After living in the north for the past 18 years of my life I can tell you two things; one, it is nothing special and two, I could not get out of here soon enough. I knew going to school in the south would require some transition but the best way I can describe it is culture shock to the max. These are a few things that really stuck out to me my first year living down south.
When moving to the south you quickly learn that the so called stereotype of northerners being rude is somewhat true. In the north, if you hold a door open for someone, it is a very rare sight and means so much to people since that common courtesy isn't as common as it should be. But once you cross the Mason Dixon line everyone holds doors open and will smile at you. Yes you read that right. Not only do people hold the door for you but they always have a smile on their face while doing it; this is just their way of showing southern hospitality which actually is a thing. This might seem insignificant to most people but it is something I noticed almost immediately once I moved down south.
You might think that you can take a girl out of the north but you cant take the north out of a girl but give it about 6 months and you will notice yourself slowly evolving into a southerner. You will be saying y’all in just about every sentence and you wont be able to go a day without sweet tea. Also before you know it, your friends back home will start to say that you have a light southern accent, but hey if you stay somewhere long enough you will subconsciously start to adapt.
Snow is the equivalent of the end of the world. The snow was what I hated most about the north but when it came February in South Carolina and I hadn't seen snow in 14 months I was pretty excited. Now when I say snow, I don’t mean a foot or any more than an inch, but in the south the first sight of a snow flake everyone runs to the closest Food Lion or Bi-Lo and buys enough groceries to get them through the next 6 years. Being from the north, I knew the minimal amount of snow was nothing so while everyone was running around panicking its easy to sit back and laugh with not a worry in the world
Bless your heart sounds like the nicest thing a person could say to you but little do you know, it is a way for people to insult you without being rude. This is why I love southerners. Even when they want to be rude, they still make it sound nice. If you were in the north no one would bite their tongue and they definitely wouldn't be nice when insulting you they won’t hold anything back which is why the stereotype of rude northerners exists, but it is what it is.
It's going to seem like a whole new world for a while and it will take a little bit of time to adjust. Once being called a damn yankee doesn't phase you anymore, I think its safe to say you’ve officially adjusted. Theres no telling how long it will take for you to adjust, but once you start living the southern way of life you will never want to return to the hectic north.
