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Tennessee is already becoming the new North Carolina (which is almost through being the new Florida). When Tennessee IS the new North Carolina, Kentucky will be the new Tennessee.
In all of this, South Carolina will remain South Carolina, while Oregon passes the new California torch to Montana (which has already winked at Wyoming and Idaho).
Ohio will continue to be the place where people from Ohio are from.
Yeah, NC's Floridafication will probably be complete by 2010, by then it's growth will start to level off because it will almost as overcrowded and overpriced as Florida is.
Saw the same thing happen to and around Charlottesville, VA, where I lived from 1984 to 1994. But there you also had a lot of tradition, stately architecture, the lovely University of Virginia campus, the snobbery of it being "Mr. Jefferson's town" and a citadel of "Southern Genteel" as a big part of the lure. It WAS a very nice place to live--if you could deal with the lingering racial & class tensions and the snobbery--but it's "niceness" did it in. It's not too far from Washington, D.C., Virginia's beaches or NC's Outer Banks, skiing, mountains, etc. But it's crowded as could be now--a real hassle just to drive across town. Just about every green patch is filled with shopping plazas, McMansions, etc. Crazy expensive. The outlying areas are getting just as jammed up, too. Reminds me of Florida now: "This is paradise yet I'm not happy, I'm hassled--get the hell out of my way!" When I go back, I hear all sorts of people hunting for the next Charlottesville, or a C'ville substitute. I think those of us intent on returning to NY state are ahead of the curve, then. I can foresee a time (the planet's resilience permitting!) of people consciously seeking a return to the more liveable version of American culture or civilization, and the places that both express and helped create this civilization (the colonial- and Victorian-era towns of the northeast). It's like the shift in even the suburban sprawl houses of the fake- and non-communities: they've gone from '50s space ships to '70s sunken pillboxes (split-levels) to mimicking older architectural styles (Colonial, Victorian, Tudor, etc). At some point, once the sprawl areas are filled up, people might start asking, "You know, why not go to where the Real Thing is--the *truly* liveable places?" Loneliness is corrosive, and illusions and fakes can't satisfy. But it sure takes time for people to see that cacooning in an air-conditioned, phony-colonial home between shopping malls and under the sad umbrella of endless satellite TV just saps you--and doesn't even teach your kids how to share, take turns, moderate appetites, live in a real community. (Getting preachy here, so I'll quit!)
Homeward Bound, I gotta tell ya, nobody in this forum writes as eloquently as you do. Seriously, what you write is exactly what I'm thinking. I always thought that maybe I was being a bit too nostalgic for the upstate lifestyle, and then you do a write up, and WHAM! You are reading my mind. Bravo....
In the endless debate of whether to go where the jobs are (Virginia) or go where I would be most happy (upstate), I decided to live in Virginia for a week in an extended stay hotel. Took a week off from my current job and took a "research vacation" in Charlottesville, to be exact. Impression: a decent place to live but not for me. Cons for me: hotter than hell, can't see the mountains well due to pollution and water vapor from the many deciduous trees, expensive, crowded even with college on break, no nice surrounding towns, few towns at all, everything is 'unincorporated areas'. Went to Staunton and Waynesboro, not too impressed. Tons of sprawl, people not too friendly, and finally, too many people on scooters, which majorly contributes to bad air quality.
Pros: great arctitecture, tall trees shade nice homes in quaint neighborhoods. Jobs are plentiful, unemployment is low here. Educated population.
All in all, I decided I just can't live anywhere else but Upstate. Well, I could live in NH, Maine or VT, but even though I've never lived upstate, it just feels like home to me. Virginia was just missing that part.
I live in Union County NC, and it is true, you get what you pay for. Low taxes? The only school sanctioned sport in middle school is basketball. A handfull of kids get to play one sport in a school at 180% capacity.
The biggest gripe I have is the lack of accountability on the part of the adults in the school sytem. The adults have problems following state and federal laws, and no one holds them accountable. The lack of proper handling of parent complaints is a huge issue.
I have chosen to stay and advocate for positive change. I would love to see some strong personalites join me. There are not a lot of southerns who are willing to rock the boat.
Peg - I think you hit the nail on the head "Not alot of southerenrs willing to rock the boat." we here in the ny while frowned upon by some stand up in what we believe in...There is power in numbers...Maybe those who are annoyed at what is occuring around them should get out there and do something instead of writing it on this forum...if there are so many people you believe in what you profess here, then stand up for what you believe in, that is the foundation of what this country was built on...if people didn't want to rock the boat, slavery would still exist in the south, Rosa Park and Martin Luther King would not be honored and Roosevelt or Jefferson would be just another name in the phone book
Well- Add another one to the list of NOT making the plunge down south. We were at 99% sure we would go to SOUTH CAROLINA..columbia as a matter of fact..and up until taking the weekend to really think it out.
We honestly did like Charlotte as it appeared to be a nice blend of what we were looking at.
But the job was in Columbia...and yes the people were nice to us and we had a great experience...and yes we were offered a "NYC" salary down south.
Many probably would have jumped at the oppurtunity to move down south, huge salary, relocation..make ooodles on the home we own now and pretty much paid for an upper class neighborhood in cash.
HOWEVER, after putting our own selfish needs (yes I said selfish...I LOVE to shop, I love driving nice cars and living in developments as that is what I was brought up in---but we also work hard like many do every day for the payday fridays and have consistency enjoyed a nice lifestyle, but never ABOVE our means----I just have tight grip on our finances LOL)----we decided that our childrens education, 4 seasons, job security, lifestyle (in the sense of just being in an area where our families our), and other factors had us turn down the oppurtunity.
Call it gutt feelings, call it motherly instinct, whatever..something didnt ring right with us.
I do want to move from the hudson valley and get closer to the jobs....but I dont want to move for the sake of "moving"--when the time is right, we will do so.
But its nice to hear all viewpoints of how people feel. We all are stereotyped in one way or another. I actually get mad when I hear the terms McMansions, armanis, lexus ....and shopping...making people sound materialistic.
I think its completely uncalled for to judge individuals and stereotype them as group. Each Family does what is best for them and each family has their own set of values.
You dont know if the guy/gal on the street driving his benz has 300k in medical school loans and sacrified 12 year of college, med school and 4 years of residency and basically started earning at their first job at the age of 30.
Thats the career path that is chosen and if they can make that kind of sacrifice, what the big deal in getting a car that they want.
You dont know about the guy/gal that is a lawyer and works 100 hours a week so his family can enjoy a nice life and kids can go to nice schools and such.
You dont know about the business executive who had put in years of slaving away to "Finally" get that promotion they are looking for.
So for those that judge US mcmansion types, the lexus owners (I dont have one..I drive the mommymoblie expedition LOL)...you dont know the circumstances and to think that we are all rich snobs is really unfair.
To judge people becuase they want to try a new state is also unfair...
This is just my own opinion and everyone has a right to theirs.
But instead of bashing the the choices...why not stick to the purpose of the message boards..to educate and advise those who are considering moving.
Sorry, I am rambling..I just hate to be stereotyped.
BTW--I am heading the mall and I will be having lunch at PANERA bread....(lol)
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The wheel will turn...
