Social scene in Georgia is whacked out (Atlanta, Savannah: fit in, home)

[smoky_topaz]

Hi, I have never lived outside of Georgia so I can tell you from experience-people are whacked out BIG TIME! The South has this reputation for being the friendliest nation in the country, but I think it's all a big show. Once you get past the howdy-dos, it seems like people here are out to lunch. Men are drippy bores and so standoffish it's not funny.Women are so fake and insincere. Peolple in general not just men are NOT THAT FRIENDLY. High school, college, adult world you name it why are Southerners so standoffish? Enlighten me please? Men, they act like they are afraid of women or something. But people get married so unbelievably young so I don' t know. I'm living in middle Georgia so I can't imagine what Atlanta is like-probably like NYC from my point of view! If any Southerners are offended by this post and disagree, I'm sorry, you can live your life the way you want. More power to you. I;m just saying. Some of the best friends I've ever had were Yankees and they seemed so NORMAL...I couldn't believe it. I would expect the opposite. Now my ex-who is from Southern California, could talk up a blue streak-I've yet to see any Southerner do that. Maybe I belong in Cali?

[WanderingImport]

This can be a delicate case. It really depends. For the most part though, compared to the rest of the nation, IMO, the south is pretty 'dern' friendly.
Example, a few years ago I was driving home from New York..I get to Savannah and I'm sitting at a traffic light with my headlights on (one of them had blown during the trip which I was aware of). Suddenly, out of nowhere I hear this guy pull up next to me and trying to get my attention. He informs me that one of my headlights is out. It was very friendly and I knew I was back in the south when I heard that.
On the other hand, when riding my bicycle on the road, as far to the right as I can without hitting the curb, I sometimes notice some drivers not care a bit about if theres a bicyclist on the road or not and almost hit me despite having an open left lane to move in to. Southern drivers, IMO, are a different story. The stupidest in the nation.
Really though, I think it all just depends on a person's perspective. People have different encounters and therefore have different opinions.

[JasonPaul]

I find people in the south to be very friendly. I have a friend of mine that moved down from Canada a few years back and he asked me one time why random people would wave at him as he drove by, I told him they are just saying hey. In general I find it to be very friendly down here. Maybe your views on what is being friendly are differant?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by smoky_topaz

: The South has this reputation for being the friendliest nation in the country,

You are aware that the South is not a "nation", right?

[Saintmarks]

I think the South's reputation for friendliness is based on what those of us who grew up in the south were taught as appropriate behavior when in a public situation: Saying yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, no sir when spoken to by an adult (or an elder even when you are an adult), giving a friendly greeting when meeting a stranger, never referring to an adult by their first name, always Mr. or Miss and their first name (again even to elders when you are an adult), saying please and thank you. When someone comes from a part of the country where this is not ingrained, they equate it to southern hospitality and rightly so.

But just like any other part of the country, people are going to have basic personality traits and quirks that are part of being a human, things that you see in any human from any part of the world. Some are insecure, some are brash, some are shy and reticent, some are more verbal, some less, some will have few friends but be extremely loyal to the ones they have, some will seem to be a good friend of everybody but have no deep relationships. The social dynamics of hospitality can be instilled into all these personality types, but once you scratch the surface, these folks are humans and display basic personality tendencies found anywhere in the world.

If you are finding everyone in a certain region to have exactly the same negative traits, I would say with all due respect, perhaps you should look inward and see if the problem might be on your end. Either choose a different set of people to interact with or see if you have personality traits yourself that are repelling people. It might not have anything to do with geography. I predict you will find the same problems anywhere. Remember, wherever you go, there you are.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

You are aware that the South is not a "nation", right?

The defense rests

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by capri man

Moderator removed. Quoted post deleted due to personal attacks/name calling.

Capri man, read my post above to see a more genteel way of expressing this thought without jumping to such harsh conclusion. Remember our southern hospitality and manners.

[smoky_topaz]

Well, a good friend of mine used to live in the Midwest and suggested I go down there. They are supposed to be more "genuine" in their friendliness than Southerners. Its the breadbasket area-lots of different ethnic groups-that would appeal to me. I think Southern hospitality is all a performance. Now, people in their 40s and above who live in the South, I'm not trashing in this article. I see more true genteel in that age group. But people below 35-just out to lunch. Capri-maybe you need to learn some Southern class. Mind your manners ya'all.

[thedudewiththeplan]

I agree about the Southern Hospitality thing being hype as well. I am originally from NH and where I lived there (near Manchester) we knew all our neighbors and everyone I knew was pretty friendly. When I take trips to NYC, I hear more please and thank you's in a week than I have heard in 18 years in Georgia. I lived in Peachtree City (just south of Atlanta) for almost 18 years and the first 2 questions they ask you are what kind of car do you drive and what church do you go to. If you answered either question wrong, they would not talk to you anymore! I live in Augusta GA now, and though it is light years ahead of the Atlanta area in friendliness, it still has nothing on New England!

[smoky_topaz]

Well, I practically grew up in Fayette County. Actually, I lived in Fayetteville, not PTC. You nailed it. Fayette County is the "who's who" land. I don't have a friend to my name there. I never even got asked on dates nor did I have even a platonic male friend (or one or two.) If you are truly down-home Southern , like of three generations or more, rich, like "new money" or something-and want a good place to raise a femily, well, it is perfect. Funny though, dude, PTC has mostly Yankees down there. Figured you'd be more at home there than you would in Fayetteville, which is like old money. But I think what is most important to me is culture. If you don't fit in you don't find your neighbors all that friendly. If you do fit in, it's a different case. I think what I need is a more international city in the South. I know they exist. I like meeting foreigners. I'm attracted to foreign cultures. The more "ethnic" a town is, the more I fit in and get on. But the sterotypical Southern little town, I feel like a fish out of water.