On a roadtrip: How will you know when you're in the south? (transplants, home)

[Metro Matt]

When you go to a restaurant, ask the waitress for sweet tea & don't get a blank stare.

[Tezcatlipoca]

I've constantly learned throughout my life that things I consider typical American things are actually supposed to be Southern things, so i'm not too sure how one would tell, and mostly I just attribute any changes to state differences rather than the North/South. Theres a bunch of southern chains grouped right on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon on the road I take up to PA but I think it's more funny than meaningful.

There's also a problem of perspective/origin. For example the "no plates in front" thing: if you're traveling from Maryland, travel North, East, or West and you'll hit one plate states. But go south and there must be two plates.

[workaholics]

Well for me it's when you start seeing the tall pine trees, I believe they're called longleaf pines. Going south you'll begin to see them in abundance in central Virginia. Coming from the west you'll see them in east Texas. Both are pretty good boundaries for the south.

Now going south from a place like Ohio is trickier. You won't see those trees in Northern Kentucky or West Virginia, but I would still say these places are southern.

I think Stuckeys is a good demarcation for the deep south. Driving south from Atlanta you begin to see them south of Macon. That's when I know I'm in south Georgia, which makes the Atlanta area look like Massachusetts.

Native American names are everywhere, but when you begin to see Cherokee or Creek names you'll know you're in the south. Look for names that sound like Chattahoochee, Nacoochee, Etowah and Chattanooga, as opposed to Narragansett or Chatuaqua. This is probably a very weak demarcation

Baptist churches are everywhere in the south. And when you start to see some right off the highway, you'll know you've made it.

Oh, and kudzu on the sides of the interstate.

[BIMBAM]

Originally Posted by NCN

Do you have Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the Northern states?

They're very successful in the Northern states, have been for many years! They've even expanded as far north as Canada now.

[uptown_urbanist]

Easy. When sweet tea starts showing up in any and all restaurants.

[Chicago60614]

We've done Chicago to the south multiple times and we always say we've "made it" when we see huge crosses along the interstate and mega churches. Maybe it's just the specific interstates we drive that tend to have them along the road!

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by workaholics

Well for me it's when you start seeing the tall pine trees, I believe they're called longleaf pines. Going south you'll begin to see them in abundance in central Virginia. Coming from the west you'll see them in east Texas. Both are pretty good boundaries for the south.

Those are Loblolly pines, and they're pretty much all over the entire South. You see more Longleaf pines down towards coastal SC, south GA & AL, and the FL panhandle.

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by Tezcatlipoca

There's also a problem of perspective/origin. For example the "no plates in front" thing: if you're traveling from Maryland, travel North, East, or West and you'll hit one plate states. But go south and there must be two plates.

In other words, there is no absolute indicator that unerringly applies in every single circumstance.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by NCN

If you are on I-95, Fredericksburg, Virginia will start showing Civil War battlegrounds. I think that would be a clue. But on second thought, I am sure the North has these also, just different colored uniforms.

Do you have Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the Northern states? Cheerwine soft drinks would be another clue. They are red and they are good. I believe there is a Harris Teeter Grocery Store in D. C. I have been shopping at Harris Teeter for about 45 years or longer. Bojangles, Chick-Fil-A, Hardee's would be fast food places. I am sure there are more.

Then sweet tea and gravy biscuits, chicken fried steak, and both corn bread and biscuits served with the meals. We are getting more businesses from the North and they never give enough bread with their meals.

Does the North have plantation houses?

I am having a hard time answering this because I haven't been much past D. C. if at all.

Probably the biggest clue will be the difference in food. I made the mistake of asking for a sausage biscuit in a restaurant in Ohio. They didn't know what I was talking about. I looked at their menu, ordered a couple of biscuits and a couple of sausage patties, cut the bread open and put the meat in and told the waitress, "This is a sausage biscuit." LOL We put everything in biscuits down here.

This is a little more rare these days because the "guys" word has made its appearance already, but when someone says "Y'all," you are here.

The OP specified things that can be seen from the highway...I don't think you could pick up most of this from the highway.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by workaholics

Oh, and kudzu on the sides of the interstate.

Perhaps the "Kudzu Line"?