Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In case anyone wonders why I'm so specific, I'll explain that I know a lot of people lump all of us Latins together but *we* who are from the Caribbean (by that I mean, Cubans, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans), are pretty different from the rest (with the possible exception of Venezuelans) and very similar among each other, especially in the food we eat and music we dance to.
Since I've lived in S. FL for 11+ years already I'm sure I've been taking some things for granted, so I want to prepare myself mentally for those things that I might have to adapt to if I chose Greenville to move to. In the NC forum for a certain area I already read there are no radio stations there that play Latin music such as salsa and merengue, nor much Latin food in regular supermarkets. Someone even said he brought plantains from wherever he lived before when he goes to visit and, yikes, that would hurt because I LOVE my plantains and only when I lived in Batesville, AR I couldn't find any at first but that changed like a year later.
I have lived in places where I was the "only" Latin and did fine (maybe because I'm not dark and my accent is slight so people can't really "place" me...) so this by no means is a requisite but it would be helpful because I know at first I would feel like a total stranger but being around others with whom at least I could have some things in common would lessen the initial loneliness.
So if there's anyone at least over 40 please holler at me.
Check out Greenville some more! I'm not Latino, but have danced a lot at Bongo's here, and the crowd is Caribbean. Lots of Bachata and Merengue mixed with the Salsa. People are great. There's other Salsa clubs too. Check this link for more:
Also, the people who organize this are in a Yahoo group where I'm sure you can meet more Caribbeans and get the scoop on everything happening in this area:
BTW, all the really good healthy-fresh type of markets here like Fresh Market and Whole Foods have really fresh produce, including the Caribbean fruits. There are some small Latino stores too but I haven't checked the quality. For things like plantains, mangoes, papayas that have good shelf life, I would assume they will be fine. And of course that's where you want to go for other grocery items because the price will be less. There's a thread going on this forum that's been active in the last week that touched on exactly that - Latino markets. Its subject was "Need Help with Grocery Store".
You'll be shocked at the large number of Latinos (Mexican, South American, and Caribbean) in the Greenville area. As a result of such a diverse population, you can find plenty of places around the metro to purchase produce and other foods common in your native home. Try La Cubanita Cafe for authentic Cuban cuisine in downtown. Additionally, there are at least three completely Latino radio stations in Greenville and at least two well-attended annual Latin festivals in the city. We LOVE our good friends from Latin America!
I know what you mean about wanting good Caribbean food- here in the Tampa FL area, we are lucky enough to have some great food- Cuban in particular. I'm also able to grow many things in my back yard that I will miss when I move to SC.
Thanks Skyliner, you're always so helpful and friendly too! On behalf of other Latins I particularly thank you for that warm welcome.
I'm trying to decide between a couple of cities in NC and G'ville, maybe I should copy my post at their forum and see what happens, perhaps I'll get a different kind of "vibe". So many people have already moved to NC I have the feeling many of your "neighbors" don't really want any more, lol!
Well, I'm really surprise at the little response from Caribbean residents! I feel badly.
I just went to the Yahoo Group: SalsaGreenville and attempted to look at a member list to see who I could contact about giving you some input. I discovered that they now have a closed member list (not visible) and all emails to the group have to be approved by the owner (yea, they are just putting out commercial stuff for those who teach classes, etc.). I sent an invitation anyway through the group, inviting people to join CityDataForum and respond to this thread. It may get approved, it may not. I also noticed that the emails that come out show who sent them and allow a direct email to the sender! So there at least I picked one guy I know and sent an email inviting him to join this Forum and respond to this thread. We'll see if that helps. I sent my email to Milton (user: Clave Brothers). You might try to do the same if you can find some names in back emails that arn't "Jimmy Rhumba" etc. Or just join SalsaGreenville and email Milton from one of his posted emails. You'll see Jose Maldonado, but he's an instructor in Atlanta area! I don't really know any of the other email authors who are local.
I know this is getting down to "slim pickins" but keep on networking. There's always some way! Maybe somebody else out there reading this can bring in some more Latin interest by networking a little. City-data Forum is a great thing to help your brothers and sisters.
Thurx, I really appreciate your efforts to help a total stranger.
Thanks for your suggestion about the Yahoo group but for now I'm not going to ask them to let me join because a) I'm not sure yet where I'm going to end up and 2) even though I do dance salsa I'm not a great fan of it (personally I prefer merengue) and I have other interests that are more important to me. I'll just wait and see if other Caribbean Latins join this board some time soon and maybe they reply.
It's not really necessary for me to hang out with other Hispanics since I've already lived in circles where I've been the only one. My biggest concern is that if there are few like me I won't be able to find some food items I can easily get here not just plantains...), "casabe" (or cassava bread) for instance is very helpful when my allergies flare up and can't eat wheat. I won't deny that finding other people to whom I can feel closer culturally would make my transition easier but friends of any kind would actually do pretty much the same.
Thurx, I really appreciate your efforts to help a total stranger.
Thanks for your suggestion about the Yahoo group .... I won't deny that finding other people to whom I can feel closer culturally would make my transition easier but friends of any kind would actually do pretty much the same.
Very well written! Then, that in mind, another way to find what's happening and make friends locally, is the Greenville Meetup. Have you looked there? Gives you a good idea of groups you can join. And like the Yahoo group, even if you don't join any, most will allow checking out the members, and allow emails to members through the meetup group.
Thanks again Thurx. I'm familiar with Meetup.com, joined a couple of groups here but they were not very active, finally went to a salsa get together but everyone there was younger than me so I didn't go back. I'll just hope there will be people closer to my age in the ones you suggest.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
so I didn't go back. I'll just hope there will be people closer to my age in the ones you suggest.
