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My family and I have decided to move to Charlotte area from NYC. I have heard so much about the "bible Belt" and religious affiliation that I am concerned- neither my husband or I are Protestants- should I be concerned? If you are not a Christian- is Charlotte not the place for us? We are coming from the most diverse city in the world. We are certainly not churchgoers. Also- is there any sections of South Charlotte that are more "yankee" friendly than others- such as Ballantyne or Matthews? Any help would be great!
We are all a bunch of wierdos. The movie Deliverance is based on real life situations here in NC. You should not move here.
Alright I was joking. I just feel a little offended when people post here (you are not the first) about the "Bible Belt" and think it is some backward thing. Are you offended in some way of Christiananity? The churches here help people ie; battered women shelters, homeless, food kitchens, daycare, etc.
If you move to Charlotte or Raleigh there are so many people concerned about their own lives and families that people honestly couldnt care less about you or your religious beliefs, or lack thereof.
People are not going to come to your door with a lantern and pitchfork at night wondering why you didnt show up at church Sunday morning.
Last edited by nctarheel; 05-01-2006 at 08:36 PM..
We are all a bunch of wierdos. The movie Deliverance is based on real life situations here in NC. You should not move here.
Alright I was joking. I just feel a little offended when people post here (you are not the first) about the "Bible Belt" and think it is some backward thing. Are you offended in some way of Christiananity? The churches here help people ie; battered women shelters, homeless, food kitchens, daycare, etc.
If you move to Charlotte or Raleigh there are so many people concerned about their own lives and families that people honestly couldnt care less about you or your religious beliefs, or lack thereof.
People are not going to come to your door with a lantern and pitchfork at night wondering why you didnt show up at church Sunday morning.
I don't think it is meant to be an offensive question, but a reasonable concern for a newcomer. Unfortunately, the south has a reputation for being intolerant. I wouldn't say "backwards" but more set in its ways. At least that is what I am experiencing from other people when I tell them I will probably be moving to NC. The first thing I always hear is "you know it is the bible-belt and VERY conservative." Some people may add stuff about poverty and hurricanes too, but for the most part they always seems to go back to the fact that it is a Christian and conservative state. I am neither of those things, but I don't think it is a bad thing to be either. I always tell them that I don't plan on trying to reform NC with my ways of thinking and I am certainly not about to wear any T-shirts or bumper stickers announcing my causes, so I should be fine. At least that is how I personally plan on adapting to NC ways. I have friends that are nothing like me where I am now and I just don't talk about those aspects of our lives and I plan on doing the same when I meet new people here. Fly under the radar and pray no one tries to convert me over to their church. A polite "no thank you" will hopefully be enough to change the subject and we can go on and talk about the other wonderful parts of NC.
I don't think it is meant to be an offensive question, but a reasonable concern for a newcomer. Unfortunately, the south has a reputation for being intolerant.
Well, the most egregious things presented in the news often create the attitude toward the region.
It's mostly the hot button issues that bring the fundies out: abortion, gay rights, gambling, liquor. Otherwise you most likely will find yourself left alone. In the ~20 years I've been a transplant, I've only had one very distasteful encounter with the extreme fundies: we were between houses in Concord and rented an apartment from the David Drye corporation (that corporation has many apartment communities in the Piedmont, western NC and SC). On Christmas Day, I opened the door to a card attached to the knob. "How nice", I thought, until I opened it and found it to be an anti-abortion screed, asking us to pray "on this special day" for the "millions of babies murdered in this country." The next day I shot like a red hot down to the manager's office and let fire how offended I was by the tract and that I didn't want to see another one of those on my door knob again. I got some guff about the right of the David Drye corporation to distribute literature to the people living on their property. I advised the manager that if I saw any of that nonsense again, it would be used as toilet paper We moved soon after, before Easter when we probably would have been subject to more trash like that. Later research revealed that David Drye is a supporter of the more conservative causes in the state. Even though he and his wife died in a plane crash in 1999, the corporation still follows his policies. Just an FYI to anyone looking into temporary housing down here
Anyway, other than that, we have been left alone. In fact, I've had a Darwin fish on my motorcycle for years and, despite gloomy warnings that my bike would probably be vandalized, I had to go all the way to Arkansas to find someone who would squawk over it.
I think people are too busy living their lives down here to get that involved in others', unless it involves the issues outlined above.
.. is there any sections of South Charlotte that are more "yankee" friendly than others- such as Ballantyne or Matthews? Any help would be great!
<not a flame/> *tsk* I don't think I've seen such a group of scaredy cats since we moved down here </not a flame> I should think that a segment of people who showed such resolve in a city devastated by the events of 9/11 would have more fortitude in the face of a relocation.
Maybe it is the conservative bent of the country at this time, but it's not that bad. Though you aren't going to find that out if you segregate yourselves off with all the other transplants
If you find yourself on the liberal side of issues: gay rights, reproductive choice, freedom to buy liquor and play the lottery or gamble, you'll probably be aggravated at the way the Bible-belters come out of the woodwork when those issues make the news. I found myself muttering "aww, cr@p, there they go again " when the fundies came out and cowed the Rowan County school board into disallowing a Gay Straight Alliance Club at the high school when, just a few weeks previously, the club had been approved. What followed was letters to the newspaper stating that such immorality needed to be stamped out .. yap .. yap.. yap.
