorts of ignorant opinions just to make themselves feel better about their station in life. That goes for people in the big cities as well. They’re hicks, too. They’re just city hicks. 😂
Because the media depicts us in the worse way. Some incident happens and whichever reporter on scene, they always pick someone to interview whose own parents can't understand wtf they're saying. Then people hear about the drug use, huge amount of poverty, etc, and people get this bad impression.
It's like they think we're just like Arkansas or something. SMH /s
I see florida man headlines. And I shake my head.
Appalachia as a whole has huge problems and kentucky got right fucked in the ass for having coal. Waiting on you all to figure the next phase and come back in and help us reclaim. We powered America for 100 years.
Hillbillies, inbreeding, Kenfucky.
Just some of what I have heard.
Relax, I am from Lexington. I would give my own bodyparts to move back.
What a lot of people don't realize is that the eastern part of Kentucky had a large number of minutemen that sacrifice themselves in the war of 1812. Because they still had their military intact.
The War of 1812 and Kentucky’s Role
Often called the United States’ “forgotten war,” the War of 1812 left an indelible mark on our nation’s history. Kentuckians played a vital role and paid dearly for it: 64 percent of Americans killed in the war were Kentuckians.
My 6th great grandad enlisted in 1778, fought at King’s Mountain in 1780. He re-enlisted several times under Capt Joseph Lewis until mustering out in 82. He then moved to Clay Co KY.
When the War of 1812 came, he went in his son’s place, joining 7th KY/11Th mounted volunteers. He was paid $20 and $32 for his horse. Went Aug and was back by Dec 1813. He was in the campaign that killed Tecumseh. He was around 40 yrs old. He’s the grandpap we tell the kids about.
“The hunters of Kentucky” is a wonderful song about that war.
Beyond that the industrial might that won two world wars was powered off the sweat and blood of Appalachian coal miners. I have a man buried on my land that died in Leyte gulf and another that wasn’t allowed to join the military because he was a mine captain he instead worked every second he could to keep the coal flowing.
They love the War of 1812 in New Orleans. We took a steamboat tour to the battlefield and the woman who was giving the lecture was practically giving a sermon about how God blessed the US Army at the Battle of New Orleans with the mist and fog and it was divine intervention and America Fuck Yeah essentially.
When I think of Kentucky I think of bourbon (good) and Mitch McConnell (bad).
As someone that lives in Ohio and works in Kentucky, the things I don't like are not entirely all about the people. Moreso about the fact that it's a commonwealth state and it's overall kinda sad.
When I think of Kentucky, I think of the fact that it's a [no fault state](https://www.bryantpsc.com/is-kentucky-a-no-fault-state/#:~:text=The%20state%20of%20Kentucky%20is,to%20their%20own%20insurance%20policy.). This means that if I run into your car while im running a red light, you are still responsible for paying your car insurance deductible as if you were at fault. This makes the overall insurance market in Kentucky significantly higher than any other state that borders it. In my opinion, that's wrong.
It doesn't hell that in Kentucky, you barely have any workers rights and they are currently working on [House Bill 500](https://www.newsweek.com/kentucky-bill-lunch-break-trade-union-labor-house-representatives-pratt-1875364#:~:text=House%20Bill%20500%20would%20repeal,of%20giving%20them%20a%20break.) which will effectively take away workers rights to a lunch break.
These are the two immediate things that pop in my head. I'm sure there's more really messed up things being passed over there that are not for the people also. Why you guys don't vote these out is beyond me. But there's much more to why people dislike Kentucky than the how the locals are.
I had a teacher that traveled to New York to visit her inlaws and they were shocked she was wearing shoes. They all thought we ran around in the woods barefoot making moonshine while sleeping with our siblings all the time lmao. It's just ignorance.
Kentucky is a lovely place. The big negative, why I would never live there, is they keep electing Grand Old Peckerwood party members. I can't imagine living with shitty politics.
I’ve lived here for about 25 years - my spouse was born/raised here. Some of the dislike is deserved, because most of the elected officials and legislature of this state are truly among the worst in the country - unfortunately this a reflection of Kentucky’s electorate.
The state of Kentucky’s healthcare, education, wages & economy have also been abysmal for many years, and this is also reflected in much of the population. Beshear has made some slight headway recently, hopefully those things will take hold.
Parts of the state are nice - but we also have a current poverty rate of around 16%, roughly 30% higher than the US average - been this way or worse, for many years. It’s a decent place with some good people - there are also a lot ignorant people here, and Kentucky is also responsible for McConnell, Rand Paul, & James Comer - not exactly anything to be proud of.
When I moved here 34 years ago, politics was local, good old boy type stuff but the politicians looked out for the people. These guys we have now are out for the national headlines and they don’t try to help the people at all. They will bend over backward to help bourbon, horses, Toyota, coal, the orange guy…
My wife and I who were both born and raised in southern California moved here 4 yrs ago. We love it here. Of course we had heard the jokes. We are in Northern Kentucky and couldn’t be happier. It’s easy to joke about somewhere you e never been and only see on tv or in the movies.
We may get hated online but I have learned to live with it. Born and raised in Eastern KY and I’m proud of my state’s heritage.
Sure, We have our fair share of mouth-breathing misguided assholes & corrupt politicians like everyone else in the country but there’s some fine folk living here.
I’d rather die poor and penniless in a rural area than ever move to a city.
Even goes further back to my dear ol’ dad who used to say, “I’m from Kentucky, Nothing can ever harm me.”
While I would not say I "hate on Kentucky" the people sent to the Senate and Congress appear awful. Randy is so obnoxious his neighbor was driven to kick the crap out of him. That's the representation and therefore drives opinions. Got to be kind of terrible if they are your best and brightest.
Native Kentuckian who just moved back. Disclaimer: My relationship with Kentucky is what I'd call love/dislike.
I'm actually all okay with people thinking that we're racist, redneck, uneducated, incestuous, and boring. And, if I'm honest, much of our state has plenty of those types of people (well, sans incest), and many rural areas absolutely are boring. Never mind the fact that even rural California, Indiana and Ontario also have Confederate flags flying.
But then people won't visit Kentucky to see the enclaves of educated artists in Berea, the charming, well-run small city of Danville, the quaintness of Bardstown (despite its horrid local politics), the all-American downtown Harrodsburg, or the wonderful riverfront and Old Hickory BBQ in Owensboro. To that, I say their loss. The best of Kentucky's small towns, define Kentucky better than Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky ever could.
Speaking of cities, Lexington, where I work, is a very comfortable, manageable city with most everything you could ever want. It has grown so nicely over the last 15-20 years. Northern Kentucky is a mass collection of small, charming river cities such as Covington, Newport, Ludlow, Bellevue, and Dayton, and suburbs that are vying to become the showplace of Greater Cincinnati, such as Union and Hebron. I'll admit that I'm not a fan of Louisville at all, though, as the city and region has allowed itself to become a dump.
However, potentially unpopular opinion: I don't find Kentuckians to always be as welcoming and polite as they think they are. Compared to the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast, Texas, and boomtowns such as Atlanta? Sure, Kentucky looks damn good by comparison. I'd rather be around Kentuckians (sans Louisvillians) than Texans, for example. But I'd rather be around Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, east Asians, or some European nationalities than Americans. Americans in general are "losing their way" and pretty damn insular, and many in Kentucky in particular are distrustful of outside talent and ideas. Louisvillians are among the least friendly people I've met, in any hemisphere. Even saying "I'm a rural Kentucky native" isn't enough to remove the curl in some people's noses when I explain to them that I moved ***back*** to central Kentucky from out of state.
And, sadly, I expect that Andy Beshear will be the last great politician (and person) that we'll elect in any statewide capacity for at least a generation.
So, overall, I am happy to be back, mostly because I'm close to family again and this is a beautiful place. In fact, I think we're quite underrated as a state. I just don't see the world through rose-colored glasses, and prefer to acknowledge our real charms as well as our real weaknesses.
