Moved to South Carolina - HUGE MISTAKE (North: living, moving to)

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by SaltwaterFishing

I can relate to the whole civil war thing having been stationed in SC and GA for 3 years. I grew up in Huntington Beach, Ca and joined the service at 17. My first duty station was Ft. Jackson, SC.

Yes, South Carolina was a culture shock. The whole yankee thing, rebel flags, dry counties, Free Bird playing every other song, super loud Dixie car horns ect.

Keep in mind the military is made up of people from all over the country. I would say that my units had 25% or more soldiers from the south. Yea, most of them had a rebel flag tattoo. The ones that didnt, got one after they received their first paychecks.

Dont kid yourself, the south has plenty of good ol' boys. Racism is still very high. I think what bothers many people is the fact that they never had to experience this socially. I had many southern friends and would go with them to visit families on the weekends and holidays. Its uncomfortable to be introduced as "This is my friend Jim, he's a yankee." Even stranger is the cold shoulder reception that I would receive from the relatives....with the exception of additional yankee jokes.

I was always told that they need to get to know you first. After time, I was accepted by most everyone. The yankee jokes dropped to a minimum but I still had to endure listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd sing Free Bird 500,000 times.

I got the feeling strangers were not welcomed because many of these small country type communities had illegal extracurricular activities. You see, law enforcement knew about these things but it just kind of accepted and tolerated. Everyone was related in some way and it wasnt like the nephew was going to arrest his uncle and so on. One such activity was pit bull dog fighting. Another family still made moonshine.

As long as the states allowed communities to elect law enforcement and then these people could hire on anybody they wanted......the whole thing was basically a family affair and certain ways of life would be tolerated.

Now when I went with buddies to Atlanta, it was an entire different world. Very classy and very hospitable as I was offered refreshments and a comfortable chair. Sure, they talked about their family history but in a manner that was not disrespectful to others. Put it this way.....I always felt welcomed.

Now I'm sure there are just as many nice folks in SC and I'm sure many hillbillies exist in GA. Now here is the wierd thing that still bugs me.....what happened to the middle class? From what I see, it doesnt exist down south. Its not only segregated by race....its also segregated by class. Its a huge swing because nothing exist in the middle.

Oh my gosh...I have tried to stay away from this thread as it contains sooo much nonsence...yet somehow this one struck a cord.

I myself grew up in So CA (and spent much of my time in Hunt. Bch) during basically the same era you speak of....I find it hilarious that you are relating your expericences of how things where way back when in SC.

Heck you even know yourself that Huntington Beach has changed much after all those years...do you not think the same would happen in SC?

I have not lived in So Cal for close to 4 years now...and no longer input on how things are in CA....because I know things change ....yet here you are trying to share your views of SC when you haven't been here for well over 30 years ago?????....come on

[usc_gal98]

I'm sick to death over this whole yankee nonsense. Ugh!

People from up north are different from the people in the south. People in the south (including myself) are different from people out west. People out west are different from people in the north.

As long as you are respectful, I have no problems with you. And I think that a majority of other southerners feel the same way, too!

[Connie3]

I am currently living in Columbus, Ohio, and want to relocate to South Carolina, although I am not sure what area would be a great area to live in, I have heard various opinions on from Greenville, to Columbia, and just cannot decide between the two, I have a fifteen year old and a ten year old, just need suggestions on which areas is best to live and the top employers here, I need to be somewhere reasonable, with an excellent education for the children.

[Frankie117]

So, let me get this straight..you buy a house for a much lower price..and expect a higher paycheck? Why do you think the homes cost so little? In the South we treasure what we have, and for the most part know that we can't afford homes that Northerners can come and buy 10 of. The majority of Southerners are losing out, as they don't have the massive amounts of money like Northerners, and are going bankrupt and forced to a hellish life. I am a victim of this, we lived in an area where the influx of Northerners was so great that it skyrocketed land value, and we could no longer afford to live there....we had to sell our home to...a New Yorker...naturally.

But, I care not for the money thing, what gets me is Yankees that move and complain about every little difference..hell they even got rid of Georgia's flag..If you're going to move to an area to take advantage of Southerners, at least don't try and change everything we stand for to suit your needs.

If you don't like it, move away, no one forced you to move.

By the way, the real reason, in my opinion, that Southerners dislike 'Yankees' is because they show up, buy large houses that no average Southerner could ever afford in a lifetime, and start acting like they own the place. Such as buying big fancy cars, or not just one, but TWO swimming pools. Little things like that send a very negative message.

Pretty soon the housing industry is going to fail in the South, and jobs will start to decline. (Remember the roaring 20's..then hit depression?) All those "transplants" or whatever you call them now will be dead in the water, jobless, and will have a more difficult time selling their homes. (Should have moved West, eh? I hear Arizona is wonderful..or maybe the Front Range of the Rockies? Denver, Boulder, etc.)

