<p>Okay, well i live in Mass. but I'm visiting family in South Carolina this week. I hope I'm not being offensive (well it wouldn't bother me that much) but has anyone noticed things are a lot slower down here. Pace-wise and well...in other ways. I know it's like...people are laid back..but I went to KFC the other day and I had to remind them 3 times to get my order and we got internet installed today and they weren't even close to being on time. Are we in the northeast too busy and rushed all the time or are southerners too laid back and incompitent??</p>
<p>Being laid back automatically means that southerners are incompetent? That's a pretty ignorant statement. </p>
<p>I've lived in various southern states and it really depends on the area on how laid back it is. Tennessee compared to Florida where I used to live is slow, easy going, and way more friendly. Florida even though it is a southern state doesn't have the same feel. It's all hustle and bustle.</p>
<p>There are going to be people being late and other such things no matter where you are. You cannot just pinpoint that to the South.</p>
<p>oh yes, i'm sure KFC workers in the North are genius's. and the internet guy was late? <em>shock</em> well with that king of evidence...it's official, southerners suck.</p>
<p>yeah did i definitely not say "NO OFFENSE." If you disagree, disagree, i dont need attitude. thanks.</p>
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Being laid back automatically means that southerners are incompetent? That's a pretty ignorant statement.
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<p>Again...not what i said. NOT what i meant. Those were two separate observations. and it could just be specific to my certain area of South Carolina (which is a smaller-sized town) but people are very...slow...with their service and they dont really expect you to care. and the banks here aren't even open on saturdays. </p>
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oh yes, i'm sure KFC workers in the North are genius's. and the internet guy was late? <em>shock</em> well with that king of evidence...it's official, southerners suck.
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<p>I did NOT say in any way, shape, or form...that southerners "suck." and the kfc was just an example, but i'll say that i've never had that poor service before. oh...and they asked if i wanted a drink. i said "no i have a water." so apparently that means "i want a water, please" because she then gave me a water and tried to charge me for it.</p>
<p>the point is..i'm trying to point out the differences in the cultures. beign from the north clearly im preferable to that, but im not saying it's better either. southerners probably think people in new york and mass, etc. are uptight and rude and it's too fast-paced. </p>
<p>klf1120 thanks for the response though i figured florida was probably a lot different an environment than other states. Current_student, if you're offended..well..you can get over it i guess i dont need worthless posts.</p>
<p>haha. it's not attitude...it's sarcasm influenced by logical thinking. i'm not a southerner. your argument was just ridiculous. "no offense", but your post seems just as worthless.</p>
<p>I've lived North, South, East , West, and New England, and yes, there are lots of differences around this large country.</p>
<p>You are right that in general, the South is more laid back than is the North. There are exceptions, however, and Miami is one example. All of Florida, however, is not like Miami. The state is very large, and lots of it is very laid back.</p>
<p>I think that overall, the North is more efficient (though there are definitely exceptions) and people tend to also be more into workaholism and liking others for what the people can do for them. Northerners also tend to be more abrupt, blunt and hurried. </p>
<p>Southerners tend to have more charm and to be more into who you know and what church you attend than what your job title is or whether you go to an Ivy school. </p>
<p>There are good and not as good aspects about all regions of this country, so I hope no one takes anything that I wrote as a put down of their region.There also are exceptions to all of the generalities that I listed.</p>
<p>northstarmom i agree with you completely on all counts. and current_student there's nothing ridiculous about my post. i made observations, ones that obviously others agree with. the south is more laid back, and the north tends to be slightly more efficient. efficient, laidback:both good qualities.</p>
<p>Well I actually live in the South. I was raised in the South.</p>
<p>We can all play the broad generalisations game back and forth. </p>
<p>As someone who has lived in a fair amount of places, I cannot quite say that "the north" is more efficient. </p>
<p>Northstarmom cracks me up, I cannot even respond to this: "Southerners tend to have more charm and to be more into who you know and what church you attend than what your job title is or whether you go to an Ivy school." </p>
<p>GreenDayFan, I think you are a very lovely person. You seem to be trying to learn about differences and that is very commendable because some people do not always even bother learning about differences in others at all.
I cannot help you with KFC. The older I get, no matter where I live, the slower fast food workers seem. I am not trying to put down that line of work at all, though.
Some cable companies which provide internet say that they will be "there" between the hours of whatever and whatever. </p>
<p>"Busy" is a subjective state of being when it is observed by others. In some areas of the South, there is a slower pace, but it does not mean that people are any less busy at all. And, believe or not, there are a very fair amount of places in the South which are very fast paced.</p>
<p>i don't disagree with that, greenday. but don't forget you originally connect being laid back to incompetence...implying inadequacy. and based on your anecdotes, that argument seemed pretty ridiculous.</p>
<p>but yes, i'm pretty sure everyone knows and realizes the south is more laid back and not as hectic (on average) as the north. but a slow person at KFC and a late cable guy aren't legit examples. that happens everywhere. and as was just mentioned, the south has faced paced places and the north also has more chill places as well.</p>
<p>that is all.</p>
<p>NSM, I CANNOT agree with your statement about the North being "more efficient." In fact, compared to where I'm from, I always think of NE states as less efficient. Then again, look at my location; it's pretty much business business business.</p>
<p>It's definitely not laid back in Atlanta. People drive fast, we like fast service, people are known to work long hours... most people don't have Southern accents. And, income levels are on par or exceeding cities in the NE and California (but it's MUCH MUCH cheaper to live here :) )</p>
<p>What is "the north" more efficient at? </p>
<p>The ATL is a prime example of a very wonderful city which proves a lot of the negative generalisations (like in this thread) about "the south" wrong every day.
