There is a culture shock when other southerners go to some places in the south. 
He should try UF Or FSU, still in the south and give money for national merit but are better schools than say Alabama or Mississippi and have Greek life’s but I’d say they aren’t as larger than life as Alabama
@ucbalumnus I was directly responding to the above poster who stated:
Posting on this site, I should know better to not have examined my word choices more carefully.
My Jersey boy wants to go to school in Nashville so he can “learn to talk like that”
oh and as for smiling at strangers… not too popular in China either Doesn’t mean they aren’t friendly.
There is little hope for peace in the Middle East if we can’t even tolerate the people within our own country.
You might be surprised! 
@MaineLonghorn agree 150%
That general “How are you, a smile, common courtesy” often seem lacking up north even in 2017 which amazes me.
It can be cold and not just temperature.
My former NYC coworkers had “street faces” and were totally different in the office. Hugs hello, how was your trip, how is the family. Super friendly in a safe environment.
There are different norms wherever you go. If you travel the world and think that everyone is going to be just like and going to act like your used because that is the right way, then you are going to be disappointed. I don’t think attaching value judgments based on social norms is helpful. I think it is actually hurtful. While, for example the folks in Maine might not be flashing their pearly whites as much as your used to, we have found them to be good people. When we broke down in Maine with a car full of scouts in winter, native Maine folks who were complete strangers went out of their way to help. Conversely, we have a transgender student from the “deep south” school in question have fellow students and alumni rally around that person to help and support. There is a certain mythology for different areas and people may express themselves in different ways for many different reasons, but in general people at their core are going to be similar. There will be the good with the had. No one corners the market on sainthood. And fortunately, I think that young people in general are more tolerant and accepting than previous generations.
True, and it may be more helpful for the OP to compare and contrast University of Alabama and University of Mississippi to state universities in Ohio (where the OP is) and other non-south universities that may be under consideration, than to make generalized statements about the south versus north that are unlikely to be true across the entire regions.
Another South bashing thread. Great. Just WHO is doing the stereotyping?
And which South? Atlanta is different from Houston from the Alabama Gulf Coast from central Mississippi.
The most provincial people I have ever met are in NYC. And yes, I was a native New Yorker, from a long line of native New Yorkers. The judgments many New Yorkers make about the rest of the world are just laughable-did the world really change so much in 75 years and they just did not notice it?
I was born to extremely southern parents in GA but before I was two moved to NY, the to southern Ohio where I liver all my school years until high school and then went to high school on Long Island. After that I went to college at SMU. It was culture shock there because I didn’t get into a sorority because I was “loud” and because I didn’t dress like they did. It took several years to really fit in. I just wasn’t really they “typical SMU girl” back in the late 70’s early 80’s. I ended up marrying a native Texan and staying in Texas and I love it! I think it is all about how you look at things. If you look for differences or trouble fitting in you often find it. My son looked at deep south schools, Texas school, western and midwestern schools. Not interested in NE because he felt he wouldn’t fit in well. Ended up at Kansas State and loves it. Likes the people and has friends from all over the country there. Bottom line things are different everywhere even from college to college in one state. Find the match that makes you happy and you can afford wherever it may be.
The South is different, but not in the ways the OP lists. Fraternities exist outside the South and not everyone at a Southern school is Greek either. The Debutante crowd would be an even smaller subset than the Greek crowd.
Did you ever stop to think how we ended up with the current occupant of the White House? Why the people most negatively effected by his policies voted for him?
Because people don’t like to be talked down to, or disparaged, by East or West Coast elites, such as we have seen in some of these post denigrating the South, tarring with a wide judgemental brush.
The culture here IS different, but we want multiculturalism, right? Don’t like guns, don’t own one. Don’t like religion, don’t go to church. Don’t like racism, cultivate a diverse group of friends, and work for justice. Worried about Alabama or Mississippi, don’t go.
The southern bashing in these and similar posts is deeply distasteful.
You should probably actually read the thread. I skimmed over to double check and I don’t see any direct bashing of the south. In fact, the OP asking the question was directly an attempt to break down broad sweeping brushes of stereotypes. The only stereotypes I’ve seen really supported here are those about the friendliness of people, and even those have been discussed beyond the stereotypes.
It should also be noted that in terms of the election, the notable voting of states occurred in the midwest, not the south.
One of those things is not like the other.
No, moral equivalency, of course. Just examples of critiques in the 50+ posts, above.
I see negative tereotypes of the south in these posts, whatever the intention of the original question might be. My perception may be different than yours, but it is my perception.
@user1555 “He should try UF Or FSU, still in the south and give money for national merit but are better schools than say Alabama or Mississippi”
I could be wrong, but I would have said that Alabama is better for engineering and business than FSU.
@recussantSam “The southern bashing in these and similar posts is deeply distasteful.”
What do you see as “southern bashing”? Can you be specific?
@PengsPhils , Perhaps you should look at the blue state and city governments and laws in each region before you argue that the north - specifically the north east, is not more socialist that the south. It isn’t a talking point, it is a fact. If you are including North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming etc. in the north you might have a point, but those states are not what most people think of when they think of the northern states. @RecusantSam is 100% correct, just look at some of the evidence:
3 of the 6 states without 2nd amendment mirrors in their state constitution are in the NE (NY,NJ,Maryland)
Zero are in the south. The NE (except Maine+ NH) have the most strict gun laws in the country. You probably don’t know that gun control laws were enacted to keep guns out of the hands of blacks, just like marriage licenses were enacted to prevent interracial marriage.
10 of the 19 states which did not accept the medicare expansion under Obamacare are in the south
1 is in the NE (Maine)
The NE , as a region, has the highest taxes in the US.
The south has the lowest.
The NE is heavily unionized.
The south is right to work.
The NE has Bernie and Elizabeth Warren
The south has Ted Cruz & Jim DeMint
etc. etc.
I too am tired of the bashing by arrogant NE and West Coast liberals of the south, plains, and midwest. I’ve heard it my entire life. Funny how so many Californians and NE people move south for better jobs, weather, schools, homes and lower taxes.
Is it really not liking being talked down to or disparaged, or is it really wanting it to be socially acceptable to talk down to or disparage others, such as by making a textbook definition of a racist comment disparaging someone’s race or ethnicity, or praising the very fine people marching as members of or with extremist racist groups?
You should realize that actions by southerners help fuel those stereotypes. For example, Mississippi’s state flag includes the flag of those who committed treason in support of a position that “is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world” (according to the Mississippi state government in 1861; see https://www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states#Mississippi ). (Georgia is similar.)
Or, in Alabama, a candidate with a good chance of winning a statewide election, when asked when the last time America was great, replied that “I think it was great at the time when families were united — even though we had slavery — they cared for one another…. Our families were strong, our country had a direction” (see http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/07/flashback-roy-moore-says-the-last-time-america-was-great-was-during-slavery/ ).
Obviously, racism is not unique to the south, as evidenced by highly segregated non-south places like Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Baltimore. But painting such an easy target of stereotyping on itself does the south no favors, and gives other parts of the country excuses to avoid addressing their own problems with racism by pointing fingers at the south.