Question for the Southerners!
 

I really want to move to Savannah next fall after I graduate. I've only been there once, three years ago, but I absolutely fell in love with it. I have one concern though and this is where I'm hoping the southern GCers can help me out. I've been told by a couple different people that in the south, you generally aren't "accepted" unless you come from A LOT of money or unless you've grown up there your whole life. My family is by no means poor, but I wouldn't describe us as very wealthy. I've never lived anywhere by Maryland, excluding my college years at West Virginia University and I have no ties to anywhere in the south. I've also been told Savannah is a pretty wealthy area and that these "rules" would definitely apply there. But I'm wondering since I'll only be 21, I'm not moving down there with a family or anything, more of as a "young professional", will I really find this to be very true? If anyone can shed some light on this, I'd really appreciate it!

Savannah 'society' is very close knit and hard to get into. If that is the arena into which you want to be accepted, you'll probably need to work hard in 'acceptable' charity organizations (think Jr. League), etc. and have some connections.

If you are just looking to move down there, meet folks and have a good time, then there are plenty of ways to accomplish that.

Are you renting or buying?

I moved to northern Florida from a US territory.

Though my accent does stand out, I was welcomed by most people.

The only xenophobic/ethnically prejudiced (not exactly racist) comments I have ever gotten were from someone who ironically was NOT from the USA. She may have been a US citizen by then, but she was not born an American citizen like I was.

When I went to Savannah to see it with my grandmother 6 years ago, I do not remember anything negative happening. Everyone was friendly just like people in the South have been friendly to me in general.

Well, there is a difference between being greeted kindly, and being accepted into savannah high society. You won't be shunned, so don't worry about that. However, if you're interested in becoming a socialite, you'll need a lot of contacts, involvement, a historic district or Skidaway Island home, and a serious commitment of time.

My understanding is that, in general, southerners will NEVER be rude or say anything negative. To your face.

Bless their hearts. :)

I was told indeed by a Pennsylvania native who has lived in the South for a while that the stereotypical Southern Belle IS very prim and proper, but can be two faced.

I may not fit the stereotype. But after 11 years living in the South, I do consider myself to be a Southerner. And it has been relevant when I travel to other parts of the country.

There are plenty of transplants in Savannah; it's a fun place to live. My family's there but it is not like the society stuff is the only stuff to do there. I imagine most of the new people don't even know they're missing anything.

If you consider Kentucky part of the South, I can assure you that isn't true. :P

Its true, we're polite. We may occasionally talk about you behind your back. Usually, its after you unfortunate looking yankees return home.

PenguinTrax hit the nail on the head. We lived in Savannah while my husband was in residency at the Trauma Center there, and our oldest son was born there. Savannah is very friendly and hospitable, much to do, etc. And yes, there is very much an "old society,wealthy society" in place there, and they let in who they want to let in. Having said that, wealth gained respectfully, along with class, opens many doors. Junior League involvement would be extremely beneficial. (Along with the home in the historic district or Skidaway Island!:rolleyes: Shinerbock- behave!)

Oh, and don't read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and assume you know everything. (My grandmother's copy is riddled with her notes; she wrote the publisher to try to demand retractions on a few points. To no avail, but bless her heart for trying.)

Does the Alpha Phi HQ have a website that you could do a Sister Search?

Alpha Gam has one in the Members Services section (available to only Alpha Gams). It has been VERY BENEFICIAL and FUN TO LOOK AT!:D

Thank you everyone for your input! It's nice to know I won't be sticking out like a sore thumb down there. I'm planning on renting (some of the leases I've looked at are for 6 or 9 months) and seeing how I like it, and if I'm happy down there, staying permanently. I've just always wanted to live down south and I figure right after graduation when I'm still young is the time to do it. Does anyone know what the Savannah nightlife is like? I know it's not a very big city (I think one website I checked told me the population was a little over 200,000) but my friend who I plan on moving with has a young professor from Georgia who told him Savannah has a decent amount of young professionals. I'm hoping to land a nice, well-mannered Georgia boy :)

I haven't been to Savannah too many times since I've turned 21 but as I recall...Bar Bar is fun for playing pool and hanging out, I think they may have them in other cities too...Barry's Pub on River St. is a fun place, especially on St. Pats...Mercury Lounge I think is a good place to go for young people, and I think they have live music (maybe somebody can confirm this), There is some other upscale place on River St. that I really liked, but I don't remember. It is a pretty good restaurant by day, and becomes a nice place for drinks at night. Also, If you like Irish pubs, Finnegan's Wake is a really cool place. It and Irish Times are supposed to be more authentic than Kevin Barry's. However, I've never been to Irish Times so I don't know much about it.

I love, love, love Savannah. It's been a few years since I've been since my hubby decided to transplant us across the Atlantic, but I have many fond memories. Nightlife is decent, but the cultural activities are awesome, so don't limit yourself to the bar scene. Here's a link to a guide that let's you know some of the ongoing activities in the region. :)
http://www.ourcoast.com/ongoing/

<shrug>
Maybe it's just me.. afterall, I'm a yankee from the NY area... but I am me, and that's that. You like me or you don't. I don't change for anybody. And, folks.. the Civil War was over a long time ago!

When I first moved to Panama City, Florida (years ago), I was known as "that damn yankee from New York." I didn't care. I didn't change. I was me. I liked who I was and where I was from. I didn't hide it, I was proud of it.

Eventually, people realized that the "yankee" sterotype was bunk. Sure, I "tawked" funny... and I didn't dress like them-- I know, I know.. we northerners wear a lot of black...

