What are major differences between the North and South?|123048

I_m very different in the North, which means I_ll be crazily different in the South. I_m moving from MA to FL. I know that the heat is a major difference, but are there any other differences I should know about?

Many New Englanders retire in FL, so it won_t be very different. Depending on the city. I_ve lived in RI. ME and FL. There are more bugs in FL, watch out for the fire ants. Oh, and no snow!

When I went from the midwest to college in MA, I found the local accents and different vocabulary fascinating. FL has a much older population and southern FL is almost entirely occupied by people from other states so it has more more neutral American except that in the major cities there is a huge Cuban population that does not match any Spanish speaking portion of the population in MA. The Panhandle region is much more southern than the remainder of the state.

other than hurricanes its ****** nice and in fl it is either beautiful or raining its *** of but if your the type that likes dancing in the rain or kissing in the rain you will love it.even though its raining it still feels good ive only been there like 4 or 5 times but the people are nicer in the south.i know thats a stereotype but its true.southern hospitality is real.you will still run into *** holes but not as many as up north

the accent

the slow rate sutheners speak will drive you batty.

the food is good.

florida is a bit of a northern retirement melting pot, so you will fit right in.

You will be surrounded by old people moving very slowly and eating the early bird special. And they have a lot of intestinal gas problems, so try not to breathe.

Latitude? Coastline? Geography? Culture? Taxes? Have a great move and let everyone know what these differences are when you get settled in. See _ya...

Where in FL? East coast? West coast? Southern FL? Answer will depend upon where you_ll be.

A few words from a Yankee who_s been to the South a fair bit:

Like anywhere else, there are positives and negatives.

Large parts of the South are heavily Fundamentalist and very culturally and politically conservative. It can be difficult for a Northerner, especially a liberal and/or openly non-religious one to fit in.

We visited a friend in San Antonio a couple years ago and when she met us at the airport she said _Welcome to Texas. Set your watch back 150 years._ It wasn_t as bad as all that but it IS a very different society. You_ll see more guns, gun shops and heavily armed pickup trucks in the South in one hour than you_ll see in a lifetime in Massachusetts. And, in my not-so-humble opinion, they elect absolutely the craziest people in the world to public office, folks who, up here, would be under long-term intensive psychiatric care (think Tom DeLay, or Senator Coburn. Or George W. Bush).

In many places, the first question asked of a newcomer is _What church y_all go to?_, something unimaginable up here as hardly anybody goes to church. Religion is taken VERY seriously and its easy to give offense by unthinking remarks or random swearing.

On a more positive note, most people are pretty friendly (stay away from politics and religion _til you know folks better, which is good advice anywhere) and _Southern Hospitality_ really exists and is fairly well ingrained in the culture. Even if you look and sound different from the locals, you_ll probably find out all about _Southern Hospitality_ for yourself.

Southerners do talk more slowly, which drives some people nuts but I actually like. The whole culture seems to move more slowly, which I see as a good thing. They take more time to actually TALK to and communicate with others. It_s not uncommon for a business phone call to begin _How_s your Mama? And your Daddy?_ etc. and asked in a manner that implies actual interest in the answer. Slow yourself down, listen up and enjoy the difference.

Southerners use the language very differently, and frequently a lot more expressively than we do. Sometimes it takes a bit of listening to catch on.

The South seems to take a fair bit of (very justifiable) pride in food, its preparation and presentation. Southern cooking ROCKS.

The heat in Florida ranges from unbearable to clinically insane. The climate has been accurately described as _boiled Ireland_. No air conditioning = no life.

Fire ants truly suck and are widespread, ever since they were accidentally introduced from Hell.

Many of the retirees from up here now live in the South, especially in Florida. Their driving skills have NOT been improved by the relocation. Driving in parts of Florida can be interesting, to put it mildly. If you think driving in Boston is a horror story, wait _til you get near an area with a high concentration of senior drivers.

Florida has alligators. Don_t let your pets run loose or they could wind up as Gator Chow. Or Senior Driver Hood Ornaments.