A Northerner’s Guide to Living in the South
18 years in New Jersey, 4 years in Virginia, and 3 years in Tennessee. My 25 years have consisted of a lot of movement and change -- especially across the Mason Dixon. One of the biggest transitions has been relocating my born and raised Jersey self to the South. It's been great, but there have definitely been some learning curves.
If you're contemplating migrating from the North to the South, here are some phrases and cultural differences to be aware of:
"Put it up."
This one was my biggest and first culture shock. It was my first day of freshman year at Liberty University in Virginia and I had made it through all of my classes but one. I was sitting in the front row (as usual) of the 800 person auditorium that held my last class of the day. The teacher approached the stage and told everyone to "put their phones up." That's odd, I thought as I promptly held my phone above my head. My professor began staring at me. I wonder why he wants us to hold our phones up? My professor continued staring and said, "Put your phone up." I stretched higher. "No, no, put it away. In your bag." I looked behind me and saw my classmates roaring with laughter -- not a single one of them was holding their phone above their heads. In that moment I learned that in the South, to "put something up" means to put it away. That was a lesson learned the hard way.
Shoes in the house
In the North its customary to ask the host of the home you are visiting if they'd prefer you to take your shoes off. Most of the time they do. In the South this is not the case. Hardly anyone takes their shoes off in the house -- especially if you're just a guest visiting.
"I might could."
The Southern phrase "I might could" is the same as they Northern phrase "probably". This one took me a while to figure out, but I finally got there.
College football
This wasn't as big of a shift while I was in Virginia (basically everyone loved Virginia Tech and UVA), but man, did I feel like I should have taken an entire college course on college football when I got to Nashville. In the beginning of the summer, my non-existent college football knowledge passed under the radar undetected, but as soon as a cool breeze began to blow, the football talk began and my ignorance was quickly exposed. It began one morning over coffee when one of my colleagues exclaimed, "It's almost football season!" I asked who their team was and expected to hear the Titans or Giants or Cowboys or something NFL related. He replied, "The Cornhuskers!" The what? I asked what state they were from and if they were new to the league this year. I further relayed that I had never even heard the name to the die-hard fan. After listening to the importance of college football for an hour, I deduced I have some serious studying to do in preparation for Nashville fall Saturdays. Later that week I also asked a University of Tennessee graduate what a "Vol" was... I now know.
Moving from the North to the South has been fun! I miss everything bagels, not being judged for loving Dunkin Donuts, and, of course, Taylor Ham, but the South has a vibrant culture that has been great to discover. And it's been fun to contribute a little Northern personality to the South, too.