And for those unaware, the Mason-Dixon Line is a geographic divider created by men named Mason and Dixon. Essentially it is Maryland's upper border and Pennsylvania's lower border. While Maryland is, technically, in "The South" it is usually considered a northern state because it was a "free" state in the Civil War era. Washington D.C., Baltimore, and alllll of Virginia are below the Mason-Dixon Line. Take it from a guy raised 30 miles south of that line in the City of Spires.

It’s All Relative. We’re from the Detroit area and, like most friends here from Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc, we refer to back home as North or Up North. In Michigan when heading up into the northern part of the Lower Peninsula for summer cottages and winter skiing, we always said we were going Up North. Even more nuanced, a Detroit newspaper once polled readers and found the term most accurately applied to north of Clare, MI, a town in the middle of the state regarded as the lower range of Michigan’s snow belt.

I was standing in a country grocery store in Vermont listening to two old timers talk about flatlanders. One man said to the other that he moved from the Colorado mountains to Vermont 20 years prior and was still considered a flatlander.

Being from MD, I always found it odd that people from New England consider us "Southerners" and people from the South consider us "Northerners"...

caught in the middle. . .

mid atlantickers just doesn't roll up the tongue well

TV is the north for me
 

I moved north to TV from Tampa

When we tell people we're from Texas, they kind of look at us funny. It gets cold in Texas too! LOL

I heard on the weather this morning, a weather man refer to the West Coast as North West and the East Coast as North East. Easy peezy.

Well you're clearly not going west of TV as that would be the Gulf coast of Florida. Colorado is northwest of TV so why not just say that? Seems easy enough.

The Gulf coast is the "left" coast.

It’s a term of Endearment! …. Like a “ snowbird”. If everyone stayed here for the summer, this place would run out of fun!

West

I too am from Colorado and I say when we go home, going out west. Will always be west . Not north 💕

How about the Mason- Dixon line. Most people were taught that in the 5th grade

Growing up in "the North" we were taught the Civil War definitions of "the North vs the South". Wasn't until I moved to The South that the Civil War was not called that "here in the South". Rather it was defined as "the war of Northern aggression" and many in NC, SC, and GA still use that connotation. Odd they DO NOT include Florida in that list. haaa.

Funny you point that out. I spent a few years in a place, and my best friend from HS lived there a few years - a town in Maryland called Sharpsburg. The site of a large battle. Most people refer to it as Antietam, since that is what the winning side (north) called it. We still refer to it as the Battle of Sharpsburg.

Some historical context: Back during the American revolution King George III sent a scout to the northern territories.
The scout returned and rushed to the King to deliver his report.
"Your Grace, the northerners are revolting!"

To which King George III replied, "I do know that they don't take a bath that often, but isn't it a bit too rude to call them that?"

For me “up north” is Chicago. But my heritage of several generations is as a Yooper (the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). But if I want to go back even further, a lot of my ancestors lived in the far north of Finland, near the Arctic Circle!

Everything is North of Florida.
 

Since Key West is the Southernmost point in the continental United States... Everything is North of Florida :-) :pepper2:

confusion -> direction versus region
 

the OP's confusion is easily explained by the difference between direction versus colloquial description of the region, or the region in that direction. .

time to get back to family time

"The North"
 

This is how I think most people use it, though usage can vary, and I cannot guarantee I am right about the most common usage.

When I hear "the North" I think that means any state north of the Mason-Dixon Line. These states are east of the Mississippi or bordering the Mississippi.

I generally do not think people mean such places as Montana, Oregon, etc., but I know they could mean that because the semantics of the term are different for different people.

But I think saying "The Northwest" or just naming the state is more common than saying "the North" for northwestern states.

Very few were born and raised in Florida. I'm from Fort Lauderdale. Where are you from?

Michael, as a Floridian and having grown up in Miami almost everything is north. Unless you're from the Keys and we know why you're down there.

Hi Miekies, I'm from Cheyenne, also. My dad homesteaded with siblings in Niobrara County near Lusk before moving to Cheyenne. I also left for life in the big city. Many people end up in Denver, but it wasn't warm enough. Houston was, however, very warm! And big.

Where are you from in Texas?

I grew up south of Tampa and I moved up north to the Villages.

I say "up north" when referring to the other side of 466. 🤣

I'm originally from New York and also lived in New Jersey many years. I refer to my old home as "up north" because...............wait for it...............that is where it is in relation to where I live now. LOL.

Huh???? Never heard that one.