# Do you have an interest in visiting the Southeastern US? Ask away!



## binhai (Dec 22, 2006)

Thanks for the info. Sound similar to here then. Well that's my main vice so I guess I got little to worry about then!


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## Marbur66 (Mar 1, 2009)

Jonesy55 said:


> Do Catfish make good chefs?


Actually, yes. They seem to be gifted choppers. They are astonishingly fast. 

:grumpy:


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

BarbaricManchurian said:


> Thanks for the info. Sound similar to here then. Well that's my main vice so I guess I got little to worry about then!



However, I would not recommend lighting up a blunt on the Main Street of any Southern town, or any town in the US for that matter outside of Colorado and Washington.


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## binhai (Dec 22, 2006)

Well usually I smoke in my car in a quiet parking lot somewhere. I'm probably going to smoke less in the future anyway. It's not like I'm smoking "on the street".


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## UrbanImpact (Jan 10, 2005)

musiccity said:


> However, I would not recommend lighting up a blunt on the Main Street of any Southern town, or any town in the US for that matter outside of Colorado and Washington.


That's what vape pens are for.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

I think it's the most interesting region of the US.


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## Cal_Escapee (Jul 30, 2010)

BarbaricManchurian said:


> Great writeup! Most of those areas seem pretty interesting. But I'm wondering how much do cops harass out-of-staters? The South doesn't have the best reputation in that aspect. That's really the biggest thing I'm worried about, because I am a northerner who likes to turn up.


This isn't really a north/south issue so much as an urban/rural issue. I will disagree with musiccity that small town southern cops aren't some of the most unwelcoming of strangers anywhere. I've personally experienced their close scrutiny when stopping for a meal in small southern hamlets nowhere near an interstate highway (and recall I am white and middle class). They never said anything to me or bothered me, but in one case I remember the local cops circled the block where I was eating as long as I was there, then followed me out of town (at a distance). This was a long time ago, but I haven't noticed a huge change . . . again, in small towns away from main highways or places attracting lots of non-residents.

On the other hand, cops in southern resorts or places like New Orleans where tourism is big business can be very friendly and protective of tourists. NOLA is a particular example because the city overall has a high crime rate and one of its worst areas is next door to the French Quarter tourist mecca. And yet the French Quarter remains safe 24/7 (I've walked back to my hotel through the Quarter late at night many times and never felt unsafe) because it is so well policed and the cops have made clear how hard they will work to keep it that way.


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## Marbur66 (Mar 1, 2009)

Cal_Escapee said:


> I've personally experienced their close scrutiny when stopping for a meal in small southern hamlets nowhere near an interstate highway (and recall I am white and middle class). They never said anything to me or bothered me, but in one case I remember the local cops circled the block where I was eating as long as I was there, then followed me out of town (at a distance).


That sounds like cops who are bored out of their skull and are trying to keep busy. They have to justify their existence, after all.


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## Cal_Escapee (Jul 30, 2010)

musiccity said:


> However, I would not recommend lighting up a blunt on the Main Street of any Southern town, or any town in the US for that matter outside of Colorado and Washington.


I have experienced:

- People siting on the steps of San Francisco City hall smoking pot

- People getting on a city bus at a stop in front of a legal medical marijuana dispensary and proceeding to sell what they had just bought to any and all bus riders

- A pretty pervasive and common smell of burning marijuana almost everywhere in San Francisco these days, especially in hip neighborhoods like Hayes Valley, the Mission and so on. I have also walked past people obviously smoking it while walking on the sidewalk.

It should be noted that California has legal medical marijuana but not yet recreational marijuana. That is expected to be on the ballot in 2016 and expected to pass. Meanwhile, possession of small amounts of marijuana by those not having a medical "recommendation" (which is absurdly easy to get by the way) can get you a citation like a traffic ticket although I've never heard of anybody actually getting one.

Golden Gate Park








http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/04/21/article-0-09387EAB000005DC-367_634x276.jpg


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

I'm a young, male college student who lives in a small town and I never feel scrutinized by cops. I have been told I have a friendly face so maybe that helps :dunno:

But I've never actually lived outside of the South for a long period of time so cops could be different elsewhere and I'm just used to the cops here.


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

Cal_Escapee said:


> I have experienced:
> 
> - People siting on the steps of San Francisco City hall smoking pot
> 
> ...


