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Misconceptions: "I thought it would be all rural," "I thought everyone would have Southern accents," "I thought it would be warm all year long" are probably the biggest that I heard from family and others when I lived in South Carolina (it's mostly not really cold though, but getting below freezing was decently routine where I lived).
Living in northeast Texas I have literally had people ask me if I ever rode my horse into town. (I have never owned a horse.)
The pathetic thing is that they were totally serious.
They also think I am a Trump fan because I live in Texas and am fairly conservative (he's always made my skin crawl and when he first announced his bid for the presidency I thought he was joking).
They think we go to rodeos on the weekends pretty regularly - I've been to two rodeos in my life, both times reluctantly, and hated both of them. One time was with some friends who are from another country, who wanted to experience a "real Texas rodeo." I warned them not to get too excited about it.
They think that WE think that Tex Mex food is all there is to Mexican food.
They think we don't have basements because we don't know how to build them, or something like that. They can't imagine why else we wouldn't all have basements. (Hint - it has to do with frost lines and soil types.)
And by the way, not only did I never call either of my brothers "Bubba," I don't even KNOW anyone called Bubba.
Hilariously, that describes a lot of the rural north. Probably moreso than the modern south, honestly. At least in my experience, I've met more northerners who take that stuff to its logical extreme than I have southerners.
I often say that people who make assumptions about others are usually projecting their own problems and personality quirks.
Pretty much validates the thread.
It describes some people in rural Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Ohio for sure.
Living in northeast Texas I have literally had people ask me if I ever rode my horse into town. (I have never owned a horse.)
The pathetic thing is that they were totally serious.
They also think I am a Trump fan because I live in Texas and am fairly conservative (he's always made my skin crawl and when he first announced his bid for the presidency I thought he was joking).
They think we go to rodeos on the weekends pretty regularly - I've been to two rodeos in my life, both times reluctantly, and hated both of them. One time was with some friends who are from another country, who wanted to experience a "real Texas rodeo." I warned them not to get too excited about it.
They think that WE think that Tex Mex food is all there is to Mexican food.
They think we don't have basements because we don't know how to build them, or something like that. They can't imagine why else we wouldn't all have basements. (Hint - it has to do with frost lines and soil types.)
And by the way, not only did I never call either of my brothers "Bubba," I don't even KNOW anyone called Bubba.
The only time I've seen a rodeo (was driving by but saw it from the road) was in California
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Turnerbro
It describes some people in rural Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Ohio for sure.
You're missing quite a lot there. Upstate NY, rural New Hampshire and Maine, most of Indiana, rural Illinois, good bit of Missouri, and I'm sure other places as well.
You're missing quite a lot there. Upstate NY, rural New Hampshire and Maine, most of Indiana, rural Illinois, good bit of Missouri, and I'm sure other places as well.
Indiana is arguably more "southern" than a lot of the South lol
I do agree that Californians are extremely closed-minded when it comes to the South. I know enough about politics, demography, urban redevelopment, etc. that I knew enough about the South. Moving there definitely made my opinion of the South even better. Nobody from California can fathom the idea of people being cultured or diverse or educated anywhere besides CA, OR, WA, DC, or NYC. Hell, Californians are terrified of Chicago being small town or boring or classless or conservative because it's not a coastal city.
My friends in California struggled understanding how Louisville could be so liberal and gay friendly, where Nowhere Bar is a gay bar/club and arguably the most popular club in the city, if not the entire state of Kentucky. Play is a gay club that has drag shows on par with just about any other big city. And last call at 4am is something Californians think is JUST a Las Vegas thing.
I don't claim to be an expert on every city in the South, but Californians definitely have a negative view of anything southern. While I don't love the South for various reasons (don't like the heat, don't like suburbs, conservative state governments, etc.), I genuinely understand the appeal of places like Nashville, Atlanta, Raleigh, Austin, Dallas, etc. I know that while the states generally vote conservatively, the big cities are almost always almost as liberal, if not just as liberal, as anything you find in California.
There are enough northerners from metros like Boston, NYC, and Philly moving to the South that it seems pretty apparent that they understand not all of the south is some racist backwater swamp full of people with 8 teeth. The Northeastern people moving to the South see the value of being in a quieter, slower, more affordable city that provides similar cultural/dining/shopping/nightlife experiences. While I prefer the fast-paced, urban lifestyles of the northeast, I see why people could enjoy having a similar home for half the price in Atlanta while maintaining a similarly prestigious job and still being surrounded by a diverse, welcoming, open-minded citizenry within the city limits. Leave Philly, NYC, or Boston, and it turns just as conservative and closed-minded as anywhere in the South.
Meanwhile, Californians truly can't seem to understand the South the way the Northeasterners have.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,536,583 times
Reputation: 6253
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessemh431
Indiana is arguably more "southern" than a lot of the South lol
In terms of modern day perception I have often called Indiana the Florida of the north. That one state that seems to be in nearly direct contradiction to its neighbors, culturally.
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