As a Southerner, how would I be treated?

[Wi_Girl]

I am from Wisconsin, born and raised 19 years. My brother in law is from Virginia and married a Wisconsin girl and moved back...I married a 'southern boy' from Virginia and am now working on getting him to leave Virginia and move back to Wisconsin too! LOL He is very accepting of the idea and we hope to be back in about 3 years (have to finish school first).

[Ayla12]

I moved here after living in Georgia for most of my life, but with some experience in the Northeast and West Coast too, I think that the Midwest shares some of the best aspects of the South in that people are friendly and not very judgemental. People comment on my accent as a conversation starter, but I've never been teased for it or had people automatically assume I was a blithering idiot (which HAS happened more than once in the Northeast). I live north of Madison in a very small town and people are just plain down to earth. I also enjoy the college town atmosphere of Madison as well as all of the city ammenities. Madison is actually rather affluent compared to most of the South, but not inan obvious or off-putting way. I live in a slightly lower income area and would consider my self upper-middle class and I have never had anyone act critical of my lifestyle (which would be average or less in Madison). There are a lot or people that I would consider down-home country, but only a few downright rednecks.
There are opportunities for just about any career around Madison, and if you like to play hard too this is the place to be. Non-stop activities winter and summer. I live on the river and love it, for boating, kayaking, fishing etc in the warmer months but am also about 10 minutes from a small ski hill and 20 minutes from some great cross country skiing when it cools off.
Basically, the Midwest in general is a good choice, and the Madison area in particular I would endorse highly; I say go for it!

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

My grandma is from Tennessee, so I have a lot of family and friends throughout the South. I love the South. I always stick up for it when people dis it, because most Southern stereotypes are outdated and not reflective of the diverse region that is the modern South. Having been South so many times I've come to appreciate many things about it, including its unique, friendly culture, its cuisine, its music, and its natural beauty.

Should you come to Wisconsin, you'll find things are quite different here, but there are enough similarities to make you feel at home somewhat. You'll notce the pace of life is alot faster here. When I'm in the South I'm always amazed at how laid back people are ... it's like they've got all day to just have a chat with a complete stranger. One time I was in a grocery store in Columbus, Georgia, and when the store manager noticed our Yankee accents, we fell into a long conversation with him that lasted for almost twenty minutes. I didn't want to be rude, but I actually had to get going. That kind of thing would never happen here. In the Midwest we're polite, but we're always on the go, and we never linger for long.

We have our own unique regional cuisine, but the large population of African Americans in Milwaukee means you'll never be far from good, down-home southern food. I'm a big fan of BBQ, and there are places in Milwaukee, most notably Speed Queen, that can hang with the best BBQ I've had down South.

Generally I think people will react to your accent first, and maybe a few jerks will make openly disparaging comments about the South. But for the most part when people first meet you they'll keep their (ill-informed) opinions about the South to themselves. Over time, as you get to know people and they open up, you'll have to do some active re-education, updating people's notions about the Southern US.

[KateDaum]

I grew up in Missouri but have lived in a number of other places. I do have a slight southern accent. People in WI have never really commented on it. I know it has lessened after years in the northeast but it is still there.

[sdeweese]

I don't understand why this question garnered four pages of responses. From my limited experience (56 years) of living on this planet I have found that the people from Wisconsin are just like everybody else I have met-you are cordial to them and they reciprocate. Wisconsin people are great regardless of the syntax you transmit, whether in writing or orally.