Jewish/Atheist/Liberal mom of 2 new to the Bible Belt. Help! (Charlotte: condo, homes)

[deliz]

I moved from Chicago to Tennessee when my children were young. Now don't get me wrong it is a lovely ( to look at ) place but good lord was I a fish outta water. They didn't dress the same there idea of a night out was an ice cream , it was a dry county and diversity was 1 poor Jewish kid who became my kids only friend. Yikes. Hey to each his own but it just wasnt for my family the neighbors kept asking to take my kids to church it was just plain annoying Like I was such a bad parent as my little ones didn't attend church. Please ..... my children aren't working on their 2nd marriage with 2 kids at 24. I tried to assimilate but the basic ideals are too radically different. I say buck up pay more and move your tykes back north!

[The Man From Utopia]

Morganton, Burke County!

If you look at election results from 2008 and 2010 you will see that Burke county is more likely to vote Democrat consistantly than any other county around except for the counties that Asheville, Boone and Charlotte are in.

Morganton is home to Broughton Psychiatric Hospital and the NC School for the Deaf. Of all the towns that you listed Morganton stands out. The drive is about 30 minutes. I'm liberal and I would live there before I would live in someplace
like Mooresville, Denver or Gastonia.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/res...unty/#NCP00map

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2010/res...unty/#NCS01map

[warren zee]

Originally Posted by 828MOM

My husband, two small children and myself moved to Hickory, NC about 7 weeks ago from Long Island, NY. NY was way too expensive and we looked for any way out to get our kids a better life. I moved here sight unseen after my husband got a good job offer in Granite Falls. Now I'm living in Hickory, don't have any friends or family nearby, and realizing that there's a reason they call this place the "Bible Belt". I am Jewish by birth, but am non-practicing and really consider myself more of an atheist and I have very liberal political beliefs. My husband is pretty much the same way, except Catholic by birth. We arent raising our children with any religion and have no need to join any organizations with religious ties. Seeing that EVERYTHING here is religiously connected, I am feeling WAY out of place in a town like Hickory.

Looks like we are here to stay and even though we started out renting, we are going to be looking to buy a house in the next year or two. We probably will realistically have a budget of around $150-$185k to spend on a home. Can anyone recommend some places we can look to live/buy that wouldn't be overly religious/conservative? I have been looking for places possibly closer to Charlotte, but wouldn't want my husband to have to commute more than 45 minutes or so to work. We are MOST interested in being in the best possible school district for our children who are not yet of school age. And we are also interested in being near shopping/restaurants, but would travel to the next town if necessary. We want a town that is safe, friendly, accessible and not so in-your-face religious/conservative. Does such a place exist in this area?

So far I have found towns within a somewhat reasonable distance but I really know nothing about how conservative/religious they are. Looking for any type of feedback or suggestionsnote, I am already aware I should stay the heck out of Lincoln County - that place scares me!)
Gastonia, Statesville, Mooresville, Denver, Taylorsville, Morganton, Valdese, Connelly Springs, Hildebran, Conover, Newton, Claremont, Granite Falls, Hudson, Sawmills, Lenoir.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Ashville is great but not inexpensive.
We are also EX Long Island. Liberal, Jewish - Protestant not religious.
The Carolins are nice but we couldn't do it.

We found a home - 2 hrs away from NY, 2 hrs from Philly, and near beautiful lakes and mountains.

The Jersey Shore is not far either, and the Maryland Shore is another option.

A certain type of Christianity - the most annoying talk about it all the time kind, is entrenched in the Southern Culture.

It's there.

I like NC - but I could never live there.

[DMG721]

I'm not even a liberal and I think some of these comments on this thread are ridiculous.

Folks, telling someone who is NOT a Christian that they should "suck it up and join a church" is the dumbest advice I've heard this week.

Would you tell someone who is not a Scientologist to suck it up and join Scientology? Seriously.

The problem is that there are still a lot of people here in this part of the country who think that the "default" setting for an American ought to be Christian, and not just Christian, but Protestant. Everyone else is supposed to hop on board or shut up. In most of America this sort of thinking went away in around 1928 or so, but sadly it's still alive in some pockets of the country, including right here in North Carolina.

OP, why don't you move to Charlotte? It's a nice enough city, and no one here gives a crap about any of the things you're talking about. I sleep in Sunday mornings and no one seems to care

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by sll3454

This I understand - until you get to the bold part. That's the intolerant part.

