<p>In its north, Florida is the South. Or so I’ve been told.</p>
<p>I just today got back from a week in Florida (Ft. Myers area). I have been to Florida many times. There are certain pockets that may resemble the “real” South, but mainly in the negatives (I saw some really offensive, conservative billboards driving down I75 in the north part of the state). Otherwise, the vibe is about as un-Southern as you can get. I’m not saying Florida has no pluses, but Southern is not one of them.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Portland is actually the most “polite” city in terms of least honking (and least likely to run down bicyclists, probably.)</p>
<p>I don’t know any southerners who consider florida to be a part of the south, and I know a lot of southerners. The grouper there is still fantastic. Anywhere you have to order sweet tea instead of just tea is not in the actual south, according to many I know. 
Anywhere where they give you tea with sugar packets when you order sweet tea is in the north, regardless of geographical location. Florida they give you sugar packets.</p>
<p>I have to say that the one place I’ve ever been where nobody honks the horn ev-er is Texas where most trucks also have a gun rack, WITH a gun in it. My mother lived there when I was living in NYC, and the first time I visited she very earnestly explained to me not to honk the horn. She said it is the opposite of NYC, where you get in the car, turn on the ignition and lay on the horn the entire way to wherever you are going, whether you want to or not.</p>
<p>She was fortunate enough to have had this explained to her by a very nice gentleman with a pick up truck who pulled up next to her at a stop light. “Noticed your plates,” he said. “YOu could get killed for honking that damn horn around here, you know.”</p>
<p>She was not under the impression he was joking. She thanked him and drove off very, very quietly…</p>
<p>OK…you are behind a driver at a light. Their head is down, not looking at the changing signal. More than likely, in Los Angeles, they are writing a screenplay on their I-Phone. How does one politely remind them that all the colors available( red, yellow and green) have come to pass?</p>
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<p>Back in the day, did any of you Southerners ever notice a big, black mustache on one the huge George Wallace welcome signs at the Florida/Alabama border? :)</p>
<p>And add cornbread and dazzling white, sugar-sand beaches to the things I like about the South.</p>
<p>musicamusica^^you just wait and wait and wait LOL until eventually they look up and make embarrassed, apologetic gestures and pull forward and you make “it really doesn’t matter” gestures and everyone has a much calmer day all around.</p>
<p>You only honk if someone is in harm’s way.</p>
<p>at least where I live.</p>
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<p>go mapsey!!</p>
<p>William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee, Barry Hannah, Ellen Gilchrist</p>
<p>Drive-By Truckers, Cat Power, OutKast, Verbena/Scott Bondy, Kings of Leon, Whiskeytown, Squirrel Nut Zippers, REM, B52s, North Mississippi Allstars. I’m not even touching Nashville, Texas, or NOLA.</p>
<p>Country. Bluegrass. Blues.</p>
<p>^Yes! And Truman Capote.</p>
<p>…lived in the great state of NC all my life…here goes…</p>
<ol>
<li> Eastern NC BBQ…best with authentic eastern NC cornsticks, but h-pups will do.</li>
<li> Great state u’s w/ reasonable costs that kids love to go to.</li>
<li> Beautiful beaches with lots of public access </li>
<li> Slower way of life.</li>
<li> Spanish moss hanging in the trees</li>
<li> People who say “hey, how’s your Momma doin?”<br></li>
<li> warm weather and the smell of the river out my back door.<br></li>
<li> general friendliness, even among strangers.</li>
<li> Grits,collards,country ham,banana pudding, soft shell crab/fried oyster sandwiches</li>
<li> People who don’t laugh at my accent</li>
</ol>
<p>1) Nobody asks me “Is lime an okay flavor for your margarita?”
2) Waffle House. Scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, topped, diced!
3) Friendly hobos
4) Tex-Mex
5) I like that Texans have a warm, snuggly feeling about their state. We love the USA and we love Texas and we’re (typically) just delighted about both. My husband has to look up his state bird, but I know that the state bird of Texas is the mockingbird, the state tree is the Pecan, the state motto is The Lone Star State, and I know all the words to “Texas, Our Texas”. (Texans joke about secession, but to discuss it seriously is blasphemy… we’re working on getting this Rick Perry joker ousted. Give us a few more months an’ we’ll git this all sorted out.)
6) My southern belle grandma, God rest her beautiful soul
7) BLUEBONNETS! Gorgeous fields of blue, everywhere along the highways in the springtime!
8) Boots
9) Big Tex and the State Fair… and related, the South’s ability and willingness to shamelessly deep-fry <em>anything</em>.