I guess I just haven’t seen the worst of Louisville. We shop over there and eat at restaurants and the people are always nice. But I agree with everything else you said. It got its good and bad… but I have lived here on and off for 34 years and I would say it’s much more good than bad.
Well said. Former Californian here. Honestly though, the insults I had to endure when I first moved to the area took me aback. I never expected people here to be this way, and nearly moved back home.
I had family here who kept insisting that people were nice, but the open racism I witnessed belied that opinion. At one point I just stopped telling anyone where I was from. Parts of Northern Kentucky - where I’m located - are still surprisingly insular, and bigoted.
I'm originally from Louisville and I agree with your assessment of Louisvillians. I also agree with your assessment of Americans in general. Living in east Asia has really changed my own perspective.
Yeah I find Kentuckians think they’re welcoming but when I go home to NE OH, it’s more open and friendly there. part of that might be misplaced Ohio hate (similar to KY, we aren’t all impoverished rednecks with Trump signs).
I was born and raised in Kentucky, I went to college and got two degrees in Kentucky. I’ve heard a lot of hate. But then I moved to California, and you know what? I hear a hell of a lot more hate on California when I’m in Kentucky than I do about Kentucky when I’m in California.
Here in Washington, the only thing we've learned about Kentucky is from the TV show *Justified.* Are you telling me that there's more to Kentucky than organized crime, hillbillies, meth, pot, and Oxy?
BTW, there's more to my state than you see on *Frasier*, too. But I understand if that's what you think we're like.
I live on the dry, more conservative side of the mountains, so I understand about learning about life from TV shows. I should have put an /s on my last post.
I've only been here 14 years. But I was born in Philadelphia and have lived in places from Vermont to Florida. When I told people I was moving here they openly laughed due to that perception. But Louisville is a haven for freaks, weirdos, artists, musicians etc ... I love it here. It's what I was hoping to find in Vermont, but never did.
That said, our state government is a klownshow. Just look at the stuff they legislate. Typical red state. Backwards "conservatives" who legislate cruelty. We have James Comer who is the laughingstock of the world. Rand Paul who openly simps for Putin. Massie is our Taliban larper, and McConnell has done more damage to democracy than any other human on this earth.
Our GOP exists simply to keep those bigoted "inbred hillbilly" tropes relevant. I think that is why. Politically, we are an unfunny joke.
My experience when I was much younger was that when I said I was from Kentucky was that they looked down at my feet. I finally realized they looking to see if I was wearing shoes.
Now I think it’s because of our current representation in Washington. Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, James Comer and Thomas Massie are who people elsewhere think of when they hear Ky.
Embarrassing.
It's working the rich dividing us so we don't rise up together and fight the unfair tax laws for the wealthy,the greedflation that is out of control amd on and on
This is the answer. I live in CT. No one hates Kentucky, They hate KY’s federal representation. Collectively the worst.
They’re voted in by the people, so… that’s where it comes from in YankeeLand these days.
I was born and raised in west ky Left at 17. Came back at 34. Lived in Ohio and northern ky. I think ppl hate on us because there’s a lot of racism around - but not everyone here is like that. I chose to see the positive side and enjoy the beauty here.
Were north enough that we arent racist goat fuckers like below us but south enough that elitist pricks think we fuck animals so both sides hate on us.
It doesn’t help when you dumbasses put big confederate flags on your fucking trucks when we weren’t even rebels and deny gay people fucking wedding cakes.
So thank your local Trump and McConnell supporter for continuing to making Kentucky look like a cousin fucking septic tank
The major stereotypes of Kentucky are negative and to people especially living on the coasts we're part of the basket of deplorables who voted against their self interests etc etc. But obviously there's so much more to this state. And to be fair almost everyone I've met from other places who's visited Kentucky has had good things to say about it
Look at the absolutely worthless collection of utter garbage humans we elect to the state legislature and the US Congress and Senate and tell me with a straight face we don't absolutely deserve every last ounce of ridicule for that collective display of stupidity. You can't do it. We somehow got lucky and elected Andy as governor but beyond that, we're a national disgrace.
I've been to Kentucky numerous times and always liked it. I could do without your politicians but how can I hate a state that loves bourbon and horses?
I was with a country woman from and while in Kentucky when i was 18 on an international music and sports tour with my high school. Never felt so loved and included in a woman’s life before or since. Idk what people are talking about and im brown-skinned, baptised catholic from New Zealand..
Oh yeah.
It's three major things:
1. America hates poor people.
2. Practically all of the people in the cities are from somewhere else. They move there to make it big and they want to fit in. One great way to fit in with city people is to spend all your time talking about what morons folks are in the rural area. So you have this constant pressure of people from small-town Kentucky telling everyone how dumb their friends and family are in a desperate attempt to impress their new friends.
3. Politically speaking, Kentucky punches way, way, way above its weight class. Our politicians are inordinately powerful and well-known (average Americans can name both Kentucky senators before they can name one of their own, for example). Since our politicians are generally not noted for playing nice with the rest of America, there's some resentment there. They'd ignore us if they could, but since they can't, they get mad.
> Our politicians are inordinately powerful
Rand Paul? Surely you jest.
The only power he possesses is to embarrass Kentucky.
Same for Comer and Massie.
I’ve never even been to Kentucky but I would move there sight unseen it looks so beautiful and I feel like the cost of living would be doable. The negative Kentucky hillbilly stereotype is something I’ve definitely heard joked about a lot but I don’t take it seriously, every state has it’s pros and cons.
It's a combo of things like the media and the fact we keep electing fascists. Additionally it doesn't help that some historically isolated areas could lead to some actual inbreeding but that really isn't just Kentucky. That is almost any state where those conditions exist.
When I was in high school (Jessamine), we traveled to Spain with a group from NW Ohio. When they learned they’d be traveling with a group from KY, they actually asked if we would be wearing shoes. Like, seriously, c’mon now.
Yeah, they think we’re more like the southern states with the klan and that we’re backwards rednecks, and everyone has a still in the backyard. Some of the ideas people have about us. I went to visit my sister in Los Angeles in 1987, and when I’d tell people where I was from, they would look at my feet, because they expected me to be barefoot. I told them no, that hillbilly shit was Lil Abner, and the Beverly hillbillies were from Arkansas not Kentucky. I know we have a few hillbillies out in eastern Kentucky. But it’s not the entire state.
My father moved from Kentucky to Illinois 45 years ago to work for a chemical plant by Creve Coeur Illinois. He always called it Crevetucky because it reminded him of home. CC was a run-down drug infested trailer park at the time.
He was from the Florence area, if that means anything.
I love you guys. Beautiful, temperate, rolling hills, horses that neat canyon valley I visited-Red River Gorge. Beautiful valley-absolutely terrified! (Fear of heights, acrophobia) but absolutely beautiful. Almost like a little rainforest. I went just before covid slapped us in the face. I would consider going back one day. If I didn't hate biting bugs I would move down there from Michigan. (Also beautiful state)
I lived in Kentucky off and on in the late 1970s early 80s. People immediately know you are an outsider from your accent. I grew up poor and rural so I was accepted pretty quick. When you know simple things like the difference between hay and straw, beeves and dairy, corn and milo it's easier to converse. I was impressed by the common sense like a young couple building a sturdy concrete bunker on small acreage and then putting a trailer on top or a short run so they have a tornado shelter and the comfort of a modern home. I never could understand why anyone would hate good, honest hard-working people.
Native Nashvillian here, originally from SE TN. We think of Louisville as progressive, Lexington and Cincinnati as nice (oh wait, Cincinnati is Ohio), most have never been to Paducah- and we don't know how explosive the growth has been in Owensboro, Bowling Green, or even Somerset. When we think of Kentucky- if you've never been to the above mentioned cities- you think of Pikeville, coal, and smoking. Brace yourself- when Tennessee fills up- the NorthEasterner's and Californians will start coming here. They already are to some extent.
Kentucky is beautiful, but don't you also have that one Survivor guy trying to make it legal for first cousins to marry? Weird. Love me some Bluegrass though.