A more humble (our economy is different than the ATL) example would be where I live in Memphis.
A big example would be Nashville (highly ranked city for scads of very positive things) Tennessee. </p>
<p>runningncircles1: Memphis might catch up with the ATL in business one of these days:)</p>
<p>Yeah...people seem to think the south is all one entity. That's not a good assumption to make. In the case of Texas, much of the state is VERY laid back and slow. This I will admit. But Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, and even Austin are all hustle and bustle areas.</p>
<p>As for the "south seem to be more concerned a/b what church you went to, etc," I must disagree. While that may again be true in the countryside and in smaller cities, in Houston (very near to where I live) where you go to school is a huge deal and Texas is often cited as being one of the biggest senders of students to the ivy league in the nation. We aren't as slow and different from the Northeast as some would imagine...but ya most ppl in the countryside are. However, a large # of people in the South are located in the major cities, where life goes on just like anywhere else.</p>
<p>Yes, the south is muy successful. Gaining all the population of northern cities, in fact :-). Here are some stats:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.proximityone.com/metros.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.proximityone.com/metros.htm</a></p>
<p>Which cities gained more population, and where are they located again? Exactly...</p>
<p>I've been living in "The South" for almost 4 years now after living in Wisconsin for 3 years, Michigan for 14 years, after growing up and going to school in California.</p>
<p>Along the way, I've had a chance to live in and have known people in big cities, medium cities and small cities in these places.</p>
<p>My observations...</p>
<p>In the big cities where there is always something going on and always something else waiting to be done, people become accustomed to dealing with things quickly and develop an impatience for things that aren't delivered at the pace they are used to. They find slower paced service inferior and slower developing relationships a sign of dull people.</p>
<p>In small cities where you have to work harder to find things to fill your time and people aren't all crammed in close to you, people tend to look for the nuances that the busier people from the larger cities cast aside (in their hurry for more stimulation) or don't appreciate as much. They find the hurried people from the large cities to be crazy.</p>
<p>I currently live in a medium sized city and find it to be very nice and the people to be as smart as I care to look at them as (whether they are slow or fast in their interaction).</p>
<p>Not all Northerners are sharpies (anyone seen Fargo?). </p>
<p>Learn to appreciate the culture of where you are and where you visit. It will be an eye-opening experience.</p>
<p>i think what i've deducted is that a lot of the generalizations tend to be true more in rural towns than in cities. and i kind of realized that too. like the town i'm visiting is a pretty small town. i think it's kind of silly that certain people are getting so offended by us even discussing though. if you're secure, you really shouldn't get upset. i like where i live and so when people diss it i dont care because i know it's a good place for me and they might be different. i dont get defensive because all the reasons i like it in massachusetts could be the reasons others dont and they have the right to those preferences. (liberal, educated, etc.)</p>
<p>it's KFC man, not a five star restaurant. wow. Please do not make generalizations about a whole region just because your KFC and internet were slow. hahaha. oh wow.</p>
<p>wow so i guess you decided to skip the rest of the thread? and whether or not its kfc, ive never had that bad service at fast food restuarants anywhere else. those two incidents weren't the entire reason i made that deduction about the south, either, it was just the general atmosphere. also, dont lie and say u did read the whole thread because if you did then you wouldn't just be addressing the first post. all i wanted to know was other people's observations about the north versus the south. i'm not calling either bad, just different from one another.</p>
<p>I actually did skip over the rest of the post, and I'm not lying.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>...there's nothing ridiculous about my post.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>It is ridiculous to generalize about an entire geographic region based on a few very limited experiences. </p>
<p>I had bad service once at a Dunkin' Donut shop in Boston, and I ate breakfast once in a diner in Cambridge where nearly all the customers looked and talked like a bunch of uneducated blue-collar workers. I also have seen a lot of bums on the streets of Cambridge begging for money. So from these experiences, what sweeping generalizations should I make about the people of New England?</p>
<p>i wasnt generalizing about the entire region, so its still not ridiculous, thanks. I asked if other people had similar experiences. also, those two experiences were not the basis for my perception of the south(well, parts of the south) it was the entire atmosphere and also what i've heard from other people. you know what i think is ridiculous, that people are so fricken defensive. yeah. when people insult where i'm from, i dont care. i like it for certain reasons and those same reasons may be why they do not like it. different people prefer different regions. Are you honestly gonna tell me that the South isn't much more laid back than the North? You're clearly delusional if you are.</p>