It’s hot outside. And I mean it’s H-O-T. I dread summertime. I know, I know. You can think I’m crazy for saying that, but who likes to sweat when you’re not even doing anything to work up a sweat? Columbia is like an oven and it’s just wet outside from the humidity. Blech. Every year when summertime comes, I wish I lived somewhere else.
I don’t like to sweat. My hair is naturally wavy and the humidity mixed with my hair is a dangerous combination. (Remember what Monica looked like in Barbados on Friends?)
You know the snowbirds that fly south from the Midwest and go to Florida to live in a condo on the beach in the winter? I’d like to move to a mild, dry climate in the summer. Because I’m all down on the south and the southern heat right now, I thought I should make a good list about what I absolutely love about the south to remind myself why I’d never want to live anywhere else.
Sonic and Chick-fil-A
I know these aren’t exclusively Southern, but you can bet that you’re going to find one of these restaurants in a Southern town. Mmmm boy! Tater tots, Cherry Limeades, Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches, diet lemonade. Holy deliciousness, Batman. I love the south!
SEC football and being surrounded by others that recognize its superiority
Big 10 and Big 12 folks should step aside. The SEC pride is strong and can be found in all the Southern states. There’s no denying the superiority of the SEC– especially to a Southerner. If you try to prove an SEC fan wrong on this you will not win and may make a few enemies in the process.
Charming Accents
While some say that Southern accents or country accents make people sound dumb or uneducated, I think it’s charming and endearing. I can think of accents that are a lot more shrill-sounding. Think Rachael Ray and nails on the chalkboard.
Okay, Charming Everything
From the local restaurants with the same servers and staff that have been there since the doors opened to time honored traditions for every occasion under the sun, things in the south are just charming. Sometimes being in the south makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the days where people can leave their doors unlocked and let the neighbors walk in.
The Food and the People that Prepare It
I can’t say enough good things about Southern cooking. I’m from Louisiana originally so I have a pretty high standard of food excellence, but I don’t have to go far to find great food. Our Sunday school friends provided us with meals for three weeks after Hudson was born and we didn’t have a single bad meal. The beautiful women that prepared the meals for us are also great about sharing recipes. There is, though, an unspoken rule that if you provide your recipe to your friend then she is not to prepare that dish for you.
Seersucker and the men that wear it proudly
There are non-Southern men that wear seersucker, but they don’t get away with it without some harassment. I’m not the preppiest girl in the land and don’t live for Vineyard Vines and Lilly Pulitzer, but I can handle some seersucker.
So tell me, Southerners, what do you love about the south? If you can’t stand the heat what redeems the south in the summertime for you?
{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
that’s why they call Columbia the Armpit of the South… too humid!
I am a Sumter-bred girl, spent four years in Tennessee, then moved to the mid-west 2 years ago – and boy do I miss the South! Sonic cherry limeades and SEC football are on the Top 5 things I miss list! There’s just nothing like growing up and living in the South.
Saras last blog post: The Pursuit of Happiness
I’d like to take this opportunity to state again for the record that Texas is not part of the south. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…the south is awesome.
I’m with you on the Southern food. Mmmm, good! Can’t find sweet tea up North.
I don’t live in the south…I live in rather far north of California…and we have a Sonic now.
It’s surprising actually. 
I don’t live in the south, I live in western Nevada, but I lived in Tennessee for a year. I miss the laid back attitude, the green, and the accents! =)
I also hate the heat! I am ready for the cooler weather to come back!
Katrinas last blog post: 36 weeks…
I just returned from a a week in Chicago-my favorite place, other than Charleston. In VA, we also have the horrible heat and humidity and I can honestly feel my hair growing at times. ICK! Feel your pain, sister!
The thing I love best about the south is the charm. I love that ladies still dress like ladies *ok, some of them*, the men are gentlemen, there are values and faith and just a general feeling of putting family first. Perhaps that’s everywhere to an extent, but I betcha only the gentlemen in the south are wearing seersucker / madras in a way that makes us swoon!
