Do's and Donts For a Southerner going North or to California? (apartment, house)
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I was born and raised in New York and New England and find this post to be very steriotypically ignorant and wrong. The North (east) doesn't have the corner on atheism/liberalism/rudeness and can be found anywhere. I rarely if ever had any problems proclaiming my political views (I'm a diehard Republican), nor looked down on anyone from a different area of the country.
If the poster plans to move into any of the large cities she will encounter negativity if she is both Republican & evangelical. In the countryside it will likely not be an issue.
Since you are already a Yankee the issue of accent doesn't apply. People will ask Colddiamond questions that won't be necessarily pleasant & could result in losing friends. If a Southerner admits to voting for President Bush or reveal that they believe homosexuality is sinful it will be quite difficult making & keeping friends & jobs.
But Colddiamond sounds like a very pleasant & bright person so she will be fine.
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
4,084 posts, read 12,678,662 times
Reputation: 1974
Quote:
Originally Posted by happ
Like others have stated, you will be fine anywhere so don't worry. But there are some things that are never done for your information:
1. Never ask about people's religion [you will get blank stares or even irritability]
2. Don't ask where a good church is [ditto w/ the stares & agitation]. If you say you are a Christian you are inviting negative comments & people will avoid you.
3. If you are Republican don't admit it until you feel it is safe. You could lose friends & anger neighbors. Never put anything GOP on your car or yard if you want to avoid dog poop on handles\ car scratches.
4. Sadly some will question your accent & it won't be flattering but those people are slobs so you don't need them anyway. None-the-less, saying you are from the South will trigger stereotype put-down jokingly. But some will be serious in expressing negative things about the South & you may want to avoid talking about your state for a while.
Religion\ politics are mainly the areas to avoid unless you are not a Republican & are not an evangelical\Mormon
Um, yeah... this might be true for certain parts of California, but I wouldn't say it's true across the board for everywhere outside the South. The job thing seems a little extreme, but I could see it happening in SF. But asking where a church is and not mentioning she's Christian? As if Christians existed only in the South... This thread is so... I don't even know the word. Pitiful? I swear, some of you act like the North and South are Jupiter and Mars. The whole blue state vs. red state/North vs. South divide is such a crock of ****. It's really not that dire. We're all Americans, people.
If the poster plans to move into any of the large cities she will encounter negativity if she is both Republican & evangelical. In the countryside it will likely not be an issue.
Since you are already a Yankee the issue of accent doesn't apply. People will ask Colddiamond questions that won't be necessarily pleasant & could result in losing friends. If a Southerner admits to voting for President Bush or reveal that they believe homosexuality is sinful it will be quite difficult making & keeping friends & jobs.
But Colddiamond sounds like a very pleasant & bright person so she will be fine.
You are really projecting a poor image of the northeast and CA b/c what you say is far from reality. You need to cool it with your ultra partisan rhetoric sometimes b/c you come off as really far left, which really isn't much better than those on the really far right. No offense Happ, but some of the stuff you say is really partisan and one sided and divides people.
Unless you wear your politics and personal beliefs on your sleeves then you will be fine anywhere you go. And that goes for both evangelical republicans and far left socialists. Most people don't obsess or think about the political beliefs of others b/c most of us judge people on their personal character and not who they vote for. I have good friends that voted for Bush and even though I strongly disagree with them on some issues they are still good people and great friends. Nobody I know or have ever known has been fired for political beliefs, pretty sure that is illegal anyways.
As long as the OP moves north or to CA with an open mind and can learn to adapt to the differences rather then get all hung up on them then she will be fine. I know people from the South (Alabama) that have moved to CA and they adapted perfectly well and are enjoying CA.
If the poster plans to move into any of the large cities she will encounter negativity if she is both Republican & evangelical. In the countryside it will likely not be an issue.
Since you are already a Yankee the issue of accent doesn't apply. People will ask Colddiamond questions that won't be necessarily pleasant & could result in losing friends. If a Southerner admits to voting for President Bush or reveal that they believe homosexuality is sinful it will be quite difficult making & keeping friends & jobs.
But Colddiamond sounds like a very pleasant & bright person so she will be fine.
*Grin*
I was too young to vote in both presidential elections involving Bush. I had no say.
Dunno if Id have voted for him back then..I dont exactly remember the politics of when I was 14 and 18 ( I turned 18 in December, hence no vote).
I don't mind people asking me questions. But I reserve the right to tell them blunt answers to those questions. The only ones I'd take offense to are those that would mimick my accent after being repeatedly told it makes me angry, and those that ask blatantly idiotic questions ie ( Do they still have slaves down there? or other such nonsense)
Um, yeah... this might be true for certain parts of California, but I wouldn't say it's true across the board for everywhere outside the South. The job thing seems a little extreme, but I could see it happening in SF. But asking where a church is and not mentioning she's Christian? As if Christians existed only in the South... This thread is so... I don't even know the word. Pitiful? I swear, some of you act like the North and South are Jupiter and Mars. The whole blue state vs. red state/North vs. South divide is such a crock of ****. It's really not that dire. We're all Americans, people.
This isn't true anywhere in Ca, even in SF. Some people may be really judgmental like that but they are a small minority and not representative of the average San Franciscan or Californian. I can't believe you actually think that considering what you say later on in this post.
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
4,084 posts, read 12,678,662 times
Reputation: 1974
Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858
This isn't true anywhere in Ca, even in SF. Some people may be really judgmental like that but they are a small minority and not representative of the average San Franciscan or Californian. I can't believe you actually think that considering what you say later on in this post.
I don't really believe that, but I was conceding the point. While in Denver I worked for a nonprofit based in the Bay Area, so I'm intimately familiar with that small minority and how they think about the rest of the country, particularly the South, which is why I could see it happening. But I agree with you totally regarding average Californians. Kudos to your previous post!
I have a Boston accent and I am mocked by my wife's Michigan family all the time.
Believe it or not most people up north are just the same as down south the difference is that we are catholic not baptist.
We don't eat grits, we eat clam chowdah, lobsta, and for some reason that I don't know of, a lot of Italian food.
Bluntness is considered refreshing up here so be yourself. And if you are nice and comfortable in your own skin people will be drawn to you wherever you go in life.
Is it going to be possible to find a Krispy Kreme anywhere in those areas??
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This thread is so... I don't even know the word. Pitiful? I swear, some of you act like the North and South are Jupiter and Mars. The whole blue state vs. red state/North vs. South divide is such a crock of ****. It's really not that dire. We're all Americans, people.
But I agree with you totally regarding average Californians. Kudos to your previous post!