It took a while for them to warm up to me, but they did.. and I made wonderful friends. I found "southerners" to be very warm. They'll do anything for you.. and they'll stick by you through thick and thin.

I'm back up north again, and if it weren't for my job, I'd be back down south again. I loved it.

Just be yourself. Don't change for anyone. If people don't like you simply because of where you're from, do you really want to be friends with them anyway?

Speaking of southerners, I have a question for you all who are (or transplants). A few years back I took a group of students from the high school where I taught on a European tour. Part of the group that we traveled with was from some area called Dodge County in GA(the town where they are from sounded extra po-dunk). When we arrived in London one of the older gentlemen(because for some reason they were all old educators and not actually students) said(and I quote), "So y'all are yankees from California?"

How can one be a yankee from California? :confused: There is nothing remotely yankee about California. Is a person who is not from the south a yankee in general? Granted I was born in NY, but I've lived my entire life after age 1 1/2 out here(it's not like they knew that though), so I guess technically speaking I am a yankee, but still...confused over here.

And you all are right, they were sweet as punch to our faces, but some of the teachers were talking sh-- on two of my students because they were different(meaning sort of punky-clothing wise). It's sad that those people were educators, and I told them as much.

That totally reminds me of one of the plumber's helpers here ranting and raving about the Yankee from Nebraska that won the SC lottery.:rolleyes: :p Where to even start on that one....

The Brits consider ALL people from "the states"-- "yanks." Here's a good explanation.

http://www.americanrevolution.com/YankeeDoodleDandy.htm

Who do you want to be accepted by, exactly? I mean, as long as you aren't obnoxious, you should be able to make friends just fine with other people in your general social class (other single young professionals). My fiance's working in Savannah now (and we may move there permanently), and that kind of acceptance has never been a problem. There are lots of people working in the Savannah area from all over the place. Generally very nice, very fun young crowd. I enjoy hanging out with them all when I go down there - there are some very fun pubs and things downtown that are really great, too.

If you're trying, as an outsider coming in with no connections at the age of 21, to climb the ladder into Savannah high society, you're kinda screwed, honey, unless you do, as you put it, "catch" one of those Georgia boys you mentioned and they are already up that ladder and can pull you up (although you will still face some stiff opposition). I think that's probably the case with any city that has that kind of established high society, whether its in the South or not. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, just stating facts. Personally, I have no interest in that kind of thing and so it hasn't bothered me any.

WVU alpha phi's posts give no indication that she wants to change for anyone in Savannah; she was just asking for some insight into the area.

About yankees: Yes, we're all yankees to the British, and it deeply offends me...

Personally, I refer to yankees as anyone from Maryland to New England, and over parts of the midwest up to minnesota. I usually don't call people from the west coast yankees. I'll generally call them "hippies" or "bleeding hearts" or something along those lines. Now, if I get like Mel Gibson drunk, I could see myself referring to californians as yankees.

And I gave her my insight. Don't change to try to be accepted.

Why would you be offended? The term is not a derogatory one. You use it-- unless you're saying you use it in a derogatory manner for those who live in the northeast?

And, I'm curious.. why do people in the south call those in the north Yankees? We don't have a similar name for those of you in the south. Also wondering if it only refers to white people in the north. Or would you call someone of Indian or African American discent who lives in NYC a Yankee?

Well, I'm not really offended, but I would never choose to be referred to as a yankee.

Yankee is used in two ways. If you have friends who are from the north, you'll call them yankees just jokingly. Second, you refer to the stereotypical northeastern or midatlantic state person as a yankee. Generally, these are people who speak with an accent, or act rude, etc.
Regarding minorities, I don't usually call them yankees.

There is a name for northern people to call people in the south: Dixies.

Um, well, yeah, it's used in a derogatory manner ... unless you're just kidding around with someone of Yankee descent. Like when I'm making fun of my fiance for stuff, like whenever he can't take the heat or he just plain doesn't *get* it, I'll call him a Yankee. I guess it's kind of like a very mild ethnic slur. And yes, it basically refers to white people, although there are exceptions.

Or, if we're really saying what we feel about people who believe that "Yankee" is and should be a derrogatory term, hicks.

See also: Redneck;)

It just seemed odd to give an insight that had nothing to do with her question, but okay.

I've never heard anybody say "dixie," and I'd be inclined to punch someone in the face if he or she called me a "yankee."

And people from the south don't have an accent???!!!! :D

Actually, it did. But, you knew that.

Yeah, but we like our accent. Yankee accents, on the other hand, are huge turnoffs.

It didn't, and it's insulting to imply that anything in the original post indicated that she was trying to change to be anyone's friend. But hey, at least it provided you with an opportunity to tell us that you are an awesomely self-assured yankee who fit in just right with southerners and gosh darn it, you really like the south! Don't ever change, blueangel!

C'mon youz guyz. We don't tawk funny. Just cuz we wawk duh dawg and wawduh duh plaints.!

Somebody needs a nap! :D :D :D

There's that southern charm! Don't ever change! :D :) :cool: ;) :p

It's really just a fact - if a Southerner refers to Northern people as Yankees, and they aren't talking about people who are their friends, they mean it in a derogatory manner. Not like they necessarily hate them and wish they'd die (although in some Southerners' cases ...), but it's still a slur to an extent. That's how it's used down here. If saying that's the case makes me a hick in the eyes of people from other parts of the country, that's fine, most people elsewhere already think that when they meet me anyway because of my accent ... :rolleyes: