I miss my beloved south, but I have my little yankee, Minnesoten lady to keep me warm.
We went to New Orleans this past June and she was introduced to a part of my culture, and she loved it. We plan on going to my home next year (West Texas). She was worried about going to New Orleans and sounding like a Yankee. I told her that we southerners think a Minnesota accent is cute, we think a New York accent is evil and 'ugly' (as in...don't get ugly!). She is going to love West Texas, and West Texas is going to love her. We went to Baton Rouge to visit my friends there and they had such fun with her and that cute accent she has.
My accent and mannerisms (all southern) don't change up here but they are 'quietened' down a bit, but you get me back to my south and it's 'Red Neck' city. My lady has lived with me for enough time that she can actually understand my southern friends, even when they talk deep south. She's called in as a southern interpreter for patients (this is a long story but it is true, and it only happened once).
I do miss my south but I love my north (just don't discuss 'The War' with Yankees and you'll be fine). I have found people up here (Minnesota) to be exactly like their southern counterparts. Minnesotians hunt, fish, drive pick-ups and four wheelers, but they actually go out and have fun in the winter. Being a southerner, I'm still afraid of the snow, and you can forget walking on an ice covered lake, I don't care how thick it is, only Jesus walked on water and I ain't Him. I'm learning, and these nice people are teaching me. We both have the same attitude, we just talk different.