[sojones]

Originally Posted by chitownguy

I moved to the Summerville area 2 years ago from Illinois (Northern suburbs of Chicago) - and can't wait to get out of here!! In the process of listing the house. My wife & I had thought that moving someplace w/ a lower cost of living would be a GREAT idea. Boy, were we wrong, because along w/ a lower cost of living comes LOWER PAYCHECKS!

Both my neighbors on either side of my house are from out of state, one from Michigan, one from Florida. They are BOTH looking to get out, too! It appears that many ppl move here from other areas for a couple of years, like it for a while, and then realize South Carolina isn't what they imagined!! The schools are the worst, crime is rampant, and the weather isn't that much better. This past summer was H-O-T. The winter is bitter and cold (and I'm from Illinois!). Not only that, but everyone around here is still STUCK in the Civil War. What's up w/ THAT???

South Carolina is a GREAT place to vacation, see the sights, go to the beach. Living here.....not so great. We are sooooo outta here!!!!

yeah, pay should have been something you knew my friend

but I agree with you on quite a few parts of this but I'm looking to help promote change

[little_monkeys]

I'm heading down south from Seattle-all my friends are from SC/GA. I hate the attitudes here, the traffic, the weather, I'm just tired of it all. I wanna be with all my buddies
I definately agree that the OP was unrealistic and didn't do his research. You can't expect to move someplace so vastly different and not make changes to yourself. I KNOW when I move it's going to be a big change; luckily I am a very easy going person and I dont see any problems adjusting.
I've never lived anywhere but here and havent visited a whole lot of places either....so I'm heading out to visit first and get a feel for the place. However, like I said, I have a lot of friends there so I think that in itself will make the move easier.
Dont move someplace new like that and expect everything to be the same. Even moving an hour north from my hometown (a pretty big city) to where I am now (a small suburb) was a HUGE change....went from much diversity and friendly people to an area of mostly white, middle to upper income people who are mostly stuck up and not friendly in the least. (And I am poor, no doubt if I was middle class and uppity myself, I'd have a lot more friends :P). The same is true there-just because you hate the one area you've been in doesnt mean you'd hate another area an hour away. And yes, EVERY PLACE EVERYWHERE is going to have something you dont like....its all about comprimise. My hometown had a ton of crime and poor schools; where I live now has almost no crime and decent schools. The trade off is having no friends and feeling like a bum. Is it worth it? Ehhhh....not really, which is why I'm moving and looking for someplace with more of a balance. L2comprimise.

[SaltwaterFishing]

Originally Posted by Frankie117

So, let me get this straight..you buy a house for a much lower price..and expect a higher paycheck? Why do you think the homes cost so little? In the South we treasure what we have, and for the most part know that we can't afford homes that Northerners can come and buy 10 of. The majority of Southerners are losing out, as they don't have the massive amounts of money like Northerners, and are going bankrupt and forced to a hellish life. I am a victim of this, we lived in an area where the influx of Northerners was so great that it skyrocketed land value, and we could no longer afford to live there....we had to sell our home to...a New Yorker...naturally.

But, I care not for the money thing, what gets me is Yankees that move and complain about every little difference..hell they even got rid of Georgia's flag..If you're going to move to an area to take advantage of Southerners, at least don't try and change everything we stand for to suit your needs.

If you don't like it, move away, no one forced you to move.

By the way, the real reason, in my opinion, that Southerners dislike 'Yankees' is because they show up, buy large houses that no average Southerner could ever afford in a lifetime, and start acting like they own the place. Such as buying big fancy cars, or not just one, but TWO swimming pools. Little things like that send a very negative message.

Pretty soon the housing industry is going to fail in the South, and jobs will start to decline. (Remember the roaring 20's..then hit depression?) All those "transplants" or whatever you call them now will be dead in the water, jobless, and will have a more difficult time selling their homes. (Should have moved West, eh? I hear Arizona is wonderful..or maybe the Front Range of the Rockies? Denver, Boulder, etc.)

ILOVETHECAROLINAS,

The above post is the perfect example of what I'm talking about. Everybody is a yankee, doesnt matter if your from Utah, Hawaii or New York. Of course when slamming your fellow americans it always makes the story a little more anti-southern by mentioning the culprit is a Yankee and from...NEW YORK!

I'm sure your the nicest person but how can you deny what many of your fellow statesmen are saying? Honestly, I doubt anyone even visiting realizes this yankee/rebel thing even exist. So where are they getting it from? Hello! They are getting it from the nice people in your state.

So what causes such nice folks to spew hatred towards anyone that isnt born and raised local? Well....according to your fellow statesmen and above poster, its because they act like they own the place. Gee, that sounds bad. I wonder what you have to do to act like you own the place. Oh yea, buy a big fancy car! Yep, clearly someone is trying to own the place by buying a fancy car.

