<p>My son has several southern schools on his college list. A friend recently told me that it is difficult for "northerners" to fit in at southern schools. We are from the northeast and this seems a little hard to believe....</p>
<p>Any northerners with children in southern schools?? Any issues?</p>
<p>I’ve known kids who had issues and kids who didn’t. It really depends a lot on the kid and on the school. Which schools is he considering?</p>
<p>He hasn’t decided which schools he is applying to yet, but is considering Roanoke, Emory and Henry, Elon, Furman and High Point. We are also checking out Hendrix, Bellarmine, Centre and Belmont. My son is very laid back so I think he will be fine but I haven’t spent a lot of the time in the south.</p>
<p>We are the Chicago area.</p>
<p>I had one daughter go to UVa and the second just finished her first year at Elon.
Both had no problem not being from the South. They have friends from the South and from the NY/NJ/CT area.</p>
<p>My daughter at Elon has friends from all over the East Coast. She has a few friends from North Carolina, but a really nice mix.</p>
<p>more and more northerners move here every year, so it’s really not a big deal at all. and anyway, the south is supposedly more laid back in general, so he shouldn’t have much of a problem.</p>
<p>What exactly do people from other parts of the country think that “southerners” are going to do to their children? Eat them? Lol. I think some concerns about living in a southern environment are legitimate. But many people use so-called “concerns” as a guise to express their ignorance.</p>
<p>Best thing you can do is visit and get a first hand look at the schools he’s interested in before deciding. Some of those you mention are definitely worth seeing.</p>
<p>Well we DO eat a lot of strange things, but the term “Southern Hospitality” was invented for a reason!</p>
<p>A tip for the Northerners: I remember standing in line at LSU behind someone asking a woman at the desk where the “pop machine” was. After she asked “what?” 2-3 times someone finally yelled out “she means the COKE machine!” :-).</p>
<p>S will be a senior at U South Carolina next year.we’re from suburban New York City.He’s had no issues and his 3 best friends are all native SC’ers.
A big city urban type kid might have to get used to a somewhat slower pace (for example, his friends think he talks too fast) When we visited i was somewhat suspicious of the “hospitality”…as in “why are these people so interested in me”??..but got used to it fast! There’s a more religious atmosphere on his campus than we’re used to but he’s really laid back so its irrelevant.Faculty come from all over so thats not an issue.
And the person looking for a “pop” machine must have been from the midwest…here we’d be looking for a “soda” machine!!</p>
<p>I went from the northeast (Long Island, to be exact) to grad school at the University of Florida and it was quite a culture shock for me. The first few weeks I was there I wanted to scream at everyone: “HURRY UP!”</p>
<p>By the time it came for me to move to Chicago 2 years later, I remember thinking to myself: “why is everyone in such a hurry?”</p>
<p>It’s an adjustment, but one you get used to quickly.</p>
<p>DS just finished two years of grad school in North Carolina and he’s from the northeast. He loved NC and will miss it. Friends were from all over the country.</p>
<p>D went to Furman freshman year; we are from the midwest. She didn’t feel out of place … but she sure didn’t care much for driving in Greenville … southerners do not drive like midwesterners, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>D visited Hendrix & does not feel that it is “southern,” even though it is definitely located in the south. She also did not feel that Centre seemed “southern.”</p>
<p>She says that Belmont is very cool … not southern … more “hip.” </p>
<p>One thing about Furman & Belmont (not Centre & Hendrix, I don’t think) is that there is a culture of religion. Not that Furman is a religious school (Belmont is), but a very large percentage of the student body would describe themselves as religious. I don’t believe non-religious students wouldn’t be welcomed - it’s just something to note about southern schools, just in case it is an issue for the student.</p>
<p>a couple of observations me and my parents made when we were in the south:</p>
<ol>
<li>everything’s so slowed paced, I wanted to scream as somebody above me stated when I had to wait 30 minutes for my pizza at Pizza Hut haha</li>
<li>NOBODY WALKS, this definitely contributes to the obesity rate in my opinion. In Massachusetts, you’ll see people outside biking and taking walks but because everything’s so spread out in the south, you have to drive everywhere and as a result the beautiful sidewalks are deserted. Also, in most parts of the south, public transportation is nonexistant. even in cities like Charlotte.</li>
<li>the southern accent wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. IMO the Southern accent sounds a lot better than the Boston accent ;)</li>
</ol>
<p>I love southern cooking and southern hospitality. Not sure that I could live their permanently, but I’ve enjoyed extensive travel there, and surely could have enjoyed college in the south.</p>
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<p>Surely you don’t expect anyone to actually TELL you about any negative experiences kids have had. I’ve done that before, and the accusations of bis and unfairness and so on were deafening.</p>
<p>Our son is in NC at Duke. Not the most “southern” school, to be sure, but this kid from Michigan (hard to get much farther north) has encountered no obstacles due to regional differences and has friends from all over.</p>
<p>Consolation, I’m clueless here. Try again or reference a thread? I’m open to learning from others’ experiences.</p>
<p>The only problem my sister had with moving south to North Carolina (and NC schools attract a lot of northerners anyways) was that people would hold the door open for you. I don’t mean hold the door open like we do in the north (walk in, reach back, hold door for one second count, walk away), they would stop, open the door (not go in!) and pull it back for you, even if you were still ten feet away. It’s really irritating when you don’t want to jog to the door. Call me crazy, but I’d rather they just close the door…</p>
<p>Then again, everyone seems to think Maryland is in the South (hahaha!).</p>
<p>Well, we definitely have manners here in the South, and I’m proud of it. </p>
<p>Pierre, good point. We do have poor public transport, and you do have to drive everywhere. That and the fact that we have wonderful food contribute to our obesity. It’s also too hot and humid to walk anywhere past eight in the morning.</p>
<p>We are from northern New England and our daughter has loved Emory and Atlanta. Great experience.</p>
<p>No thanks, mafool. I’ve been beaten up enough on that score.</p>
<p>We have manners in New England, too. People from other parts of the country often complain that we are too formal and reserved. The fact is that “manners” vary. </p>
<p>Whenever I see a Southerner boasting about their superior “manners” I tend to think about Emmet Till. It’s kind of like Germans criticizing other nation’s records on human rights.</p>
<p>I think it’s unwise to lay claim to positive stereotypes. Blacks claiming that they are better at dancing, or the Irish claiming that they have “the gift of gab” or Jews claiming to be smarter than other people. Stereotypes are a double-edged sword. It’s tough to claim the ones you like and disassociate yourself from those that are less than flattering.</p>