I hadn't spent time in the South before and made some surprising discoveries about the region during my visits.
Here are five differences I picked up on between the Midwest and the South.
In the Midwest, cheese curds are a popular cheesy snack.
Cheese curds at Costco in Wisconsin.
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Produced by harvesting curdled milk before it hardens into cheese, cheese curds are a beloved snack in the Midwest thanks to the region's large dairy industry.
In the South, I discovered a new cheesy food: cheesy grits.
Cheesy grits.
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During my first visit to Atlanta, a local encouraged me to try cheesy grits, a Southern breakfast staple made from ground corn. I loved the creamy flavor and fluffy consistency, and appreciated the Southern take on cheesy dishes.
Midwesterners are known for being friendly and have their own unique slang.
A decorative sign celebrating Midwestern friendliness.
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For example, "ope" loosely translates as "Excuse me" or "Sorry" and is said when squeezing past someone in a narrow area or accidentally bumping into someone.
During my visits to the South, I found that Southern hospitality involves terms of endearment like "sweetie" and "honey."
A cafe in Maryville, Tennessee.
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Midwesterners are friendly, but I experienced the warmth of Southern hospitality through almost every interaction I had with baristas, cashiers, and locals during my trip to Tennessee.
In Midwestern accents, vowels are pronounced differently than in other parts of the US.
Costco in Wisconsin, where it's pronounced "Cah-stco."
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Midwesterners speak with what's known as a cot-caught merger — they pronounce the vowel sounds in "cot" and "caught" the same way. This results in brands like Costco being known as "Cah-stco." Where I'm from in Wisconsin, people also pronounce the "a" sound in words like "bag" as "bay-g."
Southerners, on the other hand, speak with a slow drawl.
The Tennessee Theater in downtown Knoxville.
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I noticed two things about Southern accents during my trips to Tennessee and Atlanta. First, their accents were much stronger than I anticipated — I thought I'd need to go further south to Alabama or Mississippi to hear thick Southern dialects. Second, they spoke much slower than I was used to coming from the Midwest.
Midwestern fast-food chains like Culver's are local favorites.
The exterior of the Culver's in Chicago.
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Culver's has been named one of America's best burger chains thanks to its famous ButterBurgers and fresh frozen custard. Since the Culver family opened its first location in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, the chain now has over 900 restaurants in 26 states, but remains largely concentrated in the Midwest.
When I visited the South, I learned about regional fast-food chains like Waffle House.
A Waffle House location in Atlanta, Georgia.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Waffle House chains are mostly located in Southern states like Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Florida. While driving around Atlanta during my visit, I spotted a Waffle House every few blocks.
Midwest grocery stores stock regional items like Kringle pastries, bratwurst, and of course, many varieties of cheese.
A Kringle.
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Kringle is Wisconsin's official state pastry. Danish in origin, it can feature a variety of fruit and nut fillings.
When I went grocery shopping in the South, I noticed classic staples like grits that I haven't seen on shelves in the Midwest.
Grits at Publix.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
I've seen Quaker oatmeal at stores across the US, but had never seen Quaker instant grits until I shopped at a Publix store in Knoxville.
