Questions for Northerners by Southerners or vice-versa in the USA?

[summerlyangel]

Southerners, please explain the classic "bless their heart" phrase. Also, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you enjoy country music?

My cred: born and raised in SC, lived here all my almost 50 yrs with the exception of 1 in Michigan in my 20s. I think that qualifies me as a Southerner Place of origin was very rural (corridor of shame), but adulthood has kept me in a metro area.

Bless your heart seems to be loaded these days, but growing up in rural SC, I never heard it said as an insult. It was more like "that poor thing, bless her/his heart" said to describe all kinds of situations: husband cheating, child passed away, child or adult having a tough time due to any variety of reasons. It was always said with empathy, though there could have been some "thank goodness it wasn't me" implied. I never heard of the negative connotation until I started frequenting message boards in my early 20s. Most people, especially older than me will still use it genuinely.

Country music: Maybe a 5/6? I enjoy 80s, 90s country music still and have Sirius XM Prime Country programmed into my car. I don't really listen to newer stuff regularly, but there are some songs/artists that I enjoy. I love No Shoes Radio, Kenny Chesney's channel, but that's a variety and not just country.

 

[Moliphino]

Speaking of weather, do those of you in the north get hail? We seem to get hail often here in the spring. A couple weeks ago, a small city in Texas had 6” hail.

I'm in New England, we very rarely get any large hail. Occasionally we'll get some little hail (like pea sized or smaller) with a thunderstorm.

 

[nighttowll]

1. Pizza - not actually a fan of northern pizza at all
2. Fall - We use to get this, but not so much anymore, maybe a month or so.
3. Public Transportation - I don't think this is really a northern thing as much as a city thing, but I would love to live somewhere where I could walk everywhere. I hate driving.
4. Fire ants - Luckily don't have them where I live now, but having previously lived where they are I know his quote is so true. "Dancing around on one foot. We know what exactly happened to them. They are being eaten alive!"
5. Drive Thru Store - No idea this was a thing. I am jealous!
6. Fried Pork - Yuck! The north can keep this.
7. Honking - Not sure about this. I hear horns. Maybe not as much, but people are bad enough and aggressive enough, I don't think I need more horns.
8. Hockey - Don't care about any sports, so indifferent to this. Would love an ice skating rink, though.

 

[jimmymc]

Speaking of weather, do those of you in the north get hail? We seem to get hail often here in the spring. A couple weeks ago, a small city in Texas had 6” hail.

It's pretty rare. Normally it goes from rain to sleet to snow.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Speaking of weather, do those of you in the north get hail? We seem to get hail often here in the spring. A couple weeks ago, a small city in Texas had 6” hail.

I've seen small hail a few times here, but nothing like that.

 

[Minnesota!]

We get hail a few times a summer here in the TC area. 2 years ago, we got a new roof out of it ...bigggggg stuff that came down furiously for about 10 minutes.

 

[DeeBee3]

1. Pizza - not actually a fan of northern pizza at all
2. Fall - We use to get this, but not so much anymore, maybe a month or so.
3. Public Transportation - I don't think this is really a northern thing as much as a city thing, but I would love to live somewhere where I could walk everywhere. I hate driving.
4. Fire ants - Luckily don't have them where I live now, but having previously lived where they are I know his quote is so true. "Dancing around on one foot. We know what exactly happened to them. They are being eaten alive!"
5. Drive Thru Store - No idea this was a thing. I am jealous!
6. Fried Pork - Yuck! The north can keep this.
7. Honking - Not sure about this. I hear horns. Maybe not as much, but people are bad enough and aggressive enough, I don't think I need more horns.
8. Hockey - Don't care about any sports, so indifferent to this. Would love an ice skating rink, though.

Where are these things in the north? Hockey? That's very specific and strikes me as more Canada or really up north like toward the border.
Fried pork? Like a schnitzel?
Public transport is just cities. If you live in a town or small suburb there are buses and they are not reliable. You need to drive for sure.
I have never seen a Drive-thru store, other than for food (mcd, dunkin, etc)

 

[nighttowll]

Where are these things in the north? Hockey? That's very specific and strikes me as more Canada or really up north like toward the border.
Fried pork? Like a schnitzel?
Public transport is just cities. If you live in a town or small suburb there are buses and they are not reliable. You need to drive for sure.
I have never seen a Drive-thru store, other than for food (mcd, dunkin, etc)

Yes, agree. I was confused by some of these as well. Definitely don't think public transport is a northern thing.

 

[SC Minnie]

My cred: born and raised in SC, lived here all my almost 50 yrs with the exception of 1 in Michigan in my 20s. I think that qualifies me as a Southerner Place of origin was very rural (corridor of shame), but adulthood has kept me in a metro area.

Bless your heart seems to be loaded these days, but growing up in rural SC, I never heard it said as an insult. It was more like "that poor thing, bless her/his heart" said to describe all kinds of situations: husband cheating, child passed away, child or adult having a tough time due to any variety of reasons. It was always said with empathy, though there could have been some "thank goodness it wasn't me" implied. I never heard of the negative connotation until I started frequenting message boards in my early 20s. Most people, especially older than me will still use it genuinely.

