Living In the Southern U.S.

Off Topic
61

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
People are probably nicer down there, I can agree to that.

If you walked down the street in NJ talking to everyone you meet like people do down South, you’d have the cops after you pretty quickly because someone would think you were a lunatic.

Keep in mind that people are much more guarded and much harder in general here because you have to be - there’s many more people and it’s a far faster, much more cutthroat world.

The South moves too slow for me generally, and I tend to feel like I"m going to have a stroke when I’m putting in an order at a food place or whatever.[/quote]

Atlanta doesn’t. Atlanta is ridiculously fast paced… You haven’t been in a traffic jam until you’ve been in an Atlanta traffic jam…People from LA feel sorry for us.
I live 25 miles from work, it takes me an hour and that is considered good. I think it sucks balls. That’s why have a 1350 watt stereo in the car, to take the edge off the drive…[/quote]

I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.

62

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

We’ve already had regional “hard” conversations but the “dirty south” is definitely not soft. Impolite and tough/street smart are not two peas from the same pod.[/quote]

Eh. I live about 15 minutes from NY. Everyone is soft compared to the people who live here in my eyes, but I don’t mean “not tough,” I mean more like “not cutthroat.”

People here do not fucking care about you if they don’t know you. Not at all.

Individual toughness is not based on the region one comes from.[/quote]

aka You New York people are mean.

63

[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]666Rich wrote:
I live in Pgh. I think people here are generally a pretty dour bunch, perhaps because of our weather. I find the Northeast fairly pretentious and reserved.

Charleston South Carolina has had the nicest people I have encountered throughout the US.

Plus, yall know how to eat.Biscuits and Gravy, real bbq, grits, fried green tomatoes, okra… i will gain 20+lbs when i move south. And correct me if I am wrong, but the attitude is not as hostile towards tobacco down there (for obvious reasons).[/quote]

My favorite parts of living in the Land of Cotton:

  1. Biscuits (the crap that you make with Biscuit is barely edible after you’ve lived in the carolinas)
  2. The most obvious - the winters are non-existent
  3. Vitually no taxes ( thank God I have don’t have kids in school)
  4. Little or no requirement to recycle ( srsly I cud show up with a dead body at the dump and they wouldn’t even blink)

My most hated parts:

  1. Forget about ethnicity. Say bye-bye to Little Italy and Chinatown. You are white, black or a landscaper.
  2. If you are Catholic, you might as well be from Mars
  3. Pizza? Ha! Get used to Papa Johns
  4. Nobody - and I mean nobody - looks good in searsucker.
    [/quote]

I am a Roman Catholic in Mississippi and doing just fine, actually a pretty large community of Catholics here.

[/quote]

Obviously we all stand corrected. Thank you.[/quote]

haha didnt mean that to try to contradict you, just offering that while yes, Catholics in the South used to be a minority, the Faith is growing. [/quote]

It’s ok - I’m touchy about it admittedly. I remember after being here for only a week, I get a knock at the door. Two nice little old ladies with pamphlets were asking me to come to their church. When I said, no thank you, I’m Catholic, one replied, “Oh dear, is that a Christian religion?” I agree with you though - it’s growing so I feel better about it.

64

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.

65

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

66

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]666Rich wrote:
I live in Pgh. I think people here are generally a pretty dour bunch, perhaps because of our weather. I find the Northeast fairly pretentious and reserved.

Charleston South Carolina has had the nicest people I have encountered throughout the US.

Plus, yall know how to eat.Biscuits and Gravy, real bbq, grits, fried green tomatoes, okra… i will gain 20+lbs when i move south. And correct me if I am wrong, but the attitude is not as hostile towards tobacco down there (for obvious reasons).[/quote]

My favorite parts of living in the Land of Cotton:

  1. Biscuits (the crap that you make with Biscuit is barely edible after you’ve lived in the carolinas)
  2. The most obvious - the winters are non-existent
  3. Vitually no taxes ( thank God I have don’t have kids in school)
  4. Little or no requirement to recycle ( srsly I cud show up with a dead body at the dump and they wouldn’t even blink)

My most hated parts:

  1. Forget about ethnicity. Say bye-bye to Little Italy and Chinatown. You are white, black or a landscaper.
  2. If you are Catholic, you might as well be from Mars
  3. Pizza? Ha! Get used to Papa Johns
  4. Nobody - and I mean nobody - looks good in searsucker.
    [/quote]

I am a Roman Catholic in Mississippi and doing just fine, actually a pretty large community of Catholics here.

[/quote]

Obviously we all stand corrected. Thank you.[/quote]

haha didnt mean that to try to contradict you, just offering that while yes, Catholics in the South used to be a minority, the Faith is growing. [/quote]

It’s ok - I’m touchy about it admittedly. I remember after being here for only a week, I get a knock at the door. Two nice little old ladies with pamphlets were asking me to come to their church. When I said, no thank you, I’m Catholic, one replied, “Oh dear, is that a Christian religion?” I agree with you though - it’s growing so I feel better about it. [/quote]

I know the feeling, I am a convert to Catholicism, so I have gotten some rough looks and questions from time to time.