No... that's the **atheist** part.

Seting aside the behind the back and even the right to the face anti-semitism that everyone knows goes on everyday... there is still a degree of tolerance for jews who actually believe and practice that religion. The real intolerance shows up with the reaction that people who profess to not believe or practice any doctrine or dogma get.

In any case the issue (I'm sure) is less about what these two adults can manage for themselves than what they want for their children and especially if/when they might leave those kids in the care of a person or an institution that has lets say other concerns about things.

hth

[urbancharlotte]

Originally Posted by arbyunc

^ urbancharlotte, you need to read the OP. The employment situation is in Granite Falls, not Hickory. Boone is just as close as Denver or Sherrills Ford.

And you've just proved my point with your reply. The OP could use the help of Charlotte area posters on this one. Granite Falls is to Hickory what Cary is to Raleigh. There are parts of Southeast Hickory (out on US-70 near the Mall and the Community College) that are just as far from downtown Hickory as Granite Falls. As soon as you cross the river on US-321 north you'll see the MDI food distribution center on your right. This area is only 5 minutes from downtown Hickory and is technically in Granite Falls. The city limits of Granite Falls officially starts just a few blocks north of Alex Lee Blvd (which is the entrance to MDI). I've delivered diesel fuel to this area more times than I can count. I also got my CDL transferred to NC at the Hudson NC DMV while on my way to Boone just to avoid the long lines in Charlotte.

Anyways, Granite Falls vs Hickory makes no difference. Boone and Asheville are too far. I don't care what google says, I can get from Granite Falls to the NW suburbs of Charlotte in 30 minutes (and that's by truck which is MUCH slower than a 4 wheeled vehicle). My previous suggestions stand. Unless of course, NC has another Granite Falls that I'm not familiar with.

One last thing. Boone??????!!!!!!!! Really???? Let's totally forget the fact that it's a small college town on the Tennessee state line with football fans causing traffic jams on the two laned portions of US 321. Why on Earth would anyone suggest a 45 minute one-way commute with a 3,600 ft 8 mile long climb that's prone to rock slides and snow shut downs? I mean why? I make fuel deliveries to Boone at least once a month (some times twice). I would only suggest that commute to one of my enemies; certainly NOT to one of my friends.

[NCN]

She is talking about Hickory which I consider the buckle of the Bible belt. I grew up Baptist and considered it one of my favorite places we ever moved, but vmaxnc, it is not your normal place to not be Christian.

We visited a church and were visited every Thursday night by a couple from that church the entire time we were there until we moved to Charlotte. I loved it because my husband worked at night and I was home with the baby and it was great company and comfort to me. Our daughter was three months old when we moved to Charlotte when he got a new job.

A while after we moved I heard on the news about someone trying to get a topless nightclub and the churches in the area stood outside and took a picture of everyone as they came out. I don't know about now, but the nightclub did not make it then. I love Hickory, but I can see how a family like hers might not fit in.

Someone mentioned Boone, but they need to be aware of the amount of snow they would have to brave to get to work. I have no suggestions except to find Christian friends that are very kind. Once that family befriends you, everybody else will too.

[DMG721]

Originally Posted by NCN

I have no suggestions except to find Christian friends that are very kind. Once that family befriends you, everybody else will too.

The answer is to MOVE. We live in the most highly mobile society in the history of the world. There's no reason anyone should have to feel like a second class citizen. Especially when the OP can move to the suburbs of Charlotte and be perfectly happy and be within a reasonable commute to work.

[The Man From Utopia]

"Especially when the OP can move to the suburbs of Charlotte and be perfectly happy and be within a reasonable commute to work."


That is certainly not guaranteed in the suburbs of Charlotte.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by DMG721

The answer is to MOVE. We live in the most highly mobile society in the history of the world. There's no reason anyone should have to feel like a second class citizen. Especially when the OP can move to the suburbs of Charlotte and be perfectly happy and be within a reasonable commute to work.

I agree! There is no reason to live ONE DAY in a place that you don't fit in and find comfortable.

I have relatives who moved to the Carolinas and they are conservative Christians.

Even my progressive denomination is MORE CONSERVATIVE in the Bible belt.And especially in the Carolinas.