What's it like living in the SE?

[kydisneyfans]

First of all, never regretted leaving Ohio.

I agree 100% with you. Lived in NE Ohio 30 years and it was 10+ too long.
Moved to KY and love it. If we move again it would be south, not north. Much more relaxed way of life here.
All of our family except my parents have moved away. We have offered to build them a home from the ground up here in KY and they won't budge for some reason.

What's unique about this area is the diversity. Lexington is a great city, has all you need, things to do, etc. Head an hour east/south and it's like a whole different world. That's mountain living, sipping sweet tea on the front porch type place. We do have a Hazard, KY but the show was based in Georgia.

Unlike the rest of the SE, Kentucky is basketball. This is like campout for 3 days to get good tickets to a practice type thing. Football is catching up as UK decided to invest in the football program. Horses rule the area, and bourbon isn't far behind. Everyone is a UK fan outside of Louisville-it's something like I never saw in NE Ohio, it's a way of life here. Another thing is everyone in the SE roots for the SEC, even if their team lost. If I'm in Kentucky and they are out of the tournament, then we all root for whatever SEC team is left. We wore UK jerseys while in Alabama during a football game(UK wasn't playing Alabama). My Ohio family thought it was dangerous and we would get beat up(that was normal up there). Instead, we spent hours talking to folks with Alabama jerseys about how the football program is progressing and the upcoming basketball season. It was like an SEC family reunion.

You see everything at school, our son's school had redneck row in the back parking lot, it's where all the guys parked with their trucks. It was like a car show for high school kids during class. Hunting is huge, wild game dinners are popular(yuck). Culture drives things though. I hated my pickup, our son loves his. I hate hunting, he's gone in November for deer season(he's 19). I was raised in Ohio, he was raised in KY. Tattoos aren't that popular here, at least I don't think so. That's a northern transplant thing to me.

We moved from a town of 30,000 in NE Ohio to a town of 30,000 in Central KY, exactly 300 miles away, and it was total culture shock. Moving from Idaho to the SE will be the same. We visited the area we eventually moved to a few times to ensure it was a good fit for us-I'd strongly recommend the same. If you want rural, mountain areas, you have it. If you want big cities, they are available too. If you want the beach, there's a couple thousand miles of coast. One thing I will guess is that you will be sporting attire of the state school you move to within a year of relocating.

 

[PamNC]

born and raised - Piedmont Triad of NC - closer to the mountains than the beach but it's so nice to be able to visit both quite easily. I can get to the beach in a little less than 4 hours. Mountains about an hour. NC is rural with cities and small towns scatter about.. I love it for the most part. Winters can be "rough" but nothing like the northeast. Nothing!!!! I just hate anything below 60. LOL. We get a little snow but mostly ugly icky ice storms which are horrible. It's hot in the summer, pretty similar to Florida. You can live near Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Greensboro or the Raleigh area and be close in enough to those cities, yet still have a country feel. I grew up near Winston-Salem. It's not really crowded in any of the cities if you compare it to say Atlanta. Cost of living is another perk. Beautiful state!!!! We have wineries popping up all over the place near where I live. Downside - rednecks. Sorry, but it's true. However, just as many un-rednecks.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Only you could decide if you like it or not. I was born and raised in and around the Philadelphia area. Spent over 4 decades there. I lived in varying situations there from being in the heart of the city to a very rural far suburb.

Our family moved to the suburbs of Atlanta about 4.5 years ago. I have very mixed feelings about it. Sure, the weather is much better than in the northeast. It almost never snows here. A "cold" day in winter is 40-45 at the high, average is in the 50s. Summer is hot and humid, they call it "Hotlanta" for a reason. However, I prefer that to the bitter cold of PA where we used to live (we lived near the Poconos at the end). We're far enough inland that we're isolated from hurricanes. If they ever get up here, by time they do they're very weak. We had one pass by this summer and it was no big deal whatsoever. In 4.5 years here, we've never had a tornado yet. Sure, they can happen, but not as common as in the heart of tornado alley. Hail happens sometimes, but it's part of life. Really, weather here is nothing to be scared of. Hot summers, mild to cool winters, minimal risk of natural disasters.

Atlanta is very populated. The city itself and the nearby suburbs are packed. If you're used to rural Idaho, it would be culture shock for you. However, there are suburbs far enough away that are still quite rural and quite small. We live in one of the farther populated suburbs, and it's growing pretty quick. However, we're still only a 20-30 minute drive from some beautiful rural areas. We don't like camping, but if you do, there are endless options out here. Much of Georgia is still quite rural. I'm only about 30 minutes from the AL border, and that area is also very rural.

