There are BBQ spots outside of the south. They just cook it wrong. BBQ is very region dependent, as far as how they cook it. Some styles are harder to get right then others, I suppose.
I absolutely fucking love Whataburger, I don't know if I could ever live anywhere that didn't have a Whataburger in town.
I felt this was an appropriate song to add to the tail end of this thread: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38C6rhXClWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38C6rhXClWI</a>
Pretty much sums it up. I've refrained from this post, but if I could pick one sentence as far as skin complex conflict in the south goes, this is it (I've posted too much on this topic in the past). FOCUS: People in Florida have replaced the word 'anybody' with 'nobody' I've noticed.
This thread has encouraged me to seriously think about manning up and moving down south. I've been giving serious thought about transferring to one of the Reserve bases in Georgia. My military buddy that just moved there is singing all sorts of praise about it and has some space for me stay at for a while, so that urges me to get the hell out of Ohio and on to better things.
One of the most overlooked aspects of the South is the mid-40's to mid-50's woman who defines Southern Charm to a T. This is the woman that has never called you by your name. It's always, "Well, good morning good looking" or "You have yourself a good weekend, Handsome." This is the woman that greets the 350 pound guy in your office by saying "Hey there, Big'un" and not only is he not offended, but he actually smiles and blushes a bit because everything she says or does comes off as sweet and endearing (think Sandra Bullock's character in The Blind Side, but without the teeth). Part of what I love about this woman is that 90% of you thinks she's genuinely the sweetest person in the world, but the 10% of you that's cynical thinks it might be all a manipulative ploy. Either way it works, because you find yourself staying late at the office to make copies for her and you're not quite sure how it happened. As for the hospitality aspect that has been mentioned ad nauseum, it's definitely one of my favorite things about the South (for the record, I was born and raised in Houston). But I don't think it's limited to the South. I haven't seen much of it on the Northeast and I haven't been out West much, but all of my family is from North Dakota and Minnesota. I see the same friendliness in those states and I imagine that's true of the Upper Midwest in general. I'll also throw my hat in the it's-easy-to-score-up-north-with-a-southern-accent ring. When I'm up in ND or MN, it seems that all I need to do is drop a few "yes, ma'ams," hold a few doors, pull out a few chairs and let them play out the rest of the Southern Gentleman narrative in their own head and it all seems to kind of work itself out. Plus, the competition's not too steep. With all due respect to you fellas that live up there, most of you are pretty unfortunate looking. In conclusion, I love the South and will probably never leave (in large part because I consider anything below 60 degrees to be cold). In all likelihood, I'll probably spend the rest of days in Houston, though I certainly wouldn't be averse to living in New Orleans or a few other southern cities.
Not to hit up a dead thread but I haven't had a chance to post much this week. I'll keep it brief. One of the best reasons to live in the south, you ask? Bojangles. End of story. Wait, you don't know what Bojangles is? Well come down here and find out. And if you don't? Well, may god have mercy on your heathen ass.