Worst thing about NC... (Charlotte, Raleigh: condo, homes, buy)

[CJF]

Having been a Native NYer most of my life I have to say the HUMIDITY is by far the worst thing about NC.

[Mountain Sprite]

Originally Posted by mm34b

No, you're not blind. Generally speaking, North Carolinians are very friendly but there are some topics that are best left unspoken when dealing with the old families. Like I said earlier some of these families go back over 300 years. It is highly unlikely the topic of their family's history would ever come up just by visiting or in casual conversation. The old NC families are much too private to discuss that with strangers. You'd have to live in NC many years and be involved socially with a pre-civil war family.

The Raleigh area is not good area for observing the old culture. The population of that area is way too transient. You would probably be lucky to run across any families that have lived in that area for over 100 years, let alone pre-civil war. My family has lived in NC for almost 50 years and we are still referred to as the folks from Pennsylvania by the old guard.

To see real southern culture, you'd have to go to the small towns in the rural areas that have changed little in population over the years. To me, those are the friendliest folks in NC and their way of life is as fascinating and distinct as the Amish communities of Southeastern PA. Think of the fictional town of Mayberry from the old Andy Griffith TV show. The depiction is not that far off from many small agricultural towns throughout NC even in 2006.

My picks for hazy, hot and humid midday summer heat are the areas around Fayetteville, NC and Macon, GA.

I'm a big fan of Mayberry RFD. What towns? I'd love to visit.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by Mountain Sprite

I'm a big fan of Mayberry RFD. What towns? I'd love to visit.

Mt. Airy, NC was Andy Griffith's childhood home and the inspiration behind the fictional town of Mayberry.

Mt. Airy hosts an annual event called Mayberry Days, which is a celebration of The Andy Griffith Show’s anniversary. Mayberry Days is scheduled for Sept. 21-24, 2006.

About 37 miles NW of Winston-Salem near the NC-VA border.

[Mountain Sprite]

Originally Posted by Bethanytedder

Luckydog is correct here about the humidity and heat. I have seen it be 75 degrees or higher on Christmas Day. September is nearly as bad as July and August. Generally speaking by October it is cooler some days but it is nothing to have 40 degree weather one day and 75 the next. I have seen snow on the ground to be melted by the 70 degree heat the day after the snow came. About the time we get rid of the hottest part of the weather, it is spring and time to start all over again. Right now it is 79 degrees here and we are headed for a high of 84 degrees. The day my daughter graduated from college, it was almost a 100 degree on May 11th. And the ceremony was outside. We were betting on who would pass out first, me, my sister or my elderly mother. I think my sister won the bet. She is 15 years older than I am. My mother is tough. She came from a long line of women that lived to be well over 90.

Okay, I'm totally confused now. Mostly I've heard about how wonderful the weather is in NC but now I keep hearing about how oppressive the humidity and the heat can get. Which is it, lovely or horrible?

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by Mountain Sprite

Okay, I'm totally confused now. Mostly I've heard about how wonderful the weather is in NC but now I keep hearing about how oppressive the humidity and the heat can get. Which is it, lovely or horrible?

Both answers are correct. It just depends on the season and region of North Carolina. We have 3 regions, Coastal Plains, Piedmont and the Mountain Region. NC is almost 600 miles across. Elevation goes from sea level to 6,684 feet. Expect temps to vary 10-25 degrees from one end of the state to the other.

At this very moment (2:45 AM) it's 50 degrees in Boone and 74 in Beaufort.

[Mountain Sprite]

Originally Posted by mm34b

Mt. Airy, NC was Andy Griffith's childhood home and the inspiration behind the fictional town of Mayberry.

Mt. Airy hosts an annual event called Mayberry Days, which is a celebration of The Andy Griffith Show’s anniversary. Mayberry Days is scheduled for Sept. 21-24, 2006.

About 37 miles NW of Winston-Salem near the NC-VA border.

