Calling all you southerners (mrstjohnson) - Updated -

I'ts *different*.  No doubt about it.  I'm from a little town in western NY state -- very rural (my folk's parents were farmers on both sides way back).  But then I lived in many different parts of NY state (city, rural, other towns, big & small) and then came south when I was 30 to go back to school. 

Came to live down here by choice (I literally loathe snow -- I'll trade hurricanes ANY time for even one day of snow ugh)

Every single state has it's own personality -- different mindset, different way of seeing and doing things.  In general, the south is 'slower' (and they are PROUD of that) which can make the NY'er n me  NUTS most of the time. 

But even in a big urban area like Orlando -- dang you'd think they rolled up the streets at 9:30 -- just TRY walking in for a decent meal anywhere after that time.  no way!  Shoot -- in the little bitty no-place town I grew up in you could go to Perkins' for pie and coffee at 2:00 a.m. for something to do.  noooooooooooooooooooooot down here!!  Recently a FEW  have opened up to 24 hours on .... SHOCK .... Fri and Sat nite!! whooooooo hooo!!!

I'm used to the City -- where you can go anywhere for anything at any hour.  Even in the little bitty burgs in small town rural NY you can find a 24 hour grocery store.  Here?  it's rare -- and all the weirdos are out at that hour (because "normal people" are in bed!!) LOL

One of the first years my husband and I were married (no kids, remember) my next door neigbor was banging on my door at 5:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning to see if I wanted some pie his kid had brought home the night before (working at the local grocery store).  When David and I both appeared bleary eyed the guy actually was AGOG that we might be asleep -- because what kind of lazy idiots aren't up at 5:30 a.m.???

 oyyyy ... it's just plain different. 

You might be able to fly in your salami but yo prolly won't find it in a store.  But it all depends on how open-minded you are about such stuff and how willing you are to find the "gold" amongst the .... un-expected. 

Back when David and I did our cross-country trip (12,004 miles in 60 days) one of the things he noticed so strongly was how STRONG the "personality" was in each and every individual state.  Some good, some bad, some ... just 'different' -- but NONE alike. 

 I am from Long Island - lived there until I left for college.  I have also lived in central PA, very northern NY, Louisville, Bloomington, IN, Annapolis, Charlottesville, and England.  I have been living in Raleigh for 5+ years now.

Pretty much agree with much of what has been said re weather - it is hot and the sun is stronger and it stays hot longer.  But the Spring and Fall are amazing and Winter is a doddle for a Northener.

Mostly true about the manners as well.  All the kids call me Miss Karen.  Everyone chats to you.

I have 'heard' good things about various smallish towns in Arkansas but have no experience with them.

You will be able to find most food things just in different places than you do now and likely by a different name.  When I go 'home' to LI I love to go to the Italian grocers, get pizza, Chinese food and gorge on bagels.  I can get good bagels and pizza here but I like what I grew up on better LOL

If there is a Costco or Trader Joe's or Aldi you will be amazed at some of the cheeses, cured meats and other specialty items they carry.  There will likely be an upscale supermarket that has some specialty items too.  I have also done my homework and found Italian markets, a huge Chinese grocery, and have found amazing things in the hispanic supermarkets.  We also have lots of Indian/Pakistani markets which carry lots of cool stuff.

Off the top of my head I cannot think of anything we can't get here.  But I had to learn where to find it.  And Raleigh is lots bigger than Bentonville but I bet you'll find lots of neat things. And there are some amazing online places if it is something not available locally.

Looking at the map I have a feeling it will be more midwestern than southern - Tulsa is a couple of hours as is Springfield both of which may offer a more cosmopolitan feel so you won't be far from that - 2 hours in that area is nearby LOL

Lots to consider - good luck 

calliecritturs

But even in a big urban area like Orlando -- dang you'd think they rolled up the streets at 9:30 -- just TRY walking in for a decent meal anywhere after that time.  no way!  Shoot -- in the little bitty no-place town I grew up in you could go to Perkins' for pie and coffee at 2:00 a.m. for something to do.  noooooooooooooooooooooot down here!!  Recently a FEW  have opened up to 24 hours on .... SHOCK .... Fri and Sat nite!! whooooooo hooo!!!