Pace of life here is much slower than I'm used to in the Northeast. People are generally friendly. However, I have to say I don't fit in with the average southern guy...at all. I don't watch college football (I hate it), I don't own a pick up truck, I don't own a gun, I don't have a tattoo, I don't want a "man cave", I don't go hunting. Most of those are the norm here in the south, so I'm a bit of a fish out of water.

Overall, I'd say I'm "meh" about living in the southeast. As much as I terribly miss Philly, I'd never return simply because it's too cold. I don't love it here, don't hate it. But once we're empty nesters, I hope I can convince DW to move even further south...to Florida.

Only relative new comers and people from other places call it Hotlanta. Us old timers never do

 

[Klayfish]

But in Dallas/Acworth (familiar enough, kids went to KSU and DD just moved into house in "Woodstock" just south of Acworth - adjustment for her but picked for work locations) ... that is still an old southern hub and many have never left and the culture is there. Anyone who moves there is the "foreigner" whereas many ATL suburbs are almost solidly transplants so you won't see the culture as much. It's not like areas closer to Atlanta that were farms 30-40 years ago and now full blown cities that merge right into urban. I grew up in Dunwoody, considered way out then, and now in I'm farther than that in an area no on would have moved to back then. There are many areas all around Atlanta that have maintained the feel they always had, and the residents, even though they have developed. I guess my point is that there are lots of areas around Atlanta that a "good ole boy" or even original Georgian might be hard to find. It's a strange place that way and why it's good for OP or anyone moving to do your homework.

Yes, I agree. Many suburbs here are very much like the suburbs up north. I think I had mentioned that upthread somewhere. Towns like Marietta, Sandy Springs, etc... But yeah, there are still some pockets that are "good ol' boy". If you go to parts of Dallas, it's like a time warp. I'm half expecting to see...

Just kidding obviously, but it's quite rural. I actually worshiped that show back in its' day. It was supposed to be based in what was the Atlanta "suburbs" then, wasn't it?

 

[Cadiewampus]

I've been in Idaho all of my 33 years. Fairly RURAL Idaho, for the most part (we're close enough to Boise to get enough city). I LOVE the southeast, but I really only have experience with winters there. I love the green, I love the sun, I love the proximity to water, I love warmth. I dream of my family moving that way (I love GA and FL, hubby likes AL) and whenever I mention it all anyone has to tell me is how much I'd hate it. No one ever has anything good to say, always telling me how much I'd hate the humidity, how I'd hate the bugs, the creatures, I'd have to deal with natural disasters (specifically tornadoes and hurricanes), how there are way too many people…

Needless to say all of that just fuels my fire...how do THEY know what I'd love and what I'd hate! But realistically, is it really THAT bad? Or just simply different? I mean, here we basically live in the desert between mountain ranges, so spring and fall are pretty but summers are hot (we're used to over 100, but it's dry heat) and dry (and dead and ugly looking), and winters are gray (as we're usually under an inversion by being in the valley), little sun, and rarely much snow (so we don't always get the full experience of the "fourth" season), mostly just cold and windy. We have plenty of our own mosquitoes, we have our own "creatures" (in our case that would be lots of coyotes, we have some mountain lions come down and the occasional bear, our own types of spiders and creepy crawlies...), but what we DON'T really have are natural disasters. The biggest ones that we really have to be concerned with here are if Yellowstone blows or if the "big one" quake finally hits the Pacific coast. Tornadoes scare the heck out of me, and I don't like the idea of hurricanes, but if I had to choose between the two I'd probably take the hurricane?! Are there specific areas that are less prone to these things? But all we really see about those things is what makes the news. We also don't have nearly the same large populations that are in the SE....I mean, just look at a map, there's a reason so much of the west is still wild. We also love camping and my husband worries there aren't as many opportunities for that down there (at least not like there are here?). I'd be giving up probably some of the best homeschool and health freedoms in the country to leave Idaho, but I'd love to live somewhere else even just temporarily. Too bad my husbands job as a paramedic isn't one that can just move wherever, whenever! Is there such thing as a traveling paramedic? j/k If there was he'd already be one.

