What Northerners heading to college get wrong about the South

Being from New Jersey, not a single school south of the Mason-Dixon line crossed my mind throughout my entire year-long college search.

For most Northerners, traveling down South means entering a land of ignorant, racist, Trump-supporting-aliens who eat a lot of BBQ – also known as uncharted territory, until you actually get there.

In light of the two recent police shootings and the murder of five police men in Dallas, coupled with the historical racial divide, it is not very hard to understand what comes to mind when most Northerner’s think of the South.

However, in order to break some stereotypes, I decided to talk to my friend Catherine at the University of South Alabama about her experience leaving the North for college.

WARNING: some answers may force Northerners to rethink their opinions of the South.

What is the one thing you love most about Alabama?

I love the hospitality of the South, everyone there is much friendlier.

And what do you think makes Southerners that way?

The atmosphere of the South is what makes people more friendly. We are so used to a fast paced lifestyle in the North – especially being close to New York City.

I think the slower pace makes for better people.

Most high school students prefer to go to college in the region they grew up in, playing it safe and choosing a culture they’re used to in an area that allows them to feel close to home.

For most people in the Northeast, colleges located down South are not on their shortlist, or any list for that matter.

What is the food like down there?

I’ll be honest. I don’t think I could learn to love BBQ as much as Southerners do.

What is one food Southerners eat that Northerners don’t?

They have similar foods. It is hard to think of anything that is really that different.

Maybe just a lot more butter.

What is the one thing you hate most about the South?

Honestly, nothing – what’s not to like?

Why do you think people up North are not sold on the South?

I think Northerners believe Southerners to live a lower quality of life.

I heard this many times before relocating to Alabama.

Luckily, I never really believed these misconceptions, and once I visited, I saw that they live their lives very similarly to us – even with all of their regional differences.

Maybe it’s lasting tension from the Civil Car, or even the Civil Rights Movement that leads us to believe Southerners are uneducated and on the wrong side of the political game.

But believe it or not, there are uneducated people living in the Northeast who support Trump as well.