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Hi my family and I are thinking about moving to Stanley from NH. We have 4 sons and I'm a little worried about making such a big move. I was wondering if anyone has any input of how life is down there? We love camping, swimming (beaches, pools, rivers) my husband likes to hunt and loves football. How are the schools and the people? My grandma tells me that down South people are friendly (or seem to be) but behind your back they really are not as nice. But up here in NH we will tell you to your face if we like you or not. I want to live in a town that's a great place to raise a family and not to expensive to live. Up here in NH it is very expensive. Thank you for an input you have.
I know a few people who live in Stanley. It is a small town that seems to have a nice community feel. It is more rural in comparison to Charlotte. From what I have experienced people are generally nice there. There is a big community festival in the fall. There are a few grocery stores, restaurants and retail but most people travel to Gastonia and Charlotte for major shopping and dining.
Re: friendliness. This seems to be a controversial subject. If you do a search you will find a lot of threads about that.
I'm a native North Carolinian and I think that your grandma is some what correct. Southerners are raised to be polite and sometimes that means holding your tongue. You now the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." It's not that everyone isn't nice behind your back, most are genuine with their feelings. If they are nice to your face, odds are they're nice when you're gone too. If a Southerner knows someone well he/she will be nice or not nice to their face. However if you are a causal or work acquaintance he/she may not share his/her true feelings with you.
I have seen newcomers on these boards say that they find this somewhat passive aggressive. They feel that Southerners don't mean what they say or say what they mean. I disagree it's just the way things are said are different. For example if someone reacts by saying something is "lovely" it isn't. Example: A:"I got you tickets to that concert coming next weekend." B: "Lovely" translation = "I really wish you wouldn't have done that. I don't want to go." If A and B have a close relationship B wouldn't say "lovely", but will say exactly what he/she feels. Why not just say that to everyone? I honestly don't know but if A is a native or long time resident he/she will understand exactly what B meant by saying "lovely".
Now if A is a newcomer, he/she will probably think B is happy about the tickets. Then later finds out that B doesn't really want them. Perhaps he/she found out B talked about with C. B was trying to be polite and truly didn't intend to offend A or have a malicious intent. However A may think that, as your Grandma said that B was friendly but behind A's back he/she really is not as nice.
Hi my family and I are thinking about moving to Stanley from NH. We have 4 sons and I'm a little worried about making such a big move. I was wondering if anyone has any input of how life is down there? We love camping, swimming (beaches, pools, rivers) my husband likes to hunt and loves football. How are the schools and the people? My grandma tells me that down South people are friendly (or seem to be) but behind your back they really are not as nice. But up here in NH we will tell you to your face if we like you or not. I want to live in a town that's a great place to raise a family and not to expensive to live. Up here in NH it is very expensive. Thank you for an input you have.
Little Stanley in Gaston County? Just wondering how you zeroed in on that place in particular? Do you and your husband need to find jobs?
I think I'd suggest you go just a bit further down the road to Kings Mountain, which has a little more to offer
Having briefly lived in "Manch Vegas", I can assure you that things are very different down here but in a good way. Maybe it's because the weather is so much nicer, but people are warm and friendly and much more "gentle" than some of the frosty Yankees (and those are the REAL Yankees up there in Northern NE) I came across in NH. Don't get me wrong, I met wonderful people up there, but they were very different than the people I regularly come across down here. There is a quality unique to that part of the country, a quickness, a sarcastic frame of mind, that I miss when I think about it.
If you don't live in a small town now, you might want to check Stanley out before you make plans to live there.
Also, the beaches, for the most part, are going to be very different from what you typically see along the NH coast/Portsmouth. Most of the NC and SC beaches don't really have waves and the water is very warm and murky. You won't find that salty, preppy, "lawbstah" type beach towns. No "Murder, She Wrote" settings. Closest thing we've found is Sullivan's Island. But there are lot of opportunities to camp and our beaches are great once you get used to them. And you'll have plenty of opportunities because of the warm weather for much of the year. Also, expect folks to struggle a bit with your accent. There are tons of transplants down here from all over the NE and Midwest but I rarely hear NH/ME accents. C'mon down. It's wicked nice.
I grew up in southern NH and have lived in Charlotte for 4 years now. We LOVE it down here. Weather is great but the summers are too hot to go outside and you have to stay in air conditioning.
My only complaints:
-I miss the clean rivers, ponds, and lakes in NH since all we have are big, crowded man-made lakes down here.
-The hiking/camping is a few hours drive, not like NH where you can head 25 minutes in any direction and find beautiful private trails.
-Closest beach/ocean is 2-3 hours away.
Overall the quality of life and the people make it better than NH in my opinion. The job market is also very tough down here. I am thinking about moving back north (Boston area) just to get a good job.
Thank you. We live in Manchester, NH but we live on the outside. I drive a school bus and that's what I am hoping to do down there. My husband owns a landscaping business up here and we were hoping it would do okay down there?? We are used to a small town and I love the small towns. I love the feeling to them. We were thinking Stanley for football for my kids and it's close to the bigger towns so may be my husband would have a better chance for more jobs with the lawn mowing. I hate the cold here in the winter time and all the rain all the time!
And thank you so much for the help with understanding what my grandmother meant!! Lovely up here usually is sarcastic.
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Example: A:"I got you tickets to that concert coming next weekend." B: "Lovely" translation = "I really wish you wouldn't have done that. I don't want to go." If A and B have a close relationship B wouldn't say "lovely", but will say exactly what he/she feels. Why not just say that to everyone? I honestly don't know but if A is a native or long time resident he/she will understand exactly what B meant by saying "lovely". 