This goes to show how different things are even withIN the same state! Around in my area... most restaurants don't close until 12 (stop seating), they close even later. I didn't feel that much of a difference moving from Chicago to Tampa - except for the food. I miss my pizza... =/  We had a few 24 hour starbucks, but they cut back on hours because of budgets... I think there is one a few towns south of me. All our Denny's and Perkins are 24 hr.

Traffic is a lot calmer down here, but then we get all the tourists who have NO clue where they are going - and believe me - FL is not an easy state to navigate! In my area, one street can have 4-5 different names in ONE county!

I have found, people seem to be in much less of a hurry; more polite. After all - it's hard to be rude and in a hurry when you've just spent the day lounging in the sand!

I'm sure FL and AL are way different too - probably a lot more 'southern' than FL.

Ditto on the new delicious food things. But watch portions because the South believes in fat - lots of it! And yes, you can get salami online, lol! I moved here to NC twenty years ago when they didn't have Hispanic anything. Now I can get real Hispanic just about anything, at just about any grocery - and they have Hispanic supermarkets, too. There's also Thai, other East Asian, various Mediterranean, and lo and behold, Filipino markets here too. Not here in Semora or even the nearest "real" towns, but down in RDU just an hour away or so. And the markets are here because the people are here. We have a "representative" mix of races in our teeny country church in Semora - though you will find that ethnicities tend to be more self-sorting on the church level at most places. The pace of life is definitely slower - it took me a while to realize that it was perfectly acceptable, as a housewife, to take a couple hours out of the middle of the afternoon and DO NOTHING, because we have no air, during the dog days of summer. All my neighbors do too. Sometimes we do nothing together. I think that may be part of what gives the south a sort of reputation for friendliness. You must wave. Period. Anytime you catch an eye in your car or if someone drives by your yard. Also, expect to be offered "Something to drink" - not meaning, alcohol usually, but generally iced tea (it's SWEETENED by default here, and the further south you go the sweeter it gets generally). Remember to have "something to drink" on hand for visitors yourself - even workmen and sales people. LOL! Hospitality is taken extremely seriously. Have a game plan on hand to firmly excuse yourself from extending any visit. I use the dogs - "Oh, I've really got to get going - my dogs are crossing their legs at home!" :P It seems like a game to try to overcome any protests you might have to stay another hour, two, or to an additional meal, or overnight - even if they don't WANT you to, necessarily. I adore my adopted state/area - I came within a hair of growing up in GA near the Athens area and I even knew back then (as a seven year old kid) that the South was more my style than the west coast.

ah...no one has mentioned..."time", that I noticed? Time is different down south. You speak slower...and do things, slower. That is just fact. If a southerner disagrees it is because they cannot see it because they LIVE it .

Things just flat out move at a slower pace...from the way people speak, to the way they walk thru a mall, to the way they get to the point they want to make to you, to the way they go about their job...that might be something to get used to...seriously. Especially when dealing with folks in the service industries. They might just as well talk you to death as bring you your meal...etc. They don't mean it...it's just how things are.

 Very True Gina!!  I was born and raised here in NC and I wouldn't live anywhere else!!  I love it here!  The only thing I would change is the heat of the summer!!  But, I don't like to be hot!  The winters are very mild.  All in all, it's a nice place to live!

rwbeagles

You speak slower...and do things, slower. That is just fact

  lol so true I'm from brooklyn ny and I gotta talk slow which is hard because I'm a fast talker and everyone is like what did you just say so you repeat yourself oh and I still say you's I will never say ya'll I've still have my ny accent which I hope never leaves me I live in crystal river which is small I hate it and I've live in Fl since1993.

rwbeagles

Arkansas eh?

