Worst thing about NC... (Raleigh, Jacksonville: fit in, how much, home)
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I live in the center of the State...one hour from Raleigh, one hour to Fayetteville, two hours from the beach and four hours to the mountains. It has been a wonderful experience raising children here, but now we are moving to the beach. I come from Maryland and I have loved the winters.
I just visited Raleigh. Am I blind? I didn't see this. Now I was only there for a weekend but I have to tell you EVERYONE was freindly. There were ALL cultures represented and I didn't come across anyone with an attitude or chip on their shoulder. I have a positive outlook on different cultures and people respond warmly to me. I've only visited about 33 states in the US, North Carolina so far is the friendliest
You want Humitiy-come to Orlando in August!
No, you're not blind. Generally speaking, North Carolinians are very friendly but there are some topics that are best left unspoken when dealing with the old families. Like I said earlier some of these families go back over 300 years. It is highly unlikely the topic of their family's history would ever come up just by visiting or in casual conversation. The old NC families are much too private to discuss that with strangers. You'd have to live in NC many years and be involved socially with a pre-civil war family.
The Raleigh area is not good area for observing the old culture. The population of that area is way too transient. You would probably be lucky to run across any families that have lived in that area for over 100 years, let alone pre-civil war. My family has lived in NC for almost 50 years and we are still referred to as the folks from Pennsylvania by the old guard.
To see real southern culture, you'd have to go to the small towns in the rural areas that have changed little in population over the years. To me, those are the friendliest folks in NC and their way of life is as fascinating and distinct as the Amish communities of Southeastern PA. Think of the fictional town of Mayberry from the old Andy Griffith TV show. The depiction is not that far off from many small agricultural towns throughout NC even in 2006.
My picks for hazy, hot and humid midday summer heat are the areas around Fayetteville, NC and Macon, GA.
No, you're not blind. Generally speaking, North Carolinians are very friendly but there are some topics that are best left unspoken when dealing with the old families. Like I said earlier some of these families go back over 300 years. It is highly unlikely the topic of their family's history would ever come up just by visiting or in casual conversation. The old NC families are much too private to discuss that with strangers. You'd have to live in NC many years and be involved socially with a pre-civil war family.
The Raleigh area is not good area for observing the old culture. The population of that area is way too transient. You would probably be lucky to run across any families that have lived in that area for over 100 years, let alone pre-civil war. My family has lived in NC for almost 50 years and we are still referred to as the folks from Pennsylvania by the old guard.
To see real southern culture, you'd have to go to the small towns in the rural areas that have changed little in population over the years. To me, those are the friendliest folks in NC and their way of life is as fascinating and distinct as the Amish communities of Southeastern PA. Think of the fictional town of Mayberry from the old Andy Griffith TV show. The depiction is not that far off from many small agricultural towns throughout NC even in 2006.
My picks for hazy, hot and humid midday summer heat are the areas around Fayetteville, NC and Macon, GA.
Sounds like an adventure into history. I was moved so much by my ventures to Belgium to see the Battle of the Buldge and I lived in Munich for a while and experienced Dachau first hand.... maybe it would be interesting to say the least to venture into this countries past. there is probably alot to learn
-Muggy, oppressive weather for about 3 weeks in late July and August.
-Completely out-of-control development and sprawl in the Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte areas. Lovely old areas beng bulldozed to make rooms for more strip malls, cookie-cutter townhouses, and pavement. A parallel to this is: continual, nonstop road construction in these areas as the highway dept tries in vain to keep up with the development.
Being a native New Yorker, even after years of living here I think the 2 worst things are the HUMIDITY in the summer and that some people are still fighting the Civil War!
I'm with you on the humidity, but if you're like most "native New Yorkers" here, I suspect that the "fighting the Civil War" attitude is a REACTION to your treatment of NC natives. Tarheels don't just walk up to a person and start a fight, but if you move here and then proceed to complain to us about our way of doing things, get impatient with the slower pace, make patronizing, snippy inferences about the intelligence level of Southerners, or (God forbid) make fun of Southern accents, then you can be sure you'll be (accurately) branded an "obnoxious Yankee" and will never see the Southern Hospitality so many others do.
Have you in your time here taken the trouble to LEARN anything about the local culture and history, or do you see it is OUR job to accomodate YOU?
There are two ways you can take the "fighting the Civil War" phrase. One is that there are several reactments to several battles fought here and the other is the less flattering imagine. While I am a history buff and study the Civil War a lot, I don't think that it should have been fought at all. Probably if I had lived during that time, my views on the issue would have been scoffed at. But it is a part of North Carolina's heritage so I have adopted the sense of "those that don't learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them" attitude. My daughter went to Peace College in Raleigh and I understand that one of the buildings there was used as a hospital during that time. And I firmly believe that "All men are created equal."
