Opinions from Georgians on North Carolina? (Atlanta, Columbus: sale, home, casino)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by JayJayCB

Thanks for the info! I'm currently studying southern history/culture so I appreciate hearing views from others. As a whole, I'm not too familiar with Alabama, and Mississippi for that matter. I'm a native of NC, so I've obviously been across NC as well as VA, SC, GA, and TN. However, I've never been to AL or MS. Let me ask you this, is it even worth it visiting AL and MS? For the past few months, I have been focusing on the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's so I'm doing a ton of research on MS and AL. I've also always been a huge Civil War buff, mainly because Virginia is not that far of a drive from where I live and we all know Virginia's history in the Civil War. To get to the point, would it be worth going to AL and MS with these interests? I have visited the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, NC along with the MLK Center in Atlanta, but that's about it. Also, if I do visit these two states, I will be driving from the Triangle area of North Carolina if that matters. From my house, Atlanta is about a 5 and a half hour drive.

If you're into Civil War and Civil Rights history, of course AL and MS are worth visiting. Do you not know the cities and sites that are prominent in both states with regard to both events/movements??? Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Jackson, Natchez, Vicksburg, etc....you'd have a field day in both states.

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Aside from the coasts, I think that Georgia is overall a far prettier state than South Carolina. But that's just me. I find the area around Columbia to be extremely ugly for some reason, but then again ... I think Augusta is just as ugly, so ...

What about Columbus? I ask because it, along with Columbia and Augusta, are located in the Sandhills region along the fall line which is characterized by sandy soil, an abundance of longleaf pine trees, and some localized, unexpected changes in elevation like in downtown Columbia. I know this region may be not quite as visually appealing to some as the Piedmont or areas of the Lowcountry, but it's actually a pretty important region when it comes to biodiversity:

From a botanical perspective, the longleaf forests are incredibly diverse; scientists refer to the Sandhills region as a center of southeastern biodiversity. Researchers studying one Sandhills longleaf pine community identified 124 plant species in a plot 100 feet square. This ranks the Sandhills among the most diverse botanical regions anywhere on the planet.

Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge

It's somewhat fascinating to me that the Sandhills region is actually the remnant of an ancient shoreline. The areas where Columbia and Augusta are located used to be coastal! Hard to imagine.

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

If you're into Civil War and Civil Rights history, of course AL and MS are worth visiting. Do you not know the cities and sites that are prominent in both states with regard to both events/movements??? Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Jackson, Natchez, Vicksburg, etc....you'd have a field day in both states.



What about Columbus? I ask because it, along with Columbia and Augusta, are located in the Sandhills region along the fall line which is characterized by sandy soil, an abundance of longleaf pine trees, and some localized, unexpected changes in elevation like in downtown Columbia. I know this region may be not quite as visually appealing to some as the Piedmont or areas of the Lowcountry, but it's actually a pretty important region when it comes to biodiversity:

From a botanical perspective, the longleaf forests are incredibly diverse; scientists refer to the Sandhills region as a center of southeastern biodiversity. Researchers studying one Sandhills longleaf pine community identified 124 plant species in a plot 100 feet square. This ranks the Sandhills among the most diverse botanical regions anywhere on the planet.

Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge

It's somewhat fascinating to me that the Sandhills region is actually the remnant of an ancient shoreline. The areas where Columbia and Augusta are located used to be coastal! Hard to imagine.

Thanks for the info, and I actually think the Sandhills region is pretty. Ever been around Pinehurst, NC? Maybe it's just because I'm from NC haha, but I LOVE longleaf pines. These trees are more common in the Triangle, eastern NC, and obviously the Sandhills. After spending a lot of time around Greensboro, I've noticed that the longleaf pine isn't as prominent around the Triad.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by JayJayCB

Thanks for the info, and I actually think the Sandhills region is pretty. Ever been around Pinehurst, NC? Maybe it's just because I'm from NC haha, but I LOVE longleaf pines. These trees are more common in the Triangle, eastern NC, and obviously the Sandhills. After spending a lot of time around Greensboro, I've noticed that the longleaf pine isn't as prominent around the Triad.

