Had a similar pleasant experience this weekend in Atlanta. A city that goes all-out for the Peach Bowl- unprecedented (by this Philadelphian's view) cooperation among the city's government and its major companies. And not just by increased police presence on Peachtree St. or a large number of corporate suits with badges in the hotels. But the overall friendliness of the folks in the city. When they ask, 'how are you,' and genuinely mean it. Genuinely consider your presence as a benefit, not an imposition. Of course, I could do without removing my belt and shoes at the Hartsfield Airport security clearance point....

Oh, Ambra, you can build a mansion in Texas for under $500k, given the right location.

Actually, I think HGTV (my mom told me, I swear) built it's latest 'Dream Home' in Tyler, Texas.

And, I second #4.

Biscuits and white gravey. It's just made with white floor, not because it's in the south and is racist or anything....white flour and grease.

I'm married to a native Texan. He said there's the South, and then there's Texas. I think the fact that they were their own country for a while has helped develop that view. Also, I've heard that Dallas is really materialistic. Not true?

Yes ma'am...we southerners are proud of all those things. All of them (except number 7) apply to NC as well. I've lived elsewhere and I always come back.

To your list you can add:

-Usually mild winter temperatures. In NC we occasionally get enough snow to make everybody act silly, but it's usually gone within a day or two.

-We acknowledge that we have had and still have racial problems. That makes us more willing to work on them and get over them.

-Usually shorter commutes...not everywhere, but most places.

-not just real estate prices, but a generally lower cost of living..including usually taxes.

-A higher proportion of conservatives than elsewhere (look at that red/blue state map)

-A genuinely welcoming people. Yes we get tired of hearing how you did it up north, but we really are happy to have you here.

-Good beaches with warm swimable waters. Those northern and pacific beaches are pretty I guess, but they ain't much for swimming.

You can see that we southerners are proud of where we live. You can take the boy out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the boy.

Ya'all come back now...ya hear?

I always tell people that Texas is great. Most people I know that have been to Texas really loved it. I'm from Austin which is probably the best city there. You gotta check it out sometime.

Speaking of snow, I saw my first snow ever in Houston on Christmas Eve.

Tiny ice pellets, falling from the sky, into my face!? I have concluded that snow is a horrible weather condition. I can't believe I waited all these years for it.

Be still my heart!

The perfect woman even likes my home state? Say it ain't so.

Oh, to be 15 years younger and 15 times less homely :)

Glad you like our humble (not!) Republic, Ambra. Let me know when you head to Houston -- I'll take you for some REAL barbecue.

HOWDY!

Texan here! Representing Dallas...somewhat...family is in Cedar Hill! [Dallas is 10minutes up the road] Currently attending college at Prairie View A&M near Houston!

I have a lot of state pride. I think of myself as a Texan before American even comes to mind!

True G.R.I.T.S [girl raised in the south]!!!

I love Texas. I grew up in the Northwest, but went to Dallas for college for four years. Once I got used to the fact that there were no trees or mountains, I really loved living there. The people are so friendly. It has a great multicultural feel as well.

Mmmmmmmmmm, Whataburger!

Ambra, might I inquire as to what brought you to our corner of the world? And why you didn't warn us so we could fix up a parade or atleast break out some balloons and streamers? ;-)

mj -- Yes, I can certainly say that Dallas is a rather materialistic city. More so than most I would say, but there are a lot of good people here too!

As a tranplanted Houstonian now living in Minnesota, I am QUICK to tell people I am from Texas and tell them I remain a PROUD Texan despite living in the frozen tundra.

And though I lived in Dallas for a minute I'm biased..I love my hometown!

And a shout out to the young lady who attends my alma mater Prairie View A&M University which is the state's oldest HBCU!!!

I was at home for the holidays..I hated to leave!

Texan here -- grew up in Houston and College Station. Still consider it "home"

-However- there IS a Sonic in the Puget Sound area -- I believe it 'twas in Auburn I found it.

(Don't remember Whataburger. I PINE for Chick-fil-a though. Keep thinking that if we were to go into business for ourselves, it's a Chick-fil-a I would want to open!)

