Have you ever traveled through the Deep South in the USA?
I grew up in Mississippi, but also lived the better part of a decade in Europe. At 18 (in the late ‘60s), I thought I couldn't get far enough away from the South and went to Europe. Mission accomplished. Europe was wonderful and I loved it, but the distance also slowly made me appreciate the intricacies of the South as well. After 8 years I eventually moved back to Mississippi and stayed. Yes, we have our stereotypes and our quirks, but what place doesn’t. The South has come a LONG way since the 60s. I have friends and family here and it’s home. It bothers me that the myths of the Old South, as backward and racist, are continually perpetuated in TV, movies and the media in general. It’s hard to escape our past, and it wasn't pretty, but thanks to the media, the world sees a very distorted picture of the South today. For whatever reason, despite our image of lacking in education, we probably have more accomplished artists, writers and musicians than any other state in the union. It’s the birthplace of Elvis, the home of the Blues, the home of William Faulkner, etc. An interesting read for anyone interested, is “DISPATCHES FROM PLUTO”, by Richard Grant, an Englishman who moved with his wife to the Mississippi Delta a few years back. He does a wonderful job of capturing the beauty and the mystery of the South without whitewashing it. Don’t knock the South until you’ve experienced it. I have European friends who’ve come to visit me, who’ve fallen in love with Mississippi. Everyone’s experience will be different of course, but to sum it up, on a personal level, I’ve experienced life and culture in Europe and I wish everyone could do that, but I now live in the South by choice. The South has a lot to offer.
So what's it like living in the deep south?
Well, I was born and raised in the south (born in Tennessee, but lived in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and currently Texas). My family, however, are all from up north and I've always lived in a big city. So, I can see the differences. Florida isn't exactly the deep south. It has an east coast vibe to it. I can tell you that the topic of racism and affirmative action to come up a lot more in the south. People do act slower (but drive equally as bad). Many people outside the bigger cities and their suburbs aren't as educated. We don't ride horses to school/work. You'll see many more trucks and SUVs in the south (I realized this when visiting relatives up north). Then, there are a few basic differences in phrases and slang. Everyone in the south (except me it seems) calls any soda a Coke. It doesn't matter if it is Pepsi, they still ask for a Coke. Accents were another major difference, but not significant. Oh, each state in the south seems to be fiercely proud of their individual BBQ (but it's not like they have BBQ 24/7). You'll definitely notice more people listening to country music and bluegrass. Depending on if they are middle/upper class and from a suburb/big city, they will be more accepting of international cultures (this is true for many people I've know throughout my life and not just a generalization). Aside from that, southerners all like to shop as much, like to eat out as much, like to travel as much, like to hang out with friends just as much, text message/talk on the phone just as much, use Facebook/MySpace just as much. We have many of the same things in common. I'm a student at the University of Texas at Austin. I love it here. I'd say Austin is very much like Seattle (but hotter) -- > very progressive, very liberal. I don't exactly consider Texas part of the deep south though either. Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina...you'll definitely notice that there are much larger populations of African American and Hispanics living in the south. ( I don't mean this in an offensive way or anything.) PS - I recently heard something interesting about the Civil War for the first time when talking to someone from Alabama recently. Apparently, many southerners call the Civil War the 'War of Northern Aggression.' I had never heard that until recently though.
Why is Florida not considered a part of the South?
South Florida and some of Central Florida are not considered part of the South. The Panhandle and North Florida are. In between is a gray area; if there's a dividing line, it's probably somewhere between Orlando and Ocala.Why? Geographically, Florida is certainly part of the Southeast Quadrant of the United States, broadly speaking, but most of it is nevertheless geographically distinct from "the South," because it is a peninsula stretching into the Caribbean. It's simply Florida.Culturally, much of Florida is similarly distinct from "the South." This is owing to its history. The State was a Spanish possession until 1819, and largely Indian territory until its admission to the Union in 1845 (after which wars with the Seminoles continued until nearly 1860), more than 30 years after the Louisiana Purchase of land as far West as Montana. And it would remain the least populous State in "the South" for another century. So basically, Florida was never settled in the same way many other Southern states were. What turned Florida into the most populous State in "the South" (unless you're counting Texas) today was a series of developments that led to mass migration after World War II, including rising prosperity, the interstate highway system (and subsequent advances in air travel), and air conditioning. These led to the large-scale dispersal of Americans from the old population centers of the Northeast and Great Lakes to warmer climes in the South and West. While some moved to Los Angeles or Phoenix, many New Yorkers moved instead to Miami and many Midwesterners similarly moved to the Tampa Bay area. At the same time, large numbers of Cubans migrated to nearby Miami following the Fidel Castro-led Communist revolution of 1959. Latin Americans of other nationalities later followed, seeking economic advantage.Today, only about 1 in 3 Floridians were born in the State, the second-lowest ratio in the US. While neighboring Georgia is the second-biggest feeder state, followed by debatably Southern Texas, the biggest is decidedly un-Southern New York, with the top 5 rounded out by New Jersey and California. Meanwhile, over 60% of Miami is foreign-born, higher than any other city in the nation.
So any cons about living in the deep south?
So yea, lets hope I can get all of them down but I will still leave some out. 1. Too hot and humid. 2. Too many bugs and poisonous snakes. 3. Low cost of living and low taxes means little to no funding for things like better schools and better facilities, most states down south rank in the 40s when it comes to education. 4. Majority of the people there are really behind when it comes to understanding things, basically, yes it is true, there are plenty of dummies there. 5. Racism is still an issue, also it is very anti-gay down there, a prom was shut down in Mississippi because a lesbian couple came. 6. Nothing to do there, states are poorly funded and nothing rarely even happens in most places other than an occasional football game. 7. Low quality educational system. 8. Life there can be REALLY boring. 9. Deep south states have the highest obesity rates in the US.