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I live in North Carolina, 3 miles away from the South Carolina border in Southwestern NC.
Where i live i believe North Carolina is exactly like South Carolina, honestly there is no difference once you cross the border of NC/SC except South Carolina is a bit flatter.
My impression is that North and South Carolina are more similar to one another than either is to Virginia. Even if you look at the histories of the states you'll see that Virginia was settled by a different group than the Carolinas. Cultures don't start and end at state lines, but I have definitely had different experiences in Virginia than I've had in the Carolinas. I feel like in many ways the Carolinas are a mixture of Old South and Yankee Transplants. It's an interesting mix to say the least. Virginia has experienced a different kind of evolution. You've got Northern Virginia, which is made up of people from everywhere and which constitutes a good portion of the state as far as population goes, and then you've got places like Richmond, etc, which "feel" very Southern, almost in a haunting, ancient way.
If I had to choose I would say that it's more like SC. Other than northeastern NC VA's influence runs short on NC and actually when considering the towns in southcentral VA such as Danville their influence comes from NC. NC has been more progressive than SC especially when talking about Charlotte and Raleigh but outside those areas NC is extremely southern and even the cities maintain a southern charm except for of course Cary.
I think NC is more 50/50 of each but if I had to choose I would say virginia. Geographically, it matches more closely with VA. Also, I think the metro areas of NC match more with VA mainly because NC and VA are closer in population than NC and SC. SC is more southern. I personally hate Virginia and never wanna live there, at least not Richmond or Roanoke. When I visit relatives, it all just seems so old and buildings look so conservative like EVERY building seems to have shutters on it... I think NC is more progressive than VA and SC. There just seems to be a lot more development in NC. In NC, the bigger cities are less southern but the rural areas are still very southern.
This is actually a great question. NC has strong ties and similarities to both. The NC urban areas do not feel as southern as the rest of the state. The Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) definitely has a southern influence/feel but it's not as strong anymore due to the many outsiders drawn to this area. Many of these people come for RTP and are from the north. However, NOVA isn't even southern. As you soon as you pass Richmond on I-95 heading north, VA becomes less and less southern until you reach NOVA and the DC suburbs. These areas are not southern at all, at least not anymore. The Charlotte area is similar to the Triangle but it feels a bit more southern because it's right near the SC border and not very far from Georgia, also. Charlotte is also the NASCAR capital of the nation if that tells you anything. The Triangle and the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point) are closer to the VA border than the SC border so I would say these areas are more like VA. However, the countryside of NC outside the urban cities is very southern and much more like SC. Eastern NC is just as southern as the Deep South and the same applies to other rural areas. True, NC and VA are both Upper South and SC is Deep South, but I don't think any rural areas in VA match the NC rural areas in terms of a "southern feel." So overall, NC is a bit more like SC.
Would North Carolina compare with South Carolina or Virginia more since it sits between the two.
In any aspect, whether it be economy, housing, recreation, traffic, etc.
I know historically North Carolina was always paired with South Carolina, but both seem to be moving in different directions right now.
The important thing is, why do you want to know? Come for a visit and make your own decision.
And, NC, like any state is not monolithic. Parts of it are probably "more like VA" and parts "more like SC" and for that matter, some parts might be "more like NY" or "more like TX" than either one.
The cities in NC are like Northern VA due to large population influxes, traffic, etc. Rural parts of NC are like rural VA *and* rural SC. The whole Southeastern coastal plain is similar in that regard.
OTOH, parts of SC, like urban Columbia and Charleston, are much more like urban parts of VA than most parts of NC. You can't just say "State A is like State B".
The important thing is, why do you want to know? Come for a visit and make your own decision.
And, NC, like any state is not monolithic. Parts of it are probably "more like VA" and parts "more like SC" and for that matter, some parts might be "more like NY" or "more like TX" than either one.
The cities in NC are like Northern VA due to large population influxes, traffic, etc. Rural parts of NC are like rural VA *and* rural SC. The whole Southeastern coastal plain is similar in that regard.
OTOH, parts of SC, like urban Columbia and Charleston, are much more like urban parts of VA than most parts of NC. You can't just say "State A is like State B".
You think so? I think the core of Columbia is more similar to Raleigh's than any city in VA. I understand the Charleston comparison to VA cities though when you bring history into play.
I find these discussions supercilious and really no more than a vehicle for [a] certain [never-ending parade of] folks to share their obloquy for the stereotypical south and southerners.
It's all been said before. It's been beaten to death, in fact.
Charlotte feels like an extension of SC as it is right on the border...Plus SC shares a larger population of people living on the border near NC......Greenville-Spartanburg, Horry County (Myrtle Beach) and counting nearly 350,000 South Carolinians who make up the Charlotte metro.....
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