A little advice to all the Yankees looking to move down south!

[hentob]

OMG! I have had some fantastic meals in northern regions! Regional recipes may be different, but its all good IMO

You got it!!

 

[Buckalew11]

I'm a yankee who moved south so I am what they call a damn yankee.

I have no problem being called a yankee (and believe it or not I have lived here for 32 years & am still referred to as a yankee.) As long as they leave off the "loud mouthed yankee", I'm OK with it. I do not want to be know as a loud mouthed anything.

I think what makes the difference is when people move North or South, are they happy? If so, it is all good--food, drivers, pace of life etc. If they are not happy, everything is wrong with the region.

And where I moved to 32 years ago was a small, rural area of east TN. If they did not like you, they burnt your house down. (Honest) If they wanted to scare you out of town, they'd tantalize you (poison your outdoor pets--mean things like that! Honest!) and if you crossed them or one of their 4th cousins removed, they'd slit your throat or shoot you with their shot gun--Honest, again!
And most of the time, they'd get away with it because nobody ratted each other out and if they did, they were next.

Luckily, we didn't make anybody mad.

Nowadays it is better but, if you go backwoods enough, it is still pretty rough.

 

[Liliyana]

I take GREAT offense to the stereotype that Northerners "just can't cook"--Which is absolutely ridiculous. Holy cow! That is just sooooo wrong!

I feel like saying--Have you ever eaten Up North?

I wistfully daydream about NE food almost daily. *starts randomly murmuring about cheesesteaks, hoagies, Taylor ham, lebanon bologna, Cooper cheese, etc. etc. etc.*
By the way, I've been down here since 1990 and people still call me a Yankee. Didn't know it was negative

 

[SadieDog]

Funny, when I read "Northeast" I don't think of NY or NJ b/c I am further Northeast, living in Maine. MANY times over the years I have come across people on vacation that comment on how the Mainers they have dealt with are polite, kind and friendly. Of course, there are nice people and jerks no matter where you live.

 

[hentob]

Now--Don't get me wrong, The South is to die for as far as fried chicken and pies. I swear, I could NEVER get fried chicken to taste as good as I have had Down South. Can you see my mouth watering?

But, us ignorant fools Up North have some awesome chow too! Cheese Steaks, halushki, beelines, FANTASTIC pizza and Chinese, don't forget our amazing sushi chefs and the Thai Food too. I could go on and on. Yum!

More than enough, I have witnessed a DIS Southern Folk knock us as far as the food We eat. Hey--I admit--Ya'll have some great foods too! But give us a break

Ooops! The spell check says "beelines" I meant "Bleenies" http://www.coalregion.com/Recipes/bleenies.htm

 

[eclectics]

Now--Don't get me wrong, The South is to die for as far as fried chicken and pies. I swear, I could NEVER get fried chicken to taste as good as I have had Down South. Can you see my mouth watering?

But, us ignorant fools Up North have some awesome chow too! Cheese Steaks, halushki, beelines, FANTASTIC pizza and Chinese, don't forget our amazing sushi chefs and the Thai Food too. I could go on and on. Yum!

More than enough, I have witnessed a DIS Southern Folk knock us as far as the food We eat. Hey--I admit--Ya'll have some great foods too! But give us a break

EVERY part of the good 'ol USA has wonderful eats and their own unique way of preparing it. I say, grab a knife and fork and enjoy it....wherever you happen to be!

 

[Muushka]

I'm a yankee who moved south so I am what they call a damn yankee.

I have no problem being called a yankee (and believe it or not I have lived here for 32 years & am still referred to as a yankee.) As long as they leave off the "loud mouthed yankee", I'm OK with it. I do not want to be know as a loud mouthed anything.

I think what makes the difference is when people move North or South, are they happy? If so, it is all good--food, drivers, pace of life etc. If they are not happy, everything is wrong with the region.

And where I moved to 32 years ago was a small, rural area of east TN. If they did not like you, they burnt your house down. (Honest) If they wanted to scare you out of town, they'd tantalize you (poison your outdoor pets--mean things like that! Honest!) and if you crossed them or one of their 4th cousins removed, they'd slit your throat or shoot you with their shot gun--Honest, again!
And most of the time, they'd get away with it because nobody ratted each other out and if they did, they were next.

Luckily, we didn't make anybody mad.

Nowadays it is better but, if you go backwoods enough, it is still pretty rough.

Oh my gosh. We had a friend that lived in the mountains of rural TN and he said the same thing! I thought he was kidding! Oh my......

Well doncha just learn something every single day on the DIS?! I never knew "Yankee" was a derisive term. Living here in my little southern enclave all my life, I've always heard and used (ocassionally) the term as a value-neutral word for people from the NorthEast. I always figured because of -for example -the existence of the New York Yankees baseball team that the word was not insulting. In my mind, the term "Yankee" would be analogous to "Southerner".

Oh... another thing I learned on this thread. Someone posted that "y'all" is a singular term (as opposed to the plural "all y'all"). In the vernacular of piedmont NC, the word y'all is both singular and plural.


