I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it in the past, but I was born in Florida and lived there until 2001. (Except for a year or two in the early 90s when we lived in Kansas because Dad was in the army.) My parents decided to move to Tennessee on a whim–Mom basically said, “I want to move there,” so we put our house up for sale, packed up everything we owned, and with little to no money, we made the move to Tennessee. Honestly, before I moved here, I was so upset because I thought Tennessee would be full of ignorant, toothless people. (Um, stereotype much?) The first few months were tough (financially as well as emotionally), but I grew to love it here. I love the south. (Yeah, even though Florida is the most southern state, Husband still calls me a ‘yankee’–haha!) So, even though I don’t have a southern accent, I claim that I’m FROM the south. (I’ve only been to New York once as well as Vegas/California once, so I really can’t say I love the south MORE than any other region.)

What do I love the most about the south?

Sweet tea.  Um, hi. I’m obsessed. Sweet, iced tea is the best on a hot summer day, I’m not even kidding.

Southern boys are gentlemen. Well, most of them. (One reason I love Husband so much.) Florida boys? They had no manners. These Tennessee boys, though? Are the sweetest. They’ll open doors for you; they’ll help an elderly lady out in the grocery store when she drops a can of vegetables, but they’ll be sure to ask first as to not offend (Husband did this last week); they say “please” and “thank you.”

The cookin’ is amazing! Fried foods, galore. Fried chicken, fried okra, fried squash, fried zucchini. It’s all good. It seems like everyone knows how to cook. (Husband is an amazing cook, luckily.)

Everyone has a garden. Or so it seems. Husband’s grandparents have a HUGE garden that contains potatoes, zucchini, cabbage, okra, squash, tomatoes, lettuce, corn, beans, etc… During the warm months, we basically never have to shop for vegetables. I mean, why buy frozen stuff when you can have fresh corn on the cob? Husband’s family also grows berries to make jams and the like. Whatever is left over, we freeze to have later on in the year.

There’s more ‘country’ than city. Okay, so I have a love/hate relationship with this aspect. I hate that I have to drive an hour away to any major city, or even 30-45 minutes to a grocery store, but it has its perks. Being a girl that comes from a city in Florida, I was used to the busy-busy lifestyle. I realized, after coming to a tiny town in Tennessee, that I feel much more relaxed here. I don’t feel like I always have to be on the go. And? I never take going to the movies for granted … Because like I said, it’s an hour drive to the closest theater! (We do have a drive-in, though, about thirty minutes away.)

The southern drawl. Though I’ve lived here for eight years, I haven’t gained that drawl. My accent is a mixture, I guess, of southern and northern–since Florida is full of people from all over the country. Husband has lived in the same town his ENTIRE life, and he has a slight southern accent. (He makes fun of me for how I say things sometimes.) “Y’all” is an everyday phrase around here.

There are so many more things that I love about the south–Tennessee, specifically, but now it’s your turn.

What do you love about the south? Or better yet, what do you love about the region that you live in?