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OP sounds like me before I realized how much worse planned communities, conformity, and political correctness are..
I didn't fit in with the fake-redneck fake-christian types OP is making fun of when I came to NC from Atlanta in '93 but I'd rather have the dirt roads and liberty back.
I've lived all over the US and Europe, sometimes years at a time in the Baltics, but the rural culture that was around in the seventies and eighties in the South East of the US was pretty nice.. I say that even though I was a social misfit; I could get away with not fitting in then.. Now if you drive a quirky car or dress weird half the county calls the cops on you and you better use the vinyl siding you're told to use or they will take what you earned using the government..
The new NC has a lot of communist 1984 overtones do to all the yuppies and strictly socially-regulated economic lock-out..
I spent the last year looking forward to coming back to NC because we have family here and wanted our kids around their people. I've been back for a month now and gotta admit, I'm a little underwhelmed. I don't have the same excitement to be back, that I had when I was anticipating coming back...
The weather is something I didn't miss, it gets hot here and there are all kinds of bugs here that aren't in the Virginia urban areas. We came back to Raleigh, a city I like and to be completely fair, I'm still learning and discovering---->but I'm understanding the "bland" descriptive that gets attached to it alot. I won't get into a Raleigh ****fest, because I do "like" Raleigh. I can't see myself living here beyond my 33rd birthday, though (2022)...
The rest of the state:
•I've grown a fondness for Fayetteville, my parents live there. I could never live there again (for a variety of reasons), but I enjoy going back, its warmed it's way into my heart...
•there is a calm and comforting appeal to riding the back roads in rural NENC. I don't find that same appeal when riding rural highways in Piedmont, Sandhills, etc. Those areas are so boring they make my head hurt. I can't explain why, but the ride through NE is enjoyable...
•the Piedmont Triad may be one if the most generic regions in America. Greensboro is okay, I don't hate it, but is pretty unremarkable. A trip there every once in awhile is okay...
•I despise the mountains and Western NC...
•Charlotte is one of my favorite cities anywhere...
Overall, while I've learned to really enjoy NC, it is really not ideal for me. I'm trying to make it that way, and it still could be, but right now? Just a little too far south and southern, a little too hot and insect-infested, a little too suburban and characteristically generic. I don't hate it though, and would prefer living here to most places. I don't wake up in the morning with the shakes, dreading to see another Carolina day...
•the Piedmont Triad may be one if the most generic regions in America. Greensboro is okay, I don't hate it, but is pretty unremarkable. A trip there every once in awhile is okay...
You really think so? I think the Triad is a pretty interesting region and the most authentically North Carolinian, with a few unique aspects thrown in. The grand triumvirate of the state's legacy industries--furniture, textiles, and tobacco--all have a strong foothold in the region, and the newer industries (banking, tech, healthcare, higher ed) driving most of the state's growth have a strong presence there also, although banking is about to take a hit with the SunTrust/BB&T merger. The region is home to one of NC's signature styles of BBQ. The headquarters of the ACC is there and it has a most diverse collection of colleges and universities. The state zoo is in the Triad, and Southern cities with Moravian/Quaker origins and influences is pretty rare. The only granite-domed skyscraper in the world and the predecessor of the Empire State Building are found in the region. The civil rights sit-in movement was launched there. The region is home to a few well-known consumer brands, more than any other NC region. All in all, I think the Triad is a bit underrated myself but I know we see things a bit differently here.
As far as the mountains/western NC, "despise" is a pretty strong word. I know that culturally, you don't have too much in common with the region as far as Southern subcultures go, but isn't the natural beauty of the region a redeeming quality at least?
I spent the last year looking forward to coming back to NC because we have family here and wanted our kids around their people. I've been back for a month now and gotta admit, I'm a little underwhelmed. I don't have the same excitement to be back, that I had when I was anticipating coming back...
The weather is something I didn't miss, it gets hot here and there are all kinds of bugs here that aren't in the Virginia urban areas. We came back to Raleigh, a city I like and to be completely fair, I'm still learning and discovering---->but I'm understanding the "bland" descriptive that gets attached to it alot. I won't get into a Raleigh ****fest, because I do "like" Raleigh. I can't see myself living here beyond my 33rd birthday, though (2022)...
The rest of the state:
•I've grown a fondness for Fayetteville, my parents live there. I could never live there again (for a variety of reasons), but I enjoy going back, its warmed it's way into my heart...
•there is a calm and comforting appeal to riding the back roads in rural NENC. I don't find that same appeal when riding rural highways in Piedmont, Sandhills, etc. Those areas are so boring they make my head hurt. I can't explain why, but the ride through NE is enjoyable...
•the Piedmont Triad may be one if the most generic regions in America. Greensboro is okay, I don't hate it, but is pretty unremarkable. A trip there every once in awhile is okay...
•I despise the mountains and Western NC...
•Charlotte is one of my favorite cities anywhere...
Overall, while I've learned to really enjoy NC, it is really not ideal for me. I'm trying to make it that way, and it still could be, but right now? Just a little too far south and southern, a little too hot and insect-infested, a little too suburban and characteristically generic. I don't hate it though, and would prefer living here to most places. I don't wake up in the morning with the shakes, dreading to see another Carolina day...
Shhhttt..was in DC and Tidewater over the MDay weekend, hot as HELL there too (newflash: heatwave in the south and parts of the Mid-Atlantic!). You might need to stay off City Data for a minute, get to know your new stomping grounds. I once told my niece (when she started college), approximately every 3-4 years (freshmen to senior year for example) the world will appear somewhat different as you mature/season. What you once disdained and was seemingly boring, you begin to embrace. And then ponder...what the hell was I thinking back then and wish this revelation or epiphany had occurred sooner in life. Stop searching for something that isn't attainable. You need a peace of mind my friend, a good hobby/activity, etc etc. Relax Bro....
NC born & raised. I loathe it here. Redneck state, despite all the non natives. We're relocating to NorCal this summer. I can't wait to leave.
North Carolina native - born and raised. I've lived in Albemarle, Raleigh, Laurinburg (for college), Winston-Salem (3 times), Greensboro, Boone, and Banner Elk. We moved to Greenville, SC for hubby's job 2008-2012. Nice town, but came back as soon as we could. Couldn't wait to get back home to NC, and I'm not a redneck.
If I couldn't live in NC, then Greenville, SC probably would be a top choice.
I'm a North Carolina native. I have lived in Los Angeles, and traveled all over the US. I can't think of anywhere else in the US I'd rather live than NC. The mountains are beautiful, the beaches are beautiful, the piedmont is very pleasant. I am not that fond of SE NC except when you get to the beaches and Wilmington although that's where some of my roots are. It is the flattest flat and piney-est pine woods you will ever see down there though.
I could probably live in the UK. I loved London for a big city, but I don't love US big cities (no LA, San Francisco, NY, etc for me). Don't really love Raleigh or Charlotte either. I'm really a small city kinda person.
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