500 Words: Day 7

It’s been four months since Chad and I moved from Minnesota to Tennessee, and we’re still adjusting to the changes. The landscape and weather are different down here, as well as the accent and habits of the people.

Here are 7 of the differences that have stood out the most to us:

1. Tennessee weather is bipolar.

I used to say this about Minnesota weather, because temperatures there tend to fluctuate dramatically, especially in Spring.

But it’s a whole other ball game down here. There were a couple big snowstorms (big for the South) in January and February, as well as tornados, thunderstorms, and 80 degree weather.

During the Spring, sunny days can turn to stormy weather in a matter of minutes, and humidity levels are either uncomfortable or virtually nonexistent. There don’t seem to be many in-betweens.

2. There’s SO much more to do!

As we were driving home from Knoxville the other day, I found myself wondering why we hadn’t taken many road trips when we lived in Minnesota. It isn’t as if our love of travel has increased, but we’ve gone on at least one trip a month since we’ve been down here.

#FacePalm. It’s because Tennessee is so close to so many awesome places! There are the Appalachians on the East end of the state, the Carolinas and Atlantic Ocean just beyond that, Florida beaches to the south, Memphis and New Orleans to the Southwest…need I go on? If we drive 12 hours in just about any direction, we’re bound to run into something awesome.

No offense, Minnesota—you’re great and all…you just have boring neighbors.

3. The cars don’t have blinkers.

One thing Chad and I learned real fast is that, unlike Northern vehicles, Tennessee cars and trucks aren’t manufactured with turn signals. Must be a geographical thing, like how they have the steering wheel on the right side of cars in the U.K.

4. The center turn lane is actually an optional third lane…for either side of the road.

Detailed example: Say you’re about to pull out of the Chick-Fil-A parking lot, and you need to take a left. Instead of waiting for a break in traffic coming from both directions, you pull out into the center turn lane as soon as there’s a break in the traffic coming from your left. You then proceed to slowly drive down the center turn lane until you can pull into the regular traffic lanes.

This Southern habit still scares the crap out of us. When we’re driving down the road and people pull out into the turn lane, it looks like they’re trying to merge into our lane and are going to crash into us. #MiniHeartAttacks

5. Churches, churches everywhere.

I have never seen so many in one place. And a lot of them are HUGE! Where do their congregations come from, because the local population doesn’t seem like it could support so many churches!

6. So much BBQ.

And it is glorious.

7. No one knows how to drive.

In the rain and snow. I’m sorry, but it’s true! On multiple occasions, we’ve passed people on the interstate who were driving half the speed limit with their hazards on, because it was raining.

Also, the entire state shuts down if it sees so much as a snowflake.

 

These are the biggest differences we’ve noticed, aside from the “y’all”s, love of butter on ALL THINGS, and cinnamon apples.

What are some differences you’ve noticed between Northern and Southern states?