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I never blamed the actual businesses. Businesses only remain open and make profits if people spend money. It's consumer driven.
I apologize, I must have misread this:
There are sooooo many instances in our country where charming unique little towns with it's own culture, traditions, and foods have been "discovered" and replaced w/ Pottery Barn like sameness. And of course a Starbucks has to be on a corner. And then of course, the "trend setters" are on to find the next "jewel" in the rough because it's either the hunt that makes them happy or the lack the feeling of belonging and are searching for that desparately.
It just feels like we are more concerned with the comforts of consumerism than preserving what is unique about a place. This is not unique to this area.
I admit I'm guilty to this. When we moved back to NC after 20+ year absence I was so excited to walk into Costco because it was the first store that was just like what I had back home. And for 30 glorious minutes I wasn't lost. But I'm equally as sad to see most of the IGAs, Red & Whites, and Piggly Wiggly's closed. (Thank goodness the Pig is still in Pittsboro. ) These are stores that I remember going to as a child. It's part of my fabric and while Harris Teeter is suppose to renew our ever changing American culture, I miss JoAnn at the check out of the IGA with her sweet, sugary accent askin' "Sugar, how are you today? Y'all stayin' cool? I bet little Bobby's down at the creek right now."
When we all assimlate into the same plastic, commercial Pottery Barn society then we all loose.
Consumers wouldn't shop at an establishment such as Pottery Barn if that business wasn't there to begin with. Look at what Wal-Mart has done to the mom-and-pop stores.
Are you kidding me?! The southerners love just as much that there is change going on. At least the younger generation. Who are they fooling. They are capitalizing from increase of jobs, nicer homes being built, driving foreign vehicles, eating at Olive Garden, learning Spanish, into modern technology, etc. Come on, why are they blaming northerners when infact much of the companies moving here are from out west and other countries. What I take offense to as a Christian is that my Christian denomination as Catholic is constantly being degraded. Not many Catholic churches to find here. A fellow Catholic I met here a few years ago when I got here said he'd been here 18 years and back then they went through hell just trying to establish a Catholic church in Wake county. Now that's jacked up!!!
I completely agree with you. All these businesses that are ridiculed for changing the landscape of southern terrain, look how profitable they have become. Obviously, many southeners are shopping at these places.
My family was raised Catholic. When they moved from Niagara Falls, NY, to a very small town in Virginia, they were looked down upon because they weren't Methodist or Baptist.
When my great grandfather came over from Ireland, and Catholic, and settled in Boston, he was treated worse than your current illegals are. Couldn't get work or respect. And respect shouldn't always have to be earned, like the misleading phrase would suggest.
This whole thread is a tinderbox. As one poster said, we tend to focus more on what is different between us than what we have in common. There are cultural differences between y'all and us from up nawth. I make no apologies for who I am, I do not feel like I should have to feel subservient or walk on eggshells in the presence of a native, that's b.s. I'm not here for them and I am not their "guest". My exhorbitant state and local taxes earn me what I have coming. I am here for my family and me, and pretty much because the climate is superior here and the property taxes are, for now, easier to live with.
I ain't conforming to any locals wishes or demands that I be someone I'm not or someone they require me to be. But I truly have not had a single negative encounter with a native. It may seem naive and simplistic but I would genuinely wish to see folks just get over themselves and build some bridges rather than pumping out the hate.
When my great grandfather came over from Ireland, and Catholic, and settled in Boston, he was treated worse than your current illegals are. Couldn't get work or respect. And respect shouldn't always have to be earned, like the misleading phrase would suggest.
This whole thread is a tinderbox. As one poster said, we tend to focus more on what is different between us than what we have in common. There are cultural differences between y'all and us from up nawth. I make no apologies for who I am, I do not feel like I should have to feel subservient or walk on eggshells in the presence of a native, that's b.s. I'm not here for them and I am not their "guest". My exhorbitant state and local taxes earn me what I have coming. I am here for my family and me, and pretty much because the climate is superior here and the property taxes are, for now, easier to live with.
I ain't conforming to any locals wishes or demands that I be someone I'm not or someone they require me to be. But I truly have not had a single negative encounter with a native. It may seem naive and simplistic but I would genuinely wish to see folks just get over themselves and build some bridges rather than pumping out the hate.
Agreed. The whole "When in Rome do as the Romans" is a crock...I for one do not want to live in a cookie cutter society. That's what makes this country unique because you have the freedom of being you within legal reason. I also moved here for my family believing it to be a better quality of life although not convinced anymore hence my tag "outta-NC" but that's another show. This place isn't really for us, but putting all that aside, regardless of where we live we are friendly and kind people who do well for ourselves and cause no harm to society. Therefore, we should not be labeled by how we talk, dress and eat.
