The Yankee belt is a term used by many Southerners of the United States to refer to a section of the Southeastern United States that is culturally different from the rest of the South. Such cultural differences include dialects, religion, and behavior. Many of the people that live in this strip are believed to act more like people in the northern section of the United States than those that live in the South, thus securing the nickname "Yankee." The title "Yankee" also derives from the belief that many of the people in this strip, or "belt", are people that were born in the North and have since moved to the South. The exact territory of the Yankee belt is arguable, but it basically consists of land in the southeastern United States south of US interstate I-10. Many people consider the Yankee belt to go beyond interstate 10 though for up to 50 miles in some places. The Yankee Belt includes almost all of Florida, part of Alabama and Mississippi, and half of Louisiana and cities such as Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Panama City, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. Mobile and Biloxi are examples of cities whose membership of the Yankee belt is controversial.
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