Do you want to go back? (construction, allergies, to live)

[paullySC]

Originally Posted by InGA

In my experience in the South it's been true. That's why I said MAYBE it's different in other areas...But it is most certainly true where I'm at. And from reading many other posts in other Southern state forums, it doesn't seem to be all that uncommon.

My apologies I read the following line from you post meaning all southerners not all southerners in you town.

"That always seems to be Southerners way of denying they're, FOR THE MOST PART OBVIOUSELY NOT EVERYONE BUT THE MAJORITY, extremely judegemental, materialistic, phony, etc."

You can find a town like that anywhere in the country, esp. up north.
What part of Ga are you in?

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by paullySC

My apologies I read the following line from you post meaning all southerners not all southerners in you town.

"That always seems to be Southerners way of denying they're, FOR THE MOST PART OBVIOUSELY NOT EVERYONE BUT THE MAJORITY, extremely judegemental, materialistic, phony, etc."

You can find a town like that anywhere in the country, esp. up north.
What part of Ga are you in?

Obviousely you can find that anywhere, but I've lived out West and North and have never seen it as prevelant as at least here in GA, or heard about it being a problem as much as I've heard of it being in the South.

NE of Atlanta.

[marysally]

I lived in Atlanta until graduating from college. Wound up after a couple of moves in Houston for close to 30 years.
The death of my husband lead me to move to Huntsville AL where I have lived for the past 9 years. When I moved from Houston I had 2 or 3 (somewhat) friends (after 30 years ). I moved to Huntsville to get back closer to family that I still have in Atlanta as well as to get away from the heat, humidity, and flat landscape. In Huntsville I have a large circle of friends -- more than I dreamed of in Houston. I would count 4 or 5 of this circle of friends as VERY good friends, another 4 or 5 as good friends, and another 10 as somewhat good friends. I live alone and my neighbor across the street frequently invites me to holiday dinners with her and her family/friends. One of the VERY good friends also invites me to join her family for holidays, so I frequently have a choice.
I must also add that I do not attend church and have never heard a word from anyone about it. All of these friends came from activities other than religion (only one was a coworker). I don't know what my friends do on Sunday morning; I read the Sunday paper!!
My point is that it is possible to find friendly giving people (even in the South ) and going to church had nothing to do with it. This is not meant as a slight to TX; my lack of friends there was probably due to my doing, not theirs. Maybe the people who are bashing the South need to look inside themselves a little more to find the reason for their unhappiness.

Just as an example of the niceness of the people in Al - Earlier this summer on a particularly hot day, I went to a small framing shop in Scottsboro AL to pick up some work that I had had done. I had been working in my yard and my hair was a mess. I made a comment to the woman who was helping me about that being why I looked so frazzled . Her immediate response was: "Well, don't you go back out there. It is too hot to be working out in the yard!" I just had to smile at what a nice thing to say to someone that you don't even know!!

[Azrider]

Although physically its not "greener" here in the Phoenix area, being the desert, but I have to say I have no regrets moving here from Ohio. Everything has seemed to fall in to place for me here in Phoenix, and life is good here. I have found better employment, weather, interests, and an awesome outdoor life to sum it up. I have never lived anywhere else other than Ohio and AZ, and as of this moment and for a long time, I will stay in AZ for sure.

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by marysally

I lived in Atlanta until graduating from college. Wound up after a couple of moves in Houston for close to 30 years.
The death of my husband lead me to move to Huntsville AL where I have lived for the past 9 years. When I moved from Houston I had 2 or 3 (somewhat) friends (after 30 years ). I moved to Huntsville to get back closer to family that I still have in Atlanta as well as to get away from the heat, humidity, and flat landscape. In Huntsville I have a large circle of friends -- more than I dreamed of in Houston. I would count 4 or 5 of this circle of friends as VERY good friends, another 4 or 5 as good friends, and another 10 as somewhat good friends. I live alone and my neighbor across the street frequently invites me to holiday dinners with her and her family/friends. One of the VERY good friends also invites me to join her family for holidays, so I frequently have a choice.
I must also add that I do not attend church and have never heard a word from anyone about it. All of these friends came from activities other than religion (only one was a coworker). I don't know what my friends do on Sunday morning; I read the Sunday paper!!
My point is that it is possible to find friendly giving people (even in the South ) and going to church had nothing to do with it. This is not meant as a slight to TX; my lack of friends there was probably due to my doing, not theirs. Maybe the people who are bashing the South need to look inside themselves a little more to find the reason for their unhappiness.

Just as an example of the niceness of the people in Al - Earlier this summer on a particularly hot day, I went to a small framing shop in Scottsboro AL to pick up some work that I had had done. I had been working in my yard and my hair was a mess. I made a comment to the woman who was helping me about that being why I looked so frazzled . Her immediate response was: "Well, don't you go back out there. It is too hot to be working out in the yard!" I just had to smile at what a nice thing to say to someone that you don't even know!!