I said any _town_, I wasn't referring to San Francisco. Why do you have to try and prove everything I saw wrong? Gracious.

And yes, I'm sure you'll find some little town in South Dakota that celebrates national pot day or something just to argue with me. Spare me because I won't reply.


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## Cal_Escapee (Jul 30, 2010)

musiccity said:


> I said any _town_, I wasn't referring to San Francisco. Why do you have to try and prove everything I saw wrong? Gracious.
> 
> And yes, I'm sure you'll find some little town in South Dakota that celebrates national pot day or something just to argue with me. Spare me because I won't reply.


SF isn't "any town . . . outside of Colorado or Washington"? And I'd argue the experience here applies to just about any town in northern California and much of the rest of the state (probably not some Central Valley towns--that's the "rural South" of this state).

I'm not trying to prove everything you say wrong. I agree with most of what you've said. I think most of the myths and fears about the South are wrong and many are silly. I don't think anybody should be afraid to visit there, more or less as you've said. But I do disagree on some smallish details and those are what I've commented on. This is supposed to be a back and forth. Would you rather I just say, "Oh yes, he's soooo right" about the majority of things where I do agree?

By the way, may as well mention I have some familiarity with the South having lived in North Carolina for 4 years and in northern Florida (which we thought of as "South Georgia" at the time) for another 2 years and Central Florida (less typically "southern") for another 6 years. I've also driven around the South when they hadn't yet completed the Interstate Highway system and so one drove generally on 2-lane roads (and some 4-lane, but not limited access, highways like the old US 301). I visit new Orleans virtually every year for at least a few days, I've cruised the Outer Banks of NC and the Inland Waterway by boat. I've been to every southern state and most of the cities many times. My college roommate was from East Tennessee and I spent time there (Kingsport). My remaining family now lives in Florida. I think I know "the South".


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

Did I claim that you didn't know the South?

Anyways, there are two main dangers to traveling in the South, and both are easily avoidable.

1) Most Southern cities do have high crime rates, however they are concentrated in areas that travelers should have no reason to visit. 

2) The South has been plagued by a drunk driving epidemic for ages, and we can't seem to improve the situation. However, this is mostly a problem on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 10pm - 2am. Avoid driving during these times and you shouldn't have any problems.


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## Avemano (Aug 9, 2012)

I'd like to visit Louisiane and Mississippi. Movies like The Help catched my attention on their cuisine. 
And slavery heritage looks interesting. It is curious to think that segregation was legal in the 1960s, some old people may still remember. The USA did/do a great memory work on this part of their past imo.

But is it true that some SE states like South Carolina still make illegal for atheists to work in public administrations ?

I've read once a advice of a French student on an internship in the region, she said at her job that she didn't trust in God when employees talked to her about it and one of her colleague from NYC urged her not to say such a thing in public here. It is not called the Bible belt for nothing, obviously


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

Avemano said:


> I'd like to visit Louisiane and Mississippi. Movies like The Help catched my attention on their cuisine.
> And slavery heritage looks interesting. It is curious to think that segregation was legal in the 1960s, some old people may still remember. The USA did/do a great memory work on this part of their past imo.
> 
> But is it true that some SE states like South Carolina still make illegal for atheists to work in public administrations ?
> ...



The Help took place 2 hours from where I live. And yes, atheism is taboo here. I'm personally non-religious but when people ask me I say I'm "spiritual"


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

musiccity said:


> However, I would not recommend lighting up a blunt on the Main Street of any Southern town, or any town in the US for that matter outside of Colorado and Washington.


Smoking weed in public is illegal here too.

But I've heard of people thrown in jail for weed possession in several Southern states, they seen to be the most strict.


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## Marbur66 (Mar 1, 2009)

Coincidentally, I was just taking my trash to the curb and some guy walked by me smoking a joint. :lol:


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## Stuck in Bama (Jul 23, 2007)

Xusein said:


> Smoking weed in public is illegal here too.
> 
> But I've heard of people thrown in jail for weed possession in several Southern states, they seen to be the most strict.


Its true that simple possession will earn you a trip to jail and a fine. 

Nothing major though.


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## Yellow Fever (Jan 3, 2008)

moved to UT.


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## ikops (Jun 12, 2008)

Why am I always and still attracted to this region? I cant answer that question for myself, so this is not being meant in a retorical way.


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