I think that many folks from up north have some sort of feeling like this when they relocate down south.
Not all of it is simply north/south, some of it may be "from here vs. come here".
I am the daughter of 2 Wisconsinites, but lived in the south all my life- born in Georgia and have lived in Virginia for 40 years, 24 of them in the more 'southern' part of the state. (because NoVA is an entity of its own and not really southern).
I've spent plenty of time in WI and MN with family (and went to college for a while there) so when I say that there are a few cultural differences,
please don't be offended.
The closer one moves to an urban area the more diverse the population is and less you'll see that "anti-Yankee" attitude.
In more rural areas sometimes that attitude will be heard,
but usually in response to a new-comer's
"well-that's-not-how-we-did-things-back-home-in-(pick a northern state)-and-if-you-only-did-this-the-(northern state)-way-it-would-be-better" attitude
that some people bring with them when they move down south.
I know folks want to help improve things, but change moves slowly here, and traditions are appreciated and preserved as much as possible, and freedoms and liberties and our Constitution are greatly treasured.
Having lived in an extremely rural far southern Virginia community for 15 years, I can say that people are very welcoming, very hospitable.
Life moves slower down here, traffic moves slower (but we have less people to begin with so less traffic in general).
Before you do business with someone they will want to get to know you better- to build a relationship of sorts, and even invite you to their church if you haven't found one that suits you yet
Some folks move here and want to do business quickly- they are abrupt with the people they come into contact with in their new community, simply running through their day being extremely efficient and task oriented.
And there is nothing morally wrong with that.
It's just not part of our culture.
We are going to pass the time, ask you about your day, try to find out why you moved here, how you like it and try to find some common ground.
And folks who don't seem to have the time to be friendly sometimes are perceived as uppity by native southerners.
But no worries, we are a patient bunch.
We'll let folks know we have new neighbors from up north, and bless your little hearts~
We have lived in our rural community for 15 years but there was adjustment we had to make- not in being 25 miles from a Wal-Mart,
but in learning the etiquette of a one way country road with 2 way traffic, of how to treat hunters passing through our property(who have been hunting there for 50 years), hunting dogs that turn up on our property- people who you would have called the law on for 'trespassing' in the suburbs are your new neighbors and we just don't treat folks like that.
(Don't want hunters- post your property
Be patient about the dogs, the owners will come and get them and make reparations if they did any damage.)
And those 'trespassing neighbors' in your new community will knock on your door after an ice storm to see if you have heat and are making out okay
and if not they'll help you install a wood stove in the middle of the night so you can get warm.
So would I trade my rural community
for a southern urban one?
I can only think of one and that is Lynchburg, Virginia.
People are very friendly, it is a nice small city. (and not too far away from where we are) with 4 distinct seasons but a milder winter than PA,
gorgeous spring and fall seasons with a normal summer for the mid atlantic states tempered by the coolness of the mountains surrounding it.
There are lots of things to do- historical sites, rivers to kayak, mountains to climb, lots of cultural events due to 2 colleges in city and 2 more nearby (which means great educational opportunities)
Good public schools and even better private ones...
Where else can you swim and snowboard in June?
http://www.liberty.edu/snowflex/
Lynchburg is a very family friendly city and if I had to move from my rural haven, that is where I would go...
http://www.lynchburgva.gov/Index.aspx?page=14
http://www.lynchburgchamber.org/life/2012/index.html
