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Hi everyone i'm from Australia,
and i am wondering what the south of the US is like?
what are people like? (i have heard mixed things)
whats the music like? ( i love country hiphop and i wonder if this is typical for the south, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36WequAylGQ)
Whats the climate like??
Thanks for reading!
What's Australia like? Can you generalize your entire country of 20 million people?
The South is a beautiful place with a good climate. Hot and humid summers, and mild winters. It stretches from Virginia to northern Florida in the east, all the way out to eastern Texas, and as far north as Kentucky. There is a lot of agriculture. Tobacco is grown mostly in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Cotton is grown throughout the South. Peanuts are common in South Georgia and South Alabama. The Appalachian mountains run through the South, beginning in North Alabama and running in a northeast direction all the way through western Virginia and up into the North.
The South is not a homogenous place, so it is hard to generalize it. We have large cities such as Houston, New Orleans, and Atlanta, and we have rural areas. There are hilly and mountainous regions, and there are coastal flatlands.
Different sub-cultures exist throughout the South. For instance, the French-influenced Cajun culture of Louisiana is very different from the Appalachian culture of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Also you have black culture and white culture, which can be very different.
Bluegrass music originated in the Appalachian mountains. Blues originated in the Mississippi delta (northwest Mississippi). Rock and roll is a descendant of the Blues that many would say started in Memphis. Of course modern country music finds its home in Nashville.
Now I am going to start generalizing...
As far as sporting entertainment goes, college football is extremely popular in the South. Some of the most prominent college football teams in the nation are located in the South (Univ of Alabama, Louisiana St Univ, Univ of Tennessee, Univ of Georgia, Florida St Univ, Univ of Florida, Clemson Univ, etc). The stadiums for these teams hold anywhere from 80,000 to over 100,000 fans and are packed virtually every Saturday in the fall.
Christianity is arguably stronger in the South than in any other region of the US. It is known colloquially as "The Bible Belt", and churches are prominently located all over the region. Church affiliation and attendance are higher in the South than in other regions of the US.
It is impossible to really tell you; you need to come see for yourself. The South is beautiful and varied in its land and its people. You have the Golden Isles with huge old oaks draped with Spanish moss, the gleaming white sand of the Gulf Coast with its blue/green water, the trembling earth of the great Okefenokee Swamp where alligators rule, the bayous of Louisiana where cypress tree knees abound, New Orleans a lady of a city with blues on the street corners, Atlanta the bustling hub of the deep South, Memphis Elvis's home, Nashville and its proud tradition of country music, the ancient Smoky Mountains shrouded in mist rising above deep green forests and rolling valleys, and so much more. The food of the South is some of the best and once again very varied. You have the cathead biscuits dripping in homemade scuppernong jam at Callaway Gardens, beignets that melt in your mouth in New Orleans, fresh fried shrimp and oysters all up and down the Gulf Coast, the best fried chicken pretty much all over the South, and fresh vegetables every spring and summer. The people are some of the friendliest you will meet and still smile and greet each other. Football is important in the South and every community turns out on Friday night to support their local high school team. College football has been compared to a religion in the South, and you almost HAVE to choose a team. Come visit us soon.
The south is more like Australia than any other part of the US...........therefore you would probably feel quite comfy mate.
Good wishes,
raj
Why do you say that? I've never been to Australia, but I've met and conversed with a good number of Aussies in my day. I would think that California would be most like Australia, culturally speaking, considering that the vast majority of Australians live in huge cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, etc) and are very near the coast.
Maybe the Aussies who grew up in the outback would feel more at home in the rural South, but they are few and far between. I would think that your average Australian, being most likely from a city of 1 million or more, would feel more at home in a big American city.
Fly into Norfolk, VA and start by checking out Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown. Don't forget Virginia Beach - I think it would be interesting to an Australian to compare coastlines. Be sure to indulge in some fantastic seafood while you're there.
Drive west from there through the rolling green countryside of Virginia into the Shenandoah Valley and down to Asheville, NC. Those Smoky Mountains are hauntingly beautiful. Check out Cades Cove in Tennessee and then drive on thru Knoxville and into Nashville. Check out the country music scene there and then drive down to Memphis to hang out on Beale Street and tour Elvis' home. BE SURE TO EAT BBQ while you're there! You have to spend some time in the Mississippi Delta to get the true sense of the American south.
After that, you could circle on down thru Arkansas into East Texas. Fort Worth is the gateway to the American West and the very last shred of "southern" in these parts. You'd get a great taste of the early days of the West as well as some terrific Tex Mex food. Then you can hop on I-20 and drive east through Tyler (a very nice small city) at which point you will immediately realize you're definitely in the South. Anyway, in Shreveport, Louisiana (an hour and a half east of Tyler and three hours east of Dallas) head south through Louisiana to...
NEW ORLEANS! No tour of the American south is complete without visiting this beautiful, enigmatic city! Plan to spend three or four days here. Check out the French Quarter (and the beignets at Cafe du Monde) and the Garden District. Spend a day (and a night) in the Warehouse District. Don't miss City Park in Metairie (a suburb of Nawlins) and the excellent art museum there, and the WW2 museum in the warehouse district. I highly recommend eating your way thru New Orleans! Some of the best food you will ever put in your mouth can be found there. You can diet later.
From New Orleans, head along the coast to Biloxi and spend a day on Ship Island. You could also check out Jefferson Davis' home in Biloxi. It's poignant and interesting. Keep in mind that this entire area was decimated by hurricanes a few years ago but is being rebuilt. Just like New Orleans after Katrina - some things are forever lost, but some things are much improved.
Meander on to Mobile and check out the sights in that beautiful and interesting city. Great southern cuisine abounds there. Spend a day or two on the sugar beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama - the Redneck Riviera.
Then head northeast to Atlanta! You can't go on a southern tour without checking out that city. Great nightlife and shopping - but it IS a big metro area and typical of that sort of place, so I wouldn't spend more than a day or so there. Then you can head east to Savannah or Charleston - two fabulous coastal cities with lots of beautiful historic homes and neighborhoods, museums, and restaurants. No honky tonk bidness here - no sirree. This is the height of the genteel South - the old South. Terrific southern cuisine here as well.
Mosey on north up the coastline and spend a day or two on the Outer Banks islands of North Carolina. Wild horses still live on those islands - descendants of horses brought over in colonial days. The islands are windswept, isolated, and have a totally different feeling from, say, Virginia Beach or Gulf Shores. More solitary.
Then you can drive on back up to Virginia and fly back out of Norfolk. Nice bit circle.
I'd love to make that trip myself. It would take at least a month but wow, it would be a terrific journey.
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