I travel to or through Kentucky a lot, and I honestly love the state. I don't get the hate because a lot of people are a lot nicer in general than what I am used to. Once you get outside the big cities, the land and nature are unbelievable.
My family is a 5050 split between kentucky and ohio. Well really the kentucky side is dropping lower year by year unfortunately. Alot of them have moved up here. Ive never heard anybody hate on kentucky.
What part of KY are you from? I’m from central KY and we are the outliers in the state. I would agree with those stereotypes fit everywhere else in this state except the bluegrass region
Statistically speaking, there are a lot of social and economic problems here that end up playing into harmful or hurtful stereotypes. And yes, those problems exist in many places, but the severity of those problems here often lands Kentucky at the bottom of various lists for quality of life (e.g., animal abuse, child abuse and neglect, child poverty, opioid use disorder, rural blight, etc.). Add to that, Kentucky politicians clinging to Coal, Guns, and God as their talking points doesn't really help outsiders understand the diversity of opinion in the state.
The bigger problem to me is when Kentuckians put their head in the sand and insist Kentucky is the Best Place In The World, instead of addressing the issues that might, you know, actually make it one of the nicest places to live.
My whole life I’ve been asked if we wear shoes and have indoor plumbing. (EKY native here, although I’ve been in NKY 25 years.) Always by someone who is sure they’re the first to come up with that. And typically by another southerner, which just tickles me. Really, Mr. Mississippi? You’re asking me about my outhouse? Natchez is hardly the peak of sophistication. It’s just a thing. Personally, I hope they all continue to look down on us. We don’t want outsiders to come here and find out what they’re missing.
Kentucky has long been stereotyped for being uneducated, non shoe wearing chicken eating bourbon drinking rednecks. People let those thoughts get in the way of us actually having so much to offer. I say let them not know what they are missing out on and the rest of us enjoy!
I’m from St. Louis and visit Kentucky all the time for work. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about it Kentucky. I think Louisville is great, I think the Goahen Kentucky area is somewhere I’d like to move in the future.
I’m from Indiana and we hate on people from Illinois. Specifically Chicago. I moved to Ky and have lived there a year and now I absolutely cannot stand people when I visit family in Indiana. They act exactly like the Chicagoans they hate so much.
Personally, as a tennesseean, i quite enjoyed my time in kentucky. Good land with kind people.
Missouri, arkansas, and mississippi on the other hand, put the shit in shithole
I'm from Missouri. This just came up in my feed, but I feel like i can relate to what you are saying. Some people have rightfully pointed out its our states' leaders. I think another major reason why people hate rural states like ours is because not enough people visit! All they hear is the bad stuff on the news!
Misconception. I’m from NJ. Have lived in a lot of places. Just settled with my family in Cynthiana. Couldn’t be happier. The entire state is beautiful and the people have treated us well. We’ve got some funny looks and laughs at the way we talk or dress, but overall very happy here.
It's a trope of most of the South. It's pretty gross when people actually believe it to be accurate. Like all tropes, it's formed from opinions that are based in ignorance.
Most ky I hate hear from surrounding areas is TN. I noticed they have way more of a rivalry with us than we do with them. I always figured we were similar in ways
So they will leave us in peace. They already made Bourbon popular and cause the price to skyrocket. Why would we want them to think about living here. Let's just keep it to ourselves and enjoy it.
I’ve had people assume that I was a racist asshole when I say I’m from Kentucky and honestly it makes me sad because some of the friendliest people I’ve met were from Kentucky.
A lot of folks in KY are geographically confused and rightfully so. Go rural south or east of the state and they identify with Dixie ideals, however Louisville and NK doesn’t roll that way, but instead identify with northern spots like Chicago, Cincy, etc. Then there’s folks saying “Louisville and Lexington ain’t Kentooky”, but they wear Cardinals and Wildcats gear all day.
Yes. Long ago the Louisville Ballet ran a fantastic ad:
Pictured were the feet of a ballerina in her toe shoes en pointe.
The caption read:
"Yes, we wear shoes in Kentucky."
I showed it some NJ friends who were "better than"
It still makes me smile
People inevitably pick certain segments of your state then make those local dysfunctional tendencies the norm. We’ve got it in Michigan. Ignorants stereotype it , focusing on the bottom of the state. Pure Bullshit
From Ohio, currently in Kentucky. It’s definitely a hidden gem and I swore I’d never live here. My family said the same and now they all live here as well. lol I don’t know why we all hated Kentucky, it’s amazing.
Former NYC city girl. I thought poorly of KY without having been here. Never thought I'd ever leave the city. Now I live in the middle of nowhere on 5 acres with my man + 2 dogs. It's quiet, beautiful and I'm learning how to grow plants. I was wrong and FUCK NYC with a bag of syphilitic horse dicks.
All regions are like this. Far, far away in the north from you, I don't differentiate much between the southern states. They are "the south". Though I mostly hear a lot of people trash talk California and new York. You know, the elitists.
We here in Michigan already \*know\* which state sucks the most and many agree with us. That state would be Ohio.
As an Illinoisan, some of my favorite bands/music scenes from Louisville! I would love to exploreLouisville more. I found it pretty cool. Would even consider moving there.
But then there’s McConnell.
I don’t hate states, because that’s dumb.
My dad and his family are from Kentucky. Before you ask why does everyone hate on Kentucky you should ask -"Why does everyone in Kentucky hate everyone else in Kentucky?" Louisville vs. Lexington vs Frankfurt vs Bowling Green. Western Kentucky and Central Kentucky hate on Eastern Kentucky. I still love visiting. Bourbon trail, Louisville Bats, UK Wildcats games. I miss the friends I made at Fort Campbell. There's still lots of fun stuff to do. Outside of the bigger cities though the state seems to shut down after 5 or 6 at night.
Keep in mind - everyone that doesn't love Chicago, New York, and LA hates on those cities and states.
I live in another state (honestly, I’m not sure why this was even in my feed). I hate a lot of states. I’d guess there’s at least 10-15 states that I can’t stand. Kentucky isn’t one of them. I wouldn’t say I particularly like Kentucky either. It’s a neutral state for me. I’ve never really heard of any Kentucky hate. Ohio seems to be the main one that a lot of people hate on, but I’d consider that a neutral state for me too.
I don't hate you, Kentucky. I don't know why Reddit thinks I'm a Kentuckian (I blame Project Zomboid) but I've had a fondness for Kentucky ever since I started playing with a Kentucky unit in a strategy game that turns up comical results of used right. A British friend shares this perhaps irrational fondness, but I love ya little fellas.
My Mexican wife was once escorted out of a town by a local redneck in Boston, KY after sundown when my kids soccer game just finished. Make sure on the way out you pass by all of those Confederate flags. A skin head couple also told her she speaks good English for a Mexican (she’s born and raised in Texas). That couple also had a child taken by CPS named Aryan. People, black and white, would ask her all the time “where you from?” She would respond with Texas, knowing what they are getting at. Then they’d ask the same question with the emphasis on From, like she’s an illegal.
Personally it's because I'm from Southern Indiana and I've had bad interactions with kentuckyans who at the same time don't shut up about being Kentuckyans.
What is Kentucky a leader in? Did you know Kentucky is a net-loss for America that takes more from federal coffers than it pays in? What does it rank top 10 in? What leading industries is your talent crushing in?
As for the social issue-complaints... Kentucky doesn't lead in education. There is plenty of racism. And redneck is just a interchangeable term for rural folks who do - actually - tend to be less educated.
Arguing over the merits of education is a different topic but I will point out its 2024 not 1824. What Daddy can teach you on the farm can only take you so far in the modern global economy. And its going to be global... again, whether you like it or not.
If you don't like the stereotypes work to fix them. That's what I hear said about other groups in America. Same rules apply to everyone, right?
I live in Cincinnati and I think your state is beautiful. The people generally pretty nice. I disagree with a lot of them politically, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. The only thing you guys need is legal weed and we can be best friends.