Scott,

I don't know where in North Carolina you are, but my sister is in the Charlotte area. If everywhere in NC is like that area, then "enough snow to make everybody act silly" isn't saying much. When three flakes fall within 15 minutes, my sister is ready to shut down everything until the "blizzard" is over.

i live in texas too, and its greeat. the houses are greeat. the foood, people. I love my state. my husbabd and i were driving and we saw a big billboard of a newborn and it said twelve weeks after conception i can smile -done by pro life america you couldnt see something like that in california or new york, also the gay lobby tried to have school textbooks say when two partners get married but it didnt happen they say when a HUSBAND and WIFE get married because of the texas school board. people are sooo polite especially in small towns althogh there are still some i wouldnt go to as a black woman because of the race problems. churches everywhere too and i love that chik fil a is owned by a christian and its closed on sunday :) and theyre chicken is greeat

Dallas Texan here representing for the last 15 years! Its great here.

#12 - You can have a silk blouse drycleaned for $1.99. (Compared to $5.50 in Seattle). Yes, I do miss Dallas so very much.

We too hardcore up North. Come to Detroit and get a big dose of "drive-thru hostility". Or go to the Detroit suburbs where everything is SMALL. Small chairs, small tables, small food, etc.

And if I may, I've noticed Dallas has some of the prettiest sisters around. It was a joy to be single here...

Robin,

I live in Kernersville... a small town between Greensboro and Winston Salem...almost due north of Charlotte.

I know...a snow rush at the Lowe's (that's a grocery store, not hardware) is something to behold. Just the merest mention of the s word on the weather is enough to make the egg, bread and milk sections look like a rubles only store in Soviet Russia.

And you should see southerners when it comes time to drive in the stuff. Scares me to death. Only those of us who have done some time in exile (lived up North) really know how to drive in it. Southerners don't know that they can't drive halfway up a hill and then stop to figure out their next move.

Even though, I bet your sister loves it in Charlotte even though it's getting to be a bit too big city for my tastes.

That is just a ridiculous price for housing in a city as 'major' as Dallas. Incredible. Y'all got it good.

I love DFW Texas! I wouldn't live anywhere else..other than Georgia.

American by Birth, Texan by the Grace of God. So true. Not only is it cheap, it's friendly and people aren't afraid of hard work. I've never felt so welcome as I do in Texas, and I've lived in 7 states from Connecticut to Colorado. Texas is accomodating and life here is very, very good. God willing, I'll never cross the Red River again. Signed-A former blue state Yankee who's finally found his home.

Lately I think more and more about moving some place civilized like, maybe, eastern Tennessee. Maybe Alabama. Don't know where, don't know when, just don't want to be here much longer. Seattle is nasty and close-minded and I am very tired of its sanctimony.

Don't forget the Taco Cabana!

Ambra,

If you're ever in NC, Greensboro specifically, drop me a line and I'll be happy to feed you real barbecue. Lexington style (tomato based sauce) or "down East" style (vinegar and red pepper sauce); which ever or both, if you want. 'Course both are pork. Beef is for steaks. Or Yum Yum's hot dogs and homemade ice cream; both are legends in GSO.

Having said that, if I ever move it's going to be to Colorado or Texas. And Texas has the edge because of the music I'm hearing coming out of Austin.

I won't diss the south or disagree with the statements you made...but I'll say that the distinction between "North" and "South" that you made is not quite right. You see, I'm from the "North." Yes, that's pretty much straight north of Dallas...now in South Dakota and previously in North Dakota. People from Texas come here and comment about how friendly the people are compared to back home. And my house is a 5-bedroom, 2600 sq. feet that I bought for about $140,000. People here still manage to get away with saying prayers at public events, but one wonders how long it will last, given the work ethic of the ACLU.

I think a better contrast would be between rural and urban. I've been to rural and urban areas in the North and the same contrast could be made as to North and South.

Although Southerners (both rural and urban)are genuinely nice.

Native Texan, 4 generations ... you haven't lived until you've had cheese grits with venison sausage!!

Love the site and look forward to reading it all. I am a white male who grew up in the South in the 1940's and 50's. Enjoyed "In Defense of the South". You may be too young to know that segregation in the South was enforced by Democrats. The "Solid South" of that era was solid Democrat. George Wallace (gov of Alabama) was a Democrat. Lester Maddox (gov of Georgia) was a Democrat. Al Gore's father filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Good luck in your future endeavors.

