Hi tracyw,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum!
You’ve probably read it already but just in case you haven’t … the first place to start your research is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones. While it’s a good idea to have some sense of the mattresses you would like to try … I would let your testing and your body tell you which types of mattresses you tend to prefer.
While I normally prefer a city or a zip code rather than a “region” … I think that the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are close to you would probably be in post #5 here that is centered in Athens, GA.
The Atlanta list in post #2 here and the Greenville, SC list in post #2 here may be helpful as well.
Phoenix