# Why don't people like the south? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010 "2017-11-18T18:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/121 "2017-11-20T17:55:59Z")
Umm… I have news for you: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Common_snapping_turtle_range_map.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Common_snapping_turtle_range_map.jpg) Even the creepier looking, though less aggressive, alligator snapping turtle is found in places like Wisconsin. The epicenter is in the south, though. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/122 "2017-11-20T18:14:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My motto: Never live someplace you can’t survive 24 hours outdoors naked. That’s the simple litmus test for “compatible human habitat”.🙂 Makes you wonder why there were all those settlements in New England. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/123 "2017-11-20T18:21:23Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Makes you wonder why there were all those settlements in New England. Well, I think they largely got lost. But it was probably also kind of nice to live in a place without yellow fever which was a big deal in colonial times. Apparently Philadelphia often had to be evacuated for a couple of months in the summer because ships from further south would bring in mosquitos and then the killings would begin. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/124 "2017-11-20T18:22:27Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Umm… I have news for you: > [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Common\_snapping\_turtle\_range\_map.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Common_snapping_turtle_range_map.jpg) > > Even the creepier looking, though less aggressive, alligator snapping turtle is found in places like Wisconsin. The epicenter is in the south, though. Nice choice of post/poster name. But yeah, I said _even_ snapping turtles are scary. But alligators can eat you and your little dog too. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/125 "2017-11-20T18:23:33Z")
I like it in the south. Warmer, less snow, less rude people, less people in general, lots of trees and fresh air. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/126 "2017-11-20T18:54:27Z")
I’m from New Jersey and moved to Atlanta, so basically went from one unfairly maligned place to another. I mostly moved South due to weather. I HATE the cold and snow. So I’m perfectly happy with hot, muggy summers as long as I only get a week of 30F weather in the winter. Also love the food (Atlanta helps as it has a lot of worldwide cuisine as well). The diversity down here is quite nice as well (though Jersey was a very diverse state itself - one cannot say that for all Northern states). And oh, yes, there is definitely anti-Northerner stuff down here. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/127 "2017-11-20T19:25:53Z")
Well, I don’t care for the weather in the south. I don’t mind winter. I have warm clothes to deal with that. But there comes a point where it’s just too hot and muggy to bear, and the only recourse is to hide indoors all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/128 "2017-11-20T19:57:17Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I like it in the south. Warmer, less snow, less rude people, less people in general, lots of trees and fresh air. The “less people” is completely a function of where in the south and where in the north you are. Atlanta or Maine? Maine has a lot of trees and all the fresh air one can imagine breathing. It is just as easy to say that in the north, people are direct. In the south, people are two-faced. I grant you the warmth. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/129 "2017-11-20T20:21:10Z")
Why do many Northern women resent being call Ma’am? ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/130 "2017-11-20T20:51:38Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Politics aside, I kind of like living in a part of the country where the mosquitos, ticks, and other biting critters have to take a three or four month Time Out. Also, I find snapping turtles sufficiently horrific, so I’d rather not live in a place where actual prehistoric lizards could be lurking in the ponds and creeping around the golf courses. Here is the range of the snapping turtle, just FYI: [Common snapping turtle - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_snapping_turtle#/media/File:Common_snapping_turtle_range_map.jpg) Oops, late to the party, I see. We have enough of them here in rural Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/131 "2017-11-20T20:54:58Z")
And the “naked” litmus test might be completely irrelevant in light of the snapping turtle range :eek: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/132 "2017-11-20T23:29:26Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why do many Northern women resent being call Ma’am? In non-southern speak it means “old woman. One at least 30 years older than however old I am”. You try telling some woman that to her face and see what happens. Not good. > [@Ludovic](#): > > And the “naked” litmus test might be completely irrelevant in light of the snapping turtle range :eek: I’m not sure about you, but I can walk faster than they can dash. It’s hard to fear a critter you can flee at a saunter. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/133 "2017-11-21T01:22:47Z")
When I was a child growing up in Pennsylvania I we would always head north or west for vacation - never south. My wife has always been amazed that I had never been to Colonial Williamsburg, Charleston, or any of the other places in the South that she had visited as a child. It wasn’t until many years later that I understood that my mixed-race parents were too afraid of the patchwork of miscegenation laws to venture into the South as a couple or as a family. The fact that my parent’s marriage was illegal in many Southern states _within my lifetime_ has always stuck with me… ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/134 "2017-11-21T02:18:49Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Does Maryland really count as the south, though? It’s never really felt southern to me. Depends on the county I think. My Maryland/Virginia straddling maternal relatives definitely considered themselves southerners and liberally sprinkled their speech with “y’all” ;). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/135 "2017-11-21T02:24:57Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Does Maryland really count as the south, though? It’s never really felt southern to me. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Depends on the county I think. My Maryland/Virginia straddling maternal relatives definitely considered themselves southerners and liberally sprinkled their speech with “y’all” ;). I was told, as a kid, that the Delmarva peninsula portion was The South, while everything west of Chesapeake Bay was The North. Of course, these were the same people who still used the word “blatherskite,” when referring to denizens of The Auld Sod, so consider the source. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/136 "2017-11-21T04:09:44Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Are you joking? > > You always hear southerners talking bad about Yankees. Why we’re a bunch of godless heathen communist gangsters is what I hear. While I might be churchless, I resent the rest. 😃 Communist gangsters? Hmm. One of those things might not be entirely a “damnyankee” thing. That is, _I’m_ a commie, _you’re_ from Joisey. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/137 "2017-11-21T13:03:18Z")
I once was told that a yankee was someone that came from the north, spent money on vacation, and went home. A damn yankee was one that came south and stayed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/138 "2017-11-21T13:23:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In non-southern speak it means “old woman. One at least 30 years older than however old I am”. You try telling some woman that to her face and see what happens. Not good. Thanks, LSL. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/139 "2017-11-21T13:36:25Z")
> [@Tom\_Terrific](#): > > I once was told that a yankee was someone that came from the north, spent money on vacation, and went home. A damn yankee was one that came south and stayed. A damn yankee is anyone who moved down south after you did. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010/140 "2017-11-21T14:09:42Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Communist gangsters? Hmm. One of those things might not be entirely a “damnyankee” thing. That is, _I’m_ a commie, _you’re_ from Joisey. Well I was describing what Yankees were collectively called, not just the Joisey version of Yankees. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-the-south/802010.md?page=8)