12. Beautiful conservative women.

I live in San Antonio, TX (if I left, I'd have to accept sub-par Mexican food). A few years ago I had to go to LA for a week for some training. The hotel had a really good continental breakfast... almost. They had doughnuts, croissants, breakfast tacos (yay!), bagels... and not biscuits. The locals I mentioned this to acted like biscuits were "regional" food! And that there was a specific "Southern Food" restaurant in LA I should go to to get biscuits!

Fools.

I think SharonB started on it above: GRAVY! Gravy with every meal and every side dish. mmmmmmm, Gravy!

I grew up in Tx, lived in Dallas and went to Richardson High School and then moved up north. These northerners are idiots. I think the cold pickles their brains. Maybe we really need an exchange program or some kind of internship to teach these folks up here how to behave properly and to cook. My wife is actually from NJ. I had to teach her how to make barbecue sauce the other day. I thought EVERYONE had their own special recipe. I didn't realize you could just go buy a bottle of it. Talk about packaging ignorance.

Ambra, Amen on your defense of the South. Found your site thanks to Michelle Malkin's post HIRE THIS BLOGGER. Thanks again on understanding the South (from NC where the porch light's always on).

John Thorne, I am a white male who grew up in the North, but my adult life has been spent as a Southerner (by the grace of God). My Northern family doesn't quite understand the short history lesson you posted. Maybe the North needs more people like Tiffany in Minneapolis to dispel the Southern myths.

Ambra,
Thanks for the beautiful and gracious post. I just discovered your weblog, via Michelle Malkin's, and look forward to reading more.

Actually, I've already started. Your Wal Mart post made me laugh out loud. Fortunately, my co-workers already think I'm crazy, so nothing lost there.
Best regards,
Brett

I'm glad you enjoyed your time in Dallas. Being a Dallasite I see more and more foreigners (meaning people from other states) moving here every year. The word seems to be leaking out that Texas is a good place to live. People are doing away with their unfair stereotypes about the south. Every time I visit other places I try to imagine myself living in that city, but I haven't visited a place I'd rather live other than Texas. You should hurry back to town. Maybe we can get you the key to the city or something.

Four bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2500 square ft. homes for sale at the sickeningly low price of $175,000 (you couldn’t even buy a 350 sq ft condo in Seattle for that price)

Heck, you can buy a house like that in Plano (just North of Dallas) in public school districts that will let your kid graduate with two years of AP physics and humanities programs that include trips to Europe and pre-schools that are very diverse.

Wish you well on your job issues, just got to the site by a link, but I really like Dallas.

I'm married to a native Texan. He said there's the South, and then there's Texas. I think the fact that they were their own country for a while has helped develop that view. Also, I've heard that Dallas is really materialistic. Not true?

People in the area shop a lot. Instead of spending the money on housing or saving it (the money they save because houses cost so much less) they buy cars and "stuff" -- a lot of "stuff." (J.C.P did a study on it).

My brother-in-law said that the singles scene was very money focused, but he is a pretty small sample size and engaged now (to a Washington girl, and moving to Spokane).

As a native Texan for the past twenty-two years of my twenty-five years on planet Earth, I have learned to appreciate the regional differences that exist within the United States. I also would like to add that I'm a native Dallasite, but I have to disagree with you on the percieved "good-nature" of the people of South.

The South is not a place where Black and White people can sit down together and a it bowl of grits let along enjoy the same societal benefits, such as jobs, education, application of the law, and equality of opputunity. A gap exists between Blacks and Whites in the South than any other region in the United States. The ratio between Blacks and Whites with college degrees, property ownerships, and overall employment is greater here than any other region in the United States. And why is that? If all of us fellow southerners Black and White are so hospital, why does such a enormous gap exists here?

Let me offer an explanation...The South continues to thrive under the codes of Jim Crow due to the Radical Republican's forfeiting the Black upward mobility during the fall of Reconstruction of the 1877. Whites in the South live on the upper strata of society with access to the best schools, economic oppurtunies, and political influence. African Americans do not have those same type of oppurtunities and it absolutely sickens me to watch the legacy of the "pecular institution" and "Jim Crow" continue to thrive and undermine African American efforts to upward mobility.