[nep321]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

No comparison. Hartford to Raliegh has Raliegh win...hands down. I know people my age,27, who moved down south and have a better QOL than here. This weekend my fiancé is visiting her friends who moved from a very upscale suburb in hartford county to South Carolina and would never move back here. They use public schools and are very happy.

Life isn't all about " you make more money here."

I tried living in Charlotte two years ago and thought the culture was too southern. There are very few places in the South that I would actually live in. Most of it is just too churchy, conservative, bubba, NASCAR, confederate and "y'all" for me. I'd rather pay super high taxes, high housing and utility bills and have long, dreary winters than deal with southern culture! Those accents drive me nuts!

But it doesn't end there. I didn't find the scenery in the South to be as appealing as it is in the Northeast. Sure, there's some impressive areas like Chattanooga, Shenandoah Valley, the Gulf Coast, Appalachians, etc. But most of the areas with strong employment offerings are not beautiful (i.e. Raleigh, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc).

[HumpDay]

I'll tell you what Raleigh has that Hartford doesn't.

...an NHL team...



Probably one of the only things I hate about Raleigh. Taking our team. Well Karmanos did but either way.

[nep321]

The real question is....if cost of living is not an issue, would these people have stayed in CT? In my opinion, moving somewhere less desirable just for the sake of having a lower cost of living is foolish. Good things are worth paying more for...to the extent that you can. I can afford to live in CT, anywhere outside of Fairfield County, perfectly fine. Therefore, if I want to move out of CT, it would not be for cost of living reasons.

[FunkOdyssey]

Originally Posted by nep321

But it doesn't end there. I didn't find the scenery in the South to be as appealing as it is in the Northeast. Sure, there's some impressive areas like Chattanooga, Shenandoah Valley, the Gulf Coast, Appalachians, etc. But most of the areas with strong employment offerings are not beautiful (i.e. Raleigh, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc).

Have you been to Greenville, SC? The job market there is booming and it's beautiful there. The Blue Ridge Mountains are only about 30 min north of the city and they are far more impressive than anything around here. I saw lots of happy gay couples in downtown too. It's definitely worth a visit if you haven't been.

I'm planning to move to Greenville in May, 2017.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by FunkOdyssey

Have you been to Greenville, SC? The job market there is booming and it's beautiful there. The Blue Ridge Mountains are only about 30 min north of the city and they are far more impressive than anything around here. I saw lots of happy gay couples in downtown too. It's definitely worth a visit if you haven't been.

I'm planning to move to Greenville in May, 2017.

I don't like southern culture, conservatism, religion, southern accents, confederate flags, megachurches or anything like that.

[HumpDay]

Originally Posted by nep321

I don't like southern culture, conservatism, religion, southern accents, confederate flags, megachurches or anything like that.

Not even NASCAR?

[FunkOdyssey]

Originally Posted by nep321

I don't like southern culture, conservatism, religion, southern accents, confederate flags, megachurches or anything like that.

I've seen plenty of confederate flags in backwards areas around CT. I only saw one during a week of driving all over South Carolina, and similarly to CT, I had to travel off the beaten path to find it. We don't have some kind of uniformly sophisticated culture here in the Hartford area, that you can hold up against the South and call superior. While the proportions may differ, we have ignorance, racism, rednecks, NASCAR lovers, just like anywhere else.

I don't like religion or megachurches either, so I won't participate, the same way I don't go to any of the many churches around here. Can't let other people's beliefs dictate where you live.

While I don't consider myself conservative, the politics of upstate SC have produced an attractive city that new business and transplants are flocking to. It's hard to argue with their results.

And I guess you're entitled to hate someone's accent, but damn if that isn't a petty thing to dislike about someone.

[pulpfiction]

Agreed.

Much of Windham County is every bit as 'backwards' as anything you'd find in the south and/or Appalachia.

Plenty of confederate flags, monster 'lifted' trucks, homes with 5-6 vehicles parked on the grass (most of which don't even run), and there are even trailer parks to be found.

The northern half of I-395 has much more in common with West Virginia than it does the remainder of the state.

Originally Posted by FunkOdyssey

I've seen plenty of confederate flags in backwards areas around CT. I only saw one during a week of driving all over South Carolina, and similarly to CT, I had to travel off the beaten path to find it. We don't have some kind of uniformly sophisticated culture here in the Hartford area, that you can hold up against the South and call superior. While the proportions may differ, we have ignorance, racism, rednecks, NASCAR lovers, just like anywhere else.

I don't like religion or megachurches either, so I won't participate, the same way I don't go to any of the many churches around here. Can't let other people's beliefs dictate where you live.

While I don't consider myself conservative, the politics of upstate SC have produced an attractive city that new business and transplants are flocking to. It's hard to argue with their results.

And I guess you're entitled to hate someone's accent, but damn if that isn't a petty thing to dislike about someone.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by FunkOdyssey

I've seen plenty of confederate flags in backwards areas around CT. I only saw one during a week of driving all over South Carolina, and similarly to CT, I had to travel off the beaten path to find it. We don't have some kind of uniformly sophisticated culture here in the Hartford area, that you can hold up against the South and call superior. While the proportions may differ, we have ignorance, racism, rednecks, NASCAR lovers, just like anywhere else.

I don't like religion or megachurches either, so I won't participate, the same way I don't go to any of the many churches around here. Can't let other people's beliefs dictate where you live.

While I don't consider myself conservative, the politics of upstate SC have produced an attractive city that new business and transplants are flocking to. It's hard to argue with their results.

And I guess you're entitled to hate someone's accent, but damn if that isn't a petty thing to dislike about someone.

Oh please...there's no comparison with these things. Saying that we have confederate flags, rednecks, religious nuts, NASCAR lovers here in CT too, in order to convince me that it's no different than the South is a..........JOKE! Are you kidding me?!

Confederate flags are WAY more prevalent in the South, all over the place, and seen on a daily basis. Here in CT, I have only seen a confederate flag maybe twice a year. That's it.

The South has WAY more Christian radio stations, megachurches and NASCAR lovers. It is what it is.

I could go on and on, but the argument that the culture of SC is not really different than the culture of CT is simply a lost cause. It's WAY different.

[FunkOdyssey]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Agreed.

Much of Windham County is every bit as 'backwards' as anything you'd find in the south and/or Appalachia.

Plenty of confederate flags, monster 'lifted' trucks, homes with 5-6 vehicles parked on the grass (most of which don't even run), and there are even trailer parks to be found.

The northern half of I-395 has much more in common with West Virginia than it does the remainder of the state.

This guy parked next to me at Valley Falls Park in Vernon, CT last summer. Mainly we thought the size contrast was funny and pic-worthy, but you will also notice the confederate flag displayed prominently in the truck bed: