Here we go...finally...a thread only for Southerners...

[Maddy McCall]

Just for a challenge, your response to the second question cannot include anything related to politics or religion. :evilgrin:


What is absolutely THE best thing about living in the South?

What is absolutely THE worst thing about living in the South?

[ulysses]

1. 2. the pterodactyls

masquerading as mosquitos.

1. the indie music.

[RubyDuby in GA]

2. No politics or religion???? Darn near impossible to answer....

Best - not having people look at me funny for my godawful accent (despite being highly educated, I can. at times, sound like the biggest hick that ever lived. And the food....mmm...pork rinds....

Worst - the developers. Every time you turn around, another beautiful patch of land has a strip mall on it located next to a brand new housing development for 700 homes and no infrastructure to support them.

[Longhorn]

3. Answer to both: the weather.

Best: winter, spring, and fall.
Worst: summer (here in Texas)

[PopSixSquish]

15. HEY LONGHORN - I was Looking for You!!!

I was trying to remember which poster had the link for this guy's campaign and if he'd won!!!!

Congratulations!!!

[Longhorn]

25. Missed your post PopSixSquish!

Yes, he won by about 3,500 votes, which is a healthy margin around here. I changed my signature to let people know Patrick had won because so many people had asked me about him once they saw "Last Man Standing" on PBS. Unfortunately, we haven't had many days here at DU since the election when our signatures are on!

Thanks for sharing our joy at getting him re-elected!

[kayell]

4. The best - Wonderful weather for most of the year and the beauty of nature

The worst - having to listen to people who have moved down from Michigan or upstate NY, whine that they can't grow bluegrass or lilacs. :eyes:

[wildeyed]

5. As a transplant from big time blues states,

I gotta say the best thing is the cost of living. Damn it's cheap to live here! I live in a moderately priced house in Charlotte that would cost well over a million dollars in a similar neighborhood in DC, where I grew up.

The worst thing has been the culture shock. Politics and religion aside, there are different rules here. People talk slow and expect you to chat more. But although southerners seem more friendly than notherners, it is something of an illusion. If you are not already part of their circle, they are not anxious to invite you in. Basically, the only way to meet people is to go to church.

[DemBones DemBones]

6. Hmmm. . . best is being with other Southerners, who know

that claims that all Southerners are idiots are false, who don't make fun of each others' accents, who expect sweet tea to be the default, and who typically like grits, fried okra, blackberries, catfish and hushpuppies, chicken and dumplings, and other Southern delicacies, but have the manners not to tell the world if they don't like something.

Worst is the heat. It wasn't so bad when I was a kid and nobody had air conditioning because there were porches and, in Charleston at least, businesses closed at lunchtime for a couple of hours. Plus you could actually get a NeHi Grape for a treat.

[EstimatedProphet]

7. Why is it important to have a thread only for southerners?

Sorry, but I always wonder about statements like this, because they leave out everyone else. Should we also have threads for people that live in New England, or the midwest? Because they don't exist.

[ronzo]

9. Yeah, I'd be very interested in what New Englanders, etc. find best/worst

about their region. This probably isn't the forum for that thread though...

I can tell you what I think about New Orleans.

Best: The food*, baby!

Worst: Tie.
a. "Air you can wear"
b. Having to be a homer for the consistently worst football team in the NFL ever. Bah!



*which will kill you in the long run. I had to seriously change my diet a while back...

[EstimatedProphet]

11. Hmm

Hard to say what the best/worst thing is here, but I'll take a stab at it:
rural southern Georgia-Best thing: outdoors. The flowers in the spring are out fo this world, and there's an actual slot canyon in a state park not far from here, almost like what you'd find in AZ!
The worst: redneck crackers. No question.

[doni_georgia]

14. Damn - Nwalins - Atlanta must be you're twin city! LOL

I think our football team has sucked more years than yours, although we're havin a good one this year.

[Endangered Specie]

8. The Weather can be the angel or the devil around here

;)

[Dzimbowicz]

10. My answers

What is absolutely THE best thing about living in the South?

The weather and my house at Litchfield Beach.