I couldn't do it...but I'm from California. LOL.

*raises hand*  Me too.  But for me, I think the main deterrent would be the humidity.  I just don't see myself surviving a hot, sticky summer. The only other states I've been to in the summer are AZ and NM ... no humidity in either of those places. We spent a couple of weeks in Orlando years ago in July, but it was surprisingly coolish and pleasant.

Joyce

Thank you so much everyone.  The pace of things I think will be one of the hardest to adjust to.  I tend to be more fast paced than most up here so it will definitely be "more" than down there.  The one huge thing I like is the no snow part, yet this city is north enough to still get the seasonal changes, which I love.  DH and I were looking at flights there and the good news is there is an airport 20 minutes away and it is cheaper to fly there from Detroit than it was to fly to Milwaukee!!  That is definitely a bonus.

We are just so cautious because of everything that happened in Milwaukee.  A lot of it wasn't even Milwaukee's fault.  We didn't do our research on where to live and we didn't think things would be that different...we were so wrong.  The area we would be living in would probably have a lot of transplants due to the HQ, so that would help I would think.  I am going to go online today to see what kind of stores are around in that area.  You would assume there would be a Sam's Club which would be good since they tend to have different things that a regular store doesn't.

Anymore suggestions are definitely welcome.  I have a call today at 11:00 and will let you know how it goes.  I am asking for a lot beyond salary (vacation, benefits, relocation, etc.) so we will see how they react.

P.S. I HATE sweet tea.  I would make it for guests but there is no way I am drinking it.  Only unsweetened tea for this Yankee girl

Yea... SLOW - is an understatement! I'm constantly being told to speak slower, drive slower, SLOW DOWN! ha.

I think Bonita lives in AL - you might want to send her a PM, she might have better 'culture' insite to that area

mrstjohnson

P.S. I HATE sweet tea.

Then you must ALWAYS remember to ask for unsweetened tea in the South.  If you just ask for tea, it will be chock full o' sugar, lol.

Good luck with your call today!!

I always ask for unsweetened myself - and then add a teeny bit of sugar. I knew an elderly fellow who made tea you could stand your spoon in. Whoo, it was sweet.

brookcove

I knew an elderly fellow who made tea you could stand your spoon in.

Yummy!!  I like my tea really sweet.  I'm a big fan of Bojangles tea.  So sweet....sooooo good!

rwbeagles

Things just flat out move at a slower pace...from the way people speak, to the way they walk thru a mall, to the way they get to the point they want to make to you, to the way they go about their job...that might be something to get used to...seriously. Especially when dealing with folks in the service industries. They might just as well talk you to death as bring you your meal...etc. They don't mean it...it's just how things are.

LOL!  I don't think that this type of slowness is so much about the South as a general small town attitude.  Big cities move fast and people don't want to chat, they need to keep moving or moss grows on them. lol  What I'm saying is that, in small towns people know each other and they catch up on each other when they are at the diner or putting gas in the car.  It's just being neighborly and  friendly. It can be a tad frustrating if you are in a hurry but it is charming to me and I wish more people had that attitude.  I've seen it in small towns from California all the way to upper New York state. I live in a city that takes pride in having a population of a million but with a small town attitude. 

There is a law in Bentonville that you should be aware of Lisa.  You must diplay that yellow happy face logo in your car window!   

 

Nope...I live in Arlington, and that is no small town...same deal, slllloooow talkers and do'ers. Ditto when we drove thru Little Rock...which is a large city for AR. Things just move slower in the south...LOL. I am from a rather small town in California...to me it is not about size...but culture. Even in my small Ca. town people hurried ALL THE TIME, no one knew squat about one another really...nor wanted to.

Bentonville is a BIG retirement area Lisa so you KNOW they have GREAT Bingo!! And when you eat dinner after 5pm in a restaurant you will be alllll alone. LMBO. Good luck with the call!