Are Northern Girls Really Different from Southern Girls?

[Mad4Mickey]

you know I had no idea untill a month ago that NOT everyone had grooms cake. A friends son had gotten married and she had grooms cake our other friends from up north had no idea what it was LOL
"Bless thier hearts , you know they are all just a hot mess" LOL

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Now we might be rednecks....but HILLBILLIES?

That cracked me up. I had an uncle who formed a wheelchair basketball team with a bunch of his friends and they were so proud to be hillbillies they called themselves the WHEELbillies.

 

[Took]

That has been my impression so it makes me wonder, what is wrong with that? I did say to her that she will be saying goodbye to friends she won't see again. That gave her some hesitation when she first got home for Thanksgiving, but she has made up her mind.

You know, having grown up in the South and moved to the North (WI and IL) some ten years ago, I confess I used to believe the bit about Southerners being more open and honest. While I still believe Southerners are, initially, friendlier, I don't believe they're more honest or, even, more open than those in the North (many of my friends here in the Midwest are from the NE and from CA). But, I will agree that this young woman may well find Southerners "different" in some not so positive ways. Many Southern girls that I went to college with in the South were more politically conservative than those I've known from the North and more "superficial" (for lack of a better word). They primped more, fiddled with their clothes and hair more, they cared about "social stuff" more. I'm not explaining it very well, but I do believe there are cultural differences.

BTW, my BF now is a New Englander. We've come to appreciate our differences in upbringing and to cherish all those ways we're really very alike.

Of course, these are broad generalizations, but they do have some truth to them and I can see why the young woman might be uncomfortable.

Of course, maybe the young woman just wants to go to college with her friend, which isn't really a good reason to leave. Hope her new choice makes her happy.

 

[Took]

Ok, I didn't read every one of these posts, so this may have been said, but it does seem like most posts are focusing on the North/South dichotomy. Which is of course what OP asked about.

But there is something else that may be at play here: the college itself. And forgive me if I offend any Pirates with this, but ECU is a different sort of college than some of your other southern schools. It has a rep as both a party school and a school where the young women are very career-focused, especially in the nursing, teaching, and hospitality fields. (Those of us with NC roots still sometimes call it EeeCeeTeeCee from when it was just a teacher's college.) There's a certain type that goes there instead of some of the bigger, or smaller, or tougher, schools in the Southeast.

ECU tends to attract a lot of sheltered southern good-girls, who may go a little wild with freedom, but basically have all the "kingdom rules" down pat. There is a whole language and set of behavior that goes along with that, and I could see how a northern girl just might not get it.

Thanks--this is kind of what I meant but couldn't a quite say. I confess, even as I grew up in the South, I didn't really "get" this "sheltered girl gone wild" stuff myself. Maybe, I'm just too much of a Puritan?

 

[EveDallas]

If you have a southern accent, would you be offended by someone saying how neat it is to hear your accent? I thought DH was being really weird.

About a year ago, I was on the phone with Massachusetts child support. (DS father lives there.) The guy I was talking to LOVED my accent and said so. Of course, as soon as he said that, I turned it up a notch. The more I "ya'll"ed and drawled, the more friendly and helpful he became.

 

[mousetravel]

If you have a southern accent, would you be offended by someone saying how neat it is to hear your accent? I thought DH was being really weird.

No, I would not be offended. It's happened to me plenty of times.
At WDW, while waiting in lines, lots of people would strike up a conversation, and when realizing I'm from the South, they would mention my accent.

Even when I traveled to Texas, they mentioned it there. I would have thought Texas was pretty much southern too.

 

[Enchanted_Mama]

well, that stinks.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you go to school?

UK.

 

[5Slays]

you know I had no idea untill a month ago that NOT everyone had grooms cake. A friends son had gotten married and she had grooms cake our other friends from up north had no idea what it was LOL
"Bless thier hearts , you know they are all just a hot mess" LOL

We didn't have a grooms cake and to this day-10 years later- I still hear about it!!!!

 

[TLSnell1981]

I have a friend who spent most of his youth growing up in the south. His complaint is that we northerners have no idea how to mosey.

We Southerners have two speeds....mosey and mosier!!

Oh, and we eat more grits.

 

[Planogirl]

Even when I traveled to Texas, they mentioned it there. I would have thought Texas was pretty much southern too.

Texans are southern but they definitely have different accents. That is regional too though with the most unique accents (IMO) being in the East Texas pineywoods and in West Texas.

I do think that people from different parts of the country tend to be different. Not better or worse just a bit different.

