[Steveareeno5]

Just about any place will look good coming from Phx, AZ :-)

[HSVAeroEngineer]

Just completed 2 months here in Huntsville- I moved here from CO but I have lived in Minnesota and went to Engineering school at Iowa State.

The guy who came to install my internet is originally from MA and we had a very interesting conversation about Alabama- I could write a book or two about all the things I don't like about this place so far, some things here are just totally bizarre.

The main thing we discussed is that- he notices as much as I notice that many people here like to stick with mediocrity and have very little desire to take this state to the next level- his experience at his company is very similar to mine- high achievers here are usually seen as "troublemakers" because they are always criticizing and scrutinizing the way locals do things here, many of these things do not make any rational and logical sense however, how dare you rock the boat!- trying to adapt to a subpar way of living and doing things would be ignorant.

The comment that was made about the South still not having recovered from the Civil War is spot on- a lot of people here in Alabama have an incredible inferiority complex.

[Steveareeno5]

Originally Posted by HSVAeroEngineer

Just completed 2 months here in Huntsville- I moved here from CO but I have lived in Minnesota and went to Engineering school at Iowa State.

The guy who came to install my internet is originally from MA and we had a very interesting conversation about Alabama- I could write a book or two about all the things I don't like about this place so far, some things here are just totally bizarre.

The main thing we discussed is that- he notices as much as I notice that many people here like to stick with mediocrity and have very little desire to take this state to the next level- his experience at his company is very similar to mine- high achievers here are usually seen as "troublemakers" because they are always criticizing and scrutinizing the way locals do things here, many of these things do not make any rational and logical sense however, how dare you rock the boat!- trying to adapt to a subpar way of living and doing things would be ignorant.

The comment that was made about the South still not having recovered from the Civil War is spot on- a lot of people here in Alabama have an incredible inferiority complex.

The year I spend in N.C., which I consider "the South" even tho most do not, I found the people always had their noses in your business looking for something you're doing wrong. That plus a lot of remarks about "yankees", etc.

[xray731]

Well this Yankee has found Southern Hospitality excellent. People are helpful even to transplants - wish I could say the people in Buffalo - the city of Brother love were as welcoming and kind as those in the South. Again - YOU choose where you want to live - if you don't like it - move - opportunities abound these days boys.

[Hoping4Huntsville]

That's odd. I spent 15 years in NC and had a completely different experience. The people were wonderful and the state itself astonishingly beautiful. Still miss it and would go back in a second if circumstances were different. I've found people here in SE Alabama to often be distant and untrusting and the general feel of the entire area to be very self-absorbed, especially when driving or moving about in public spaces. Folks drive like they are the only ones on the road and just stand in your way in stores and stare blankly. It's just an odd and confusing thing to me. Many, many places are probably that way now though. People are becoming so removed from having concern for anyone other than themselves now. To each their own I suppose and you are right, anyone has the option to move. I will when the circumstances change and I will leave behind many wonderful people and more than a few great memories. Overall it's just not my vibe.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by Hoping4Huntsville

That's odd. I spent 15 years in NC and had a completely different experience. The people were wonderful and the state itself astonishingly beautiful. Still miss it and would go back in a second if circumstances were different. I've found people here in SE Alabama to often be distant and untrusting and the general feel of the entire area to be very self-absorbed, especially when driving or moving about in public spaces. Folks drive like they are the only ones on the road and just stand in your way in stores and stare blankly. It's just an odd and confusing thing to me. Many, many places are probably that way now though. People are becoming so removed from having concern for anyone other than themselves now. To each their own I suppose and you are right, anyone has the option to move. I will when the circumstances change and I will leave behind many wonderful people and more than a few great memories. Overall it's just not my vibe.

I don't understand "most people don't consider North Carolina to be part of the South." It's definitely part of the South. All my kin come from the highest mountains of western North Carolina and they are about as far from "Yankees" as you can get. Most of my ancestors didn't identify as Confederates, though, unless there were Confederate armies in the vicinity.
Mostly they just wanted to be left alone.
I've found most people get what they expect wherever they are.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Southlander

I don't understand "most people don't consider North Carolina to be part of the South." It's definitely part of the South. All my kin come from the highest mountains of western North Carolina and they are about as far from "Yankees" as you can get. Most of my ancestors didn't identify as Confederates, though, unless there were Confederate armies in the vicinity.
Mostly they just wanted to be left alone.
I've found most people get what they expect wherever they are.

I agree. North Carolina is definitely Southern. So is Virginia. Just like any other place with rapidly growing cities like Charlotte, "yankees" will slip in. I think most of the new folks in the Huntsville area come from the West and Mid-Atlantic (Washington, DC area). My new next-door neighbor is from California, and so are the folks across the street from them.