Why don't southern houses have basements?

Being in construction in Kansas, it's rare to find a new home that doesn't take advantage of the cheap additional footage a basement adds to a dwelling. I once shared a chat channel with a lady that lived in OKC. That's just a two hour drive or so from where I live. She was contemplating building a new home and I suggested a basement plan for all of its advantages. It made her shudder. Living below the earth surface.. NO WAY. It's more of a mind set than soil conditions which all but eliminates basements from being popular in Oklahoma.

 

Around here there is typically a spare bedroom or two, the mechanics room, and a den or entertainment area. A fireplace is common as well as daylight windows. Larger homes will have a theater and or a gym. Most nowadays have nine foot ceilings or even ten. It's not like entering a cave. Here is a recent job I did. Bar area looking into the theater.

 

Very nice @Dannydet ! A great example of using the space to create a great living area!

 

I'm currently refinishing my basement after a burst water heater caused water damage. I'll post some pics as it comes together.

 

I've actually worked on a few new homes that put heat strips under the flooring to aid in keeping the feet warm. Forced air will stay higher in a basement space making it great in the summer but a bit cool to the feet in the winter. More often that not, the air supplies are in the ceiling but the duct work can be run in the concrete floor... it's just a more expensive alternative. Though more expensive, forced flooring heat has to be a cheaper alternative to electric heated matts between the concrete and flooring.

My home is built on a crawl space and I hate it!