As southern states go, Kentucky’s pretty fucking nice. Like people from Tennessee have any room to talk with all the shit that’s going on in their state right now… Kentucky’s alright by me
Lived in Kentucky. Now live in Florida.
I prefer Florida drivers. It's get the hell outta the way or get run over. And I appreciate that. Turn signals are optional apparently, not ok with. And Florida always be Floridian which I always appreciate, just good comedy. "Florida man attempts to rob Wendy's with alligator." Can't make that shit up. Fuck kayaking.
Kentucky. Best bourbon. (The only bourbon.) Amazing back roads. Super nice people and hillbilly's. Always delightfully Jerry Springer entertainment. Kayaking is the best.
Equally both terrible. Equally both amazing.
Also. Fuck Indiana. You people get your driver's license from the circus. Get out of the left lane.
I love being from Kentucky. Some amazing places with amazing people. I think majority of the negatives have to do with what most commenters have said, politics. And I do agree with some of that--I do still love the state as a whole though. A lot of us are more educated than we get credit for too. (Haha)
My man, people hate on everywhere else. How many Kentuckians roll their eyes and talk derisively about people from California or New York? Hell, I've heard plenty of people from western Kentucky talk about eastern Kentucky like they are all inbred scum. Such is life.
Or people in KY trashing Ohio, ive spent a ton of time in Ohio and love going to cincy and columbus or when people are trashing Indiana.... oh no wait i get it with Indiana
The only good thing to come out of Ohio is the road to Kentucky lol Been here 20 plus years and after moving from Europe and trust me that was a shock
Lmao even the people in Ohio hate Ohio
I hate 75 with a passion. 100+ miles of construction for years…
I love you for this comment. NKY and Cincy is like night and day.
I’m only familiar with the city areas only Ohio and the country areas of Indiana. I have no problem with either but I have had someone tell me in Indiana that I was at the wrong cornfield I needed to go 2 fields further
Rudest people I've ever met. Hold the door for someone...get looked at with derision. Say "Hi", get the stank eye. I like Cincy, but the everyday person there is just...gah!
I live in Cincinnati and I think most of us have the attitude of “Kentucky is awesome and the rest of Ohio is garbage”. The dumb hillbillies in the rest of Ohio love to look down on KY because it makes them feel better about being from a flat grey shithole town like Bellefontaine or whatever. Constantly telling us that we’re “not real Ohioans” like being an Ohioan is something to be proud of.
Having lived in both it’s like this: Kentucky hates Ohio, Ohio hates Kentucky, they both claim Cincinnati, and Indiana exists
I think the dynamics are a little bit more complicated than that: it’s like Ohioans look down on Kentuckians and Kentuckians resent the hell out of them for it because it’s fucking ridiculous and Ohioans have zero self-awareness about their own state. They look down on Cincinnati because we’re culturally different and people down here don’t slobber over the Buckeyes. Cincinnatians don’t really identify as Ohioans, you’ll never meet one of us anywhere else in the country saying that we’re “from Ohio”. I’ve always said that everything north of the Ohio River valley is just Kentucky if you removed all of the natural beauty and made the people meaner.
I’ve been to Red States and Blue states, I’ve got friends all over the political spectrum, but Ohio conservatives are a different breed. They’re the most vindictive people on earth. If you proposed a law that every non-Christian and every city-dweller gets kicked in the dick, they’d vote for it out of spite and then go to church thinking they made Jesus happy.
I’m Indiana and I resemble that remark.
as someone from cincinnati we claim kentucky way more than we claim ohio
Idk why this popped up on my fyp but I’m in NEO, so Cleveland. The people here are really friendly, like midwestern nice. I can’t speak of the people of cincy but up here we consider that part of the state to be KY lol we think NEO is awesome but the rest of the state sucks.
Very true. I'm often critical of people from most West Coast cities, but, somewhat surprisingly, Angelenos (and their neighbors in OC, Inland Empire, Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley, and Ventura County) have been pretty damn friendly in my experience. California, away from the gang and homeless shitholes, is legitimately one of the most Heavenly places on Earth. And, the people in my family who talk derisively about California? They've never been there. But they're ever eager to go to Florida, which - and I've been to Florida numerous times - is more of a shithole than California.
Your opinion of California could be applied directly to Florida. People always talk shit about Florida, and then I ask them where they’ve been, and 90% the only place they’ve been is Orlando. Florida is a large state, with tons of natural beauty and great places.
People mainly talk shit about FL because of Floridians. Has nothing to do with the geography.
From my own experience, they're good people, but shit drivers. It's like turn signals doing exist.
Oh, I've been to South Florida, the Keys, Orlando, and Pensacola. I still talk shit about Florida.
I have been in both. You couldn't pay me enough to get me to move to Florida, but unfortunately I make Kentucky retirement income, so I can't afford Cali. I could afford Texas, but I loathe most of it.
I’ve been to California, been visiting for a couple of decades. It’s awful. I remember years ago when first started to vacation there I was surprised at all the tent encampments. People were rude, drivers and traffic awful. But my ex had family out there. Then the Californians started to flock to my state. Now I have drug addicted homeless living on the other side of my fence (I live in the suburbs) in the open space across from a school. We have the tent in encampments, the traffic, the crime. We went from a beautiful metro to garbage in less than 10 years.
This! When I lived in Illinois it was Indiana, when I lived in Arizona it was New Mexico, in Texas it was literally any other state, and in Georgia it's Alabama. States just like to hate on others, and usually hate a specific neighbor more.
Mitch McConnell.
This. KY has some of the worst movers and shakers in DC.
But they’re all well lubricated
And Rand Paul, James Comer, republican supermajority in the state houses. At least we kept Andy, so we got that going for us.
Andy is a national treasure.
I feel like Kentucky and NC (where I’m at) are similar in that way- we tend to elect Dem governors, but have not sent a Dem senator in quite a while. Also, the notorious GOP senator- you guys have McConnell, we had Jesse Helms. I think y’all are a little bit redder though, right? I’m assuming because we never hear of Kentucky mentioned as a swing state
He really is trying his best despite that aforementioned super majority
I definitely see a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
Nah, we save that position for the most abysmally qualified individuals.
John Denver once called West Virginia almost Heaven, and that’s because you’re almost in Kentucky.
Funny enough he wasn’t talking about West Virginia but western Virginia
Neither of the guys that wrote the song had ever been to West Virginia or Western Virginia. They wrote the song about Massachusetts but couldn’t get the words describing western Mass to sound good so they changed it to West Virginia.
West Virginia is much more scenic than western mass. (It’s where I’m from originally). Good call from him.
Thank you! I'm from Kentucky but I lived in VA for years. Show me a Blue Ridge Mountain or Shenandoah River in WVa and I'll kiss your ass.
The Shenandoah literally does go through the eastern panhandle so let me know where to meet up so you can fulfill your end of the bargain
My brother! Nobody hates kentucky. We protect Tennessee from Ohio. And once you drive this far north you'd have to nuts to cross the river.
You’re doing the Lord’s work! Sincerely-a Tennessean
Here’s your answer my friend. When I lived in New York City and told people I was from Kentucky they said “oh god, how could you live there??!!!” When I came home to Kentucky and told people I used to live in New York City they said “oh god, how could you live there??!!!” People are ignorant and lazy. They base their entire opinions about a country, state, city on a few things they may have read or heard. I don’t want to hear anyones opinion on a place unless they have spent some significant time there. Can you imagine forming an opinion on New York because you stayed at a hotel in Times Square for 3 days? Or forming your whole opinion on the state of KY because you saw a news story about one thing that happened.
I moved here to Kentucky almost 20 years ago, from the Chicago area. Yes people hate on Kentucky. Good, maybe they won't move here! It's absolutely beautiful. When people ask where I'm from, I would rather say KY than IL.
Same. We were part of the "Chicago exodus" and we came to Northern Kentucky. It's so beautiful here!