Been in Ga. 55 years. Was born in PA. but moved when I was 4. I live about 25 miles NW of Atlanta. I have seen ice storms (1973) that shut the city down for over a week but all in all winters are mild. Have seen temps is the summers above 100 with 1400% humidity . It gets miserable sometimes but that's why air condition was invented. However would not want to live anywhere else. I can get to the mountains in hour and a half and the beaches of Fl. in 5 1/2. Can walk to Lake Allatoona in about 10 minutes There are lots of state parks for camping. One borders lake allatoona and is nice enough. Then you have Cloudland Canyon state Park about 1 1/2 hours away. Look it up its a nice canyon and lots of hiking trails. There is just tons to do here and I have a pickup, shotgun and tattoo but no man cave.. Your husband would easily be able to find a paramedic position here. So come on down, I have never met anyone from Idaho.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Thanks, that’s what I was hoping to hear.

Personally you could not pay me enough to live in those areas.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Personally you could not pay me enough to live in those areas.

Why’s that?

 

[kdonnel]

Yes, I agree. Many suburbs here are very much like the suburbs up north. I think I had mentioned that upthread somewhere. Towns like Marietta, Sandy Springs, etc... But yeah, there are still some pockets that are "good ol' boy". If you go to parts of Dallas, it's like a time warp. I'm half expecting to see...

Just kidding obviously, but it's quite rural. I actually worshiped that show back in its' day. It was supposed to be based in what was the Atlanta "suburbs" then, wasn't it?

The biggest rednecks I know are transplants to Metro Atlanta from upstate New York.

Rural areas in one part of the country are very similar to rural areas in others parts of the country.

The same goes for urban areas.

Our country is much more similar state to state then many think.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Atlanta 'suburbs'... Really??? Hahahahaha!!!!
No 'suburbs' in that show.
I think, technically it was a fictional Hazzard County, that might have been in the State of Georgia...
But, more like Hazard Kentucky, for sure.
This even mentions the Dukes of Hazzard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard,_Kentucky

This just shows how erroneous and screwed up some peoples knowledge or perceptions can be in the face of stereotypes and prejudices.

 

[lovin'fl]

The biggest rednecks I know are transplants to Metro Atlanta from upstate New York.

Rural areas in one part of the country are very similar to rural areas in others parts of the country.

The same goes for urban areas.

Our country is much more similar state to state then many think.

My DH always says that it's not north and south, the differences in people, but that it's rural and not rural. I grew up in a kind rural area near Baltimore, though it's not anymore, that was very rednecky when growing up. Way more so than parts of Durham NC I have lived in. And, dare I say, cities have their own types too. My own brother is not keen to visit due to the whole redneck vision he has of NC yet he lives in Baltimore and when I visit, wow, there are some interesting characters there too. So it's more urban VS rural VS suburban and not a north VS south. We try to tell our northern family that and one SIL, who actually lives in a pretty rural area of MD, she was actually surprised on visiting us that it was so progressive here.

 

[Klayfish]

Atlanta 'suburbs'... Really??? Hahahahaha!!!!
No 'suburbs' in that show.
I think, technically it was a fictional Hazzard County, that might have been in the State of Georgia...
But, more like Hazard Kentucky, for sure.
This even mentions the Dukes of Hazzard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard,_Kentucky

This just shows how erroneous and screwed up some peoples knowledge or perceptions can be in the face of stereotypes and prejudices.

Yeah, I suppose in todays' world "suburb" isn't the right term. I know it was a fictional place, Hazzard County as you said, but I think it was supposed to be near Atlanta...keep in mind it was the very early 80s. I did a quick online search, because the internet is never wrong. The first five episodes were filmed in north Georgia, with some street scenes filmed in Covington GA (which today would be considered a "suburb").

Like I said, I was just making a joke...but reality is that some of Georgia is still very "good ol' boy". Just not too many places within an hour of Atlanta.

 

[disneyseniors]

As a native Missourian who doesn’t sweat at WDW, I can attest to our sometimes brutal humidity. The rare 108 degree day here is usually more pleasant than 95 because it typically only gets that hot when the humidity is way down. And yes, we still have Winter unlike places further South. It snowed 15 days ago (with some minor snow in between) and it hasn’t fully melted. It was 3 degrees yesterday morning - nothing like No Minnesota, but a pretty drastic temp for a place that can also be brutally hot.

