We found out why Northerners are so cold

It’s a general accepted fact the Southerners are some of the nicest strangers y’all will ever meet, and the Northern strangers are some of the rudest. I mean, people from Massachusetts are only sort of jokingly, colloquially called “Mass-holes”.

The big mystery to us Southerners though is WHY? If you’re asked how your day is, you just answer, and ask the other person how their’s is. It takes all of two seconds, and it’s just what you do. When I went to college in the north, I had never really noticed that other people didn’t do that (because I, being the nice person that I am, still did), until one of my roommates, a Southerner herself, and my other roommate, a New Yorker, and I all went shopping, and we got a bit of a lecture from Skyler, the roommate from New York.

My roommate from South Carolina said she  “…was talking to the cashier after he finished my transaction and was doing yours and Skyler’s. When he finished with all of us Skyler rushed us out the door and seemed irritated. She asked me why I was talking to him and I was like that’s normal I always talk to people when I’m shopping. She was baffled.”

Turns out, they mostly just shop differently, and live their lives bundled up in six coats (my college isn’t nicknamed “Syberacuse” for nothing).

Emily, South Carolina

“From my perspective the people in New York are more forward and fast paced. They practically barrel race through stores and if you aren’t going fast enough for their liking they will let you know. To the contrast, when I go shopping at home people are generally moving at a slower pace and are extremely polite if someone is in their way.

“Another difference I notice is how much you know people. At home I know the people at the places I frequent,whether it’s The grocery store or the dunkin i go to before work or the pool supply my dad goes to, and it’s not uncommon to stop and hold a conversation in the middle of the store with people who either work there or are there as well. Up north is totally different.

“No one talks to anyone else and you are deemed crazy if you try to.”

Jake, Texas

“Again I think the main reason is weather. My reasoning is that when it’s cold people are more likely to be more preoccupied with taking care of themselves, i.e. Staying warm, whereas in the south it’s warmer and people find it easier to deal with the heat as it’s a more communal thing, such as making iced tea for others to drink i.e. Southern Hospitality.”-

Skyler, New York

“I think that in the north we’ve always got some place to be or something we should be doing. I don’t think we necessarily mean to be rude or come across as mean, we just don’t have time to stop and make small talk. On my list of priorities, talking to someone in a store or holding a conversation with a stranger isn’t at the top.

“If I’m going into a store, for example, it’s because I need something. I want to get in and out as fast as possible and get to do what i need to do. When I see people from the south stop and hold a conversation, I just don’t understand how they have the time. I think that priorities are just different. I live a lot more fast paced. I think that southerners just take more time to enjoy life rather than just to get stuff done.”

So, when in the South, make sure you’re enjoying life. Smile at some strangers, and have some sweet tea with your friends.

And if you run go to the north, remember “…the people up north are different from southerners in that first impressions of them are that like the northern winters, they are cold. But get to know them and they are just like everyone else.”