Yeah, the first snow of the season is magical. After that, not so magical.
One other thing to consider about the south -- if you're at all prone to seasonal depression, you'll be better off in the south, because of all the sunshine. I was one of those people. I lived in Illinois and Utah, and every winter, along with the cold, overcast weather would come a low, melancholy mood. It would hit every January or February. That stopped when I moved south. So if you're at all prone to seasonal depression, that may be worth factoring in.
As back asswards as I think places like Mississippi or Louisiana is in terms of politics, it's always had an odd charm to it for me.
New Orleans is interesting and getting real Cajun food is awesome, but I don't know about the epic disaster weather and hurricanes. (Someone should build a wall?)
I also don't know how heavy the accent gets, especially in Mississippi.
Depends where you are. In the larger cities or university towns, accents are pretty mild. If you stray 30 miles from town into the rural areas, the culture gets more backwoods and the accents get thicker. I actually like the southern accent, until it gets so thick that it sounds dumb and redneck. But a moderate southern accent sounds good to my ears. It feels kind of casual, friendly, and relaxed.
Btw, one plus of living down south is more latitude for eccentricity. You wouldn't think it would be that way -- the stereotype is that everyone down here is locked into bibles and traditional conservatism. Although there is plenty of that, there is also a lot of leeway for eccentricity and individualism. It's sort of a contradiction, and I don't know how to explain it. All I know is, I've met a lot more eccentric characters down here than I ever met in decades of living in so-called "weird" California. I think that's part of the "odd charm" that Viktor mentioned.
I'd beware of of Louisiana. Great seafood, and New Orleans is fun to visit, but it's one of the most poorly governed states around.
Okay this is some good cultural insight. I would have expected New Orleans to have wider latitude for eccentricity as they have Mardi Gras, but I didn't realize the rest of the south was anything like that except maybe 'Weird Florida'.
That's good advice on the accents and good to know. Sometimes it's not just the accents but regional slang that throws me for a sec and I'm not sure if I'll get away from that even in the cities.
I think you run into eccentric people anywhere in rural areas, even up north.
Right, but I wasn't referring to rural areas. I don't live in a rural area. I think it's a bad idea to live in a rural area, if you're living down south. It gets too "country" and redneck.
I live in Arkansas and I have all my life. Just like all places you have good and bad aspects. About the cold, you’ve seen weather I have never known or experienced. I really don’t know what ‘real cold’ is and I hope I never do honestly.
My recommendation is Dallas/Fort Worth. I know someone who has moved there recently and he likes it. Of course the summer is hot but the rest of the year the weather is mild. My best friend lives in Houston and he and his family are sick of the flooding. But city was built on a coastal flood plain and the hurricane that remained stationary for days was unbelievable.
Best of luck to you.
It's not that bad. I can't remember the last time we had 100 degree weather. It's been averaging 90 for the past couple of weeks. The worst is late July and August, when it will be in the mid-90s. It melted me when I first got here, but you get used to it. It's really hot for about 3 months, then it's good the rest of the year. Can't beat the winters. They are like fall elsewhere. Winters really don't exist.
I think the main thing people have to think about when moving south is the cultural/political differences. If you can handle those, it's a nice place to live. If you can't see yourself feeling comfortable with that, find somewhere else to set up shop.
About that, though... There are a lot of unfair stereotypes (and some fair ones, too). When I moved down here, I had all those stereotypes in my head -- backwards, racist, ignorant, Jesus freaks, thumb-up-the-ass rednecks, lots of racial tension, etc. Turns out, that''s all true. No, just kidding. It's only about 25% true.
Having lived in both Florida and Maine, these two states are line bizarre cousins(...but not really) I've always said that the farther you go northeast of Boston, it's like going back down south. The accents get less discernable, and the pickup trucks get higher.Florida is backwards; the further south you go, the closer you are to the North, with the exception of Miami, which exists simultaneously as a borough of New York and a suburb of Cuba.
The South in general is also warped; if you're driving long distances, you'll find in the South that no matter what direction you're driving, you're always happy to leave a state but even sadder to be in the one you just entered. This does not seem to include North Cackalacky, however, as North Carolina and Virginia seem to be much less of a s***show for some reason. But it's some sort of "the grass is always s***tier" effect somehow.
Having lived in both Florida and Maine, these two states are line bizarre cousins(...but not really) I've always said that the farther you go northeast of Boston, it's like going back down south. The accents get less discernable, and the pickup trucks get higher.
The further south you go the more racist it gets until you hit Florida. Then, in Florida, the racism gets less and less the further south you go. It’s like a gradient.
No more dealing with Forklift jackasses.
“You talkin to me?”
I've seen that flag several times, at least in sticker form, up in Maine. Of course, I've seen it a lot more in the south, but somehow it seems all the more ridiculous in the northern-most part of the eastern coast of the US.Michigan has that to, but not as obvious. It's there when going way the hell North to the Westside of the Upper Peninsula. It'f fvcking ridiculous. I unfortunately lived there for a while and regularly saw people there flying the Confederate Battle Flag.
My guess is a weird Rebel mentality leads people to adopt this crap when they live on the fringe of the nation or kind of isolated. They also have resentment about being Taxed by Lansing and feel they're getting little in return from the 'Trolls' under the Bridge.
I mostly mean Lumper services, but most people here wouldn't know what Lumpers are.
In other cases, ridiculous Grocery Warehouses will break down every pallet as they come off so it's not like just waiting for the pallets to be unloaded. The driver waits for literally every item to be counted.