Thanks for the info! We'll definitely check it out

[silverwing]

Mt Airy

Originally Posted by Mountain Sprite

Thanks for the info! We'll definitely check it out

Most people will direct you to take 52 north out of Winston-Salem to Mt. Airy, or I-77. That's the 4-lane route, and quickest. However, the two lane 601 (exit 170 on I-40) will take you thru the rural areas and give you an idea of what some of the small NC towns are like: Boonville, Yadkinville, Dobson ... though, if you take 52, you'll be able to view Pilot Mountain

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by SuzM

I just visited Raleigh. Am I blind? I didn't see this. Now I was only there for a weekend but I have to tell you EVERYONE was freindly. There were ALL cultures represented and I didn't come across anyone with an attitude or chip on their shoulder. I have a positive outlook on different cultures and people respond warmly to me. I've only visited about 33 states in the US, North Carolina so far is the friendliest

You want Humitiy-come to Orlando in August!

I'm relatively new to the forum but having been posting heavily this weekend (thank you-I've been searching for a good forum on NC for a few months now) and echo the overall sentiment that NC is a great place. I haven't moved yet though . I have 3 friends (all families in their mid 30s) that moved from Boston and all have said "they ain't coming back..." All 3 families are middle class african americans. 1 of those friends came back to Boston for a biz trip and I mentioned to him that he "slowed down" in speech, pace, etc. (note: that was NOT an insult- actually I was a bit jealous). We both were (I still am) in a high frenzied pace of going a billion miles an hour. He mentioned to me, people don't move that fast down here, what *really* got me was that he said, he was *just as productive if not more productive* since he planned his day better. So the take way was moving a billion miles/hour doesn't make you anymore productive. I also noticed he couldn't wait to get out of Boston and "back home"


I had the same experience while visiting Charlotte for a week- unbelievably friendly people (remember I'm coming from Boston now). In regards to the Civil War comment, in my limited time in Charlotte, I met mostly transplanted northerners (mostly because they seemed to be the ones working for a lot of the builders in the area), and all were friendly. I boldly asked all of them where they were from and about the move down to NC. It was interesting to hear about all the variety of reasons, but one thing I noticed is that many of the northerners in Charlotte seemed to try to adopt the southern friendly demeanor which I found very refreshing.

My wife, 5.99 year old daughter (who reminds me each day her birthday is just x days away), and wife are relocating to Charlotte in August. I'll say this, we want to *become* part of the community (in South Charlotte) and have no desire to superimpose northern ways in our community (if that's even such a thing). I do plan to become involved in the schools, civic activities, and most things to help the local community to be a great place for families.

Incidentally I am originally from Miami but have lived in Boston for 15 years and now return back south. So regarding the humidity, I'll take THAT over shoveling snow days before labor day LOL

If the humidity *is* the worst thing, then that's pretty darn good! (I can't tell you some REALLY bad stuff about Boston, but that's not the topic of this thread).

[michaelinNJ]

Hi can you help me with any knowledge about madison (rockingham county ).we are looking tomove there ..anything I should know?? crime ..gangs I got mixed results ....thankyou mike

[Hollywood]

Having lived here my entire life, the weather is indeed the worst. We have only two seasons here, Summer and Winter. I suppose you could call the 1-2 week transition in between the two "Spring & Fall", but I certainly don't.

This year was an anomaly in that we actually had a good month of 70 degree weather in April/May. Last "fall" [mod edit]"wasn't nice"[/mod] because it was in the low 80s up to Thanksgiving day. I have photos from the first week of December with our trees leaves as green as they were in the middle of summer. 40-50 degree changes in temperature within 24 hours (or even in the same day) is not uncommon. I remember once when I was in middle school, we got out of school due to 2 inches of snow being on the ground at 6am. By 10:30am that day, it was 75 out, and we were laughing it up about how we had such a beautiful day off of school.

Not to mention all the humidity in the summer...ugh.

Of course, as I type this, it's 71 degrees out here in the middle of July. Nicest day temperature-wise that we've had in months.