People say it’s uncultured, but I love where I’m from – flaws and all

In the 17th instalment of Metro Travel Hot Takes, Sarah Hooper writes about the US state where she grew up, and why you shouldn’t write it off. 

‘Where’s that accent from?’ It’s a question I’ve heard more times than I can count. I’ve lived in London for almost four years now, but my American drawl is a fixture I’ll never shake. 

The answer is North Carolina. I can see the look in people’s eyes when they hear I’m from the South. It’s one of pity and uncertainty.

The first time I felt judged for where I come from was by a waitress on a trip Pennsylvania. But it’s become more common since I moved to the UK.

The majority of Brits – indeed, anyone outside the US – can’t say they’ve really explored America if they’ve only been to New York, Disney World or Los Angeles. It’s like saying I’ve ‘done’ France because I visited Paris once, or I’ve seen Canada because I went to Toronto. 

In my time living in London, the raised eyebrows and conversations steered to other areas of the States belie an insidious bias.

I get it; saying you’re vacationing in Georgia, South Carolina, or Louisiana isn’t as glamorous as going to Spain or Greece. And it’s certainly not as cheap. 

Visits home cost, on average, around £750 return. But each time I get off the plane in Raleigh, I can’t help but smile when I feel the sticky humidity and get my fix of biscuits (not the British kind) and fried chicken. 

My childhood was spent in the car on roadtrips across North Carolina and the sprawling South. I grew up running barefoot in grass, getting sandspurs stuck in my heels and eating grits. In many ways, I am a caricature of where I grew up. 

Telling these stories in the UK (and trying to explain what exactly grits are) makes me sad that others don’t get to experience the beauty of the South and the people who live there.

There is so much to love about Southern sayings, superstitions, and other staples of life in NC.

It upsets me even more that headlines of draconian abortion laws and racially motivated attacks have dominated news about my home for the better part of a decade.

I understand why it might not seem like the best place to visit or to live.

Southerners are portrayed as foolish and racist, and the region as poor and uncultured. While this narrative is sometimes true, more often, it’s not. And it only represents a fraction of the true South. 

The sad thing about growing up in beautiful areas like the Outer Banks, going to visit cities like Savannah, Georgia, or New Orleans, Louisiana, is knowing that these locations are written off by millions because of outdated stereotypes. 

The South can’t deny its dark past, and I’m not suggesting that it does. A history of slavery, segregation and other horrors has formed the view of the region today, both at home and abroad. I have friends who live in the northern US who look down on the South.

But this widespread belief in a racist, backwards region undermines the work done by so many Southerners to make their home a better place. 

The South I know is rich and diverse, full of people who are working to make it a better home for themselves and their children. 

A phrase has emerged in recent years, and you’ll likely see it in windows or tacked on the railing of wrap-around porches.

‘Abide no hatred.’ 

The phrase comes from the Bitter Southerner’s coverage of the neo-Nazi rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The author wrote: ‘White faces have to look straight into the eyes of other white faces and say: I will not abide your hatred.’

I am deeply aware of the irony of writing this article. I’m a white woman from a lovely place in North Carolina. I have never felt the racial abuse that so many in my state have, and I never will. 

But I know many of my friends, from many backgrounds, regard the South as home and will defend it as I do, while acknowledging its shortcomings. We abide no hatred. 

The South, as singer Hayley Williams recently crooned, will not rise again until it atones for its sins.

That atonement has been a work in progress for decades. Until true equality arrives in the South, let’s enjoy it for what it is, without ever forgetting its past.

Things to do in America’s southern heartland

Rent a car and drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hike the Appalachian Trail. Visit historical sites, like the Angel Oak plantation, to learn more about the history of the region. Get chicken and waffles. Try pimento cheese (Palmetto is the best). 

Grab a bike and cycle on the Virginia Creeper Trail, weaving through mountain gorges and camping at night in beautiful mountains, near pristine lakes. Your only company will be the sound of cicadas and crickets, with the crackle of a campfire. 

Camp near Boone, North Carolina, and explore the waterfalls and lakes, then go for a dip. Learn about Native American tribes, like the Cherokee and Watauga. My favourite thing to do is settle for an afternoon at one of the many breweries in Boone. 

Drive down to Atlanta, discover where southern rap took hold, and learn about the history that made the iconic music what it is today.

Visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama to better understand the American Civil Rights movement.

In North Carolina, get pulled pork (vinegar-based only) barbecue and Brunswick Stew. Try a bowl of grits, a kind of porridge made from coarsely ground dried corn.

In Raleigh, visit the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The Raleigh Times, a bar and restaurant now, tells the story of the once-operating afternoon newspaper from the 1800s.

Take a road trip to the Outer Banks, where the rare accent is deemed to be the closest surviving brogue to that of Elizabethan English.

Try chicken and dumplings or soft shell crab while you’re at it, or see where Blackbeard the Pirate was killed off the coast of Ocracoke.

Attend local rapper J. Cole’s Dreamville festival in the spring. It’s relaunching under a new name in 2026, and was dubbed ‘a good family reunion’ which ‘built a home that music lovers looked forward to returning to every year.’

Speaking of music, venture to New Orleans to taste the famous Café du Monde beignets. While you’re at it, educate yourself about how the government failed its people there during Hurricane Katrina.

Feel the pain and joy of the region through jazz music on Bourbon Street. 

The South is a melting pot of culture, food, history and spectacular landscapes. And people who will always save a plate for you, offer a sweet tea and tell their stories, no matter what.

It’s well worth a visit, flaws and all.

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