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Eastern NC BBQ > Western NC BBQ. I just prefer the vinegar based way more. Also prefer the warm and beach over the mountains. I agree with the person above that I have never heard NC described in just two sections, it most definitely is at least 3. If I had to rank them 1. Eastern NC 2. Western NC 3. Central NC. I don't care much for Raleigh or it's surrounding satellite towns, just to damn boring.
Well, when we say Western NC here, we're talking about the mountains. The Piedmont region, or sometimes referred to as Central NC, is the area that is the most populated. The Research Triangle is located on the Fall Line, so the dividing line between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain (Eastern NC). Some towns in the area feel like Eastern NC towns (Zebulon, Wendell, Clayton, etc.) and Eastern Wake County might as well be the Coastal Plain. However, some people believe the true Coastal Plain is east of I-95. These areas are further from Raleigh and are more remote. Plenty of retirees possibly reside along the NC coast, but the actual Coastal Plain region further inland is still relatively remote. I'd be surprised if towns like Kinston or Rocky Mount are growing at all, and the rural areas out in the countryside haven't changed in years. Greenville is possibly one exception due to ECU, but I could be wrong as I don't visit Greenville too often. Eastern North Carolina is the one area of the state that is actually a little Deep South, due to a higher African American population and a history of plantations being more prominent. This sets the area apart from the Piedmont (which depended more on textiles after the Civil War).
The Piedmont is definitely growing, more so Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham than the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem). However, I wouldn't be surprised if the Triad starts catching up with the other two in the near future. Most of the growth is right along I-85, Alamance County is a good example. Sandwiched between the Triangle and Triad, Alamance is growing around Burlington right along the highway but the northern and southern portions of the county are still relatively rural. Seeing cookie cutter subdivisions pop up off I-85/I-40 in areas like Mebane (used to be much more "country") still shocks me. However, most of the Piedmont is about as remote as Eastern NC. Counties along the lines of Caswell, Person, Stokes, (most of) Chatham, Montgomery, Moore, etc. These areas aren't too "suburbanized" at all, mostly the areas north of the Triangle and Triad along the Virginia border. I mean, visit towns like Yanceyville and Danbury that truly feel "out there."
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