I’m not from the South, but I’ve lived there long enough to love….sweet tea, friendly neighbors, southern hospitality, and no/little traffic!!
oh, i agree about the chick-filA and sonic! i think cracker barrel is a southern thing too…..which i love! i would have to say what i love about the south is the hospitality shown by others. everybody seems to have such a welcoming personality. oh, and since i live in kentucky i’m going to say horse racing! i know they do this elsewhere, but not like the bluegrass state!
Love the South … though I live in Florida, I consider myself a Southerner since my Grandmother was from SC, and my Mom is from Augusta, GA.
More importantly, here’s my question: would you be able to share some of the recipes of some of the three week’s worth of great meals?
I’m always looking for new things to try … thanks!
Men is seersucker makes this southern girl go weak in the knees.
Gracie Beths last blog post: Preppy on a Budget
I am a Virginia girl, and while it doesn’t get as hot here as it does in SC, we still get our share of the heat/humidity!
My favorite part is probably the food….you can’t beat some fried chicken, potato salad and coleslaw. Or some REAL bbq….it drives me crazy when northerners invite me to a “BBQ” and they serve hamburgers and hotdogs. A bbq in my book means pulled pork with a delicious sauce!!
Rachels last blog post: Proud to be an American
I love the South. I recently moved to St. Louis and while its nice I feel a constant reminder of how much I love and miss the South. Great list!
I grew up in NC, and recently moved to the mid-west for a job transfer. Leaving the South has made me appreciate it that much more, but I’ve also noticed first hand some major regional differences.
I miss the friendliness of people in the South — you just don’t get that in the north/mid-west. However, I sometimes think that the Southern friendliness can be a little fake. People act super friendly to one another, then 5 minutes later start talking about someone. But it’s always prefaced with the usual “Bless her heart…”
Southern food just can’t be beat! Chick-fil-A and Sonic are good, but we can get that in the mid-west. I miss BOJANGLES!
Being from OK I feel like I get a mix of being a Southerner/Midwesterner/Southwestern. We are always thrown into different categories. I don’t know what I would do without my Cherry Limeades! (Sonic was started here.) Go Big XII! hee hee!
Erin, you’re a girl after my own heart! I second all of those points. I have to drive 3 hours to the nearest Chick-fil-A and Sonic where I am now! J thinks I’m crazy that I have to go every time I make the trek to Denver… and he would never wear seersucker, even though I love it. I tried to get him to wear a seersucker tie for the wedding, but it’s been passed on to a groomsman.
My favorite Southern thing– sweet tea from Chick-fil-A. Good thing I can’t get it freely, or I’d definitely be OFF the fit train!!
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I love good, southern BBQ (up north if you say barbeque they think you’re talking about hamburgers and hotdogs) and warm ocean water you can actually swim in!
Lindsay Adamss last blog post: An Unconventional 4th of July
Is there anything better than the South?!? I think not. I’ve actually been working on my own post about this for a while because I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. I can live without the sweating just trying to get dressed, being slammed with a wall of humidity walking out the front door, gnats, mosquitos, etc, but I can’t live without sweet tea, porches overlooking the rivers, Georgia football, a good ‘ol boy, seersucker, chikfila, sweet tea vodka, and so much more!! Thank God I’m a Georgia girl!!
Perfectly Imperfects last blog post: peace out!
I’m from FL and although we are about as “South” as it gets geographically, we are not “Southern” at all. I do love the Southern charm and all the things you mentioned in your post, but FL is sort of like a NorthEast state removed! We are chuck full of Northerns, retirees and midwesterners! Oh well, FL does have charm, just not Southern charm
P.S. when it’s hot like it is right now in FL I too should be making a list of why I like it here. I mean, I cannot walk to my car without breaking a sweat…it’s HOT right now! Wheew.
I love the South. I’m a proud Midwest/Big 10 gal, but after living in the South for over a year I have grown to love you crazy Southerners and all that comes with that! The food, the architecture, the cities (Atlanta is and always will be one of my favorite cities and I love love Birmingham), the small towns, etc. Now that we are living in Las Vegas, I really miss the South and all its charms. Granted, where we lived had its fair share of problems (no Target! no real mall!), but it had a small town vibe and some fabulous locally-owned restaurants. The food was some of the best I’d had. We loved every minute of it.
