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Yeah, that's another thing. The sunbelt is becoming more expensive by the day (although still relatively cheap). Look at the Raleigh area now. Housing prices are now almost just as high as central Connecticut, and rising. Look at Houston. Much of the city proper is now prohibitively expensive for the average American. People have to buy homes quite far from the city core. Look at SEFL. Much of it is downright EXPENSIVE now and with horrible wages. California used to be cheap, but is now expensive. Even the Inland Empire is getting more expensive now.
The Southern Metro areas are becoming crowded and increasingly expensive. Things that Yankees moved down south to get away from.
It's OK that you have affection for your hometown / state and want to move back there and thrive, but what's the point of bashing the South? And insulting those who DO like living down here? Obviously, as I stated above, tens of millions of people have figured out a way to enjoy life below the Mason-Dixon line. You're not going to change anybody's mind by spouting empty hyperbole like "poor schools, no culture, illegal immigrants, boring neighborhoods and unrelenting heat ... Giant, flat, congested heat grids. Ugly sprawl and CHEAP tract housing. NO culture, charm, soul or deep history ... " None of which are absolutes, and all of which can be found in the north as well. (Saying the South has no history, charm, soul or culture is HILARIOUS, BTW! Who do you think you're fooling?!)
Frankly, you try WAY too hard to justify your reasons for being where you are. What's up with that? If you were really that confident about living in Connecticut, you wouldn't have to put down other places to feel good about it.
The "history" of the South is a bloody and creepy history. Slavery. Plantations. The Civil War and Jim Crow. I don't find whips and manacles to be "charming".
Fundamentalist Christians, lynching and beating kids with belts as normal parenting.
Rodeo and barbeque. Little diversity. Too much religion. Everyone (except NOLA) is Scots Irish. Too Red and religious.
That's the "history" and the present.
Other than FL, it's not even warm in the winter. Not reliably warm.
I'll pass.
Meet the New South....Same as the Old South. I won't be fooled again...
The "history" of the South is a bloody and creepy history. Slavery. Plantations. The Civil War and Jim Crow. I don't find whips and manacles to be "charming".
Fundamentalist Christians, lynching and beating kids with belts as normal parenting.
Rodeo and barbeque. Little diversity. Too much religion. Everyone (except NOLA) is Scots Irish. Too Red and religious.
That's the "history" and the present.
Other than FL, it's not even warm in the winter. Not reliably warm.
I'll pass.
Meet the New South....Same as the Old South. I won't be fooled again...
Yep, I gotta go out and lynch some slaves and beat some children now ... Praise Jesus!
The "history" of the South is a bloody and creepy history. Slavery. Plantations. The Civil War and Jim Crow. I don't find whips and manacles to be "charming".
Fundamentalist Christians, lynching and beating kids with belts as normal parenting.
Rodeo and barbeque. Little diversity. Too much religion. Everyone (except NOLA) is Scots Irish. Too Red and religious.
That's the "history" and the present.
Other than FL, it's not even warm in the winter. Not reliably warm.
I'll pass.
Meet the New South....Same as the Old South. I won't be fooled again...
Though I'll agree that many aspects of the South's history... just like many aspects of the history of this country in general... are quite unappealing and even downright revolting... why do you include barbecue in this? I mean, unless you're vegan, how does barbecue constitute evil? Most people, nationwide, love barbecue. You lost me on that one.
And so what if there are a majority of Scots-Irish in the South? What is your issue with people of Celtic descent?
Little diversity? Why is Houston consistently ranked, by many sources, as one of the top three most diverse cities in the nation? Not to mention Dallas, Atlanta, and Miami? Tell us all about the amazing diversity in Ohio.
Now, since we're bringing up all these dark points in history, please explain to us how the rest of the nation gets a pass on that, aside from slavery? There's a pretty well-documented history of union calvaries invading, murdering, and raping the culture of hundreds of thousands of native Americans, and then stealing their land. That's just one example. How about witch trials? Race riots? I could go on.
"Won't be fooled again"? Sounds to me like you're already doing a great job of fooling yourself. I do like the Who though.
Last edited by Bobloblawslawblog; 08-05-2014 at 03:39 PM..
Well, since you and I have never met and in all likelihood never will, you will just have to take my word for it; I hate sprawl and uncontrolled population growth more than anything else, including winter in Michigan. I mean, when I say that I hate sprawl, I mean I HATE IT! I live in a small town for a reason.
It doesn't make me sad at all that Michigan experienced population loss during the Great Recession and temporary collapse of the domestic automotive industry. As far as I'm concerned, that just leaves more of it for the rest of us to enjoy! As long as I, and everyone I know, is thriving here, and most of them are doing just fine, then I have no concerns. I WOULD have major concerns if people started flocking here en masse from far off regions for superficial reasons and then spent their time complaining about how it isn't like where they came from. Indeed I would not be "jumping up and down and bragging" if this were to happen. It would actually break my heart, much as it has broken the hearts of many native Southerners to see their culture and traditions trampled on by people who care nothing about them and have turned their once charming cities into cookie cutter sprawl with nightmare traffic on infrastructure that was not designed for such unbridled growth.
I can just imagine how lovely a state like Florida was about sixty years ago. But today...I think that it's being essentially and permanently destroyed by transplants, as are Atlanta, Charleston, and every decent-sized city in Texas and North Carolina. It's too bad, but it's how it is.