Had to laugh when you mentioned northern Minnesota We are going through a brutal cold spell. Tonite will be -27, tomorrow a high of -21 and that doesn't even count the wind chill. But these cold spells usually don't last more than a week. This one is going on 2 weeks and no end in sight.
I don't even want to think about how much our electric bill will be this time!

 

[Southernmiss]

My DH always says that it's not north and south, the differences in people, but that it's rural and not rural. I grew up in a kind rural area near Baltimore, though it's not anymore, that was very rednecky when growing up. Way more so than parts of Durham NC I have lived in. And, dare I say, cities have their own types too. My own brother is not keen to visit due to the whole redneck vision he has of NC yet he lives in Baltimore and when I visit, wow, there are some interesting characters there too. So it's more urban VS rural VS suburban and not a north VS south. We try to tell our northern family that and one SIL, who actually lives in a pretty rural area of MD, she was actually surprised on visiting us that it was so progressive here.

This is very true. DHs brother and family live near Dallas, GA as mentioned. His boys are much more like my cousin's son who lives in rural South Dakota because they are all in more rural area than we are and do more things like hunting and fishing. Our boys in Mississippi have never been hunting or fishing and have only shot a gun when BIL brought his gun to MILs house for target practice. Up until then, my kids had not been around guns and I wanted them to have a little lesson in gun safety and use with BIL.

My kids have been raised in a more suburban area and are more academic types than cousins on my side or their father's side. The cousins have more hands on occupations/trades. Our kids have been on the college track for a while. Now, of course, if they had shown more interest in trades, we would have encouraged it. But they really did not.

 

[GreatLakes]

Atlanta 'suburbs'... Really??? Hahahahaha!!!!
No 'suburbs' in that show.
I think, technically it was a fictional Hazzard County, that might have been in the State of Georgia...
But, more like Hazard Kentucky, for sure.
This even mentions the Dukes of Hazzard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard,_Kentucky

This just shows how erroneous and screwed up some peoples knowledge or perceptions can be in the face of stereotypes and prejudices.

I used to think Dukes of Hazzard was supposed to be in Tennessee but it was pointed out to me that the Georgia State flag was flying in the town square scenes so while Hazzard County was fictional it was supposed to be in Georgia.

 

[RangerPooh]

We moved to the Memphis, TN three years ago after having spent almost 10 years living on the WA/ID border on the Palouse. Prior to that we spent the majority f our lives in CA. So here's my thoughts on relocating from the wheat fields of eastern WA to the south.

1- We miss winter. Sure it's nice not shoveling snow, or chiseling away at ice from November-March, but you start to miss it. When there's talk of snow here people freak out. The stores are raided of bread and milk, and all you get is a light dusting if that. The city/county practically shut down last year when we got an inch of snow. So far this year it's been nothing. But if there's any prediction (like a week ago and nothing came) there'll be nothing left on store shelves. Three plows for the entire county I believe the news said last year. Meanwhile DH and I laugh at the madness it creates.

-The kids really miss snow days and 2 hour snow delays. Heck I miss it too.

2- It's hot!!!!!!!!! Grew up in CA and was use to dry heat. WA summers could get up to 100* with little breeze, but unlike CA, summers didn't go from May-October. Here summer heat AND humidity stretches form May-October. It's bad! We do reach 100*, our AC bill is astronomical. We don't have a pool, nor does our town have one. I have come to hate the heat and sweating. Bad hair days are a reality. The news even has a hair forecast, lol.

3- The bugs really are huge. I can deal with most bugs and they are bigger here for sure. Cockroaches are really all over the south. New construction and old, it doesn't matter. In fact there's a dead cockroach on the glue trap in my office (can see it from here) that arrived about two weeks ago that measures at least 1.5" long. Cicadas are big and fly.

4- I miss the mountains! There are no real mountains near Memphis. Driving 6+ hours to them isn't always realistic.

5- Yes tornadoes are a real thing. Back in CA it was earthquakes. On the WA Palouse we only had to worry about the Yellowstone super volcano. Tornadoes can be year round. Our first winter here we had a few doozies. Then it dies down and picks up again in the spring and summer. August 2017 the university that OI work for sent out a take shelter alert for a tornado. There were hundreds of students sheltered in the basement for out an hour. My office is in the basement so it was like no big deal. Where we are though, tornadoes don;t usually hit, so we're lucky. But never say never.

6- Hurricanes aren't really a thing this far inland, but we do get some of the residual storms. The storms can bring flooding. But that's the norm with southern storms.