Allisons last blog post: Our Fabulous Winter Wedding: Day Before and Rehearsal
One thing I love about the south is the beautiful churches. There is a church on every corner, and if you have to move, finding a church home is much easier simply because there are more options. That is often harder to do in other parts of the US. Finding Christian friends is easier, and prayer and working to live your faith is just openly a part of our every day life.
My awesome hubby wore his grey seersucker to church this am. With his tan and blue eyes, he looked especially awesome.
Southerners dress their children from birth. You are hard pressed to find Feltman Bros. north of the Mason Dixon.
I’m from the “Southern” part of Florida, lol. Believe it or not, there are parts of Florida that are just as much the South as Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, etc, lol.
Anyway…. I’ll agree with real BBQ, sweet tea, and the friendliness that have already been mentioned. I also love Publix (I know this sounds silly, but I just love that store).
Sweet tea, good manners, and Southern hospitality!
cyndis last blog post: letters from camp {part 2}
Your blog is darling!
What we love about the South in the heat of summer (besides Sonic) is a nice glass of sweet tea and our screened in porch – can’t survive a Southern summer without it!
Thanks!
Coyne and Pinckney Stationerys last blog post: 1776: Letters from John Adams
I’m a southern girl, too, and I feel the same way! The summers are yuck, especially for my hair, but in the winter I’m thanking God I’m not up North. My husband will be going to LSU Law in the fall so I’ve gotta be down with the SEC now, I suppose!
Breadwinner Wifes last blog post: Wow.
humidity does a number on my hair as well. but on that topic I love southern women’s hair!
OK, some people consider Oklahoma the south and some don’t. So I never really know. However I could eat chick fila everyday of my life and be perfectly content!
Megans last blog post: A cool pasta
I’m not from the south, but my dad and his family are from Tennessee so we have always visited often. I love the south and I feel like a 1/2 southern gal! And now I’m craving Chick Fila like crazy!!
-Tailgating the way it should be done
-the beaches are way better
-the outdoors are pretty much better all around
-the food
-the politeness and manners
Lisa Jeffriess last blog post: eCycling
I am NOT from the south….Boston actually. But, we are getting our FIRST Sonic up here soon and I am so excited to try after all I have read!
Little girls in Charleston bonnet, our big verandahs, and southern gentlemen! Has anyone mentioned boiled peanuts?
I love the south but like you, can’t stand the heat. This was a fun post, Erin!
ceiling fans and bourbon are high on my list. although i think chick-fil-a will always been number one with me….a number one combo with diet lemonade is the way to my heart.
I live in Maryland which isn’t technically the south (although it is below the Mason Dixon line) but I have lived in the south before and have some wonderful southern relatives…I am very jealous of the accent! Also love the food and the manners!
So very true – at least, the Texas version (or aberration) of the South that I know!
This is a fine list. Since I live to eat, Sonic & Chik-Fil-A are now my close, personal friends. And I’m constantly trying to sneak seersucker into my husband’s wardrobe. My only addition would be chivalry – that men here will generally open doors for me and address me as “ma’am” (and not in the old lady sense) is something I’ll never tire of.
Legallyblondemels last blog post: Where to Save & Where to Splurge
I am sooo proud to be a Southn’er! Ahhh the South!! The land of almost every word said with at least TWO syllables!! ( the Southrn drawl!)..I feel very honored that my family has FIVE generations born right here in FLORIDA!! These days, its difficult to even find one person that was actually born here! lol So all my kids have the southern accent, etc..
Sweet tea is a biggie! YUM! And Sonny’s BBQ! I LOVE Cracker Barrel and Chick-fila! ( my hubby & I are so bad..we actually live in a very small town & he works about 25 miles away in a bigger one..so we have at least one night a week that he brings Chick=fila home for supper! YUM!!! )
One of my favorites..although I DO sometimes wish I lived where the leaves changed.. is AUTUMN! Yes, I live in the depths of the hot-ness here in central Florida..but THAT makes Autumn even more precious to us! Ahhhh..those first real Autumn mornings when you walk outside to that ‘fragrance of Fall in the air’! and then the wind turns to out of the North and you actually can wear a sweater or jacket for the first time.. It is soo invigorating!
