Difference between North and South (Columbia, Charleston: house, movies, school)

[KelsMcL]

Hi Everyone. I am from beautiful (no really, I swear, it's beautiful) New Jersey Shore. I am considering moving down to South Carolina for graduate school and then permanently to the Charleston/Summerville area. To prepare me for this move I have been non stop searching these forums. Everything sounds great, except EVERYONE says "just know that you can't change the South", "Don't expect to move down here and have everything running like you're used to", etc. etc.

My question is what is this huge difference? The most I found was that some parts of SC, the banks are closed on the weekends. I think I can handle that! I know the pace is slower, but I'm not moving anywhere rural - it would be on the coast (I live 1 block from beach my whole life, and can't imagine not being within at most an hour of it).

Do people still fly confederate flags or something? Do they look down on interracial relationships? I've been down numerous times. My Grandparents live on the OBX and the only huge difference I notice is the driving and pace. Thanks to everyone in advance.

[OleTomCat]

Originally Posted by KelsMcL

Hi Everyone. I am from beautiful (no really, I swear, it's beautiful) New Jersey Shore. I am considering moving down to South Carolina for graduate school and then permanently to the Charleston/Summerville area. To prepare me for this move I have been non stop searching these forums. Everything sounds great, except EVERYONE says "just know that you can't change the South", "Don't expect to move down here and have everything running like you're used to", etc. etc.

My question is what is this huge difference? The most I found was that some parts of SC, the banks are closed on the weekends. I think I can handle that! I know the pace is slower, but I'm not moving anywhere rural - it would be on the coast (I live 1 block from beach my whole life, and can't imagine not being within at most an hour of it).

Do people still fly confederate flags or something? Do they look down on interracial relationships? I've been down numerous times. My Grandparents live on the OBX and the only huge difference I notice is the driving and pace. Thanks to everyone in advance.

I also grew up on the shore, family is from Egg Harbor City, I Have lived in Summerville for 20 years. Confederate flags still fly, but not for the reasons you think, interracial couples are looked down on, but not by whom you think.

Everything is slower down here, except the traffic on the interstate, 75 is the norm.

If you stay near the more metro areas you will not notice much difference, but if/when you decide to venture to the more rural areas you will see a difference.

[NS_Highlander]

One of the biggest differences I have noticed were how orgaizations are run down here. Yes, there is politics everywhere but the "Old Boys" networks are alive and well here.

I worked as a volunteer fireman down here and it is way different than up north. Up north, volunteer departments are democratic. They vote for their Chief every year and at meetings everyone has a voice. Makes sense to me, as you are the one who is donating your time and being asked to run into a burning building when everyone is running out.

Down here, many of them are run by an old boys network. You have a bunch of "has been's" (many were never firefighters) sitting on the board making all the decisions. You have all these little conflicts of interest as many of the members are related or strongly connected to the senior members of the fire department. Here your input doesn't count. It is like working on a autocratic paid department without any of the benefits.

If you tried to run a volunteer tolerated up north like this everyone would quit and no one would join. Down here it has just the way things have always been and everyone just tollerates it. Being an anti union area, here there can be little empowerment for the little guy. At times it is like you are thought of as a slave.

This is just my experience and things vary down here depending on the location you choose and the profession you work in. But, as a rule the more rural you get the more different you are going to find things down here.

[KelsMcL]

Thank you both for your replies. Sounds about what I was expecting.

[Theresejenkins]

i'm from monmouth beach! c'mon down, you'll love it - lots of us NJ'rs here....(also lots from Monmouth)

[Greenville]

I don't think there is much of a difference between North and South, except for the accents and aspects of the culture. The North feels older in most areas, and is somewhat more compact overall, but that's about it. I honestly do not think there is much of a difference between the people or the pace of life.

I have noticed that most of the perceived difference between North and South occurs when people are making poor comparisons. For example, someone comparing New York City to a rural town in the South will obviously come to the conclusion that people in the South live a simpler life and don't experience as much diversity. But if you compare Hartford to Raleigh, you see many more similarities than differences.

I'm sure you have heard a lot about the racial stuff, but in my experience people don't really talk about race. It's just not an issue. My experience in the South is limited to urban areas (Greenville, Charleston), and I don't see a problem with race relations at all. But I'm sure you will find some racists if you look hard enough (especially in the more rural areas where people of different races aren't exposed to one another much). I don't think that is any different than you'd find in rural Connecticut though.

Hope this helps!

[Phillip Beard]

Kel, no problem. If you're moving to Charleston, Columbia or even Greenville; you'll feel right at home. If you go outside of the metro areas, well ...

[malaf]

We've been visiting the area for 5 years now and will be relocating our family in 3 weeks. What I've noticed as the main difference between the north and south is that most everyone I meet in the north complains about the area in which they live in (weather, taxes, employment, cost of living) The southerners however, nearly always love where they live and more often than not say they would never want to leave the south. The southerners are much more friendly. I've never stood in a line at the mall, movies, store, etc where someone didn't engage in conversation with me. That rarely happens where I live in the north. Someone once told us that we'd be feel much better and happier in the south, and for us it's been the truth. We can't wait to make it permanent!

[OleTomCat]

Malaf, I wish you luck.....

[StarryEyedSurprise]

Originally Posted by KelsMcL

Hi Everyone. I am from beautiful (no really, I swear, it's beautiful) New Jersey Shore.

I just wanted to say, I love this part of NJ. My stepfather's family had a house on a canal in Forked River, and many a summer was spent there and at Seaside. God, I miss the boardwalk pizza and curly fries - and honestly, the beach was really nice too!