Why I Like Living In The South

Okay so, the evil demon Nausea seems to have said farewell. Thanks be to Heaven! Now, just keep those pre-term labor problems I had with Drew away and all will be forgiven. :-)

So, in tribute to our first anniversary of living in the South -- South Cackalacky to be specific -- I thought that I would post a list of reasons why I like living here:

1. Doors are always held, women are always given priority in getting on or off an elevator, and people generally are kinder and nicer. Although there is a definite sense of women being special because they are mothers or the "fairer sex" -- I do not find it offensive. I like being treated like a lady and not shoved aside so that someone can grab a seat on public transportation before me.

2. Five kinds of pimento cheese at the grocery store. I do not eat pimento cheese, but, I think it is charming that folks love the stuff so much that the store would have five variations available. In the Midwest they have five kinds of bratwurst. I think that is charming, too.

3. Family is always the best answer for why you cannot attend a meeting, for the answer to "what did you do this weekend?", to "where are going for the holidays?" I think this is a quality that most of the Midwest shares, but, places like DC take family for granted and if you use it as a reason for not doing something, then the cynics view you as being lazy or telling a lie.

4. Slower pace of life. I work in a busy little city, but even here, things move at a slower pace. What this means is that you can take some time to reflect and enjoy things more. If you are constantly going at a faster pace, then dealing with the slower pace can be annoying. But, when you LIVE here, it is such a relief to not be running, running, running and it makes daily life so much better.

5. Ten million barbecue shops. We always found it so strange to live in Chicago and yet have a hard time finding cute little sandwich shops that were not part of chains. In DC, we had two stand-out favorites -- the Lost Dog Cafe and the Italian Shop. But, in Chicago, it was tough-going. Hot dog places? Sure, but if you wanted a sandwich, it was Panera or Subway or Quiznos. So, what does this have to do with barbecue shops? Well, a good sandwich is never too far away when you have barbecue places all over. Plus, we have a local chain (very local) called McAlister's Deli that serves a huge variety of sandwiches.

6. Lemonade. You can always get lemonade -- all year long.

7. Diet Dr. Pepper at the soda fountains. Seriously. You go to McDonald's or Chik Fil A or Wendy's or Chili's or the soda machine in your office, you can choose Diet Dr. Pepper. Sometimes you just feel like a pepper, you know?

8. A prevalent sense of history. Now, it is certainly not the most comfortable of histories -- especially when you live in a town that still has a public park called "Confederate Park". But, there is a lot of history down here and I love that.