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Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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Like many other posters, I have experienced some of the Northeast/NY/NJ rudeness first hand. Again, not painting with a broad brush, but it really DOES happen from time to time. In fact, the most recent experience I had with it involved a woman from Long Island who took me into her confidence....I guess because she knew I had moved from MD and was more "Yankee than Southerner"...and she laid it on thick about what rubes there are down here. Evidently she was taken aback when I let her know in no uncertain terms that she was way out of line.
Ani, I couldn't agree more with you. Newcomers are very welcomed here...long as they don't come with the "holier than thou" attitudes. Nobody likes to be told they are inferior, their schools are inferior and their city is a hick town. Charlotte is no hick town. It may not be as vibrant and diverse as NYC or Boston or Chicago, but its a pretty good place to call home.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlightAttendant
Like many other posters, I have experienced some of the Northeast/NY/NJ rudeness first hand. Again, not painting with a broad brush, but it really DOES happen from time to time. In fact, the most recent experience I had with it involved a woman from Long Island who took me into her confidence....I guess because she knew I had moved from MD and was more "Yankee than Southerner"...and she laid it on thick about what rubes there are down here. Evidently she was taken aback when I let her know in no uncertain terms that she was way out of line.
Ani, I couldn't agree more with you. Newcomers are very welcomed here...long as they don't come with the "holier than thou" attitudes. Nobody likes to be told they are inferior, their schools are inferior and their city is a hick town. Charlotte is no hick town. It may not be as vibrant and diverse as NYC or Boston or Chicago, but its a pretty good place to call home.
You hit the nail on the head.
Yesterday, I was at a local place in Kings Mountain having a tire put on (I had a blow out that had also ruined the wheel, so I spent my first week in town hunting down where to get a wheel (Shelby) & where to get a tire.). The locals were as nice as could be, but while the tire was being put on, a man with a North Jersey accent, stopped & yelled "Where are you from in Jersey?" I turned around & said "South Jersey" & he said "Trenton?" I said "Cherry Hill" & you would have thought I said that I have leprosy. He didn't say a word, just turned & fled. I guess my mostly Michigan accent didn't help to make him think that I was any less of a hick.
A simple "OK, just wondered" would have done the trick to not be rude. The locals all just looked at him & shook their heads.
decrease in jobs in the New York City areas does not mean that there will be an increase in jobs in CLT
even with the financial consolidation- companies will look to run more efficiently- and like any other state, jobs will be lost in NYC but will not in all cases be replaced in CLT- actually jobs will be lost here in CLT too
I see growth slowing down in CLT considerably over the next 5 years- I predict that growth will do well over the next year or so- then fall out as expected
Comments like this above and others like "wannabe carpetbaggers" really stir up trouble unfortunately.
Brian definitely made some really good points in his post. If you want to move here, it can't be just for financial gain or you're going to most likely be unhappy.
Was my description of them as "carpetbaggers" inaccurate in any way?
That's a huge problem. If you leave your home state solely for money you probably stand a greater chance of being disappointed with your new surroundings. Doing it that way you're leaving your family behind, your friends behind, everything you knew and loved for very materialistic reasons. That's probably one of the very few times where you'll catch me saying that money can't buy you everything. If you trade away all that simply for cash, then you're better off looking to leave for a neighboring state where everything is within driving distance as opposed to another region of the country. You're just setting yourself up for a huge backfire.
When we did that freaky move-back-to-New-Jersey-just-to-move-back-here thing this summer, it was partially out of financial necessity. We did wind up becoming slave to a lifestyle that wasn't possible for us in New Jersey. Even downgrading wouldn't have been successful without one or both working a second job. I can easily admit as much. But I can also say that man...I really missed uptown Charlotte. I missed driving past the Lowes Motor Speedway where I caught some really good races. I missed the place and area we lived in. I missed living within half an hour of one of my closest friends. I missed hitting the Verizon Wireless, Bobcats Arena, Raleigh and Asheville venues for concerts. I kept thinking about the missed opportunities like seeing New York Rangers hockey games in Raleigh, trips to Grandfather Mountain, trips to Myrtle Beach, all of the stuff that we had yet to do. And then there's this strange intangible that I still can't put my finger on. For someone who gravitates to (and unfortunately at times tends to create) chaos, there's a calm, beautiful serenity here that just appeals to me. I'm not sure what the bigger payoff in moving back here was: regaining the lifestyle that the lower cost of living could afford us or everything else that I described (and then some) that makes living in the Charlotte region worth it. I'm not sure I could even choose.
In living here I never wanted to upset the apple cart, so to speak. If this is how it's done here, that's how I do it here. If you guys have Christmas lights in McAdenville, then I'm going to see them. If you're going to have a tree lighting for charity at the Lowes Speedway, I'm going to attend. If there's something that goes on in this area I want to be a part of it. When John McCain had his rally in Concord we made sure we went. I want to be a part of what you guys have, not force what I used to have onto you. I realized that what I gave up in some areas I more than made up for in others.
If we could miraculously afford in New Jersey what we could here, I think we'd probably still wind up thinking long and hard....and at times I wonder if we could actually leave. As much as I can see myself moving back to New Jersey someday, I can also see us spending the rest of our lives here and for reasons more numerous than just money.
Brian, I really really love this post! And I know others are bound to feel the same way . . . we are soooo glad you only made a short rebound to NJ and are back here to stay. I say "to stay" cause I really do think that this is the place for you and your DW. There will doubtless always be a piece of your heart in NJ . . . but you have a new life here . . .
I so appreciate your perspective and insight. I hope others will read what you have written and think about what you conveyed. This may not be paradise, but we are all here together . . . so let's make the very best of it . . .
My point being, if the real estate prices in MA, NY, NJ, MD, and DC had remained the same as those in NC, I don't think the area would have grown at the pace it has in the last few years. My opinion is that most people relocated here for cost of living reasons, not due to the allure of Charlotte or Raleigh.
My point being, if the real estate prices in MA, NY, NJ, MD, and DC had remained the same as those in NC, I don't think the area would have grown at the pace it has in the last few years. My opinion is that most people relocated here for cost of living reasons, not due to the allure of Charlotte or Raleigh.
Those that did that came for all the wrong reasons and I feel sorry for them, most likely they aren't very happy and have missed the best things about living in this great state.
Was my description of them as "carpetbaggers" inaccurate in any way?
PH, it seemed like the thread was civil and then boom, you throw a demeaning term in there.
Look, I'm fine w/you not liking northerners, that's your perogative. You've stated that before. I just thought we were getting past terms like carpetbaggers and rednecks and stuff like that when its used in a demeaning way...
I don't know, maybe I'm overreacting about this, maybe you weren't labeling everyone w/a broad brush....you'd have to tell us.
Last edited by CouponJack; 11-09-2008 at 07:11 PM..
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I guess my mostly Michigan accent didn't help to make him think that I was any less of a hick.
