[JViello]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

North Carolina for example has some of the worse air pollution in the nation- especially around Charlotte. Why is this? Perhaps the traffic patterns and local growth have caused too much reliance on the Auto- I have not lived there- but for those who have like JVeillo can answer this.

I think it's a matter of several things. Topography, weather patterns, and the fact that no matter where you go, you sit in endless traffic with your car just idling away combined with the light to light blvd driving which returns very poor fuel economy. A 5 minute trip here would take you 20-25 there.

It would be interesting to see a fuel consumption vs distance traveled for both areas and compare. I'd bet they go less distance and use more fuel there than we do here.

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by silviodante

Yeah, really. I don't get people who insist that North Carolina is backwards compared to CT. Maybe in 1957, but not in 2007. I know every inch of both states, and I can tell you there is nothing that Connecticut has that North Carolina doesn't have a better version of.

Beaches? Way better in NC
Mountains? Not even a question
Cities? Raleigh and Charlotte vs. Hartford and New Haven, come on, put yourselves in the shoes of the 99% of the country that doesn't live in CT
Museums? Neither state is Washington, DC, but at least NC has a respectable art museum, science museum, history museum. I don't know what CT has.
Nightlife? Again, one walk down Franklin Street in Chapel Hill is enough to equal all of CT combined. Even Greensboro has a superior nightlife to anywhere in CT.
Schools? CT has Yale. That's it, and almost no one is getting in there. NC has Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, NC State (all superior, and all but NC State far superior to UConn). As for public schools, I went to one in CT. Same pathetic story as public schools everywhere. Go private if you really care about schools.
Culture? North Carolina has its own culture that is still alive, well, and celebrated. People have actual pride (and not "defensive" pride) in their state and history. Bluegrass shows in Asheville, old tobacco farms, Civil War sites, barbeque. Connecticut has no identity except for being a rich, stuckup suburb of New York. For all you that complain about the vast suburbs of NC- that's all Connecticut is- one vast suburb with a few very subpar cities.
People? Both have their share of stupid people. Where the people that make CT the smartest state are, I don't know. Having spent the majority of my life in Fairfield County, they sure aren't there. I was actually thinking about this watching the Sopranos the other night. Their attitudes towards women, minorities, general ignorance level are pretty equivalent to the stereotypical redneck. And I'm not saying all CT people are mobsters, but the people on the Sopranos remind me of back home like no other.

I guess I'm being so defensive because I don't get what is blinding you people? If you were arguing California vs. North Carolina, then I could see where you might have some arguments about the state offering more. But Connecticut doesn't offer anything. Most people not born around there equate it with Delaware in terms of boringness.

Thank you

In the 1950s NC was a lot poorer, but even then it didn't lack culture. I really don't understand why people equate southernness with lack of culture. If anything, the South is the most culturally rich part of the country. Ive been to CT and found it rather dull and boring and the people extremely conventional.

[jeremeyk482]

Originally Posted by vasinger

In the 1950s NC was a lot poorer, but even then it didn't lack culture. I really don't understand why people equate southernness with lack of culture. If anything, the South is the most culturally rich part of the country. Ive been to CT and found it rather dull and boring and the people extremely conventional.

Yeah, I'd have to agree.

I've never been to a part of the country where everyone was so alike. I think that's why people here are so standoffish because everyone has the same general mentality. I don't think that's a horrible thing...I actually think it's kind of interesting. Seems like most suburban CT people are white, affluent, drive foreign cars (hey, they're more reliable!), tailgate and yes, JV, drive in the left lane at 60mph. Education is a biggie here, seems to be always on everyone's mind (which is excellent) and zoning here is strictly enforced (which actually says a lot). I know there are different types of people up here, but generally speaking, you have the affluent whites in the suburbs and the poor blacks in the cities. Down south, everyone is different and mixed together. You have the right-wing religious conservatives, beer drinkers, lots of in-the-closet homosexuals due to zero tolerance, martini lovers, miners, trailer parkers, tons of farmers, rich mcmansion owners, blacks and Mexicans residing in the suburbs, products of private schools, and too many public HS dropouts. So take the good with the bad here. A lot of different types of people down there.

