The 7 weirdest things about living in the South
What it’s really like living in the South
I have officially spent a year living in the South and boy oh boy was it a change for my Midwestern soul. One of the most common questions I get when I move home is “What it’s like being in the Carolina’s?! Must be warm, eh?”.
Let’s face it, Minnesotans are loyal. I can’t even count how many people I know that have stayed up North from birth through adulthood, and honestly no shame on them! Prior to my sudden revelation to move in with Peter (read more about that here), I thought I would be in MN forever because it’s A.) Familiar B.) Beautiful - especially in the summer! C.) Where my whole life was!
So after a year of digesting the ways of the South, I have come up with some of the weirdest things about the South that I didn’t expect!
Brisket served w/ toast, mac n’ cheese & onion rings
Y’all hungry?!
Food is everything, and I mean everything, down here! Each meal is served with at least 2-3 sides, usually as huge portions and full of carbs. Listen, I love me some mac n’ cheese just as much as the next guy, but man, my poor body was not ready for this!
Fried chicken is a staple and acceptable at any time of day, whether it be plopped on some waffles and drizzled in syrup or as the main course paired with some french fries and biscuits. Oh yeah that reminds me, biscuits… also acceptable for any meal.
The weirdest foods we tried
pimento cheese
Livermush
collard greens
beer canned chicken
Southern Fried Boneless Pork Loin w/ Skillet Gravy
2. “You are SO pretty”
Southern charm is a real thing people! It doesn’t matter if you are checking out at the grocery store, sitting in a restaurant or washing your hands in a public restroom, people are not afraid to talk to you and/or compliment you! I don’t mean to sound bashful, but the amount of times a stranger told me they love my hair, eyes, smile, energy, etc. is kind of ridiculous. This place is a serious confidence booster I’ll tell ya that!
I’ll never forget my parents faces when we headed to our table at White Duck Taco and before I could even pull my chair out, the woman next to us leaned over and complimented my hat, making sure I knew how good it looked on me and how it wouldn’t look as good on her oval-shaped head.
3. 90°?! No thank you, honey
It makes me incredibly sad, but people here hate the heat. It’s ridiculous the amount of days between July-October that I was alone at the pool, basking in the sun while people sat in their air-conditioned homes.
4. To-go cups
Let me just quickly brief you on “soda” here. Honestly, it kinda hurts my soul calling it that instead of pop like it should be, but I’ve had too many people stare at me confused when I say “pop” so I had to change my ways.
I’ve noticed a trend in restaurants here: instead of grabbing my quarter-full Diet Coke and refilling it at the machine (like I am pretty sure most of America does), the waitress comes over with a new glass full of Diet Coke and pours it into my old one. Something about this just blows my mind.
Then when I am done with my meal, I can ask for a to-go cup and they will bring me a fresh Diet Coke for the road. Like WHAT??!! I love this but my dentist does not.
5. Slow Sundays
One of my favorite local spots - not open until 1 PM on Sundays though!
For some odd reason, I never realized that we were in the ‘Bible-belt’ until I tried getting food one Sunday morning and everything was closed.
Sundays are sacred family time around here. Church is either at 9:30 AM or 11 AM, lasts about 1.5 hours, and is always followed by brunch at noon. No if’s and’s or but’s. So, trying to get coffee at the shop down the street or shop your favorite boutique just isn’t going to happen until about 1 PM when stores open.
6. Football = Life
I’m not going to say much about this because honestly football… bleh - not my thing. But, let’s just say the NFL is irrelevant & the rivalry of college teams is everything.
I kid you not, we did trivia at a local bar once and the category was “College fight songs”. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I couldn’t even tell you the fight song of my alma mater, let alone Clemson or USC.
7. ‘Southern’ is the official language
There’s a southern accent and then there’s a southern accent. The difference being how many times I ask the person to repeat themself.
Aside from just learning to dissect the words being spoken, there’s some pretty funky terminology used on this side of the country.
Mama/Daddy: it’s not uncommon for grown adults to call their parents this.
Th-e-aye-ter: the place you go to catch a flick is suddenly 3 syllables.
“Ain’t got none”: gotta love a good double-negative.
Ma’am, sweetie, honey: it doesn’t matter how old you are or how old they are, you will likely be addressed by one of these.
Vegetables: suddenly any side, regardless of how it is grown, is a ‘vegetable’. French fries? Biscuits? Fried hash browns? Yup.
I will definitely miss living down here because in all seriousness it has been such an amazingly fun culture shock. I hope you get to make your way down to this side of the country one day for at least a visit to see what the south is all about!
Cheers!
xoxo - Katie