7- I'm closer to the FL/AL/MS beaches now than I was in WA. And they're nicer too! Warmer and calmer water than the fridged beaches in WA, and clearer than what we had in central CA.

8. People can;t drive here. The carpool lane is a joke, no one not even law enforcement follows the rules.

9. School districts are hit or miss. We're in one of the best in the state, but across the road Memphis school are some of the worst.

10. We have a decent amount of state parks to camp at. Prepare for rain and extreme heat come summer. Fall and early spring can bring below freezing temps. We've camped in it all here; snow and heat.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Had to laugh when you mentioned northern Minnesota We are going through a brutal cold spell. Tonite will be -27, tomorrow a high of -21 and that doesn't even count the wind chill. But these cold spells usually don't last more than a week. This one is going on 2 weeks and no end in sight.
I don't even want to think about how much our electric bill will be this time!

We typically get a few days where it dips below 0, but the high is almost always on the positive side. A few years ago, we hit -15 several days in a row and failed to get above 0 a couple times. Very unusual for us, as would be anything much colder, even for a day or two.

 

[L&Lfan]

They do the bread and milk panic thing here in south Jersey too. The Wawas and supermarkets get cleaned out. 35 years here and I STILL think it’s ridiculous!

 

[Klayfish]

We moved to the Memphis, TN three years ago after having spent almost 10 years living on the WA/ID border on the Palouse. Prior to that we spent the majority f our lives in CA. So here's my thoughts on relocating from the wheat fields of eastern WA to the south.

1- We miss winter. Sure it's nice not shoveling snow, or chiseling away at ice from November-March, but you start to miss it. When there's talk of snow here people freak out. The stores are raided of bread and milk, and all you get is a light dusting if that. The city/county practically shut down last year when we got an inch of snow. So far this year it's been nothing. But if there's any prediction (like a week ago and nothing came) there'll be nothing left on store shelves. Three plows for the entire county I believe the news said last year. Meanwhile DH and I laugh at the madness it creates.

-The kids really miss snow days and 2 hour snow delays. Heck I miss it too.

Speak for yourself. I do not miss winter. If I never see snow again besides on TV, I won't shed a tear. I have had enough snow/ice/nor'easters to last a lifetime. That's literally the reason we moved south...to get out of winter. Last year, we had an all-time record history snowfall here of 8". School was closed for 5 days, even though the snow melted in 2. I'm glad my kids enjoyed it, but I didn't.

You're right, people freak out here at the mention of snow. They're calling for potential of rain turning to snow tomorrow morning, with 1" maximum accumulation. Many schools have already canceled. It's silly. We've had school cancel many times because it "may" snow, several times it was nothing but cloudy. But as others have said, they do the snow panic in areas that get snow. Grocery stores where I used to live (not far from the Poconos) would be cleaned out every time snow was mentioned. So the south isn't alone in that.

Nope, no more winters for me. I'm becoming used to the warm weather here. When it gets below 50, I'm not happy.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Just to clarify about the closing schools...
They just don't have the ability and equipment and the tax dollars to effectively handle the snow here. Like they do in the Northern areas.
And the often wet icy-snow is bad. A few inches and the curves and hills can be really bad for a few days.
Closing schools is no big thing.
They account for extra days in the yearly school calendars.
It is the way it is done. (and, like the bumper sticker... Don't give a damn how you did it up North.)
Doesn't always mean the way things are sometimes done here are ridiculous or wrong.

 

[Klayfish]

Just to clarify about the closing schools...
They just don't have the ability and equipment and the tax dollars to effectively handle the snow here. Like they do in the Northern areas.
And the often wet icy-snow is bad. A few inches and the curves and hills can be really bad for a few days.
Closing schools is no big thing.
They account for extra days in the yearly school calendars.
It is the way it is done. (and, like the bumper sticker... Don't give a damn how you did it up North.)
Doesn't always mean the way things are sometimes done here are ridiculous or wrong.

Yes, I agree that they don't have the resources here to deal with snow like they do up north. And yes, those extra days are built into the school calendar (they are up north too). But sorry, there is a bit of over reaction to the threat of weather here.

This is my 4th winter here and two days is about as far as I'd stretch it for the roads being bad after ice or snow. Typically they're fine within hours, mostly because it's normally warm enough here that the ground/roads don't get a hard freeze. Even when we got the worst-in-100+ years snow of 8" last winter, the roads were completely fine the day after. Which was perfect. Kids got to play, and then it all went away.