And hey, I don't hate the Hartford area. I just dislike when people sugarcoat Hartford in what seems like an attempt to lure people to move there. After speaking to many people I've met, most newcomers don't like Hartford. I can't blame them, as it's not my top choice when it comes to places to reside either.

What I do like about CT as a whole is that, despite it's wealth, people here are extremely grounded, modest, open-minded and reserved--even in Fairfield County.

[NC man]

Nc cant handle the growth...http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/573758.html

[BigHouse9]

Originally Posted by jeremeyk482

Yeah, I'd have to agree.

Seems like most suburban CT people are white, affluent, drive foreign cars (hey, they're more reliable!), tailgate and yes, JV, drive in the left lane at 60mph.

You have just described all of suburban Raleigh in perfection, so much more so than CT will ever be.

[silviodante]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

You have just described all of suburban Raleigh in perfection, so much more so than CT will ever be.

That's not true at all. In my day-to-day life in the Triangle, I probably see/encounter almost exactly 25% white, 25% African-American, 25% Asian/South Asian and 25% Latino. Maybe that's just where I hang out, but racial tension seems almost entirely absent here (relative to the rest of the nation) and, given the ratios described above, I think its a beautiful, amazing thing. If I had to prove to a civil rights leader from 1960 (from a time-machine or whatever) that America had progressed, I would probably take them to Raleigh-Durham.

[BigHouse9]

Well I live here right now and see it on a daily basis. The mini-vans and the SUV's and high priced McMansions. I don't see the 25% ratio at all, if anything, I see 80% white and 20% Indian and Oriental or other folks around the RTP area.

Saw way more diversity in Hartford.

[silviodante]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

Well I live here right now and see it on a daily basis. The mini-vans and the SUV's and high priced McMansions. I don't see the 25% ratio at all, if anything, I see 80% white and 20% Indian and Oriental or other folks around the RTP area.

Saw way more diversity in Hartford.

I hear ya, I guess it's all where you live and states (or even cities) can't be generalized. The public schools I went to in CT were almost 100% white. Here, however, I don't live in the suburbs or around the RTP crowd, so that might change things.

[jeremeyk482]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

You have just described all of suburban Raleigh in perfection, so much more so than CT will ever be.

Affluent and drive foreign cars? Most people down there are middle class (by nationwide standards) and drive Chevy's, Saturns, Fords and Mercurys from what I've seen. Maybe Raleigh is different, but that's my experience in Charlotte, Richmond and other areas of the south.

[jeremeyk482]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

Well I live here right now and see it on a daily basis. The mini-vans and the SUV's and high priced McMansions. I don't see the 25% ratio at all, if anything, I see 80% white and 20% Indian and Oriental or other folks around the RTP area.

Saw way more diversity in Hartford.

No, Hartford isn't diverse. It's mostly Hispanic and the rest black. Diversity is everyone mixed together and if you look at the statistics, the suburbs in NC are much more diverse than CT.

You don't see minivans, SUVs and high priced McMansions in CT? In western CT, it's more than likely a Lexus SUV and a million dollar home compared to a Ford Explorer and a $500k home down south. Where in CT did you live? Was your move down south a move from East Bumble, CT to civilization, and could your problem be the culture shock more than anything else? Sounds that way to me.

I do know that the cost of living down in NC has risen substantially because of the tri-state and Boston folks flocking down there, but in all it's a lot cheaper. Tell me where in Connecticut can you get a home like this for the same price: MLS ID# 918648. Now look at this home in Tolland, a Connecticut suburb with an average cost of living: MLS ID# G458366. As I said, I know prices have risen, but not yet even close to what we pay up here (granted we make more $).