Need Help--Southern moving north!

[tubashaman2]

.

[windshieldbug]

I really want to know what people call it other than pop, soda, and coke

cola, dope, tonic, seltzer for a start...

[The Big Ben]

I really want to know what people call it other than pop, soda, and coke

cola, dope, tonic, seltzer for a start...

"that ****" as in "Gimme some of that ****. I'm thirsty."

Jeff "Happy to help" Benedict

[tubashaman2]

.

[SRanney]

...basically how to live, ways of the road, and other stuff I need to know before moving to the midwest.

Learn how to drive in winter conditions. Do not drive the same in snow and ice as you would in dry conditions. Roadside assistance through your insurance carrier is a wise idea, if only for the peace of mind it gives you during winter.

Don't expect school to be canceled because there are a few inches of snow on the ground.

Your winter heating bills will be higher than they were in Texas.

Many places in the great white north that are affordable by graduate students don't have air conditioning.

Carbonated beverages are always referred to as Coke where I come from. I haven't felt the need to refer to it as anything else since I've lived in SD or MT.

Wool is a great fabric. Learn to love it.

Beards make your face warmer during winter.

Having four actual seasons, including one where summer actually starts in June, is pretty nice.

Steve "moved from Atlanta, GA to Brookings, SD to Bozeman, MT for graduate schools" Ranney

[Biggs]

Never heard tonic or Seltzer (and is dope a joke?)

Tonic I think I have heard that in reference to alchohol, and Seltzer sounds like a med.

Tonic is a common term among older New England generations, or at least it was when I was growing up there. Most grocery stores' aisle markers use the word tonic as well.

Younger people, however, use soda almost exclusively.

[TMurphy]

Seltzer, at least around here, refers to unflavored carbonated water. Tonic is the same, but with quinine, often used for alchoholic beverages.

[tubashaman2]

.

[Tundratubast]

Don't bother buying snow tires, their not necessary, a good all season radial works just fine. Practise driving on snow and ice in vacant parking lots, i.e. starting, STOPPING, locking the breaks, getting out of slides, before you go on the main roadways. Intersections are a b****h, especially in the during early winter and spring snows. Fluffy snow packs very well and is as slippery as ice and should be given extra care,

[Uncle Buck]

Another vote from someone in a snowy climate for an all-purpose radial, instead of switching to snow tires in the winter.

The biggest thing to remember is just to slow down, and anticipate your need to brake so you can do it gently and slowly.

[tubashaman2]

.

[ZNC Dandy]

Snow tires are a waste of money, trust it from a tire technician. Michelin all season work just as good

I disagree. That added bit of traction never hurts. I'd love to have some studded ones on my Subaru, but they are illegal in Ohio. I don't need them, but not a waste of money by any means. You are correct about Michelin though. Fantastic tires. Pirelli Scorpion's are pretty amazing also.

[tubashaman2]

.

[Tubaryan12]

As far as I'm concerned, Michelin is overpriced and over rated. Weak sidewalls and early tread wear from all but the most expensive models. No tire that comes on a Kia Rondo should cost $250 to replace and not last 5500 miles. I was told that I hit something that I never saw and never felt that cut through the sidewall of the tire and left a 2-3 inch gash at less than 5500 miles. I can get that type of endurance out of something from Korea or China for less than a third of Michelin's price. The Michelins that came on our 2001 Sonata didn't even last 40K miles.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

It is a well-known fact that the "best" of any particular thing is the one that performed/lasted the best for you ONE TIME.

Likewise, any particular model of "thing" that has given you any kind of bad experience is automatically a piece of crap, along with any other thing made by that company or possibly that country of origin.

From Merriam-Webster:

an·ec·dot·al (\ˌa-nik-ˈdō-təl\) - adjective

2: based on or consisting of reports or observations of usually unscientific observers <anecdotal evidence>

[tubashaman2]

.

[Matt G]

Snow tires are a waste of money, trust it from a tire technician. Michelin all season work just as good

I'd love to see this posted in an automobile specific forum. Snow tires are far better than "no seasons" especially in regards to braking. You might have been a tire technician, but I don't know how hard you have driven in snow. Just like high performance summer tires are better at lateral loading and pumping water than four seasons, snow tires are far better at gaining traction in both acceleration and deceleration.

[Tubaryan12]

It is a well-known fact that the "best" of any particular thing is the one that performed/lasted the best for you ONE TIME.

Likewise, any particular model of "thing" that has given you any kind of bad experience is automatically a piece of crap, along with any other thing made by that company or possibly that country of origin.

Very true. But it's always my money that makes the decision Hey....at least I've had 2 problems with Michelins that I listed...I've actually had more with the quick wear. I just didn't list them. I've had them on several cars as original equipment and family members have had the same. In every single case, wear was even, and quick. I never fault a tire when bad maintenance is involved.

' you guys payin' retail for tires?

I don't have the hook up that your friend does, bloke. I buy the best tire for the money in the place where I'm standing....and depending on the vehicle, sometimes that includes used tires.

As far as snow tires are concerned, I don't buy them. I will agree they probably work better than all seasons, but it's cheaper for me in the long run to just slow down and give more room when there is the possibility for ice and snow. It's smarter and safer than AWD and snow tires combined.

[windshieldbug]

Snow tires are a waste of money, trust it from a tire technician. Michelin all season work just as good

Spoken by someone who has never driven in enough snow to regularly clog the treads up.

Special applications are for special purposes.

I regularly chunked the treadblocks out of the full-depth Michelins until the Mercedes engineers finally agreed that I "might" have been right and finally started to shave their tires for track driving.

"But this suspension set-up is made for high-speed autobahn driving as designed and built" they would insist as I would take them for rides and shred the tires in only a couple of laps.

Good driving Panzers, but Panzers none-the-less.

[MaryAnn]

James,
You'll probably do this anyway, but find a church to join right away; those are the people who will be most willing to help you acclimate, and the ones you'll probably find the most in common with. Once school starts and you get to know some of your fellow tuba players, there will be others who can help you out. They may also be from far-away places and needing someone to buddy up with to figure it all out. A small town is much better for you than a big city would be.

At a place like McDonald's or Burger King or whatever....when you order a drink ask for the specific one you want, as in "I'd like a large root beer." Listen to how other people are ordering and you'll figure out how it is done.

Don't worry about "ya'll"....your accent is going to make it unnecessary for you to cover that up! But mostly up in that area it's "you guys" instead of "ya'll" at least when I lived in the Midwest. Mostly if you continue with what should be your inborn Southern courtesy, you'll be fine as long as you can take it when people laugh sometimes.

On the snow/ice driving: you need to learn how to pump the brakes to stop; find someone who knows how to do this (it is a very fast on-off that is what those anti-lock brake systems do but better than a human can do it) so that you can control your car *before* it starts to skid. Get front wheel drive if you don't have it. For someone skilled in snow driving, radial tires work just fine as long as the roads have been "cleared." Cleared in New England means the snow is not up to the bumper. It doesn't mean that you are driving on dry pavement. In your area, unless things have changed a lot, you'll get a few inches of snow a few times a year. Not 3-foot blizzards that trap you in the house.

Oh, and for a winter coat etc, thrift stores are your best bet.

Congrats, and have fun in grad school.

MA