So no, I am not being dishonest with myself. I am going on fifty years old and have seen a lot of this country. I know what I like and what I don't like and what I could and could not live with. I could not live with what I see happening in the Sunbelt states right now. I haven't actually "knocked" the Sunbelt per se, and have noted that there are many areas that are nice to visit. We own a rental condo in coastal South Carolina where we spend a few weeks each year. I will probably always enjoy visiting the Sunbelt for limited periods of time. I just don't feel that it could ever be my permanent home because I love what I have here too much and I don't have time for the sprawl, traffic, and attitudes that the transplants have brought to that region.
Maybe you could ask some of the thousands, if not millions, of American and Canadian snowbirds why they don't just move and make their permanent, full-time home in the Sunbelt. It's cheaper to maintain one household than two, so there must be some rather compelling reasons why they keep returning to their homes in the North for 8-9 months of the year. I'm guessing they might give you some answers along the lines of why I, along with many millions of others, prefer to be where I am.
It's really not a slam to your region to say that I prefer living in my region. We just have different preferences, that's all. I was reading in another thread where you said that you have moved around a lot over the years and finally feel like you have found your home. I'm very happy for you and only wish you the best.
Part of the reason Detroit is as it is is because of the collapse of the auto industry. Do you approve of all the people who have been thrust into poverty and hard living just because you don't like sprawl?
Part of the reason Detroit is as it is is because of the collapse of the auto industry. Do you approve of all the people who have been thrust into poverty and hard living just because you don't like sprawl?
Lack of sprawl and suburban growth does NOT necessarily mean the place will have a bad economy. There are many places that hold up pretty well economically and have very slow growth, such as north central Connecticut and New Hampshire, for example.
Part of the reason Detroit is as it is is because of the collapse of the auto industry. Do you approve of all the people who have been thrust into poverty and hard living just because you don't like sprawl?
LOL. Yes, I accept sole responsibility for the poverty in Detroit. You act as if I think that the collapse of the automotive industry was a good thing. Way to put words in my mouth. I never said anything of the kind, I just made reference to the fact that that is the time period that the PP was referring to in which the net population dropped. Fortunately, Michigan is beginning to rebound nicely, hence my comment that most people that I know are doing well right now.
As far as long term poverty in Detroit, I can pretty much assure you that those thousands and thousands of sharecroppers who fled the South in an effort to better their miserable lives were not independently wealthy when they arrived in Detroit and other northern cities.
Today's African-American ghettos and the aching poverty therein is the legacy of the practice of chattel slavery in this country more than anything else, and I can also assure you that this poverty existed way before the advent of the Great Recession and the automotive bailouts to which I was referring.
What a strange conclusion to draw from my comments. Maybe you should try to read posts more thoroughly before you attempt to rebut them.
Last edited by canudigit; 08-05-2014 at 03:59 PM..
Many of those drought stricken regions are in the lower Plains (OK, north TX), central/west TX, and the traditional southwest. I do think this is going to put a damper on Texas' growth in the future, but much of this area is sparsely populated with the exception of CA and the major cities in those states. Long term, I do think it's safer to be away from those regions from the standpoint of a lack of resources.
But those states are the "Sun Belt" where people are going. The "Sun Belt" also includes humid states like Florida and the Carolinas, but as I said before, if people want to move to where it's warmer and NOT arid, what'll happen (even if they can survive the unbelievably hot and sticky summers) is that those areas will eventually become too expensive and congested to be attractive. This is many years out, as those states still have plenty of available room (save for Florida, which manages to avoid overcrowding due to people staying away from Florida's constant threat of hurricanes which sometimes relieve some of the crowding that's already down there), but eventually the reality will set in.
I live in the Rust Belt right now. America's next booming area... because we have rain, room, and reasonable summer temperatures. Yes, we also have snow... but that serves to de-congest the roads. I like going out in the snow because it's quiet and there's hardly anyone else around me!
In my opinion, the sunbelt cities are just as expensive to live in as mid-sized metro areas up north. This is because of lower wages (for most people). And some southern states have surprisingly higher tax brackets and higher sales tax rates than many northern states.
But those states are the "Sun Belt" where people are going. The "Sun Belt" also includes humid states like Florida and the Carolinas, but as I said before, if people want to move to where it's warmer and NOT arid, what'll happen (even if they can survive the unbelievably hot and sticky summers) is that those areas will eventually become too expensive and congested to be attractive. This is many years out, as those states still have plenty of available room (save for Florida, which manages to avoid overcrowding due to people staying away from Florida's constant threat of hurricanes which sometimes relieve some of the crowding that's already down there), but eventually the reality will set in.
I live in the Rust Belt right now. America's next booming area... because we have rain, room, and reasonable summer temperatures. Yes, we also have snow... but that serves to de-congest the roads. I like going out in the snow because it's quiet and there's hardly anyone else around me!
Wow, who knew the Rust Belt was about to boom again?! All that wide open room, 2 months of not being chilly, and rain, nobody else has that! Toledo, Buffalo, Gary, maybe Erie PA, buy real estate now. Get in while it's cheap.
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You act as if I think that the collapse of the automotive industry was a good thing. Way to put words in my mouth. I never said anything of the kind, I just made reference to the fact that that is the time period that the PP was referring to in which the net population dropped. Fortunately, Michigan is beginning to rebound nicely, hence my comment that most people that I know are doing well right now. 