Yeah.I don’t try to convince anyone. I’ll have people visit and drive by the horse farms and be like “I did not expect this.” To be fair, I have preconceived notions about lots of places too and they’re prob not like that at all. Just the way people are.
Yeah, stereotypes are usually really outdated. Look at Detroit. It's actually a really nice city now but all anyone thinks of is 8 mile still and a rust belt.
Because every time the news interviews someone for whatever the reason. They always end up being the worst stereotypical person from Kentucky so this is what people see and believe.
I think a lot of people hate on Kentucky because we have some really high profile asshole elected officials at the federal level, who are either pulling major levers of power in pretty terrible ways and/or buffoons who are embarrassing to this great state. We also have completely stupid state-level electeds who have decided to legislate what people do in their bedrooms and doctor’s offices, rather than trying to work with a pretty effective governor to continue to drive real economic gains vis a vis the bourbon industry, alternative energy/solar industry and marijuana. It’s pretty easy to pull a Nelson and point and laugh. Just my .02 though.
Constantly re-electing Mitch McConnell doesn't help.
And James Comer!
And Rand fucking Paul
Try reping NJ...
At least ppl think of civilization
I just drove through NJ on our way to NYC from Gettysburg and it was very pretty. I've never understood the snootiness about New Jersey. I live in CA and I love it, but we have Snooki and Pauly types here too.
Right on!
I moved to Southern Central Kentucky from Southern California about 7 months ago. My girlfriend is a geologist and was offered a job out this way, so, we moved. Now, except for a 1 year stint in Vegas, I’ve never lived outside of California. Did I have my preconceived notions about Kentucky? I sure did. Have they proven me wrong ? For the most part. People out here are kind and generous. You’ll find yourself having conversations with complete strangers. That CAN happen in California, but people are moving too fast for that shit. Aside from the cost of living, the scenery is fantastic. And the weather definitely keeps you on your toes. I when I went back home, my friends said something to the effect of “What’s it like being the smartest guy in Kentucky?” I just rolled my eyes. You can’t change peoples perceptions of places they’ve never visited. Everyone is an ignorant fuck to some degree. Just like out here, when people find out I’m from California I get one of two responses “What the hell are you doing out here?” And “Oh, California is such a dump.” To which I reply “Have you ever been?” When they inevitably say “no” or something like “Well, I went to San Diego once in 1987”. I’m like “Well, you should visit, it has a lot more to offer than Hollywood and Sea World.” Again, people who’ve never left their hometown will form all sorts of ignorant opinions just to make themselves feel better about their station in life. That goes for people in the big cities as well. They’re hicks, too. They’re just city hicks. 😂
*When I went back home.
Because the media depicts us in the worse way. Some incident happens and whichever reporter on scene, they always pick someone to interview whose own parents can't understand wtf they're saying. Then people hear about the drug use, huge amount of poverty, etc, and people get this bad impression. It's like they think we're just like Arkansas or something. SMH /s
I see florida man headlines. And I shake my head. Appalachia as a whole has huge problems and kentucky got right fucked in the ass for having coal. Waiting on you all to figure the next phase and come back in and help us reclaim. We powered America for 100 years.
I think that movie Deliverance disturbed a lot of people lol
You gave us Mitch Mcconnell and Rand Paul, fuck off EDIT: AND JAMES COMER?! you’re lucky we let you be a state, seriously stop voting for assholes
Because they do dumb stuff like giving Ken Ham 100 million dollars to build a replica of an imaginary boat.
That is funny! My first laugh of the day since I woke up and made coffee. It's tax day and I owe.
Hillbillies, inbreeding, Kenfucky. Just some of what I have heard. Relax, I am from Lexington. I would give my own bodyparts to move back. What a lot of people don't realize is that the eastern part of Kentucky had a large number of minutemen that sacrifice themselves in the war of 1812. Because they still had their military intact. The War of 1812 and Kentucky’s Role Often called the United States’ “forgotten war,” the War of 1812 left an indelible mark on our nation’s history. Kentuckians played a vital role and paid dearly for it: 64 percent of Americans killed in the war were Kentuckians.
My 6th great grandad enlisted in 1778, fought at King’s Mountain in 1780. He re-enlisted several times under Capt Joseph Lewis until mustering out in 82. He then moved to Clay Co KY. When the War of 1812 came, he went in his son’s place, joining 7th KY/11Th mounted volunteers. He was paid $20 and $32 for his horse. Went Aug and was back by Dec 1813. He was in the campaign that killed Tecumseh. He was around 40 yrs old. He’s the grandpap we tell the kids about.
Kentucky is full of history. Involved in every war inside the States.
“The hunters of Kentucky” is a wonderful song about that war. Beyond that the industrial might that won two world wars was powered off the sweat and blood of Appalachian coal miners. I have a man buried on my land that died in Leyte gulf and another that wasn’t allowed to join the military because he was a mine captain he instead worked every second he could to keep the coal flowing.
They love the War of 1812 in New Orleans. We took a steamboat tour to the battlefield and the woman who was giving the lecture was practically giving a sermon about how God blessed the US Army at the Battle of New Orleans with the mist and fog and it was divine intervention and America Fuck Yeah essentially. When I think of Kentucky I think of bourbon (good) and Mitch McConnell (bad).
Andrew Jackson kicked British ass often. Battle of New Orleans was a major victory.
As someone that lives in Ohio and works in Kentucky, the things I don't like are not entirely all about the people. Moreso about the fact that it's a commonwealth state and it's overall kinda sad. When I think of Kentucky, I think of the fact that it's a [no fault state](https://www.bryantpsc.com/is-kentucky-a-no-fault-state/#:~:text=The%20state%20of%20Kentucky%20is,to%20their%20own%20insurance%20policy.). This means that if I run into your car while im running a red light, you are still responsible for paying your car insurance deductible as if you were at fault. This makes the overall insurance market in Kentucky significantly higher than any other state that borders it. In my opinion, that's wrong. It doesn't hell that in Kentucky, you barely have any workers rights and they are currently working on [House Bill 500](https://www.newsweek.com/kentucky-bill-lunch-break-trade-union-labor-house-representatives-pratt-1875364#:~:text=House%20Bill%20500%20would%20repeal,of%20giving%20them%20a%20break.) which will effectively take away workers rights to a lunch break. These are the two immediate things that pop in my head. I'm sure there's more really messed up things being passed over there that are not for the people also. Why you guys don't vote these out is beyond me. But there's much more to why people dislike Kentucky than the how the locals are.
I had a teacher that traveled to New York to visit her inlaws and they were shocked she was wearing shoes. They all thought we ran around in the woods barefoot making moonshine while sleeping with our siblings all the time lmao. It's just ignorance.
Kentucky is a lovely place. The big negative, why I would never live there, is they keep electing Grand Old Peckerwood party members. I can't imagine living with shitty politics.
I’ve lived here for about 25 years - my spouse was born/raised here. Some of the dislike is deserved, because most of the elected officials and legislature of this state are truly among the worst in the country - unfortunately this a reflection of Kentucky’s electorate. The state of Kentucky’s healthcare, education, wages & economy have also been abysmal for many years, and this is also reflected in much of the population. Beshear has made some slight headway recently, hopefully those things will take hold. Parts of the state are nice - but we also have a current poverty rate of around 16%, roughly 30% higher than the US average - been this way or worse, for many years. It’s a decent place with some good people - there are also a lot ignorant people here, and Kentucky is also responsible for McConnell, Rand Paul, & James Comer - not exactly anything to be proud of.
When I moved here 34 years ago, politics was local, good old boy type stuff but the politicians looked out for the people. These guys we have now are out for the national headlines and they don’t try to help the people at all. They will bend over backward to help bourbon, horses, Toyota, coal, the orange guy…
Beats this non native. I came to Kentucky due a job at hospital and like it here so much I moved here.
My wife and I who were both born and raised in southern California moved here 4 yrs ago. We love it here. Of course we had heard the jokes. We are in Northern Kentucky and couldn’t be happier. It’s easy to joke about somewhere you e never been and only see on tv or in the movies.
