After living up here for a few months, I came to the realization that no one has asked me in small talk "so what church do you go to?" as if I go to one. Or "what denomination are you?" as if I belong to one. When I lived in the south, it seemed that in most conversations I had one of those questions would get raised eventually.

"What church do you go to?" is code for "Have you seen Elvis today?" It's basically harmless.

Many northerners are more interested in your ethnic/racial background. Different focus, but still clique-ish.

Never gotten asked that before. Not even by family. But then Denver is quite liberal and ethnically diverse..

Ha! That's funny! I moved from East Tennessee to Upstate New York in the middle of high school, and I remember thinking something was missing when I was meeting people, but not being able to put my finger on it. It was that! No more "what church do you go to?"

One of the reasons I'm staying in the Northeast until I die.

At least over here the only real thing to watch out for about 'oop North' is outlined in this song (NSFW lyrics, but you shouldn't be watching it at work anyway):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9tWpR5HZnQ

I had much the same sort of cultural upset when we moved to NZ.

In Northern Ireland, religious affiliation was everything - literally. It determined where you could live, what streets you could walk on, where you could work (even what kind of work you could do), how you were treated by the peelers - everything.

Even when I travelled outside of Norn Iron, as soon as people found out where I was from, practically the first thing I was asked was, 'Protestant or Catholic?'.

In New Zealand, people ask where I'm from. I say, 'Belfast, Northern Ireland.' They pause and say, 'Is it nice there?' That's it.

Refreshing.

Boru

(November 24, 2013 at 6:20 pm)teaearlgreyhot Wrote: After living up here for a few months, I came to the realization that no one has asked me in small talk "so what church do you go to?" as if I go to one. Or "what denomination are you?" as if I belong to one. When I lived in the south, it seemed that in most conversations I had one of those questions would get raised eventually.

Generally speaking (and I'm aware I could be walking into a poo storm here), it's the other way around in the UK. Southerners are a lot more relaxed about religion where as Northerners are a bit more wound up. I'm speaking as a Southerner who is now living up North, much like yourself but on a different continent.


MM

Full disclosure: no one's asked me that down here in the 6 years I've been living in Charlotte.

On the other hand, I suffer from Bitchy Resting Face. I assume this makes me unapproachable.