I've lived in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania my entire life, but now I am a junior in high school and I am starting to look at colleges. I am VERY interested in a few of South Carolina's colleges (Clemson, University of South Carolina, College of Charleston) because they have programs that I see fit & besides, I LOVE South Carolina. I've only ever really been around the Charleston area, and my family and I used to go every year. I love the town of Charleston so much. I know that the other colleges are in the heart of South Carolina, and it's not as touristy there, so I was wondering if anyone else has gone from living in the north, to going to college in the south & how their experience was. Are the people accepting? Is it harder to go to the south, being raised in the north your whole life? Any kind of experiences that you could tell me would be great! We're going to go visit those colleges either winter or spring break, too.
Higher Education (University +) - 4 Answers
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1
I'm not sure how helpful this will be but my dad is in the military so we've moved a lot I've lived in the North and the South and to me the only difference is the weather, but that's kind of a given Louisiana vs. Virginia most people would know Louisiana is hotter. Some of the trends are different to in Louisiana I had a friend in Virginia and Crocs were the coolest thing at the time and she had no idea what I was talking about, staple items are the same anywhere. People tend to be different kinds of friendly to for me I have to ask for help in the North and people asked if I needed help in the south of course it all depends on where is the south you go. No one will really see the difference from North and South unless you go to maybe Alabama where they have heavy accents.
2
You're asking questions that generalize more one can answer, but here are some things you will find. Strangers will smile and say "hi" or wave walking down the street or in hallways. "Y'all come back," is something people say as a friendly invitation when they want you to return another time, such as at restaurants and grocery stores. Fried okra (with onions and plenty of salt) is good. Stewed okra is nasty. People talk slower and listen slower. If you want to be understood, you will have to slow down your speech as well. People who are friendly do not necessarily have an ulterior motive. People have been taught that being friendly, especially to strangers, is polite. Politeness is a really big deal. Friendly strangers will try to ask you all sorts of personal information at the drop of a hat. You may politely defer answering by re-directing the conversation. Outright refusal to engage in this banter will label you as a Yankee. The further south you go, it's referred to as the War Between the States, not the Civil War. People are inordinately fond of their pick-up trucks and boats. Not everyone is a cousin, but Southerners are deeply involved with their extended families, and especially in small towns, everyone will know everyone's business. Southerners love to talk about nothing as much as important matters and telling yarns and stories is considered a fine art form. (Borrowing a line from a Reese Witherspoon movie, "You should need a passport to come here.") However, if you are adventurous, the South is great fun.
3
I can only speak to experiences at Clemson, since I'm an alumni of that school. Clemson is quite used to and accepting of Northern students--there's a huge New Jersey population there, for example, and I also knew quite a few students from Connecticut. And several from PA, too. While you may get some good-natured ribbing, I doubt you'll feel like an outcast because of where you come from. As long as you've got a sense of humor about it, you should be fine. The only time Southerners get really ticked off at Northerners is when they feel like Northerners are trashing the South. They're not really interested in hearing about "how we do it up North". :) There may be a bit of a culture shock in terms of politics (it's very conservative here), the speed of life, and social interaction (for example, I have several Philly-area friends who think it's borderline rude to smile/say hi to random strangers; in the South, it's outright rude NOT to smile at strangers--politeness, genuine or feigned, is paramount here), but I really don't think it'll be that overwhelming. Really all you need to do is make some good friends, and blend in with the social culture (at Clemson that means going to football games!) and you're good to go. Incidentally, I'm neither a Northerner or a true Southerner. I've lived in SC for over 30 years (since I was 5), but have more of a Midwest and Texan background so I'm kind of a cultural misfit here. I consider myself Southern by history and geography but not by heritage.
4
I was born and raised in Mass and moved to the south a year ago, I'm not going to college down here but...To answer some of your questions Some of the people will be accepting, But not everyone, You'll run into some really nice people in the south and possibly some that won't like you because of how you Speak and Act. For some people It is hard to move to the south from the north , For me it's hard around Christmas time with no snow and with the heat ( To Me ) it just doesn't feel like Christmas. Your first few weeks alot of people will ask you where your from and say you talk funny, But after awhile you should get used to it. As for me, I'm moving back up north, The south is nice but it's really not for me. But you should do fine in the south, Have fun and enjoy the heat!
