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I don't have any positive or negative opinion of "the south" at large. In general, just as DANNNY does, I tend not to prefer areas with a strong regional identity...i.e. i'd prefer manhattan to brooklyn, central jersey to north jersey or the jersey shore and irvine to newport beach. The southEAST has a better climate than the midwest, northeast and interior west, but much worse than the pacific west; the southCENTRAL (i.e. east, central and north texas) has a worse climate than all but the midwest
The south is very varied, as is everywhere else...I don't know much about the south (even though I grew up in NC) outside of the (sub)urban south. I like the (sub)urban south outside of (typically) its lack of public transit.
If racism was really that bad down south, I guarantee you that blacks would not be coming to these cities in droves.
DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware Included I see your point.....
The deep rural south not soo much plus the International/Foreign born population aren't moving there in high numbers as they are in the Major cities and other US Regions.............
Racism is still high in the south if not against the Black Americans then definitely they are racist/prejudice against the Latinos/Hispanics, Caribbean-West Indian Blacks, Africans, etc.
one thing that bothers me about the south is how much more religious the culture is. i know someone inviting me to join them in going to church is just trying to be nice and help someone out who is unfamiliar to the region and may be looking for a place to worship. but i'm not christian and talk about religion makes me uncomfortable. i mean the people i'm talking about are people i'm going down there to work with. to me i think that's totally inappropriate. these are coworkers, seems very unprofessional to me. i can't imagine me heading up to boston for business and being asked by someone if I wanted to go to church there.
Im from PG County and my mother's side is from Montezuma, GA...DC may be located south of your location but def not the dirty south like GA...Sometimes I cant even understand my own folks when they talk, and Im the one that talks proper to them. Life is much more simpler and less egotistical...everybody is struggling not to struggle down there but care free about it like a millionaire...PPL up north have it way better than the south despite what hood you might live in bc you can still hop on a train or take a bus elsewhere...down south you cant even do that if you arent in a major city. The southern hospitality is real down there ...ppl waive like slavery was abolished 5 years ago...also things are less formal so anything can go....
however some reasons why I couldnt fade the south.....the lack of infrastructure outside the major cities...everything is never ending highway...the nearest walmart was 45 minutes away with nothing to see on the way ...the women in the town were not running for any beauty pageants...but overrall I was there to see family so I wasnt trying to do anything major but chill...and its a whole lot of "chillin" goin on down south if you know what I mean
one thing that bothers me about the south is how much more religious the culture is. i know someone inviting me to join them in going to church is just trying to be nice and help someone out who is unfamiliar to the region and may be looking for a place to worship. but i'm not christian and talk about religion makes me uncomfortable. i mean the people i'm talking about are people i'm going down there to work with. to me i think that's totally inappropriate. these are coworkers, seems very unprofessional to me. i can't imagine me heading up to boston for business and being asked by someone if I wanted to go to church there.
In 21 years I have been living and traveling through the south, I have been invited to someone's church at the most 3 times. The bible thumper stereotype just keeps on going though I see.
DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware Included I see your point.....
The deep rural south not soo much plus the International/Foreign born population aren't moving there in high numbers as they are in the Major cities and other US Regions.............
Racism is still high in the south if not against the Black Americans then definitely they are racist/prejudice against the Latinos/Hispanics, Caribbean-West Indian Blacks, Africans, etc.
Ive been in the South 30 yrs, and have yet to see the high degree of racism that you speak of, even in the rural south.
i went through a lot of racism in the south, actually...
but i don't look at the entire south as being stuck in some sort of racial time warp. i mean not entirely...
thats just how some ppl are in general, regardless of region IMO. i just so happened to have to deal with it more in one region than the other.
I know but places such as Atlanta, Charlotte, etc. are big cities.
off the top
-chilled with gf, who is from that area. we're in a walmart parking lot putting a shopping cart back. there are some ppl in a car laughing, they stop, they see us and one of them warns the others to be careful because there are black folk around.
-was in an elevator where a woman grabbed her pocket book after seeing me get on the elevator.
-again, with gf going back to her car from the mall so we're in a mall parking lot and there's a middle aged white couple (i hate putting the race of the person to describe them). the woman looks at us and grabs on to her husband extra tight.
-had a person give me a stern look as i walked by their vehicle. they put their foot in the car, closed the door and locked it...as if i would rob them. please.
