Moving to the South

My friend Meg wrote a post yesterday called What to Expect When Moving South. I thought I would add my own 10 item list to hers.

I grew up in Maryland and lived in a bunch of states after High School which took me up and down the East Coast. I moved to North Carolina for college for two years and then went back up to Maryland to finish out the last 2 1/2. From there, I went to Georgia, Connecticut, New York and finally back to Maryland. Maryland, in my opinion, is a "confused" state. It's right on the border with Pennsylvania with the Mason Dixon Line dividing the two states.

As a Marylanders, we never thought of ourselves as a part of the south. There are no awesome southern accents, we don't do sweet tea and we certainly don't have such a big, creepy bug problem; yet, we're still below that line. I certainly experienced the south when I moved to Savannah, Georgia. That was a huge culture shock. I only lived there for 6 months before moving north, though so I didn't get the full blast of Southern until I officially moved to North Carolina.

Top 10 Things you Should Know Before Moving South
1.  The bugs are bigger, uglier and more prevalent.
2.  People will say things you don't understand. Some translations: "So good you'll wanna smack your momma" is a way to describe food. "Tall drink of water" is a way to describe a tall person. You stand "on" line for things, not "in" line (weird). You'll hear "Lordy" or "Oh Loooorrrd" a lot.
3.  Church is not a casual affair. Ladies wear dresses and heels, men wear suits. Seersucker suits.
4.  It does not snow very often, so there are very few snow plows. When it snows, and by snow I mean there is a very thin layer of white stuff on the ground, you stay home for your own safety and everything closes.
5.  Unless you live on a hill, there are no basements. This is really disappointing when it's 865 degrees outside and all you want to do is cool off in a dark, somewhat damp, but most importantly cool basement room.
6.  Barbecue is a noun, not a verb.
7.  Barbecue is made with a vinegar-based sauce in East North Carolina and ketchup/tomato-based in West North Carolina.
8.  Weddings include a grooms cake. It's usually a representation of something the groom loves like their school logo, favorite sports team or their favorite hobby.
9.  Nascar is a socially acceptable sport.
10. People will tell you YOU have an accent when you have lived your entire life knowing you don't have an accent. Hello, people from Maryland don't say things funny, hun.

When I moved here, two people gifted me the book, "Suddenly Southern." If you are moving here, check it out. Actually, if you want it, let me know, I'll give you a copy. It's written by a woman from Philly who's husband took a job in Raleigh, NC.

Check out Meg's list for more fun things to know before moving to the south!
So, what did we miss? Anything else that is different from "up north?"