67

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.

68

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.[/quote]

Lol okay that did make more sense.

69

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.[/quote]

Lol okay that did make more sense. [/quote]
I thought he was busting our chops. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of a Jetson car or Mr. Gadget propeller hat.

I nearly have an aneurysm every morning/evening and I know it’s coming too. It’s that bad.

70

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

We’ve already had regional “hard” conversations but the “dirty south” is definitely not soft. Impolite and tough/street smart are not two peas from the same pod.[/quote]

Eh. I live about 15 minutes from NY. Everyone is soft compared to the people who live here in my eyes, but I don’t mean “not tough,” I mean more like “not cutthroat.”

People here do not fucking care about you if they don’t know you. Not at all.

Individual toughness is not based on the region one comes from.[/quote]
I know what you’re saying, I’ve spent plenty of time in NY. The rudeness is kind of funny after awhile. A city of grumpy unhappies.

I’ve always pictured it as a sort of “imaginary lat” mentality myself, not a survival tactic but it makes sense I guess.

I had to learn that politely moving to the side on a crowded sidewalk only gets you shoved in to the street ultimately, but standing firm and bumping people gets you cursed out, though nobody really does anything.

Bump somebody here with a dirty word and you get cold cocked with out so much as a clenched fist for a warning, but it’s because most people are polite and there usually isn’t an issue so when some one is rude it’s taken personally.

It’s definitely a different culture with a different expectations.

71

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

We’ve already had regional “hard” conversations but the “dirty south” is definitely not soft. Impolite and tough/street smart are not two peas from the same pod.[/quote]

Eh. I live about 15 minutes from NY. Everyone is soft compared to the people who live here in my eyes, but I don’t mean “not tough,” I mean more like “not cutthroat.”

People here do not fucking care about you if they don’t know you. Not at all.

Individual toughness is not based on the region one comes from.[/quote]
I know what you’re saying, I’ve spent plenty of time in NY. The rudeness is kind of funny after awhile. A city of grumpy unhappies.

I’ve always pictured it as a sort of “imaginary lat” mentality myself, not a survival tactic but it makes sense I guess.

I had to learn that politely moving to the side on a crowded sidewalk only gets you shoved in to the street ultimately, but standing firm and bumping people gets you cursed out, though nobody really does anything.

Bump somebody here with a dirty word and you get cold cocked with out so much as a clenched fist for a warning, but it’s because most people are polite and there usually isn’t an issue so when some one is rude it’s taken personally.

It’s definitely a different culture with a different expectations.[/quote]

I don’t really have negative feelings about it though. It just is what it is, and I’ve lived here my entire life so it’s all that I’m used to. I like it that way.

People who I don’t know who stop me on street and just start yapping (as they will do in the south or in other places) are unnerving to me.

72

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.[/quote]

Lol okay that did make more sense. [/quote]
I thought he was busting our chops. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of a Jetson car or Mr. Gadget propeller hat.

I nearly have an aneurysm every morning/evening and I know it’s coming too. It’s that bad.[/quote]

We work 7-4 to avoid traffic, plus I take Beltway 8. 45, 59 and 610 can kiss my ass.

73

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.[/quote]

Lol okay that did make more sense. [/quote]
I thought he was busting our chops. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of a Jetson car or Mr. Gadget propeller hat.

I nearly have an aneurysm every morning/evening and I know it’s coming too. It’s that bad.[/quote]

We work 7-4 to avoid traffic, plus I take Beltway 8. 45, 59 and 610 can kiss my ass.[/quote]I live in the loop so I’m right in the middle of hell. There is no such thing as an outbound advantage in our dear, spread out, lovely city. Maybe from the Galleria or something but not the actual core.

If you ever discover these “non-surface” streets, please do tell. I won’t make them common knowledge, I promise.

74

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.[/quote]

Lol okay that did make more sense. [/quote]
I thought he was busting our chops. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of a Jetson car or Mr. Gadget propeller hat.

I nearly have an aneurysm every morning/evening and I know it’s coming too. It’s that bad.[/quote]

We work 7-4 to avoid traffic, plus I take Beltway 8. 45, 59 and 610 can kiss my ass.[/quote]

I work downtown, our company gives us a monthly parking permit, or a bus pass. I made the switch to the bus pass, and it makes it sooo much more tolerable. You are right, 59 and the loop can both kiss my ass. I love the park and ride.

75

I have a buddy who lived in Atlanta for a long time, been a southerner all his life.

I asked him how did people get by in the summer time before air conditioning with all that heat and humidity?

“Not sure, but I bet they got drunk… A LOT.”

76

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:

I have a buddy who lived in Atlanta for a long time, been a southerner all his life.

I asked him how did people get by in the summer time before air conditioning with all that heat and humidity?

“Not sure, but I bet they got drunk… A LOT.”