-ppl in certain stores in certain areas won't serve you at all. def no hi, can i help you, etc. no acknowledgment. which wouldn't bother me but when you do it to ppl after i come in then...
-some ppl in fast food restaurants act like they don't want to touch your hand. i had a lady throw change into my hand like i had ebola or something.
-when i lived in the south i had a coworker tell racial jokes. something dealing with salt and pepper. i was like one of three black ppl on the team out of many white ppl. none of us were laughing.
-had a diff coworker tell a joke about mexicans and spanish being inferior. had a diff coworker tell a joke about indians.
-had another coworker mention that black ppl with dreads look dirty.
-had buses pass me by several times because i lived in a white area and they figured i wasn't going to that area. i didn't know why they passed me until one stopped and the driver told me where the bus was going like i didn't know and couldn't read a sign. i was like ...ok...proceeded to try to put my change in and he put his hand over the part where you put your money in. he then told me that the bus wasn't going downtown. which i was fully aware of and it was very insulting. i would have been on the other side of the street if i needed to go into that direction. as if all black ppl in char live downtown or in that vicinity.
by the way, this happened with both black AND white bus drivers. some ppl assume that black ppl can't live in "white areas," i guess.
-i've been called a n'er before to my face by a few ppl. road rage brings some ppl's true color out, no pun.
last story i will share about the big city and metro area of charlotte...
this one was hilarious as it was happening. it was appalling to me:
-was in a christmas store in the metro area, browsing. of course the ladies in the store didn't acknowledge me but acknowledged the white ppl that came after me. thats cool. it happens. i didn't get followed so thats a plus lol. anyway, eventually a salesperson comes over. she sees me looking at these lawn gnome santa looking things. they range from a foot tall to 3 ft or so. i don't kno what to call them. their like santa fairies. anyway, she goes to a back corner, reaches waaaay in the back underneath all of the santas and pulls out these two tiny black santas the size of a small hand and tells me that i may be interested in them.
in my mind i'm like...
we're not even gonna talk about being called a yankee (in a derogatory way), what ppl have to say about nyers, etc. down there.
again, i don't look at all of that and think the entire south is like that or hate the south for that. this is america. you can deal with that type of stuff anywhere, to be honest.
but i just thought i'd share that because if you think you won't go through that in atl or charlotte, you're mistaken. again, this is america. you can go through that ANYWHERE.
If racism was really that bad down south, I guarantee you that blacks would not be coming to these cities in droves.
"blacks" go to the south because (usually) their grandparents and/or parents live there. most of the black ppl that move to the south move for family reasons. its usually a chain. your great grandparents live there...so your grandmother moves. your gm lives there now and your parents are getting older. so they move to be with mom/dad. now will you go??
the rest move for financial reasons. they couldn't make it here or whatever and word of mouth has ppl believing that if they pick up and go then the south is the area to be. its the promised land with cheap housing, land, cheap everything.
IMO you get what you pay for. rent is terrible here, definitely...but the amenities, the wages, the fact that the glass ceiling is higher, mass transit, etc. etc. cannot be beaten. ppl are willing to give all of that up for what appears to be greener grass and they get there and realize what they lost.
also, ppl need to realize that wherever they're from isn't going to be like *insert new area here* so don't go down there with your comparisons and thinking that its not like *insert where you're from.*
and one should never EVER just pick up and move. ANYWHERE. do research, if at all possible visit, definitely job hunt and get some interviews, etc. etc.
mad ppl down south from other areas are stuck down there wishing they could come back here. i've met them. they're all miserable and they're all the type of transplants that southerners hate. the type to compare everything to "back home" and make everybody around them miserable just listening to their home sick selves.
my gf talks about retiring and moving to the south. she's from there tho. i'm like we can get skype and talk/see each other because i'm not going there. i'm sorry.
its too slow and not worthwhile IMO. i prefer the city life. even when i'm old...i'd rather buy a house on the outskirts here and still have access to the greatest city in the country rather than getting on a plane every summer or some crap to visit. i'm good.
i can see the high shorts and fanny packs already. hell no to becoming some nostalgic tourist. being excited to see 42nd st. smh.
IMO you get what you pay for. rent is terrible here, definitely...but the amenities, the wages, the fact that the glass ceiling is higher, mass transit, etc. etc. cannot be beaten. ppl are willing to give all of that up for what appears to be greener grass and they get there and realize what they lost.
This I agree with. The south may be generally less expensive to live in than the north. But in life you often get what you pay for (though not always).
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boredatwork