For the record, as a lifelong southerner it just does not bother me when people move here from other regions or from other countries. I can't recall a time when it aggravates me to hear someone talk about how things were up North, out West, or back in Afghanistan. I just chalk it up to a bit of homesickness. The bottom line is NC is a fabulous place to live, and I totally get why people are flocking here. I say ... and I won't even call people Yankees anymore if they are sensitive about that term.

Thank you, and bless your heart (the NORTHERN definition!)

 

[luv2nascar]

I really have only been called a yankee from southerners and it is derogatory to me. So ya'll can stop calling me that any time now. Unless you want me to call you a Redneck.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

What should I call the American League baseball team from New York?

 

[CookieGVB]

2007 World Champs

 

[YetanotherMouseFan]

Buckalew: you must be up near Erwin or Gray...!

My family moved to TN from MI 36 years ago. Never moved back (although my 13yo self threatend to for the first several months). Some things it takes a while to "get", some you never do. DH tells me I'll always be suspect, as will my children as half Yankee, but my grandchildren should be acceptable. Bless his little heart...

BTW, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else now.

To most Southerners, ie: DH, Yankee is simply a geographical reference, the same as Northerner, just in a more vernacular vein. Redneck is a whole other thing, and inappropriately applied, might cause some serious redneck behavior to ensue!

 

[Angel0]

People in the South are kinder. That is just the way it is, there is a "family" type feel, if you will, in the South.

 

[PamNC]

I giggled as I read your post because I hear this from Northern transplants all the time. "I love it down here" but then they proceed to slam southerners' driving, talking, cooking, lack of "things to do" (their own fault). It blows my mind. If you don't like it here, please go home. Stop driving the prices of our real estate up.

However, one of my best friends is a NJ transplant and not once has she uttered such a thing.

PamNC

 

[gris gris]

People in the South are kinder. That is just the way it is, there is a "family" type feel, if you will, in the South.

Sorry, can't let this one go. I'm not sure what you're basing this on, but I'm a Northerner who does not agree with you. I think there are kind people everywhere, it has nothing to do with where you live. I'm not even sure what to say about your family type feelings. We've got some good family vibes going on where I live.

 

[gris gris]

I really have only been called a yankee from southerners and it is derogatory to me. So ya'll can stop calling me that any time now. Unless you want me to call you a Redneck.

Right - we don't call each other Yankees up here. I've never had a friend or family member say they were a Yankee. I just don't even identify myself as a Northerner. I'm just a girl who has lived in CT her whole life.

 

[Tikicampers]

I saw the wikipedia thing, and as I'm sure you're all aware, no one has to have any credentials to put stuff on there. I myself have seen things that I know to be untrue.
Here is the dictionary definition of Yankee:

Main Entry: 1Yan·kee
Pronunciation: \ˈyaŋ-kē\
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1758
1 a: a native or inhabitant of New England b: a native or inhabitant of the northern United States
2: a native or inhabitant of the United States

So if you have lived in CT all your life you are a Yankee. And apparently, so am I. Although, I don't know many Southerners who actually use the term Yankee unless we are singing Yankee Doodle. Redneck on the other hand:

Main Entry: red·neck
Pronunciation: 'red-"nek
Function: noun
1 sometimes disparaging : a white member of the Southern rural laboring class
2 often disparaging : a person whose behavior and opinions are similar to those attributed to rednecks

Now the "bless your heart" thing is an insult which many southern women have perfected, but to honest, I don't hear it that much anymore either.

 

[hentob]

Now the "bless your heart" thing is an insult which many southern women have perfected, but to honest, I don't hear it that much anymore either.

I think the whole "Bless Your Heart" attitude is what makes folks think Southerners are kinder than the rest of the nation's regions When infact, they have just perfected making a fool out of you, to your face, without you even knowing Brilliant.

Up North, there are no Bless Your Heart's or fake smiles. When you are being insulted, you know it!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

2007 World Champs

As a Detriot Tiger fan, I will politely say that I hope not.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Main Entry: red·neck
Pronunciation: 'red-"nek
Function: noun
1 sometimes disparaging : a white member of the Southern rural laboring class
2 often disparaging : a person whose behavior and opinions are similar to those attributed to rednecks

Now the "bless your heart" thing is an insult which many southern women have perfected, but to honest, I don't hear it that much anymore either.

"Redneck" is one of those tricky words. Again, speaking as a lifelong resident of NC, a certain part of me embraces the term. Not the racism and ignorance associated with it, but the part that includes hard work, blue collar values, finding pleasure in the simpler things, etc.... THAT is part of who I am. Good gracious, I have a white collar job, but I come from a long line of cotton mill workers on both sides of my family. It's in my blood I guess

 

[Tikicampers]

I agree that redneck is not always offensive. I think in reality, both the terms redneck and yankee could be used as an insult by some people. I just don't think people should assume that if someone refers to them as a yankee that it is meant as an insult. As you mentioned, there is a baseball team with the name Yankees (many southern kids play on this team in Little League), however, I don't think we'll ever see a major league team called the Rednecks.