What is absolutely THE worst thing about living in the South?

Leftovers from the past.

[Rocinante]

12. Well

The warm weather, growing our own vegetables, being able to take my daughter bass fishing is the best.

The worst thing about living in the South? Poison snakes. Copperheads love to curl up on our front porch. I've killed seven of them in the last four years.

[doni_georgia]

13. Best - the food; Worst - the heat and humidity

[leyton]

16. Best: food & weather. Worst: hmmm... well, you've ruled out #1 and #2!

Also, everyone here has nice manners, I think. I like manners :)

[Blue_Roses]

17. hmmm...

Best: Definitely the food

Worse: Ignorance and fundies

[flaminbats]

18. what makes someone a southerner?

Is it aborted Americanism while being southernized by the silver tongue of Lucifer? Is it a DINO who believes Jesus is really the evil twin bro of W? Is it the drunk crazy old hunter who claims that New Englanders really began slavery in the south, and that Robert E. Lee was secretly as liberal as Martin Luther King? Does it include leaders like John Lewis who peacefully marched for equal rights, or those who mercilessly attacked them with clubs and dogs? Did it include Hispanics who came to the south, hired illegally as cheap labor? Or does it include independent contractors, too cheap to share their profits with workers but too greedy lower their prices?

Are southerners those patriots who fly the rebel flag, or traitors who fly our nation's flag? Do southerners include Republicans who blindly follow the government's instructions, or Democrats who question them? Do southerners believe in protecting private property, or in slashing tires and destroying it only for liberal citizens? Do southerners demand more deficit spending, more central control, and a greater military industrial complex...or do they hope for fiscal discipline, no taxation without representation, and liberty and justice for all?

What is absolutely THE best thing about living in the South? kicking ass

What is absolutely THE worst thing about living in the South? having my ass kicked

[Syrinx]

19. that's a toughie

Best thing. Maybe barbecued ribs, the way we do them down here. And southern food in general. Musical heritage? Every distinctly American musical tradition that I can think of started down here. Southern girls? Yeah, that's the ticket. (Not to denigrate the ladies from other regions.) The antebellum homes are beautiful.

Worst thing. The summer humidity is a close second, but the grand prize has to go to the current political alignment here. And it's our job to make the humidity the worst thing about the south.

Also in the bad category: most of our states are so-called "right-to-work" states, people won't support adequate taxes to fund education properly, and the Bible-thumping fundies, who, while a minority, are a vociferous and regressive force.

Well, that's all off the top of my head.

EDIT: Ooops. I need to read an entire message before replying. Didn't notice the part about no religion or politics. Sorry.

[kick-ass-bob]

20. Best and worst:

Best: The real southerners are extremely friendly, even if on a superficial level. Need help? People will help.

Worst: Bugs. Way too damn many of them. Especially mosquitos.

[SCDem]

21. Answers from a transplant

The best thing is Ice Tea

The worst thing is the bugs (they're bigger and badder than I've ever seen!)

[Jose Diablo]

22. Best and the worst

Best would have to be the mild winters, and it is also related to the worst which is the bugs.

[yellowdogintexas]

23. that wonderful peppery vinegary pulled pork barbeque

that is the best thing

worst thing: humidity and the bugs (*a tie)

[merh]

24. Hey jchild - I love it a forum for us!

Should have seen the running debate I had with a new jersey DUer about racism and bigotry. Could have used your help.

Okay best thing, the weather, I live on Back Bay on the Coast, so the scenery is terrific.
The worst, the weather (humidity) and the mosquitos.

[juslikagrzly]

26. The best and worst are the same

The best = the people

The worst = the people

[Phentex]

27. I believe in southern hospitality...

compared to most other places. It's something I have witnessed and there's something comforting about it.

I think the worst part is the fact that the Bible Belt is alive and well.

[TN al]

28. 1. the weather...

... 2. southerners seeming unwillingness to challenge themselves. They want to do just enough to get by, not what it takes to excel.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

29. The best thing, Summer BBQ's of brisket with beans and potato salad.

The worst, the mosquitoes!