There is also nothing like lying on the beach when the weather is sooo hot..but you are right there by the waves rolling in..all senses bombarded..the fragrance of salt from the ocean, suntan lotion all around you, and the smell of food from restaurants around the beach businesses..the glorious sound of the waves breaking, the seagulls crying their lovely call, the sight of it all..( is there anything much lovlier than the ocean itself?..especially with a sunrise or sunset? which we can see either of here in Florida!), the sight of watching little ones experience the water and sand for the first time…PRECIOUS! and the sight of young and old couples walking hand in hand bare-footed along the shore!! And then the touch of the sand on the bottom of your feet! Sometimes so hot that you have to scurry as quickly as possible to where the sand is wet and cooler..or rush to put on flip-flops! The feeling of the wet sand goushing between your toes and the water as it soothes your whole body..there is something SOO therapeutic about salty water! There is also nothing more luxurious than to step into the Gulf waters that during the heat of summer have the temperature of a warm bath drawn to perfection!!
I also love the flowers all around in the spring and summer. I love it when azaleas are in blown EVERYWHERE! and the colors are so vibrant, it almost takes your breath away.
I feel very blessed to live in the south!
i love me some sonic:) Yummmm Yummmm:)
I have missed reading your blog:) Finally have our home computer hooked up again! ahh!love it:)
Im reading all your updates.. about to head to chhhanges… very interested:) love you my sweet friend:)
Hope you had a great fourth! I was just taking it easy:)
emilys last blog post: Happy Fourth of July
coming in from chapel hill, north carolina here . . . the best part about living in the south . . . no doubt about it – sweet tea! when i go home to my parents’ in northern virginia, i am heartbroken when i order sweet tea at a restaurant and the waiter looks at me like i’ve got two heads.
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59 days ’til kickoff!
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Ahhhhhhhhh! i love the south. Minus the humidity and heat in the summer, it’s the best place on earth!
I would never live anywhere else
I love grits, sweet tea, the beach, chik fil a (i’m so with you here), that we have about 9 -10 months of “warm-hot” weather!
Southern is the BEST!
I have ALWAYS wanted to live in the south! I day dream about living in Georgia or South Carolina someday. Although, I would miss my snow!
PS We just got a Sonic up here (I live a little north of Chicago), and I have to say I had no idea what I was missing. I love me some Sonic!
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Cubs win! 
great post!
my favorite things about the south….
edisto island, mac’s pride peaches, boiled peanuts, shrimp & grits, wearing flip flops on christmas day because it’s warm enough outside to do so, SWEET TEA, the Carolina Cup, oh i could go on and on…..
Roo @ EJ & Roo Said I Dos last blog post: If you like Coke…or bottle rockets
Sweet tea…Firefly or the unleaded variety, either is fantastic!
Southern gentlemen.
Accents
The phrases/sayings in that beloved accent.
Oh you know I am IN LOVE with the south right now! 6 years in the north does that to you! Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, playing at the lake in the summer, southern guys, accents… I love it ALL! xox
Totally feel you on the hair thing…I just got back from a relaxing weekend in NC
I couldn’t agree with you more about all of the above–man, I miss me some southern charm!
Lyndseys last blog post: Tackling the Ikea monster…
I second Sonic & Chik Fil A and also throw in Southern BBQ & Coleslaw – so GOOD.
Elizabeths last blog post:
although i do love cute summer clothes
, i totally agree that living in the south can be quite painful in the summer! even living near the beach with the breeze doesn’t do much to alleviate that heavy, humid air. However, I think if someone moved me anywhere other than the south, I would miss the cute accents, southern football, the quaint little towns…oh, i could go on forever!
I miss the southern hospitality & Bojangles sweet tea & chicken biscuits.
I love how nice everybody is! I’m a southern transplant. Grew up in DC, went to Elon in NC, and now I live in Nashville. You couldn’t make me move out of the south for anything. I love it!
Sarahs last blog post: Beautiful Maids
I’m glad that I’m not the only Southern girl who wishes she could go on extended vacation to Maine or someplace like that for the summer!!! It has been so hot, it’s just miserable.
My favorite Southern things:
Cherry Limeades
Southern drawls
the friendly people
the laid back attitudes
football
the food! (like crawfish!)
the fact that it is warm by April
the history
What I love about the South, EVERYTHING! Particularly warm saltwater and homemade jalapeno/pimiento cheese.