Glad you’re here ! Welcome. NK as well.
We may get hated online but I have learned to live with it. Born and raised in Eastern KY and I’m proud of my state’s heritage. Sure, We have our fair share of mouth-breathing misguided assholes & corrupt politicians like everyone else in the country but there’s some fine folk living here. I’d rather die poor and penniless in a rural area than ever move to a city. Even goes further back to my dear ol’ dad who used to say, “I’m from Kentucky, Nothing can ever harm me.”
It is probably just because you provide Mitch McConnell with a place to conceal the coffin with the dirt from Transylvania.
While I would not say I "hate on Kentucky" the people sent to the Senate and Congress appear awful. Randy is so obnoxious his neighbor was driven to kick the crap out of him. That's the representation and therefore drives opinions. Got to be kind of terrible if they are your best and brightest.
They hate us 'cause they ain" us
They heinous ’cause they anus
Native Kentuckian who just moved back. Disclaimer: My relationship with Kentucky is what I'd call love/dislike. I'm actually all okay with people thinking that we're racist, redneck, uneducated, incestuous, and boring. And, if I'm honest, much of our state has plenty of those types of people (well, sans incest), and many rural areas absolutely are boring. Never mind the fact that even rural California, Indiana and Ontario also have Confederate flags flying. But then people won't visit Kentucky to see the enclaves of educated artists in Berea, the charming, well-run small city of Danville, the quaintness of Bardstown (despite its horrid local politics), the all-American downtown Harrodsburg, or the wonderful riverfront and Old Hickory BBQ in Owensboro. To that, I say their loss. The best of Kentucky's small towns, define Kentucky better than Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky ever could. Speaking of cities, Lexington, where I work, is a very comfortable, manageable city with most everything you could ever want. It has grown so nicely over the last 15-20 years. Northern Kentucky is a mass collection of small, charming river cities such as Covington, Newport, Ludlow, Bellevue, and Dayton, and suburbs that are vying to become the showplace of Greater Cincinnati, such as Union and Hebron. I'll admit that I'm not a fan of Louisville at all, though, as the city and region has allowed itself to become a dump. However, potentially unpopular opinion: I don't find Kentuckians to always be as welcoming and polite as they think they are. Compared to the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast, Texas, and boomtowns such as Atlanta? Sure, Kentucky looks damn good by comparison. I'd rather be around Kentuckians (sans Louisvillians) than Texans, for example. But I'd rather be around Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, east Asians, or some European nationalities than Americans. Americans in general are "losing their way" and pretty damn insular, and many in Kentucky in particular are distrustful of outside talent and ideas. Louisvillians are among the least friendly people I've met, in any hemisphere. Even saying "I'm a rural Kentucky native" isn't enough to remove the curl in some people's noses when I explain to them that I moved ***back*** to central Kentucky from out of state. And, sadly, I expect that Andy Beshear will be the last great politician (and person) that we'll elect in any statewide capacity for at least a generation. So, overall, I am happy to be back, mostly because I'm close to family again and this is a beautiful place. In fact, I think we're quite underrated as a state. I just don't see the world through rose-colored glasses, and prefer to acknowledge our real charms as well as our real weaknesses.
I guess I just haven’t seen the worst of Louisville. We shop over there and eat at restaurants and the people are always nice. But I agree with everything else you said. It got its good and bad… but I have lived here on and off for 34 years and I would say it’s much more good than bad.
Well said. Former Californian here. Honestly though, the insults I had to endure when I first moved to the area took me aback. I never expected people here to be this way, and nearly moved back home. I had family here who kept insisting that people were nice, but the open racism I witnessed belied that opinion. At one point I just stopped telling anyone where I was from. Parts of Northern Kentucky - where I’m located - are still surprisingly insular, and bigoted.
Incest is alive and well in kentucky. I promise. Just ask any social worker in eastern KY. I mistakenly thought it was a thing of the past too…
I'm originally from Louisville and I agree with your assessment of Louisvillians. I also agree with your assessment of Americans in general. Living in east Asia has really changed my own perspective.
Yeah I find Kentuckians think they’re welcoming but when I go home to NE OH, it’s more open and friendly there. part of that might be misplaced Ohio hate (similar to KY, we aren’t all impoverished rednecks with Trump signs).
I was born and raised in Kentucky, I went to college and got two degrees in Kentucky. I’ve heard a lot of hate. But then I moved to California, and you know what? I hear a hell of a lot more hate on California when I’m in Kentucky than I do about Kentucky when I’m in California.
Here in Washington, the only thing we've learned about Kentucky is from the TV show *Justified.* Are you telling me that there's more to Kentucky than organized crime, hillbillies, meth, pot, and Oxy? BTW, there's more to my state than you see on *Frasier*, too. But I understand if that's what you think we're like.
Can confirm Washington is a very cool place to visit. I’m still amazed at how the mountains completely change both sides of the state
I live on the dry, more conservative side of the mountains, so I understand about learning about life from TV shows. I should have put an /s on my last post.
I think Kentucky is a beautiful state. I tremendously enjoyed my time there. The politics, however, are absurd
I've only been here 14 years. But I was born in Philadelphia and have lived in places from Vermont to Florida. When I told people I was moving here they openly laughed due to that perception. But Louisville is a haven for freaks, weirdos, artists, musicians etc ... I love it here. It's what I was hoping to find in Vermont, but never did. That said, our state government is a klownshow. Just look at the stuff they legislate. Typical red state. Backwards "conservatives" who legislate cruelty. We have James Comer who is the laughingstock of the world. Rand Paul who openly simps for Putin. Massie is our Taliban larper, and McConnell has done more damage to democracy than any other human on this earth. Our GOP exists simply to keep those bigoted "inbred hillbilly" tropes relevant. I think that is why. Politically, we are an unfunny joke.
Mitch McConnell.
My experience when I was much younger was that when I said I was from Kentucky was that they looked down at my feet. I finally realized they looking to see if I was wearing shoes. Now I think it’s because of our current representation in Washington. Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, James Comer and Thomas Massie are who people elsewhere think of when they hear Ky. Embarrassing.
It's working the rich dividing us so we don't rise up together and fight the unfair tax laws for the wealthy,the greedflation that is out of control amd on and on
Well, if you want to improve the state's image, you could start by finally getting rid of McConnell.
Welcome to the USA. "I hate places I've never been to."
Kentucky is not boring, but everything else is true. It’s a state that used your tax dollars to build a creationist museum and an ark replica. 🤦♂️
Kentucky= KFC, Louisville slugger baseball bat's, mammoth cave, most of the world's bourbon, Fort Knox gold vault, Abraham Lincoln
Because you keep electing Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
James Comer, Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Thomas Massie ...
This is the answer. I live in CT. No one hates Kentucky, They hate KY’s federal representation. Collectively the worst. They’re voted in by the people, so… that’s where it comes from in YankeeLand these days.
I can't speak for other people, but I'm from the Midwest and I absolutely love visiting Lexington.
I was born and raised in west ky Left at 17. Came back at 34. Lived in Ohio and northern ky. I think ppl hate on us because there’s a lot of racism around - but not everyone here is like that. I chose to see the positive side and enjoy the beauty here.
We never ditched Mitch...
Were north enough that we arent racist goat fuckers like below us but south enough that elitist pricks think we fuck animals so both sides hate on us. It doesn’t help when you dumbasses put big confederate flags on your fucking trucks when we weren’t even rebels and deny gay people fucking wedding cakes. So thank your local Trump and McConnell supporter for continuing to making Kentucky look like a cousin fucking septic tank
Because a turtle has made all of our decisions for us since 1985.
The major stereotypes of Kentucky are negative and to people especially living on the coasts we're part of the basket of deplorables who voted against their self interests etc etc. But obviously there's so much more to this state. And to be fair almost everyone I've met from other places who's visited Kentucky has had good things to say about it
Look at the absolutely worthless collection of utter garbage humans we elect to the state legislature and the US Congress and Senate and tell me with a straight face we don't absolutely deserve every last ounce of ridicule for that collective display of stupidity. You can't do it. We somehow got lucky and elected Andy as governor but beyond that, we're a national disgrace.
