<p>Remember - if you are in the coastal areas of the south - seafood is a BIG part of the diet. And it doesn’t have to be fried!!!</p>
<p>Altsustar, the likelihood that you will be force fed sushi is slim!:)</p>
<p>I’m thinking about the students at Duke (which people here will say is NOT a southern school, but it IS in the south.) My son’s friends are ridiculously fit. All use the gym religiously and several play on more than one intramural team. You can go to school in the south without risking obesity!</p>
<p>OK, I know someone who goes to Vandy and she subsists on fruit and sushi. Lost 25 pounds first semester. I’m told that most of the gals there are thin as reeds (and blond) and lots of the guys are buff. Some stereotyping here for sure…but it’s certainly not a fried food wasteland.</p>
<p>Vandy does not serve sushi in the dorms. However, there are a number of students there who can afford to order sushi at a restaurant every day, I suppose.</p>
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Altsustar-
I’d recommend you not plan to major in math :D</p>
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<p>Who knew?</p>
<p>^^
Yeah - I know!!! I can’t eat the stuff (horribly allergic) - but my DH is a pro. He is always making seafood dishes (my sons love it) - grilled, sauteed, broiled…he does it all!</p>
<p>A fav in our house -
Saute onions and garlic (as much as you want/can tolerate) in olive oil and butter.
Season with crushed red pepper.
When about done, add shrimp and saute until shrimp is done.
Serve over pasta.</p>
<p>How has this thread gone on so long without discussion of VIDALIA ONIONS?!?!?! Yummm!!</p>
<p>I’m told they get sushi from Whole Foods and keep it in the dorm fridge. Along with the fruit.</p>
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<p>That’s because Vernor’s was sold to one of the big names and they changed the formula so that it is less gingery. Now it’s about the same thing as Fanta. Blech.</p>
<p>Vernor’s used to be my favorite thing about Michigan. :(</p>
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<p>LOL. I just noticed that. Good thing I’m not walking within a pike’s length of math.</p>
<p>I somehow didn’t notice this thread until this morning but now after reading, I’ll weigh in as a parent from PA with a son at Roanoke College in SW Virginia- one of the college’s on the OP’s list. Roanoke has a huge amount of kids from the mid-atlantic states. I know of half a dozen kids from my area of PA, and son is pretty close-mouthed about who his friends are so that’s saying something. He’s had no trouble assimilating and has friends from both Northern and Southern States.</p>
<p>My son doesn’t say so much about the Southern food as he does about food from here that’s missing down there - pierogies and good cheesesteaks. His college town is almost identical to our small town here in PA, the surrounding mountains are just a little taller. I think the kids that have the hardest time adjusting are those from a city. If you are from a small town I think you’ll find more similarities than differences. We’re driving through Roanoke on our way to Florida in a week and are planning to take him and his roommates to dinner at this place - [Home</a> Place Restaurant, Catawba - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g57580-d819537-Reviews-Home_Place_Restaurant-Catawba_Virginia.html]Home”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g57580-d819537-Reviews-Home_Place_Restaurant-Catawba_Virginia.html) for some of that yummy Southern cooking.</p>
<p>Sweet tea - I found out that you can ask for it half sweet! I don’t know about the whole South, but I really like Southwest Virginia and would not be unhappy if son settled down there. He’s a pretty slow moving guy himself and the area seems to suit him. My husband and I lived in Roanoke for a year when our oldest was a baby and I would have loved to have stayed if we could have.</p>
<p>I don’t get the conversation about lack of fresh veggies - there are roadside stands all over the country aren’t there? Do we really need a Whole Foods market to gather them and sell them to us for five times the local price?</p>
<p>^^^
hmmm…looks like you have a problem with Whole Foods?
Don’t think there are lots of road side stands right in Nashville…certainly not any that also carry sushi 
My Vandy buddy LOVES Whole Foods and goes there regularly with a group of girls - money doesn’t seem to be a problem and at least they’re eating healthy stuff! I agree about their prices though…I feel like I’ve been robbed every time I walk out of there. Trader’s is better anyway…</p>
<p>Money is not a problem for the majority of Vandy students.</p>
<p>Cheesesteaks- that’s going to be a problem ANYWHERE outside of eastern PA. I had to get past that problem years ago. In Dallas we had a transplant who actually flew the bread in from PA. The steaks were the real deal. He even brought in Tastykakes. Otherwise, have to go back to PA for them.</p>
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<p>Love 'em. These frozen pierogies will do in a pinch: [Mrs</a>. T’s Pierogies](<a href=“http://www.pierogies.com/]Mrs”>http://www.pierogies.com/)</p>
<p>“Money is not a problem for the majority of Vandy students”
Oh yes, I DO agree based on what my friend tells me. Wow. For weekends, they sometimes rent vans, drive to Florida beachs, stay in nice condos, and get all dressed up for a nighttime formal.
OK, I went to school in the NE and this is SOOO different from my experience. Wow. Sounds like fun if you have the cash…</p>
<p>There’s no shortage of people in the Northeast who live like that, either.</p>
<p>We do that here, too, but the van is a 1976 Plymouth Voyager, the “condo” is a shack, and “formal” means you drink Miller High Life instead of Miller Lite. :)</p>
<p>kathiep - Thanks for the input about Roanoke. I think my son will be fine if he ends up at a southern school. We’re taking trip in a couple weeks and will be visiting 7 schools in Virgiinia, Sc and NC. I would still prefer he choose a school that’s near the beach!!!</p>
<p>“I live near San Francisco, and my parents are HORRIFIED of me going to the South (of whose schools form almost half of the schools I’m applying to).”</p>
<p>good luck, Altsustar–Southern parents have warned their kids to steer clear of anyone from San Francisco ;)</p>
<p>warriorboy, A friends daughter from my area just finished her freshman year at UNC- Wilmington and loved it. I know someone else though whose child was evacuated at least twice from there during Hurricane season. I think the first Hurricane was right after college started. Nothing like starting College with a little hurricane excitement!</p>