Agreed. The whole "When in Rome do as the Romans" is a crock...I for one do not want to live in a cookie cutter society. That's what makes this country unique because you have the freedom of being you within legal reason. I also moved here for my family believing it to be a better quality of life although not convinced anymore hence my tag "outta-NC" but that's another show. This place isn't really for us, but putting all that aside, regardless of where we live we are friendly and kind people who do well for ourselves and cause no harm to society. Therefore, we should not be labeled by how we talk, dress and eat.
Dang, I'm lookin' in the mirror!
In another post I long-windedly pointed out how gracious I try to be every waking minute out in the world. But it's not to "conform" or impress or please, really. My parents, NORTHERNERS, taught me manners and respect for others' feelings. I like to think I generally do their memory proud.
Generally speaking, we move faster, expect competence, and are competitive. That's part of the nature of being from a crowded, competetive, well-educated (I'll get to that in a second) region of the country. The bar is set pretty high or you get mowed down. There ain't no "aw shucks" where I came from. Ya got your butt whooped. In every area-school, neighborhood, work, sports. I have an appreciation for the more "laid back" attitude of these parts, but haven't yet found a cure for my faster vibe.
By education above I was referring to the high standards set, but not always met, in many parts of the Northeast. There were something like 70 colleges and universities in the Boston area and they fed a lot of smart folks into high tech, medical and such all over the place. It was (is) dog-eat-dog and although it may sound hard on the ears of a southerner, we folks from up there ARE generally very educated, just not in the same ways as here and oftentimes the education can breed superiority and arrogance on a grand scale. But, given a chance, a large proportion of northerners are nice people to spend time with. At least those who can get over themselves. I know a bunch of them myself.
If you choose to move here, then I honestly wish the best for you. I hope you find it everything you hoped it would be. Making a move and being happy about it is often an attitude thing. If you think you may not like it or that those of us in the south are something less than you, then that is how you will see things. As a southerner, I have no problem with you moving here. All I ask is that you try to assimilate more than try to change us. Some of the things you may bring to the area are positive, but one thing I cannot stand is an attitude that southerners are backasswards and need some straightening out. Please come here with an open mind and happy thoughts. Do your best to understand us and see how we do things. A suggestion or two is fine, but don't look down upon us thinking you know better. You don't. Part of making a new area work is to assimilate to some degree. Bring your culture, but also be accepting of others. Allow yourself to learn the ways of the south and find out why it is so great here. The more open minded you are to others, the more chance you will be happy. Things will be different for you, but that does not mean it is a bad thing. The results of anything are a matter of what you put into it.
As a relocated Yankee (who has relocated several times), your post could apply to anyone moving anywhere in the country. I lived in Illinois and everyone in Chicago thought the rest of the state was comprised of hicks. In Minnesota, they thought poorly of the throngs of Iowans that invaded the Land of 10,000 Lakes every summer. And the one thing I have discovered is the more you think things are different, the more you discover how similar we all are. There is no Us vs. They issue unless you make it one.
There is a bit of truth to your post, but it is not a result of the people moving ot the area, but an assault by corporate America on every area where there demographics say they can make a profit.
That being said, Chapel Hill is a decent town, but it is certainly not unique. It does, though, stand out in the Triangle as an alternative to the towns that have experienced the most growth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHTransplant
I completely agree with you - but I think the process you describe is, for the most part, not caused by an influx of outsiders bringing their culture and norms with them. There's a different dynamic at work that is eroding the uniqueness of the different parts of this country and yielding a sterile "sameness" in its place.
Excuse me while I head off to Cary for lunch . . .
So much to respond to.
I will keep it short and simple.
Some in this thread are making my point loud and clear.
Thank you for your assistance illustrating my point.
Some are asking questions that have already been answered.
Others are taking half my sentence and making it an absolute.
Please read and comprehend all I wrote, rather than making completely off base assumptions and statements.
Now as an example.
I would not move to New York City and bit@@, moan and complain that there are too many tall buildings.
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) These are stores that I remember going to as a child. It's part of my fabric and while Harris Teeter is suppose to renew our ever changing American culture, I miss JoAnn at the check out of the IGA with her sweet, sugary accent askin' "Sugar, how are you today? Y'all stayin' cool? I bet little Bobby's down at the creek right now."