10) HUGE blue skies
11) Sampling coworkers’ deer jerky in early February
12) Northerners who come to the South and go jogging around the neighborhood and end up completely flabbergasted after getting a “hi” and a smile from every other jogger, walker, and homeless person that they run into
13) Going out to a construction site and having a weathered, sixty-something contractor royally chew me out for designing something completely unbuildable, but still call me “Miss Aibarr” with a nod of respect, a big southern smile, and not a hint of irony
14) BBQ</p>
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<p>Ok, do I live in a completely different “Texas?” Am I dreaming and just thinking I live in Texas, but I actually live in another state with educated, rational human beings?!</p>
<p>I cannot even remember the last time I saw a truck with a shotgun displayed in the back window, unless I’m out in the country during deer hunting season, much less do “most” trucks display shotguns in them! I do live in Dallas, a pretty large city which has gotten fairly cosmopolitan in the last couple of decades. </p>
<p>Nor do we have frequent shootings as a result of honking your horn at other drivers. As stated before, my MIL is on her horn constantly with no consequences.</p>
<p>When I was in high school, a girl transferred in from California. She expressed shock that we didn’t ride our horses to school and tie them up to a hitching post. I guess some stereotypes never die. When I went to France as a new college grad, I was constantly asked if I knew J.R., if I lived on a ranch, and how many oil wells did I have.</p>
<p>Have lived in florida, boston, california, houston and north carolina.</p>
<p>In houston when I was there for 5 years , three times someone honked their horn at the person in front of them at a light and the person got out of the car and shot them for honking!</p>
<p>Best thing about NC was the cheese grits at a fish fry, azaleas and dogwoods in spring and state spirit. Worst thing was the plain grits at every breakfast in the college cafeteria or slapping cole slaw automatically on every bar-b-que sandwhich or cut off jeans shorts still.</p>
<p>Best thing about texas was the bar-b-que and the gulf fish. Worst thing was the heat.</p>
<p>However, now in ca 20 years. Ca supposedly has friendly people but this is nothing compared to texas or nc. In texas you could stay at the check out counter at the grocery store carrying on a conversation with the clerk who is a complete stranger for 20 minutes. In boston once I tried to talk to people waiting for the train from concord to boston. The people actually walked away from me when I tried starting a conversation with them. </p>
<p>In college my roommate in nc was mad at me for the whole first semester. Finally it came out he didn’t like me at first because I was born in Mass and so was a Yankee! He actually tried to debate me on who actually won the civil war. I could not believe it. Plus he had never met a catholic and didn’t think he could trust me since “I worshiped statues”
One of the fraternities on campus had a big dance every year where they dressed up in confederate soldier uniforms for their formal.</p>
<p>Best thing about florida was coeds wearing their bikini tops to class, the beach, key lime pie, no snow and the weather. Worst thing is lack of liberals, mosquitoes, cockroaches, tar on the beach, 90 year olds with driver’s licences and everyone still smokes</p>
<p>Well, this was outside Houston in the late 80’s, and who ever said the gentleman wasn’t educated???</p>
<p>I happen to really like Texans, personally, though I find the heat in July and the prehistoric size of the mosquitos terrifying. But, quite the fourth of july parade. I will say.</p>
<p>Sorry if you took that as an insult, though. My husband is a hunter. Got nothing against a gun rack or a responsibly used fire arm, myself.</p>
<p>Packmom-
as an air force brat who travelled my whole life, with 2 tours with dad at seymor johnson coming to NC felt like coming home. My kiddos did not understand, at first.</p>
<p>But now, middle son calls from from up north (NJ) and I only say 2 words, last sunday I think, “carolina blue”, and he just sighs.</p>
<p>He asks if I had Bojangles or his sis did, did the tea hurt my teeth and is the backyard covered with cardinals, if the ■■■■■ willow is starting to bud, the azealas and the crepe myrtles…I told him a little are just starting to bud, in the last 2 days, and the honeysuckle will need to be trimmed so it can bud.</p>
<p>And this is my big, burly football/wrestler who loves his carolina. He was raised as a very laid-back surfer with flip-flops but after the move he now has a slight accent.</p>
<p>His love of home now is my last ace-in-the-hole to get him to come home for med/business school. I told him Boston/Philly/NYC/NewHaven/Chicago is too, too cold for him.</p>
<p>And for the first time in 4 years, he actually said, maybe.</p>
<p>Sooooo, I love the little fish shop at Kure Beach, the baseball games in Durham, all the new wineries, the new DPAC, mama dipps in CH, and yes all my CRAZY, ACC obsessed neighbors.</p>
<p>And yes at the vet hospital, daughter is called “Miss Ashley”.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
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<p>We bought a weekend place in a beautiful region in west Texas. Being from a large city, I was a little taken aback at first when I noticed that everyone who drives past you in the opposite direction waves at you. I actually found it slightly annoying, but I’ve finally gotten on board with that and do it myself. Then convert back to my city girl ways when I get back to Dallas.</p>
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<p>No apologies necessary. I didn’t take it as an insult, just as completely inaccurate. Then again, as I noted, I live in the city. Could just as well be true further out. It’s a big state.</p>
<p>Texans are great and very proud of their state. I keep the fact that I’m actually a native Californian on the down-low, however, as some will deny me the privilege of calling myself a Texan.</p>
<p>I’m from West Central Texas. Ranch Country.</p>
<p>1) The sky at night.
2) The sky during the day.
3) The trip I can (and will ;)) take Sat and Sun where I’ll go 700-1000 miles round-trip to ride the 3 Sisters>> <a href=“http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/SouthWest/TX/TX_2.shtml[/url]”>http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/SouthWest/TX/TX_2.shtml</a> on my giant dirt-bike >>><a href=“http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/schemephotos/R1200GSadv%20alpine%20white.jpg[/url]”>http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/schemephotos/R1200GSadv%20alpine%20white.jpg</a> and share the road with …at most… 100 vehicles a day (and 90% will wave). And that includes the towns. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.</p>
![http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/schemephotos/R1200GSadv%20alpine%20white.jpg[/url]](http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/schemephotos/R1200GSadv%20alpine%20white.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>If you see me … be sure to wave, or at least get outta my way. ;)</p>
<p>I saw plenty of gun racks on trucks during my 28 years in Dallas, and I DID know JR (well, sort of. I knew the family that owned Southfork).</p>
<p>Niceville, Florida (panhandle in general)…that’s the South. They call it Lower Alabama.</p>