Nothing use to burn me up any more than when I was working in a local nursing home and I would have some of these rich society women that wanted something and they would start out with "Don't you know who I am?" I didn't care who the heck they were. If I had a patient that was in worse shape than they were, then they just had to wait their turn. There was 64 of them and only 1 of me. I even get annoyed sometimes at the slower pace. I went to pay the phone bill the other day and God only knows what possessed me not to pay it online like I usually do. And you can make sure I won't do it that way again. First of all, we have a "pay station" in the local hardware store that takes phone bills, electric bills, cell phone bills, and God only knows what else. This woman acted as though she was in slow motion and I was in a big hurry. Now mind you I live here and should know better. But it was all I could do not to yank her out of the chair and pay the blasted thing myself. Clearly she didn't know how to type correctly. She use the "bible method", seek and ye shall find. I swear it took me 20 minutes from the time I got out of the SUV, pay the bill and was on my way. So I can only imagine how someone who is accustomed to rush and swift action would react. Oh, and anyone planning to move here, please let me consult with you on the "driving quirks" of most of the older people around. Forget about signal lights. You are suppose to know where they are going to turn off at. And the bad part about it is that most of the time you do. And my personal favorite is when they are going to make a left turn and they verve off to the left shoulder of the road and ride along it for a good 1000 feet before getting to the place they need to be turning into.
Last edited by Bethanytedder; 04-17-2006 at 06:17 PM..
Just curious, what do NC residents think is the #1 negative of living in their beautiful state? I'd love to hear some opinions!
Jerseymom,
Your nic caught my eye - I'am also originally from N.J. (like I had a choice - Ha).
I lived in North Carolina for around 3 yrs and from my experiences, would never even contemplate moving back there.
My absolute number 1 problem was the schools. Just not progressive enough and no tolerance for any child ( my son included ) that gave any indication that their cranium included a brain. Most of the teachers could not handle a student who was more intelligent then them. Sorry if I offended but that was my experience. I'am sure the whole state isn't like that but in Wake county it appeared to be the norm. Problem child - no worry - your child will be put on ritalin so they can be controlled. Glad we pulled out of there while we had the chance.
The weather wasn't bad if you like ice storms in the winter and oppressive humdity during the summer with temps in the 90's and you better have a fondness for mosquitos. The beaches were nice but from Raleigh the trip was about 140 miles one way.
BTW - Cary, NC was referred to by the natives as Containment Area for Relocated Yankees - that about says it all.
If you ventured outside of the confinement area after 11:00 pm just to go to the grocery store to pick up an item, you were sure to be pulled over by one of the friendly police officers to see if you had been drinking. This happened to me 7 times.
I assure you that these few events are only the tip of the iceberg...
Informer,
Thank you for well, informing me. It does dampen my spirits about my upcoming move, though.
I just hope the area I'm moving to is a little more accepting. I would hate to think my children are being alienated for the state they are from. We read quite a lot about how Northerners should act accordingly to receive Southern hospitality but so far the angriest and most offensive posts have come from native NCians. No one from NY/NJ has really said anything negative about the state or the people.
Most of the transplants I talk to have no complaints. Maybe it depends on the area?
I've found NC drivers to be a lot better than Mass. drivers! In Mass, they pull the car over to the right to make that left turn.
I could regale folks about Boston driving: it is all true!
Turn signals exist here in theory and the Interstates look like you're driving in the UK: The left lane is clogged by the squatters and the right lane is zipping along. Then there are the "active breakdown lanes."
My wife has already learned from our previous visits that I fit right in as far as the pace is concerned. I will sit and shoot the bull for as long as it takes!
Steve, we tend to drive slower here also. Mainly because there is no interstate for about 50 miles to the west of where we live and 40 is probably at least that far away as well. I never got a speeding ticket until I was 35. And that was after I moved to Johnston County that picks up 95 and started driving 65 to keep from getting run over. Once I came back to Greene County that is all rural, I kept on driving that fast in places that I shouldn't have and I got my first speeding ticket in Greene County basically for driving like I was still in Greene County. I have been to Washington, DC and let me tell you, that was an experience in real living for me. I had my husband and mother-in-law with me. And I was driving. He was on the passenger side complaining about how I was driving when he mother basically told him to shut up that I was doing fine. But I have learned over the years what the quirks are. And they still annoy me. I had a son get killed in 1982 after he ran out in front of a car and the accident was totally my son's fault. Yesterday I was with my sister coming back from my son's and as I approached the stoplight, a little girl riding a bicycle pulled out in front of me and I nearly flipped out. If had not already slowed down for the stoplight, I would have hit her. She looked to be about 6-7 years old. And that seems to be a prevailing hazzard of kids around here. They don't watch what they are doing. But on a hold I agree that most North Carolina drivers that are physically capable of driving are very good drivers. They won't fight you for the right away. If someone else takes it, so be it. Let them have it. And least you arrive home safely, for the most part. Road rage isn't that bad here. I would imagine it might exist in the city areas to some extent. When my daughter went to college in Raleigh in 1995, the first time I road with her I was appalled by the way she was so aggressive in her driving. But then I noticed how everyone else drove up there and figured she wasn't particularly thrilled of being run over. LOL
Oh and Steve, good luck when you get to Mebane. I think that is where bought Brianna a bunch of Peaches and Cream clothes from the outlet they have there. Someone that is from that area correct me if I am wrong. We just went through there on the way to the zoo in Asheboro.
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X - Carolinian
Drivers