Yeah, Pinehurst is within the Sandhills region and Raleigh is a fall line city so longleaf pine are prominent in that area too.

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

This is true. It's shocking how rural much of Alabama is, especially the entire western edge of the state, and much of the black belt. One the flip side, it does have some very pretty agricultural areas, and lots of navigable waterways (large rivers). There are just no people.

THINK ON THIS: Alabama and Georgia are roughly the same size geographically, yet Alabama has fewer than half the population Georgia has. And Georgia still has lots of very rural areas!

Though a lot of people rub their heads at the idea of Georgia having 159 counties (the most of any state besides Texas), it also means that there are 159 county seats and other small towns of consequence scattered throughout. One of the reasons why Georgia has so many counties is, early laws in the state required the courthouse and county seat of government to be an easy day's ride by horse-back from every citizen. Therefore, many larger counties were broken up into smaller ones and new towns established. Though there's still plenty of rural and small towns in much of South Georgia, you don't have to travel more than 15-20 miles in any direction to cross a county line and come to the next town.

In contrast, I've driven 50 miles through rural Alabama and never seen a sign of life. It's that remote.

Geography has always been a hobby of mine and what you are saying is true. Look at the areas between I-20 and I-65 west of Montgomery and north of Mobile. It almost seems like this area and is all woodland with barely any communities. However, I'd say Mississippi overall is much more rural than Alabama.

[Columbuskidd92]

Well in Columbus we don't have Palm Trees but we do have Spanish Moss.



And Spanish style homes..

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by BullGoodBearBad

No way. My southern family claim NC is as southern as it gets. Especially eastern NC. Charlotte is similar to atlanta and while the Triangle has many transplants there's still a lot of south there. Walking around Raleigh and walking around say..Hartford Ct are two completely different ballgames. W-S is one of the most conservative metro's in the nation as is Greensboro.

NOVA is overrun with transplants and is mid-atlantic. That's where the majority of the Virginian population is..rural Virginia is still very much culturally southern/mountain southern (hill billy?) but that's a small amount of the states overall population.

I agree with you on NC. It's strange that some southerners like to dismiss NC as a southern state. Some have given the reason that's its NORTH Carolina, therefore it's not southern haha. Is SOUTH Dakota in the south? The Triangle is still definitely southern, but it's southern in a metro Atlanta type of way, as opposed to a Jackson, MS type of way if that makes sense. However, eastern NC is indeed quite Deep South. As for VA, NOVA is Mid-Atlantic but the rest of the state as a whole is Upper South. It's hard for me to call Richmond anything but southern, considering the fact that it was the capital of the Confederacy and the tobacco industry in that area. Also, it's hard to call the birthplace of Robert E. Lee (Virginia as a whole) anything but southern but maybe that's just me. The Hampton Roads area is also more southern than Mid-Atlantic. Maryland and DC, however, are definitely Mid-Atlantic as a whole. I've walked around Baltimore many times and "southern" never came to mind, same with DC. Rural Maryland might have southern aspects, but I'd say the lack of southern aspects in the cities and urban areas overpower and make the state Mid-Atlantic as a whole.

[Newsboy]

Just watch "Lizard Lick Towing" if you don't believe North Carolina is Southern.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGKigxTLt3M

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Just watch "Lizard Lick Towing" if you don't believe North Carolina is Southern.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGKigxTLt3M

Seriously. The Andy Griffith Show, too, based off Mt. Airy, NC where Andy was from.

This is another one if you don't believe NC is southern, quite hilarious, but a little embarrassing hahaha. Kind of supports a lot of stereotypes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItY3le-NNkI

[Newsboy]

^^^ North Carolina has their very own little boy version of Honey Boo-Boo!

Not to mention, NASCAR .... hello?!

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

^^^ North Carolina has their very own little boy version of Honey Boo-Boo!

Not to mention, NASCAR .... hello?!

Definitely! NASCAR was practically born in the foothills and mountains of NC, not to mention Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and all the greats. The hilarious Will Ferrell movie "Talladega Nights" is set in Charlotte!