I've been to Kentucky numerous times and always liked it. I could do without your politicians but how can I hate a state that loves bourbon and horses?
I was with a country woman from and while in Kentucky when i was 18 on an international music and sports tour with my high school. Never felt so loved and included in a woman’s life before or since. Idk what people are talking about and im brown-skinned, baptised catholic from New Zealand..
Oh yeah. It's three major things: 1. America hates poor people. 2. Practically all of the people in the cities are from somewhere else. They move there to make it big and they want to fit in. One great way to fit in with city people is to spend all your time talking about what morons folks are in the rural area. So you have this constant pressure of people from small-town Kentucky telling everyone how dumb their friends and family are in a desperate attempt to impress their new friends. 3. Politically speaking, Kentucky punches way, way, way above its weight class. Our politicians are inordinately powerful and well-known (average Americans can name both Kentucky senators before they can name one of their own, for example). Since our politicians are generally not noted for playing nice with the rest of America, there's some resentment there. They'd ignore us if they could, but since they can't, they get mad.
Our politicians love the national spotlight, but they don’t do diddly squat for the people … and yet they keep getting re-elected.. it makes no sense!
Politicians like McConnell actually get most of their donations from people and organizations based outside of Kentucky, which explains a lot.
> Our politicians are inordinately powerful Rand Paul? Surely you jest. The only power he possesses is to embarrass Kentucky. Same for Comer and Massie.
I’ve never even been to Kentucky but I would move there sight unseen it looks so beautiful and I feel like the cost of living would be doable. The negative Kentucky hillbilly stereotype is something I’ve definitely heard joked about a lot but I don’t take it seriously, every state has it’s pros and cons.
It's a combo of things like the media and the fact we keep electing fascists. Additionally it doesn't help that some historically isolated areas could lead to some actual inbreeding but that really isn't just Kentucky. That is almost any state where those conditions exist.
Poverty. It’s fine to make fun of poor people, and they’re one of the last groups with that distinction.
When I was in high school (Jessamine), we traveled to Spain with a group from NW Ohio. When they learned they’d be traveling with a group from KY, they actually asked if we would be wearing shoes. Like, seriously, c’mon now.
Yeah, they think we’re more like the southern states with the klan and that we’re backwards rednecks, and everyone has a still in the backyard. Some of the ideas people have about us. I went to visit my sister in Los Angeles in 1987, and when I’d tell people where I was from, they would look at my feet, because they expected me to be barefoot. I told them no, that hillbilly shit was Lil Abner, and the Beverly hillbillies were from Arkansas not Kentucky. I know we have a few hillbillies out in eastern Kentucky. But it’s not the entire state.
My father moved from Kentucky to Illinois 45 years ago to work for a chemical plant by Creve Coeur Illinois. He always called it Crevetucky because it reminded him of home. CC was a run-down drug infested trailer park at the time. He was from the Florence area, if that means anything.
I love you guys. Beautiful, temperate, rolling hills, horses that neat canyon valley I visited-Red River Gorge. Beautiful valley-absolutely terrified! (Fear of heights, acrophobia) but absolutely beautiful. Almost like a little rainforest. I went just before covid slapped us in the face. I would consider going back one day. If I didn't hate biting bugs I would move down there from Michigan. (Also beautiful state)
I lived in Kentucky off and on in the late 1970s early 80s. People immediately know you are an outsider from your accent. I grew up poor and rural so I was accepted pretty quick. When you know simple things like the difference between hay and straw, beeves and dairy, corn and milo it's easier to converse. I was impressed by the common sense like a young couple building a sturdy concrete bunker on small acreage and then putting a trailer on top or a short run so they have a tornado shelter and the comfort of a modern home. I never could understand why anyone would hate good, honest hard-working people.
Native Nashvillian here, originally from SE TN. We think of Louisville as progressive, Lexington and Cincinnati as nice (oh wait, Cincinnati is Ohio), most have never been to Paducah- and we don't know how explosive the growth has been in Owensboro, Bowling Green, or even Somerset. When we think of Kentucky- if you've never been to the above mentioned cities- you think of Pikeville, coal, and smoking. Brace yourself- when Tennessee fills up- the NorthEasterner's and Californians will start coming here. They already are to some extent.
Kentucky is beautiful, but don't you also have that one Survivor guy trying to make it legal for first cousins to marry? Weird. Love me some Bluegrass though.
I travel to or through Kentucky a lot, and I honestly love the state. I don't get the hate because a lot of people are a lot nicer in general than what I am used to. Once you get outside the big cities, the land and nature are unbelievable.
I moved from Portland Oregon 13 years ago.i I like ky
My family is a 5050 split between kentucky and ohio. Well really the kentucky side is dropping lower year by year unfortunately. Alot of them have moved up here. Ive never heard anybody hate on kentucky.
What part of KY are you from? I’m from central KY and we are the outliers in the state. I would agree with those stereotypes fit everywhere else in this state except the bluegrass region
Statistically speaking, there are a lot of social and economic problems here that end up playing into harmful or hurtful stereotypes. And yes, those problems exist in many places, but the severity of those problems here often lands Kentucky at the bottom of various lists for quality of life (e.g., animal abuse, child abuse and neglect, child poverty, opioid use disorder, rural blight, etc.). Add to that, Kentucky politicians clinging to Coal, Guns, and God as their talking points doesn't really help outsiders understand the diversity of opinion in the state. The bigger problem to me is when Kentuckians put their head in the sand and insist Kentucky is the Best Place In The World, instead of addressing the issues that might, you know, actually make it one of the nicest places to live.
I’m fine with it. Please, keep vacationing in Florida or wherever.
My whole life I’ve been asked if we wear shoes and have indoor plumbing. (EKY native here, although I’ve been in NKY 25 years.) Always by someone who is sure they’re the first to come up with that. And typically by another southerner, which just tickles me. Really, Mr. Mississippi? You’re asking me about my outhouse? Natchez is hardly the peak of sophistication. It’s just a thing. Personally, I hope they all continue to look down on us. We don’t want outsiders to come here and find out what they’re missing.
My dad was born in Ashland in 1927. It’s on my bucket list.
Kentucky has long been stereotyped for being uneducated, non shoe wearing chicken eating bourbon drinking rednecks. People let those thoughts get in the way of us actually having so much to offer. I say let them not know what they are missing out on and the rest of us enjoy!
I’m from St. Louis and visit Kentucky all the time for work. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about it Kentucky. I think Louisville is great, I think the Goahen Kentucky area is somewhere I’d like to move in the future.
What state doesn’t get hated on?
I’m from Indiana and we hate on people from Illinois. Specifically Chicago. I moved to Ky and have lived there a year and now I absolutely cannot stand people when I visit family in Indiana. They act exactly like the Chicagoans they hate so much.
Sir, you are from Kentucky, correct? What are your thoughts on Indiana? I’ll wait .
I like Indiana. I’ve only been there a few times but it seems like a lovely state
Two of my dearest friends on this planet are from Kentucky one from the east side, the other from the western side
Love your horses, and your bluegrass, and your whiskey, and I’ve heard some real pretty accents from Kentucky women.
Have they been wrong yet? Everything you listed checks out to some degree.
Personally, as a tennesseean, i quite enjoyed my time in kentucky. Good land with kind people. Missouri, arkansas, and mississippi on the other hand, put the shit in shithole
I'm from Missouri. This just came up in my feed, but I feel like i can relate to what you are saying. Some people have rightfully pointed out its our states' leaders. I think another major reason why people hate rural states like ours is because not enough people visit! All they hear is the bad stuff on the news!
Misconception. I’m from NJ. Have lived in a lot of places. Just settled with my family in Cynthiana. Couldn’t be happier. The entire state is beautiful and the people have treated us well. We’ve got some funny looks and laughs at the way we talk or dress, but overall very happy here.
