Having been born and raised in the Philadelphia area I am no Southerner but I have close relatives who moved south into the Carolinas some time ago while others moved out to the West Coast (and some of us stayed right here). From my many, many visits to the South I think I could very readily enjoy living there. Some of my hobbies and pursuits seem odd, if not downright dangerous, to my Northern neighbors, while in the South they seem quite normal, even respected. I really like the close interpersonal relations I have experienced while visiting Dixie. I like the region and its people. The US would be so much the poorer in character and charm and warmth had the recent unpleasantness deprived the Union of the Southern people.
Not to disparage another region of the US, but when visiting my West Coast family I find a distance, coolness and aloofness, even a harshness, that makes my visits there not quite so pleasant. I can very much understand why a person born and raised in the South would regret having to move elsewhere and would want to return there. IMHO, if one's goal is to enjoy this life, the South is the place to do it.