It's on the bigger issues that religion rears its head. Day-to-day living - no you won't have anyone visiting you telling you what church you need to attend, or giving you the evil eye if you drink or dance or have lottery tickets sitting on the dashboard of your car
We're glad we forced our realtor to show us Concord - a town north of Charlotte that had not yet become its bedroom community. It didn't even have subdivions (unlike now, where they are over run) back then, just old neighborhoods and in-fill housing. The realtor shanghai'd us into looking at houses in Matthews - where the rest of the transplants were buying. We were insistent that, if we were going to live in NC, we were going to live IN NC, not be part of a transplant ghetto. That made the adjustment much easier for us and I believe it factored into our staying here, versus moving back to the Midwest, as so many of our fellow transplants did after a few years.
If you feel you must live among other transplants, at first, I hope that doesn't stop you from getting out and exploring what the real NC is like. You might find yourself actually wanting to relocate away from the transplant enclaves
Originally Posted by silverwing if we were going to live in NC, we were going to live [B
IN[/b] NC, not be part of a transplant ghetto.
There was a big article in the Times this summer about upper level executives who move all over (mostly the south), from one McMansion to another every 5 years or so, never really belonging anywhwere.
Do those ghettos ever become part of Nc... I mean, do the people put down roots?
There was a big article in the Times this summer about upper level executives who move all over (mostly the south), from one McMansion to another every 5 years or so, never really belonging anywhwere.
Do those ghettos ever become part of Nc... I mean, do the people put down roots?
I'm sure the Research Triangle area's R&D and Charlotte's financial communities cycle there mid and senior level personnel frequently.
I use to work in staffing for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. The NIH has around 19,000 employees which included the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Research Triangle Park, NC. They do transfer scientific and managerial staff back and forth between NC and MD. I'm sure that other Federal agencies and large private corporations in the Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte metro areas do the same as part of their staff development programs.
I think the people who were born and raised in NC are finally getting used to the fact that everyone from Ny is moving south. I think most places are now "yankee friendly." When I first moved here it was really hard making friends, but now it seems like everyone is from NY or NJ. As far as religion, there are as many churches here as there are bars there, but you are not looked at so much now if you don't go to church. You will be asked questions about religion, or invited to churches by total strangers, but this doesn't happen all that often anymore.
Don't be afraid of the "bible belt," I have lived here for quite a while now and I don't have any problems with people because I don't go to church.
I have found those from the North who move here are just as religious (or even more so) than those from the South. I'm not sure what is is that scares them so much about another religion. It's not Catholic, but it isn't Voodoo either. I am not 'religious' given the current administration's narrowly defined definition of religion, but I am not atheist either. No one is going to attack you nor your religion. It goes both ways though. I have always lived in NC and the 'Bible belt' thing is a myth. There are just as many religious (some wackos) from the North as there are from the South. I am not prejudiced against Northerners (I married one) and they shouldn't be prejudiced against us.
My family and I have decided to move to Charlotte area from NYC. I have heard so much about the "bible Belt" and religious affiliation that I am concerned- neither my husband or I are Protestants- should I be concerned? If you are not a Christian- is Charlotte not the place for us? We are coming from the most diverse city in the world. We are certainly not churchgoers. Also- is there any sections of South Charlotte that are more "yankee" friendly than others- such as Ballantyne or Matthews? Any help would be great!
Sally, as soon as I quit laughing, I will try to seriously answer your questions. I live right here in the midst of the 'snakepits' in the town you mentioned, Matthews. Matthews is a trendy, upscale neighborhood as is Ballantyne. I have lived in the area my entire life and I will be straightforward in saying I don't know what you mean by 'Yankee friendly'. We have found it is usually the New Yorkers that are attacking. Honestly. They tell us how they do it in NY, expect us to move out of the way and smile while we are doing it. I am not prejudiced against Northerners. My husband is one. But, honestly many who want to 'cluster' and not become a part of the greater community are wanting to relocate their old community. Then the question becomes "why move?". Matthews is a lovely community but it has an awful lot of clustering. This great nation was built on assimilation. I guess the question that comes to mind is what makes you feel locals aren't good enough for you to associate with? On what basis do you rule us out when you haven't met us and don't care to meet us. I think you would unquestionably find my home far more than adequate (3500 sq.ft all brick and new on a half acre of land and almost paid for). I think you would find I use deodorant and speak with a southern accent of which I am proud. And, I think you would find I am highly educated (graduate level degree). My husband doesn't pick his teeth in public as he is a Director of the company. I have adequate funds in the bank and in investment and 77 acres of good old North Carolina land in another county. It's okay with me if you cluster, but I call that prejudice. Sorry if I offended you, but I am only trying to make a point, not offend. Oh, yes, I don't attend church either and I am a moderate Liberal who is fiscally responsible.
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We moved soon after, before Easter when we probably would have been subject to more trash like that. Later research revealed that David Drye is a supporter of the more conservative causes in the state. Even though he and his wife died in a plane crash in 1999, the corporation still follows his policies. Just an FYI to anyone looking into temporary housing down here 
Sallyg