You say the information in my post is outdated. You only need read the above quoted poster to realize time has not changed anything. It was like that then, its like that now.

I ask myself, why is Bubba (a common southern name) so mad. Well, as stated in my post, much of the south doesnt have a middle class. How does this effect Bubba and his way of life? Bubba is already at the bottom so anybody moving into the area that doesnt look like they came out of a deliverance movie is already leaps and bounds above him. To Bubba, this just makes his life harder. No longer can he park his 10 broken down vehicles in the front yard, pour his used motor oil in the creek by his home, burn his garbage bonefires, have his friends get together for dog fights, hunt in front of the elementary school. Yet again, its all because of those dang yankees.

Nobody forced those southeners to sell. Nobody took advantage of them. In fact, the prices hikes are due to southerners asking for more money because they knew the market would pay. In case Bubba didnt know, its like that in the rest of america. All of american real estate took a price hike. Many are using this time to reposition themself. Of course Bubba doesnt recognize america. Bubba still thinks the south is fighting for independence. Of course Bubba blames yankees because his neighbors sold their homes for a lot of money. Its all part of a yankee conspiracy to rid the world of rebels for once and for all.

Commerce has always been a key to any area. More money equals more and better things for all of the community. Taxes generate schools and better education. Of course, its a bad thing if your Bubba and things haven't changed since the civil war.


So Ilovethecarolinas, I stand by my description as being accurate for many parts of the south. I'm sure your a nice person and I do enjoy reading your postings but for every one decent post, twice that many from your fellow statesmen pop up and solidify my point of view.

[Wsucks]

Even with extensive home work on moving, you will likely run into the the defector synd.
I read a story in reads digest many years ago, it said that when a pilot for the ussr defected after a bit he was remembering the good things he missed and forgot all the bad things he hated and this made him very home sick.
I just moved to arkansas from north michigan, I researched this move for 4 years, I keep getting the feeling that I made a mistake, but when I examin the move pc. by pc. I realise that all my family has moved from michigan because of the horrible economy,so if I stayed I would be alone, and I moved for a big reason, the weather in north michigan is the worst, maby second to minn. cold and snowy, 120 inches a winter.
It takes time to get used to an area,and the south is different than the north.
If you go in with an attitude of I come from where they do it right, you will run into bad attitudes.
The north is slowly loosing their people, they are bleeding off, and with the outsourcing of labor they will not come back like in the 90s after the big move off of the 80s, So it depends on what you want. Keep photos of that crap winter snap of 20 inch snow, your car coverd with snow, ice and the like, remember when you are bikeing and joging in jan, you would be bundled up and have the winds off of lake michigan go through you.
I lived near lake michigan up north, and can tell you when the salmon run came in and it was cold, you could have on several layers of cloths and after an hour you would go home take a luke warm bath and it would feel like it was burning becasue your body temp was so low.

[hapscat]

i had familyfrom east tennessee that moved to michigan for the auto industry jobs . they had them eatin grits out of there hand before long. there easy . just tell'em to say bo instead of guy

[GoneWiththeWind]

My husband and I close on a house south of Augusta tomorrow morning. Our property in South Florida was destroyed by Hurricane Wilma nearly two years ago and we decided that enough was way too much in Florida. Husband came from NYC and I was born in Ohio. ( U.S. Grant was my 3.5 cousin...7th cousin times two.) Unlike my Husband, Ed, I defected to the Confederate States decades ago and seldom ever crossed the Mason-Dixon after that. Learned that 'y'all' is singular and 'all y'all' is plural. Married the first time to a Tennessee farmer and learned to deer hunt (got one) and to bass fish (got many). Even learned to speak Tennessean a little, i.e., 'I knows myh rats' means "I understand my rights" and "He were fern" means "He comes from down the road a piece." Can't say that I felt discriminated again' for bein' a Yankee 'cause I woulda gone nose to nose with anyone who called me that word and they KNEW I could shoot. Had the respect of the good ol' boys and the followers of Nathan Bedford Forrest. It was the women in TN who didn't cotton to local men marryin' 'fern' women who weren't even kin to the men they married. Line breeding was a biggie with them....went to family reunions to meet future mates, lol. So what do ya do? Why absolutely nuthin'. Ya gotta endure what ya find with a sense of humor and a wink and learn what you can from the locals. Maybe ol' Bubba never went far in school but is a whiz bang at fixing your car. Perhaps Billy Bob quit school at age 12 and never did pass third grade but can plumb your house or rewire it at warp speed. There's different kinds a smart. There's the Northern kind that's based on degrees earned even though the holder of those degrees needs help (literally) getting his shoes tied. (I worked for a few like that.) Then there's the Southern kind of smart.... Once in awhile someone is both book and life experience smart. Whatever. Meanwhile, keep your eyes open in the South; live, learn, enjoy. Y'all will live longer that way. Don't take anybody...'specially yourself, too seriously.

Hooray for Dixie!