Growing up in the north, I never understood any of the southern stereotypes. You always hear about the southern hospitality, how southern gentlemen will treat you right and about the blazing heat. The city I moved to is called "Hotlanta" for a reason. Being a so-called "transfer kid" is a learning experience. I've learned a lot about the differences in culture from north versus south and how literally even the smallest things change.
Food is way different.
I had never heard of chicken and waffles until the day I moved to Georgia, and to this day I don't understand what is so appetizing about putting maple syrup on chicken.
Everything looks the same.
My first couple of weeks living in metro Atlanta were a nightmare. I could hardly get back to my house from school without using my GPS. Even in the city, where you think you could navigate easily, the roads all look alike.
If you get an inch of snow, get ready for all hell to break loose.
Being from the north (Baltimore to be exact) snow is something we frequent. The south is quite different. If you get even a "dusting" in the South, things go awry. In 2014, two years after I moved to Georgia, the snowpocalypse happened and my 10 minute drive from school turned into a two and a half hour drive.
Everyone is so polite that it hurts.
It's not that northerners aren't polite, it's just we don't go out of our way to be polite. People in the south will go out of their way to smile at you or hold a door for you. Southern hospitality is a very real thing.
Y'all ... just y'all.
Just a shortening of "you all." In the south, people say y'all at least once in every sentence. I've never heard y'all before moving down here and it's a major difference.
Big T-shirts and Nike shorts everyday.
At my college, it's very common to wear an XL T-shirt and Nike shorts to class. However in the north, if you wear that you get nasty looks. This is probably my favorite difference because who doesn't want to wear pajamas to class everyday?
Rain, humidity and heat, oh my!
I am the kind of person who enjoy a good bit of rain every now and then, but not once a week. My dad has a saying about the weather in metro-Atlanta, "It's always 75, humid, with a chance of rain."
