About the South

For our new neighbors, there are a few things you should know about the South:

• Much like the stereotypical Minnesotan, the typical Southerner values manners over being straightforward.
• We even try to be polite when we're being rude. Any critical comment is immediately softened by the clause "bless his/her/their heart(s)." E.g. "He just has no class at all, bless his heart."
• Yes, we put sugar and ice in our tea -- in that order. Putting sugar in after the ice defeats the purpose.
• A word on grits: grits are made from ground corn. They are served savory, never sweet. They go with pretty much everything, especially bacon and eggs or, for lunch/dinner, shrimp.
• We do get occasional cold weather and snow, but we are rarely prepared for it. Please be patient with us as we prepare for your frigid winters.
• Not all of us wave the Confederate flag.
• If I'm "fixin' to," I am preparing to do something at an indeterminate point in the near future.
• On that note, the letter "G" is optional when it comes at the end of a word.
• "Y'all" is the informal plural second person. It comes in quite handy.
• "Ain't" is technically a contraction of "are not," but is often used as a more general negative regardless of person or number.
• I ain't
• You ain't
• He/she/it ain't
• We ain't
• Y'all ain't
• They ain't
• "Yonder" is a general location, not a specific place.
• If something is "over yonder," it's "just over there." 
• If it's "down yonder," it's a medium distance away. 
• If it's "up over yonder," get ready 'cause it's gonna be a haul.
• While much of the South is rural, we also have our large metropolitan areas -- namely Atlanta and Nashville.
• While some of our schools our falling behind, we also have some great colleges and research universities -- Emory, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, UNC, UVA, Duke, Wake Forrest.
• Related: there is more to the SEC than athletics.
• While the Redneck stereotype exists for a reason, the South is also a hotbed for musical innovation, birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, and the former home of great authors including William Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Flannery O'Connor.
• Lutherans are far and few between, but we have plenty of Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians (with a descent compliment of Episcopalians as well).

What do we need to know about life on the edge of the prairie?