Lived in the North and Mid-west. Now the south. I will take the south any day of the week. Especially the smaller towns.
Place that I liked the most was Monroeville, Alabama. Nicest people I've met. I was there for a project over Christmas, and when all the folks at the factory found out, I got a bunch of invitations to family get-togethers. I accepted the first three, and wound up saying "No" (and over-apologizing) to the next dozen or more.
I bet I gained 10 lbs on that trip, between all of the home cooking, and there was a restaurant off the town square that did country cooking. I usually went by myself, and the lady who owned it would come out to my table. "Ya'll still look hungry, so I brought some more catfish. Or, would you like to try the fried chicken today? Save room, I made Chocolate Chess Pie."
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
In all fairness I travel a whole lot
People in some places take a lot of effort to get them to warm up
Pacific northwest coast....new mexico....michigan....in places....new england
But when coming back and I hit Kansas City and Missouri and hear occasional southern accent you just know
Its universal....even foreigners know it