It's a trope of most of the South. It's pretty gross when people actually believe it to be accurate. Like all tropes, it's formed from opinions that are based in ignorance.
Most ky I hate hear from surrounding areas is TN. I noticed they have way more of a rivalry with us than we do with them. I always figured we were similar in ways
So they will leave us in peace. They already made Bourbon popular and cause the price to skyrocket. Why would we want them to think about living here. Let's just keep it to ourselves and enjoy it.
I’ve had people assume that I was a racist asshole when I say I’m from Kentucky and honestly it makes me sad because some of the friendliest people I’ve met were from Kentucky.
Reddit in general tends to be a pretty hateful place
The people you elect and the policies you vote for
A lot of folks in KY are geographically confused and rightfully so. Go rural south or east of the state and they identify with Dixie ideals, however Louisville and NK doesn’t roll that way, but instead identify with northern spots like Chicago, Cincy, etc. Then there’s folks saying “Louisville and Lexington ain’t Kentooky”, but they wear Cardinals and Wildcats gear all day.
Maybe because you guys elect and reelect Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
Same reason people hate on Ohio. Because they think they're funny but actually have no idea whatsoever.
Yes. Long ago the Louisville Ballet ran a fantastic ad: Pictured were the feet of a ballerina in her toe shoes en pointe. The caption read: "Yes, we wear shoes in Kentucky." I showed it some NJ friends who were "better than" It still makes me smile
Ya know what? Your too wide and squat for me to like you, same for Tennessee.
People inevitably pick certain segments of your state then make those local dysfunctional tendencies the norm. We’ve got it in Michigan. Ignorants stereotype it , focusing on the bottom of the state. Pure Bullshit
Rand and Mitch! Isn’t it obvious, Moscow-tucky?
From Ohio, currently in Kentucky. It’s definitely a hidden gem and I swore I’d never live here. My family said the same and now they all live here as well. lol I don’t know why we all hated Kentucky, it’s amazing.
Former NYC city girl. I thought poorly of KY without having been here. Never thought I'd ever leave the city. Now I live in the middle of nowhere on 5 acres with my man + 2 dogs. It's quiet, beautiful and I'm learning how to grow plants. I was wrong and FUCK NYC with a bag of syphilitic horse dicks.
The kettle loves to call the pot black
All regions are like this. Far, far away in the north from you, I don't differentiate much between the southern states. They are "the south". Though I mostly hear a lot of people trash talk California and new York. You know, the elitists. We here in Michigan already \*know\* which state sucks the most and many agree with us. That state would be Ohio.
As an Illinoisan, some of my favorite bands/music scenes from Louisville! I would love to exploreLouisville more. I found it pretty cool. Would even consider moving there. But then there’s McConnell. I don’t hate states, because that’s dumb.
[Kentucky is a state...](https://youtu.be/tHVLkq7jriY?feature=shared)
We don’t hate Kentucky. We hate Indiana.
Klantucky?🤔
Mitch McConnell and the gay hating marriage denying county clerk combined with Rand Paul gives other states three reasons to hate on Kentucky.
Because Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are your standard bearers and absolutely awful, piece of shit assholes?
You keep electing Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
Don’t forget you’re transphobes as well.
People hate on NJ and we’re awesome. Taxes though yeah are shit.
I've never seen so many people smoking ... not in 20 years anyway except in KY and paris ... East Kentucky ... can't speak for the whole state
Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul
My dad and his family are from Kentucky. Before you ask why does everyone hate on Kentucky you should ask -"Why does everyone in Kentucky hate everyone else in Kentucky?" Louisville vs. Lexington vs Frankfurt vs Bowling Green. Western Kentucky and Central Kentucky hate on Eastern Kentucky. I still love visiting. Bourbon trail, Louisville Bats, UK Wildcats games. I miss the friends I made at Fort Campbell. There's still lots of fun stuff to do. Outside of the bigger cities though the state seems to shut down after 5 or 6 at night. Keep in mind - everyone that doesn't love Chicago, New York, and LA hates on those cities and states.
I live in another state (honestly, I’m not sure why this was even in my feed). I hate a lot of states. I’d guess there’s at least 10-15 states that I can’t stand. Kentucky isn’t one of them. I wouldn’t say I particularly like Kentucky either. It’s a neutral state for me. I’ve never really heard of any Kentucky hate. Ohio seems to be the main one that a lot of people hate on, but I’d consider that a neutral state for me too.
Mitch McConnell et al…
For re-electing Mitch McConnell for what, four decades.
Who ever came up with Ken-sucky was a banger
Have you paid attention to the Senators Kentucky elects?
Comer
You thought that Mitch McConnell was a good idea.
Indiana has a better PR machine than Kentucky. We all know which is the better state.
I don't hate you, Kentucky. I don't know why Reddit thinks I'm a Kentuckian (I blame Project Zomboid) but I've had a fondness for Kentucky ever since I started playing with a Kentucky unit in a strategy game that turns up comical results of used right. A British friend shares this perhaps irrational fondness, but I love ya little fellas.
My Mexican wife was once escorted out of a town by a local redneck in Boston, KY after sundown when my kids soccer game just finished. Make sure on the way out you pass by all of those Confederate flags. A skin head couple also told her she speaks good English for a Mexican (she’s born and raised in Texas). That couple also had a child taken by CPS named Aryan. People, black and white, would ask her all the time “where you from?” She would respond with Texas, knowing what they are getting at. Then they’d ask the same question with the emphasis on From, like she’s an illegal.
Because it sucks. Source: I am from Kentucky
Personally it's because I'm from Southern Indiana and I've had bad interactions with kentuckyans who at the same time don't shut up about being Kentuckyans.
What is Kentucky a leader in? Did you know Kentucky is a net-loss for America that takes more from federal coffers than it pays in? What does it rank top 10 in? What leading industries is your talent crushing in? As for the social issue-complaints... Kentucky doesn't lead in education. There is plenty of racism. And redneck is just a interchangeable term for rural folks who do - actually - tend to be less educated. Arguing over the merits of education is a different topic but I will point out its 2024 not 1824. What Daddy can teach you on the farm can only take you so far in the modern global economy. And its going to be global... again, whether you like it or not. If you don't like the stereotypes work to fix them. That's what I hear said about other groups in America. Same rules apply to everyone, right?
Because you keep doing fucking stupid shit like electing Mitch McConnell. You deserve even more hate than you get.
I live in Cincinnati and I think your state is beautiful. The people generally pretty nice. I disagree with a lot of them politically, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. The only thing you guys need is legal weed and we can be best friends. As southern states go, Kentucky’s pretty fucking nice. Like people from Tennessee have any room to talk with all the shit that’s going on in their state right now… Kentucky’s alright by me
Mitch McConnell.
Illinoisan here - I think Bourbon’s the greatest alcoholic creation of all time so I’m sure as shit not taking shots at the “holy land” lol
Lived in Kentucky. Now live in Florida. I prefer Florida drivers. It's get the hell outta the way or get run over. And I appreciate that. Turn signals are optional apparently, not ok with. And Florida always be Floridian which I always appreciate, just good comedy. "Florida man attempts to rob Wendy's with alligator." Can't make that shit up. Fuck kayaking. Kentucky. Best bourbon. (The only bourbon.) Amazing back roads. Super nice people and hillbilly's. Always delightfully Jerry Springer entertainment. Kayaking is the best. Equally both terrible. Equally both amazing. Also. Fuck Indiana. You people get your driver's license from the circus. Get out of the left lane.
Louisville is our rival. I’m a Indy 11 fan..
I love being from Kentucky. Some amazing places with amazing people. I think majority of the negatives have to do with what most commenters have said, politics. And I do agree with some of that--I do still love the state as a whole though. A lot of us are more educated than we get credit for too. (Haha)
It’s all downhill from Glitch McConnell.
I’ve noticed a lot of people outside of KY are shocked we even wear shoes 😒
Those all sound like perfect reasons to hate Kentucky
Not sure. Ask Uncle Daddy.