 

[TLSnell1981]

yep I think so because we know how important it is to have cold sweet teas for guests

Ya' mean "sweetea"? The kind that's made with "simple syrup"?

 

[olena]

Ya' mean "sweetea"? The kind that's make with "simple syrup"?

Every good Southern lady knows how to make it. I always have a pitcher ready. When I was in grad school in Connecticut, the first thing my boyfriend would do when he showed up was head for the fridge for a glass of tea or homemade lemonade.

 

[madge]

UK.

I read ahead about your experience there .. sounds pretty typical from what I know about UK. My brother went there for a semester and got overwhelmed at the need to keep up with appearances, clothes, etc. He knew what to expect before he went there, but it just wasn't a good fit. And we're born and raised Kentuckians, LOL. He ended up transferring to another school and was much happier.

 

[Miz Diz]

Over our several days there, we met with three realtors. All three of them made mention of how polite the Southern people were. By the time I heard it for the third time, I wanted to remind them it is not polite to tell others how polite you are I also wanted to tell one of them to stop talking with her mouth full.


People are people. Some are polite, some lack manners. Some are friendly, some are rude. Someone can hold a door open for a lady by day, and beat their wife by night. Again, people are people. North, south, east, west—Doesn’t matter

I have no idea why, but this reminded me of an incident in Virginia. I am from South Carolina. The only other place I've lived is Georgia. Anyway, I was in Virginia on business and I was standing outside my hotel, waiting for a co-worker. I had my laptop bag and some other stuff, so my hands were full. This lady walks by me with a suitcase and tries to go through the door, while rolling her suitcase through. She was having some difficulty and I considered helping her, but my hands were also full and even though I believe in helping others, I also do not believe women are helpless. If it were me, I'd figure out how to get the suitcase through the door.

The lady starts saying, "I'm not in the South. I'm not in the South anymore." And finally made it through the door.

 

[delilah]

I grew up in Chicago, and attended university at the University of Florida. I have a few good friends from college, particularly my husband. He is from Florida, so we have a "north-south" marriage.

There were some girls at UF who dressed up to attend class, and, yes, they did seem to be at college more to meet a husband than to get an education. I majored in chemistry, and my friends and classmates tended not to be in that category, but, the women in the business school were a different story entirely. We occasionally would have a lecture section in one of the large lecture halls at the business school, and the business majors would all be outside and hooting at us because we were going to class. I guess they didn't need the large lecture halls, since they didn't attend class, so they let the science majors use them.

But, in my experience, there are as many mindless, superficial women up north as there were down south.

It may also depend on the specific university. One guy I dated in high school attended the University of Miami. He complained to me that he didn't find any of the girls there approachable to date. Poor guy. When he graduated, we decided that we would both be able to date other people, and he was trying to get back together with me. Unfortunately, I was already dating somebody else.

 

[ozarkmom]

A groom's cake has got to have a theme. Extra points if that theme embarasses the bride and/or her family.

And hopefully it's CHOCOLATE!!!

 

[TLSnell1981]

And hopefully it's CHOCOLATE!!!

Always chocolate!!

 

[arminnie]

Now if you want to find a REAL north/south difference look no further than California.

Women in Northern California are so TOTALLY different (again generalizations not universal) than their Southern California counterparts.

I guess it's the entertainment industry influence - lots and lots and lots of plastic surgery down in Southern California.

My brother lives in Malibu (yes on the beach) while I lived in the peninsula area of San Francisco area for years. There could not be two more different worlds.

Northern California: Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman
Southern California: Meg Ryan, Farrah Fawcett

 

[Miz Diz]

But there is something else that may be at play here: the college itself. And forgive me if I offend any Pirates with this, but ECU is a different sort of college than some of your other southern schools. It has a rep as both a party school and a school where the young women are very career-focused, especially in the nursing, teaching, and hospitality fields. (Those of us with NC roots still sometimes call it EeeCeeTeeCee from when it was just a teacher's college.) There's a certain type that goes there instead of some of the bigger, or smaller, or tougher, schools in the Southeast.

ECU tends to attract a lot of sheltered southern good-girls, who may go a little wild with freedom, but basically have all the "kingdom rules" down pat. There is a whole language and set of behavior that goes along with that, and I could see how a northern girl just might not get it.

ITA

 

[sunnyday123]

I don't really know a lot of Notherners, except my husband's family, so I can't say for sure. I haven't really traveled out of the South either. I do know that throughout the South, people are generally more friendly and open and honest.

Yep. We are all mean,close-minded, deceitful tyrants up here.