Country music: Maybe a 5/6? I enjoy 80s, 90s country music still and have Sirius XM Prime Country programmed into my car. I don't really listen to newer stuff regularly, but there are some songs/artists that I enjoy. I love No Shoes Radio, Kenny Chesney's channel, but that's a variety and not just country.

I have lived in SC my entire life, growing up in a more rural area. I never heard Bless your Heart said/meant as an insult until the internet.

 

[nighttowll]

In real life, I've heard it said both ways in TN, but honestly, it isn't something I hear people say much either way. I don't think I ever heard it said in Texas at all, but it's more a country than city thing.

 

[jimmymc]

Where are these things in the north? Hockey? That's very specific and strikes me as more Canada or really up north like toward the border.
Fried pork? Like a schnitzel?
Public transport is just cities. If you live in a town or small suburb there are buses and they are not reliable. You need to drive for sure.
I have never seen a Drive-thru store, other than for food (mcd, dunkin, etc)

There's a lot of hockey in Michigan and Minnesota. There are 10 ice rinks within an hour from me here in Detroit, and even when I lived in New Jersey there were three in the area.

The northeast has way better public transportation than the rest of the country, although compared to somewhere like Japan or Germany it's not as good.

 

[jimmymc]

1. Pizza - not actually a fan of northern pizza at all
2. Fall - We use to get this, but not so much anymore, maybe a month or so.
3. Public Transportation - I don't think this is really a northern thing as much as a city thing, but I would love to live somewhere where I could walk everywhere. I hate driving.
4. Fire ants - Luckily don't have them where I live now, but having previously lived where they are I know his quote is so true. "Dancing around on one foot. We know what exactly happened to them. They are being eaten alive!"
5. Drive Thru Store - No idea this was a thing. I am jealous!
6. Fried Pork - Yuck! The north can keep this.
7. Honking - Not sure about this. I hear horns. Maybe not as much, but people are bad enough and aggressive enough, I don't think I need more horns.
8. Hockey - Don't care about any sports, so indifferent to this. Would love an ice skating rink, though.

Do you prefer other styles of pizza, or just not care for any of it? I'm curious because the only good pizza I've had in the south was in Atlanta from places specifically replicating styles from other areas.

 

[jimmymc]

Northerners - what do you think about sweet tea?

I really like it, but some places do take it too far. Waffle House's is tough to drink.

 

[jimmymc]

Schools in the South have a different school year schedule compared to our northern schools correct? In the North, our school year runs September to June.

In my experience, school generally starts later in the north. In New Jersey, we would start the Wednesday or Thursday before Labor Day and not get out until mid-June. When I went to college in the south, we started the second or third week in August and took finals the last week of April or first week of May.

 

[jimmymc]

Southerner here and my beverage of choice is definitely iced tea! I’ve gotten lazy and don’t brew my own anymore, I buy gallons of Milo’s sweet and unsweet tea. Do grocery stores sell Milo’s tea up north? My husband drinks the straight sweet tea, but I can’t. Waaay too sweet for me! I fill my glass mostly with unsweet and then add a splash of the sweet and put lots of lemon in my tea.

We have it in Michigan. Sweet, unsweet, and the zero calorie sweet.

 

[nighttowll]

Do you prefer other styles of pizza, or just not care for any of it? I'm curious because the only good pizza I've had in the south was in Atlanta from places specifically replicating styles from other areas.

I like pizza ok, but it's more something I eat because it's there than something I seek out.

I'm not a big fan of regular tomato sauce based pizza, and I don't care for the kinds of meats on most pizzas (sausage, pepperoni, ham). Don't like overly greasy or overly cheesy stuff, and I'm not a fan of deep dish. When I choose to eat pizza, I tend to prefer the mom and pop places that offer "gourmet" style pizzas, like ones with Alfredo or pesto sauce and vegetables or something unique like that.

 

[mjkacmom]

Where are these things in the north? Hockey? That's very specific and strikes me as more Canada or really up north like toward the border.
Fried pork? Like a schnitzel?
Public transport is just cities. If you live in a town or small suburb there are buses and they are not reliable. You need to drive for sure.
I have never seen a Drive-thru store, other than for food (mcd, dunkin, etc)

I’m in NJ, hockey is big (go Rangers). Only one if my kids ever played though.

 

[nighttowll]

We have it in Michigan. Sweet, unsweet, and the zero calorie sweet.

Now, I'm curious. Does this come out of a soda machine or is this in separately brewed containers?

 

[mjkacmom]

In my experience, school generally starts later in the north. In New Jersey, we would start the Wednesday or Thursday before Labor Day and not get out until mid-June. When I went to college in the south, we started the second or third week in August and took finals the last week of April or first week of May.

That’s a high school vs. college difference. My daughters at Clemson and BU have a very similar college schedule. Our NJ schools have never started before Labor Day.

 

[jimmymc]

Now, I'm curious. Does this come out of a soda machine or is this in separately brewed containers?

Milo's brand is at the grocery store, they have small bottles and gallons. Not too many restaurants have it, but if they do, it will be in a separate container or one of the Golden Peak machines.