Having traveled a bit, I can tell you that there is no single Southron accent or dialect. Tennessee and Alabama are NOT the same accent by a long stretch, and NOLA and West Texas are miles apart literally and linguistically. However, I CAN tell you that there are three things that clearly indicate you’re still in the South (or at least in the presence of those from the homeland):
1) People don’t act like you are odd for asking where the “Coke,” instead of soda or pop machine, is when you want to get a carbonated beverage.
2) You can see kudzu.
3) When you order tea in a restaurant, a) they don’t EVER have to check to see if they have it made, and b) they ask if you want it sweet or not.
My mother-in-law uses this phrase “I’m not for sure about that.” Source of irritation for me, but common Texanism. Grandfather, who has a Georgia accent like most native Florida crackers, often sounds more like a Maine-iac with his ayuh’s than any coonass (I still think the NOLA accent sounds like the damnyankees settled in too long).
And there’s a difference even within states. My mother was from extreme North GA and father from central GA. Both moved to Atlanta after high school to work and that’s where they met, married, and lived for 35 years. But we usually spent every other weekend with one or the other’s family. There’s quite a bit of difference between how my ‘hillbilly’ cousins talk compared to the ‘flatlander’ cousins.