LOL - those people that LOVE Charleston haven’t spent anytiume there in the summer. Go spend a week there in August - it’s like living on the surface of the sun. The humidity is will take your breath away. But I bet lots of booze does help… :wink:

[/quote]

77

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:
I have been through Atlanta traffic, would rather be in that instead of Houston traffic for sure. IT really sucks balls here.
[/quote]

Well, you can’t go 100 yards without having to get on a freeway. It’s basically impossible to drive on surface streets.[/quote]

? Okay.

[/quote]

Sorry, to be more clear, my complaint about Houston traffic is there is really no way to by pass the freeways when they become clogged.[/quote]

Lol okay that did make more sense. [/quote]
I thought he was busting our chops. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of a Jetson car or Mr. Gadget propeller hat.

I nearly have an aneurysm every morning/evening and I know it’s coming too. It’s that bad.[/quote]

We work 7-4 to avoid traffic, plus I take Beltway 8. 45, 59 and 610 can kiss my ass.[/quote]I live in the loop so I’m right in the middle of hell. There is no such thing as an outbound advantage in our dear, spread out, lovely city. Maybe from the Galleria or something but not the actual core.

If you ever discover these “non-surface” streets, please do tell. I won’t make them common knowledge, I promise.
[/quote]

Fuck that I have kids and animals no way in hell would I ever live inside the loop. I never thought I would live in Houston to begin with. Friendswood, Sugarland and the Woodlands will be the only place I live while I am here.

Well I am fibbing on that last part, once this last kid gets out of the house, we plan on getting a house on the water in Seabrook.

78

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:

I have a buddy who lived in Atlanta for a long time, been a southerner all his life.

I asked him how did people get by in the summer time before air conditioning with all that heat and humidity?

“Not sure, but I bet they got drunk… A LOT.”

LOL - those people that LOVE Charleston haven’t spent anytiume there in the summer. Go spend a week there in August - it’s like living on the surface of the sun. The humidity is will take your breath away. But I bet lots of booze does help… :wink:

[/quote]
[/quote]
“swimming holes”, porches (outdoor shade with free-flowing air is more comfortable than being in a “box”)general acclimation.

I know a guy from Detroit who absolutely drips sweat just by going outside in August. It’s sick. He always wonders how we can move around outside and even go jogging while sweating minimally. We are just used to it. Put us in sub-zero weather though and we shrivel up.

79

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]twinexperience wrote:

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:

I have a buddy who lived in Atlanta for a long time, been a southerner all his life.

I asked him how did people get by in the summer time before air conditioning with all that heat and humidity?

“Not sure, but I bet they got drunk… A LOT.”

LOL - those people that LOVE Charleston haven’t spent anytiume there in the summer. Go spend a week there in August - it’s like living on the surface of the sun. The humidity is will take your breath away. But I bet lots of booze does help… :wink:

[/quote]
[/quote]
and we shrivel up.[/quote]

Some more than others.

80

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:

We’ve already had regional “hard” conversations but the “dirty south” is definitely not soft. Impolite and tough/street smart are not two peas from the same pod.[/quote]

Eh. I live about 15 minutes from NY. Everyone is soft compared to the people who live here in my eyes, but I don’t mean “not tough,” I mean more like “not cutthroat.”

People here do not fucking care about you if they don’t know you. Not at all.

Individual toughness is not based on the region one comes from.[/quote]
I know what you’re saying, I’ve spent plenty of time in NY. The rudeness is kind of funny after awhile. A city of grumpy unhappies.

I’ve always pictured it as a sort of “imaginary lat” mentality myself, not a survival tactic but it makes sense I guess.

I had to learn that politely moving to the side on a crowded sidewalk only gets you shoved in to the street ultimately, but standing firm and bumping people gets you cursed out, though nobody really does anything.

Bump somebody here with a dirty word and you get cold cocked with out so much as a clenched fist for a warning, but it’s because most people are polite and there usually isn’t an issue so when some one is rude it’s taken personally.

It’s definitely a different culture with a different expectations.[/quote]

such a generalization, not even close to being the truth, Living and not just passing through NYC my whole life the general rudeness is a bit overstated. I have as well as observed the NYer being uber polite especially to people who are obviously not from around these parts, myself included. When I see a family of mid westerners obviously on the wrong train and panicked I get out of my way to aid them as does other NY commuters. I have no problem starting conversations where it warrants, when Im waiting on line Id rather not get into idle chit chat, when Im at a bar, even in the gym a convo here and there is fine and Im happy to oblige.

On to your other point, Im living proof that many of us NYers would have no problem putting you on your ass if you bumped into me on a street on purpose. So don’t think it will just happen in your city. And all I here is thank you and your welcome in any store in NYC that story you told is anomaly and not the norm…in fact when a thank you is warranted and the person doesn’t get it, a rude your welcome would come next because it is expected.

Ive met plenty of jerkoffs in the south and plenty of cool people. Many southerners hear the accent and either love you or hate you based on the accent.