Versus

Now that I have quite settled back into my life in the Northeast, I have found myself making several comparisons between the North and the South that I find interesting. It's not so much a pro/con list, just some notable differences.

1. It stays lighter for later in the South..by at least an hour. Conversely, it gets lighter much earlier here in the North. Example: in Atlanta, we would routinely see the sun setting well past 9pm during the summer months, compared to 7 or 8 in the North. However, during the summer it gets light at about 5am in the North.

2. Roads are not properly labeled here in the North. It seems that they just assume you know what road you are on, even if the road name is has changed. So, if you get lost, you can't figure out where you are because you don't know what the cross streets are, in fact, crossing. In Atlanta specifically, however, they over-label, moreso than what your GPS knows...or what the address specifies. I.E. Peachtree Street Northwest, West, or North.

3. Everyone up here has padiddles (one headlight out). I never saw one in Atlanta the 6 years I lived there. People also have the ability to pass on one-lane roads up here, whereas there are no one-lane roads that have sections that allow for passing in Atlanta, or really anywhere in GA that I noticed. 

4. There is no good mexican food in the North. If you have never eaten mexican food outside of the North, I cannot take your recommendation, because even though I believe you think it's good food, you simply do not know any better. Also, no one in the North has queso dip..they just take shredded cheddar and melt it under the broiler. This is not good, at all.

5. Women can go without makeup and show up in public places in their sweatpants in the North without fear of repercussion. I kinda felt like in Atlanta, only lesbians got a by to go without makeup. You can also wear birkenstocks or tevas, really any kind of casual sandal in the North. My feet and face have never been happier.

6. There are so, so so many farms up here. All meat and dairy are fresh and local and it's delicious. Even when I shopped at the Farmer's Market in Decatur, I knew it wasn't super local (100+ miles), whereas here my meat comes from about 15 minutes away. 

7. I thought Decatur, Midtown, and L5P were super LGBT friendly...but they have nothing on the whole of MA. Especially Northampton, which is basically the gay capital. I love that it's so normal here, and couples can hold hands and be affectionate in public without fear.

8. The bar scene is totally different - Atlanta was diverse and had something for everyone and every need. Here, you have a townie dive bar that serves no food, or it's overpriced and minimal menu (Think Park Tavern in Atlanta). We have found one bar that has served as a replacement for Manny's in Atlanta (one of our favorite hangouts -Mannys)...and we're becoming regulars there now because we can find no other options (http://www.packardsbar.com/)

9. Snow. This one is pretty obvious....but the first significant snow we got (9 inches), I was trepidatious about driving because of how bad 1 inch of snow was in Atlanta. It is going to take me some time to reacquaint myself with snow driving, because I've come to expect the roads to be terrible whenever the white stuff comes.

10. Local news. I miss Atlanta networks, because I swear the local news stations up here are a joke. They dress unprofessionally frequently enough to make me change the channel in protest, the lighting is terrible, and at least one station "pre records" it's show from 5am and just re-airs it the rest of the morning. Madness. The bonus here is that it has drastically cut down on how much I watch TV, since I've stopped watching the local news in the morning and evening.

I'm looking forward to a) seeing more things that are different culturally and regionally, and b) a time when I stop noticing these differences. Then I'll really know I'm "home". 2013 has been good to me and my family, and I can honestly say I am happy, and happier for the changes we've experienced these last 6 or 7 months. If you had asked me this time last year if I thought I would have been living back closer to family and had completed my first semester of grad school by now, I would have laughed in your face. 

But, life surprises us in many ways, and when you go along for the ride, it can bring you to wonderful places.

Happy New Year, and here's to 2014 being an equally surprising journey.