Americans from one region of the United States might sometimes stop and wonder what it’s like to live in some faraway pocket of the country. What’s it really like in the Southwest?” someone in Massachusetts might wonder. “Is it really hot and dry all the time?”
Or you might be considering moving to the South and find yourself asking if it’s really all you’ve heard, if it matches all the stereotypes that Americans like to toss around about the region.
Well, since you asked, yes, the South is different from other parts of the United States. It’s also the same in most ways, but there is a good number of idiosyncrasies that it seems can only be found in the South.
If you are indeed looking for Memphis houses for sale and wondering what to expect, let’s fill you in on three areas where the South is just plain different.
You’ll Find Barbeque Like Nowhere Else
You may get Southern-style barbeque chicken at your local chain restaurant once a month, but it doesn’t beat real, actual barbeque that you can find in places such as South Carolina or Kentucky.
We’re not talking about someone slapping a hunk of chicken breast on a plate and putting barbeque sauce on it and saying, “Look, it’s barbeque!”
We’re talking about Southerners getting real smokers and giant sections of animal and smoking it for days until it’s just perfect. You’ve never had Southern smoked brisket until you’ve been in the real South, and that’s no lie.
If you’re moving to the South and have never had real barbeque, don’t worry: you’re in for a treat.
Life? It’s a Lot Slower
It’s nearly a stereotype to say these days that life is slower in the American South. But it’s based on real habits practiced by real people.
Take a metropolis such as Los Angeles or New York or Philadelphia. These are huge places where everything is close together and privacy is at a minimum.
Now take the South, a large, mostly rural region where people have farms and country houses that aren’t exactly breathing down one another’s necks.
Add in the high heat and humidity, and you’ve got a people who in general don’t see any issue with taking their days a little more slowly. Maybe they go for a relaxing stroll to get some exercise while avoiding the overexertion that would lead to sweating.
Maybe the people visit a friend and sit and visit on the porch for a bit before returning home. Those are life’s little pleasures, and you can find people enjoying them in the South in ways that New Yorkers aren’t necessarily doing.
The Weather Is Nearly Perfect
The South also has its own overall climate that many transplants in the region find more than pleasant. It isn’t exactly like California, a state known for its generally warmer temperatures. Where California stays fairly temperate for much of the year, the South does get into some extremes.
You might move to somewhere such as Georgia or Tennessee and immediately start enjoying the mild winters, a great relief from a northern winter. It doesn’t get extremely cold in December or January, maybe down to 32 degrees at night and up to 50 for the day. But it’s certainly not going to get into the teens or single digits very often.
Then, before you know it, it’s spring and summer again, and those temps are climbing into the 90s with brutal humidity. So there is that.
Overall, the South is a beautiful and expansive region of the United States that you will surely come to love once you settle there.
