Colorado is surely a better place for having a Southern Ambassador there. I look forward to seeing more comments from you on other posts.

1. Lack of a genuine, cohesive culture
2. Further removed from Christianity (there is a reason that the West (exc. Okla and Texas) is not thought of as “The Bible Belt”

My advice for a Southern pioneer venturing away from Dixie?

1. Seek out others of your own kind, culturally, politically, spiritually; a good place to do this is a local church, faithful to the Gospel (see next point). Eventually you may form your own little diffuse “community”.
2. Attend a good, Biblically-grounded Church. There are many of these around. Be discerning.
3. Mind your manners, as a good Southerner ought, even when those about you forget theirs or haven’t any in the first place.
4. Be happy and prosperous. Have [many] children who are taught Southern ways and heritage.
5. Don’t complain about the weather. Winters tend to be more severe outside of Dixie, and if you complain about that, the Yankees may take you for a whiner and a weakling.
6. Be friendly and courteous to your Yankee acquaintances. They may in time look up to you and thereby honor Dixie.
7. Insist on standard iced tea, not the Yankee version (unsweetened).
8. Never be ashamed of your Southern roots. Remember, you have a vital culture and heritage, the Yankee often does not.
9. Consider any place your boots touch as “Southern Soil”.

Who knows, this may spread, and Dixie might have its own version of “Manifest Destiny”!