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I can see your concern about moving, it is a huge decision. I currently live in LA (14 months now) but lived in Charlotte for 14 years before that. Is it the South? After living here, most definitely!! In a good way though, people are more courteous and friendlier. I would move back in a heartbeat. There are alot of transplants from NJ,NY,OH....and so on. I am quite liberal in my thinking but I still had to watch what I said as not to offend or upset anyone. I was a hairstylist there and met tons of people from everywhere. Most of my clients were stay at home moms whose hubbies were usually in the finance or marketing industries so I am not sure how the IT industry is doing there. As far as being an outdoorsy city, you definitely have to make an effort to either drive to the beach which is 2 to 3 hours away or you can drive an hour or two to areas where you can hike. Hope this helps........good luck.
Here's a question that's related to this topic, however it goes a little deeper I'd suppose....
All this talk about "natives" and "transplants" gets me a little confused....
For the "natives", what "ethnicities" stand out from the rest? Coming from the NJ area, I dealt w/mainly Irish and Italians.....I find that natives here don't celebrate their "heritage" or "ethnicity" as much as I'm used to....Its more of "southern" heritage to celebrate rather than your "ethnic" heritage....catch my drift?
This is NOT a knock, I've just always been puzzled by this...
For the "natives", what "ethnicities" stand out from the rest? Coming from the NJ area, I dealt w/mainly Irish and Italians.....I find that natives here don't celebrate their "heritage" or "ethnicity" as much as I'm used to....Its more of "southern" heritage to celebrate rather than your "ethnic" heritage....catch my drift?
This is NOT a knock, I've just always been puzzled by this...
From spending time in NYC & LA, I do understand what you are asking.
To be completely honest, growing up in Charlotte, there were white folk, and black folk - that pretty much summed it up.
Going back to my great-grandparents, and beyond, our origins are German & Swiss.
And I do celebrate this since I only drive German cars & wear Swiss watches.
From spending time in NYC & LA, I do understand what you are asking.
To be completely honest, growing up in Charlotte, there were white folk, and black folk - that pretty much summed it up.
Going back to my great-grandparents, and beyond, our origins are German & Swiss.
And I do celebrate this since I only drive German cars & wear Swiss watches.
ROFL!!!! Mullman, you got it.
Most of us who have families who have been here pre-Rev War are indeed German, Swiss, Irish and/or Scots. That history goes back so far . . . most people who immigrated to the NE have families who have not been here over 200 years - a lot came into Ellis Island and moved to areas that were very ethnocentric - neighborhoods that were basically Irish, Italian, etc. The traditions those families brought w/ them stayed strong (such as religion and food traditions).
Here in the South, our families were pioneers and early settlers of the area, so traditions have grown up that are more to do w/ surviving in a "new world" - thus food was adapted (in my family, for ex) into what works w/ growing season and availability. Same for music (blue grass). As for other traditions, they were expressed mostly w/ religion, wh/ would be Lutheran/Reformed. So yes, there are some traditions wh/ stayed strong but they were translated into what was available in a country that was brand new in 1720's. There were no cities in NC back then (just crossroads communities) and no neighborhoods, wh/ is very different than what Italian and Irish immigrants found when they came into Ellis Island in 1920, 200 years later. Immigrants to NY, for ex., at the turn of the 20th C found their way to established communities, usually w/ friends and/or relatives.
So traditions in the South became Southern (Irish, Scots, German, Swiss - spread out - but ended up cooperating to manage their rural properties). . . but traditions in the NE stayed very tied to country-of-origin, as whole communities were together - not in a rural situation as was true of the South.
North - Cities - ethnocentric communities, merchant/factory based; South - rural, no cities, and agrarian based.
Most of us who have families who have been here pre-Rev War are indeed German, Swiss, Irish and/or Scots. That history goes back so far . . . most people who immigrated to the NE have families who have not been here over 200 years - a lot came into Ellis Island and moved to areas that were very ethnocentric - neighborhoods that were basically Irish, Italian, etc. The traditions those families brought w/ them stayed strong (such as religion and food traditions).
Here in the South, our families were pioneers and early settlers of the area, so traditions have grown up that are more to do w/ surviving in a "new world" - thus food was adapted (in my family, for ex) into what works w/ growing season and availability. Same for music (blue grass). As for other traditions, they were expressed mostly w/ religion, wh/ would be Lutheran/Reformed. So yes, there are some traditions wh/ stayed strong but they were translated into what was available in a country that was brand new in 1720's. There were no cities in NC back then (just crossroads communities) and no neighborhoods, wh/ is very different than what Italian and Irish immigrants found when they came into Ellis Island in 1920, 200 years later. Immigrants to NY, for ex., at the turn of the 20th C found their way to established communities, usually w/ friends and/or relatives.
So traditions in the South became Southern (Irish, Scots, German, Swiss - spread out - but ended up cooperating to manage their rural properties). . . but traditions in the NE stayed very tied to country-of-origin, as whole communities were together - not in a rural situation as was true of the South.
North - Cities - ethnocentric communities, merchant/factory based; South - rural, no cities, and agrarian based.
10-4....its probably what many people are thinking...thx for the explanation
Thanx, NCman. I love writing about our Southern roots here in NC. It is actually quite fascinating (to me, anyway, LOL). It is something we natives all share, and I find that fascinating, too. Most of us are related if our families came here in the 1700s . . . we just don't always know it - those ancestral family trees are very very entwined and intermingled in the Piedmont.
I noticed in my post that I said - Lutheran/Reformed in re: to religion and I was talking about my German/Swiss side . .. for others, such as the Scots, it was Presbyterianism. However, it usually goes unnoticed that NC was part of the deed to the Lords Proprietors, so the Anglican Church was actually the earliest "recognized" Christian church here. The Scots and the Germans (Reformed and/or Lutherans) essentially made it pretty difficult for the Anglican priests to survive here . . . and even b/f the Rev War, the Anglican Church had very little influence in Piedmont NC.
So back to our OP - yes, we are Southern here and many of us who are natives have very firm traditions in our families that go back 250 or more years. However, CLT itself is changing . . . and we are blending new traditions in w/ our existing traditions - and I do truly think this is the New South - a melting pot in many ways, but still Southern.
You will find people here to be quite accommodating, for the most part. Just dont try to wipe out our Southern roots entirely, LOL.
Come here and spend some time . . . you will find a nice mix that should be very comfortable for both you and your DH. And as you said - still close enuff to visit w/ family.
Last edited by brokensky; 06-05-2008 at 09:39 AM..
Reason: left out word, added info
Thank you, Mullman. Glad to have an excuse to talk about those German/Swiss and Scots who came b/f us . . . our pioneer ancestors cleared and farmed this land . . . where many of us live and work today. Awesome stuff . . .
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