That's good to hear...I've always wondered about Huntsville...I've constantly heard it's considered a very prograssive town...Don't know if that's progressive by Alabama, the South, or American standards? How does Huntsville compare to other cities in AL, like Birmingham, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Mobile...???

That's one reason I'm kinda clingning to hope about the South, we've been to Alabama a few times, and always loved it there, people were very nice, loved the climate, just the feeling we got. Same w/parts of South GA, SC, and NC. But we also got that here, and it was a total 180 once we actually lived here.

[marysally]

Yes, Huntsville is considered to be a very progressive city (for its size) for AL and for the south. Large number of highly educated, mostly engineers and such due to presence of NASA, Redstone Arsenal, and Research Park. I wouldn't say that is progressive for the whole nation. It is still the South after all. I have always heard that Huntsville is not like the rest of AL, but since it is the only place in AL that I have lived or spent any significant time, I can't comment on that. There are several megachurches in Huntsville, but as I stated before, I have never felt any pressure to join and never felt that anyone was judging me because I don't attend. Besides the friendliness of the people, I also like the size (~250,000 population) and the ease of getting around w/o the traffic hassles of places like Atlanta.

[JakeDog]

I've moved to the South, and I think it's unfair to paint the entire population with such a broad brush- but I think it is fair to say ON THE WHOLE people in the South are not as friendly as folks in the North. I've never lived anywhere before where the first thing most people ask me is "Where did you grow up?" and the second thing is "Where do you go to church?" Maybe it's just curiosity, but I get the distinct feeling I'm not welcome. When you live in D.C., California or NY nobody gives a rat's azz where you grew up- it's the strangest thing I've ever experienced. Couple that with the lack of culture- there's no sense of community where I live- just endless subburbs, big-box nightmares, etc.. Looked great on paper- not so good in person. I long to live in a REAL city again.

[Adream]

Originally Posted by marysally

Just as an example of the niceness of the people in Al - Earlier this summer on a particularly hot day, I went to a small framing shop in Scottsboro AL to pick up some work that I had had done. I had been working in my yard and my hair was a mess. I made a comment to the woman who was helping me about that being why I looked so frazzled . Her immediate response was: "Well, don't you go back out there. It is too hot to be working out in the yard!" I just had to smile at what a nice thing to say to someone that you don't even know!!

I enjoyed your story, Marysally! It sounds like you needed to find a friendly place to call home 9 years ago, and I'm glad that you've found it.

I lived in Huntsville when I was in first grade. Actually it was when John F. Kennedy was assinated. Still have the local Huntsville newspaper from that terrible day that my parents saved for me.

We lived in many towns around the U.S., including western and southern states of NC, TX, FL (it was the south then!), AZ. I'm a little scared of Alabama because that was the only state where anyone ever called us "yankee." To our faces! One neighbor lady handed out marshmallows to a group of us neighborhood kids, but when she got to me she said "Go home and get your marshmallows from your yankee mother!" I recall that vividly to this day. It's funny now...Mom is German, and was called a "yankee."

With all of my wonderful experiences of friendly people in the south over the years, that is my only experience with anything different. I've met people from Alabama since, and they've been very nice. After reading your story, I am hoping that what I experienced is just some relic from the past, and your experience is more the norm now. That lady would be in her 70's now, hopefully she learned something over the years.

[marysally]

It's funny how experiences as a child can stay with you for your whole life. When I was 5 or 6 and living in Atlanta, my family went to Wilmington Del to attend the wedding of my uncle. I remember how the bride's family teased my older sister and me, getting us to say where we were from and then dying laughing at our "southern accents". I have been told often through the years since that I do not have a discernable accent, but they apparently thought different. I remember to this day being laughed at and it was not a pleasant experience. You would think that adults (like the one who treated you badly)would have enough sense not to treat children so unkindly. By the way, one of my good friends here in Huntsville is from Germany. Did your family live here because of VonBraun?

[Adream]

Originally Posted by marysally

It's funny how experiences as a child can stay with you for your whole life. When I was 5 or 6 and living in Atlanta, my family went to Wilmington Del to attend the wedding of my uncle. I remember how the bride's family teased my older sister and me, getting us to say where we were from and then dying laughing at our "southern accents".
I remember to this day being laughed at and it was not a pleasant experience.

That's just plain rude. Isn't it awful what people will say to children, like they don't understand or have feelings ?

Originally Posted by marysally

By the way, one of my good friends here in Huntsville is from Germany. Did your family live here because of VonBraun?

No, my dad was a G.E. computer engineer. My brother and I were "computer brats," much like Army brats!