Thinking about relocating San Jose to RTP/Chapel Hill

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

I must be getting really Southern. The last sentence in this post disturbed me: "We're not traditional Southern types."

What do you think "traditional Southern types" are? The Triangle is not full of rednecks, as Francois stated.

Chapel Hill is liberal, but I think of it as very Southern as well -- full of traditional Southern types.

You'll be much better off if you embrace what little Southern culture there is left in the Triangle rather than fighting it before you get here.

Don't worry about "fitting in" with the Southerners. There are loads of liberals here, and some of us have Southern drawls, and some of us don't.

Just be respectful of others, and you'll be fine.

RTP is basically a giant office park. So I think you may want to relocate to Chapel Hill (or any surrounding city or town) and not RTP itself. (There are, however, probably a few houses and apartments actually in RTP.) See rtp.org for what RTP is.

See my blog for basic Triangle terms.

I think some folks here are being mighty defensive. Are the posters here saying that "traditional Southerners are all rednecks"? I hope not. The OP never suggested that. They said they weren't traditional southerners. I always thought that traditional southerners cared about good manners, might go to church, might talk in a different accent, were generally proud of their history, might be politically conservative, etc. I know that's a generalization but is that not true? When did it become shameful to acknowledge that in the south, people might be conservative in their leanings? I come from a place that is heavily Democrat but very socially conservative. I don't think we would be offended if someone points that out.

The OP is coming from another area and is worried he/she might not fit in. There are a lot of reasons people have that concern. They don't speak with a local accent, they may not know what's considered polite, e.g., is it OK to ask about someone's religion or family history. Is it OK to talk about politics? Will people be unfriendly because they come from out of state? I think it is really stretching to say that the OP is "fighting" Southern culture simply because they show concern about fitting in. I thought that traditional Southern culture was about making people feel welcome. Am I wrong?

To the OP, I think you will do OK here. There are people from all over. Just look at the unemployment numbers before you come here. Weather is colder in winter, very hot and humid in summer. It's a beautiful area with lots of trees and places to hike or kayak. Best thing to do is visit before you decide, preferably in summer.

[RaleighNativeGirl]

I was born in Raleigh and I really don't know what OP meant by "traditional Southern types." Are they not welcoming? Not friendly? Not polite? Those are the characteristics I think of when I describe my home state. Here's another shock.. not all of us, natives, are conservative....politically and/or socially.

I may be assuming by your potential move from San Jose to RTP you are in, or associated with, the semiconductor industry. You absolutely should have a job before you get here. Companies are closing thier facilities here and either consolidating them at the corporate level or sending the work overseas....mostly Asia.

I've moved around and have some suggestions:

Learn all you can about the area prior to moving. Visit the area a few times at different times of the year. Try to at least learn to pronounce the towns/streets as the locals do. May not make sense sometimes but at least you won't stick out like a total newbie. Keep your mouth shut for at least a year. Observe and don't talk about how you did it where you used to live. Most important of all.....Bloom where you're planted!!

No place is perfect and a "place" isn't going to bring you happiness. Every place has some specialness but it's up to you to search it. That person you may deem to be the most ignorant, card-carrying Jesse (as in Helms) who lives in a shack that "surely someone in the town can do something about!" and speaks so slowly and heavily accented you need an interrpreter to say "hello" ....may end up being a millionaire who anonomously sends kids to college while his wife is the first one to bring you a cake when you move in!

So... if you can be nice... come on over and move right in. If not, drive on.

[208happystreet]

Chapel Hill and Carrboro are quite liberal and if you are a Republican you will be in the minority regarding political issues no doubt. Cary and Raleigh will be on the more conservative side. However, people are from all over the place and you will find like minded souls no matter where your views lie.

I would imagine Orange county has a low unemployment rate based on the fact that UNC is the largest employer in Orange County and much of its work staff is in the medical or teaching field which has not been as badly hit in this recession.

[lovebrentwood]

I don't agree with this advice at all:

Keep your mouth shut for at least a year.

Instead, just be yourself.

And when I lived up North, the term, a "typical Southerner," may have fit any of the following stereotypes: wore overalls, straw hat, was barefoot, had a piece of straw in his teeth OR was a member of the KKK (or was otherwise racist) OR was immoral/incestuous OR had no front teeth OR regularly appeared on Jerry Springer.

Of course, as someone who has lived here 17 years, I don't ever see anyone who fits any of those stereotypes.

So I'm sure Californians fit in just fine.