Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > North Carolina > Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point
 [Register]
Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point The Triad Area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
 
Old 03-28-2017, 11:31 AM
 
Location: Charlotte
1,409 posts, read 1,937,145 times
Reputation: 624

Advertisements

? I would really like to hear your thoughts.

I moved to Greensboro back in 2007.

I live on the north side of Greensboro, 10 years later..my area does not feel traditionaly southern at all, (I grew up in lexington N.C so my definition of southern may differ from yours) i don't see many "small" traditionally southern churches except on the outskirts of the city around the suburbs (summit etc), however i do see alot of coffee shops and vape shops, the apartment complex i live in..is full of transplants, alot from new jersey, new york, MD and PA and a few from CA. there is a massive freeway loop being built in my back yard over wet lands and nobody seems to mind the everchanging traffic patterns..

Iv'e heard stories about how almost every single new proposed development was met with frowns or "community meetings" against change, coming from a very small town i know this mentality well. However iv'e been in greensboro 10 years now and have seen first hand how the entire area has gradually changed from old south to new south, noticing just the little changes like mom and pop stores being constantly replaced by coffee joints or smoke shops, southern accents fading to northern, walking around downtown and feeling like you weren't even in greensboro anymore...or the south in general...going out on the battleground greenway for a morning run and hearing all these different types of accents and languages.

Shopping on market and expericing culture shock.

For me i'd say 10 years ago, Greensboro was very conservative, i guess this was right on the cusp of the serious revitalization of downtown.. however it was very stagnant and stuck in it's ways, imo. I swear every new development was met with angry residence..and they all voted NO!. Alot who didn't even live in the city limits..

But today it feels open and airy, very progressive and open to any type of change. It just feels very different, liberal if you will.

Not that i'm saying traditionally southern is a bad thing, remember i'm from a very southern, conservative, small town.
Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-28-2017, 01:15 PM
 
Location: Greensboro, NC USA
6,152 posts, read 7,144,847 times
Reputation: 2448
Over the past 10 years ive noticed less and less resistance to change in Greensboro. One big example is nobody fought the preforming arts center. Remember the ballpark was built completely wjth private money and there was a big battle back in 2003 to stop it to the point of trying to ban stadiums in the central business district. Ever since, people seem to welcome change. Greensboro today I would classify as being liberal. However there is still a conservative streak. Our leaders still don't think big enough and take on projects thats ahead of our time. Thats how cities become leaders. Right now we are playing catch up with the Raleighs and the Greenville SCs despite all the great things underway downtown.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 02:20 PM
 
37,794 posts, read 41,479,186 times
Reputation: 27052
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSOCitizen View Post
? I would really like to hear your thoughts.

I moved to Greensboro back in 2007.

I live on the north side of Greensboro, 10 years later..my area does not feel traditionaly southern at all, (I grew up in lexington N.C so my definition of southern may differ from yours) i don't see many "small" traditionally southern churches except on the outskirts of the city around the suburbs (summit etc), however i do see alot of coffee shops and vape shops, the apartment complex i live in..is full of transplants, alot from new jersey, new york, MD and PA and a few from CA. there is a massive freeway loop being built in my back yard over wet lands and nobody seems to mind the everchanging traffic patterns..

Iv'e heard stories about how almost every single new proposed development was met with frowns or "community meetings" against change, coming from a very small town i know this mentality well. However iv'e been in greensboro 10 years now and have seen first hand how the entire area has gradually changed from old south to new south, noticing just the little changes like mom and pop stores being constantly replaced by coffee joints or smoke shops, southern accents fading to northern, walking around downtown and feeling like you weren't even in greensboro anymore...or the south in general...going out on the battleground greenway for a morning run and hearing all these different types of accents and languages.

Shopping on market and expericing culture shock.

For me i'd say 10 years ago, Greensboro was very conservative, i guess this was right on the cusp of the serious revitalization of downtown.. however it was very stagnant and stuck in it's ways, imo. I swear every new development was met with angry residence..and they all voted NO!. Alot who didn't even live in the city limits..

But today it feels open and airy, very progressive and open to any type of change. It just feels very different, liberal if you will.

Not that i'm saying traditionally southern is a bad thing, remember i'm from a very southern, conservative, small town.
Just because Greensboro is urbanizing doesn't mean it's becoming less Southern; it's just becoming a more urban version of Southern. It seems that you equate "traditional Southernness" with the small town South, and that's understandable to an extent but that doesn't really hold anymore.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 03:06 PM
 
12,573 posts, read 15,505,231 times
Reputation: 8960
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77 View Post
Just because Greensboro is urbanizing doesn't mean it's becoming less Southern; it's just becoming a more urban version of Southern. It seems that you equate "traditional Southernness" with the small town South, and that's understandable to an extent but that doesn't really hold anymore.
And it's kind of a negative stereotype.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 03:19 PM
 
37,794 posts, read 41,479,186 times
Reputation: 27052
Quote:
Originally Posted by WFW&P View Post
And it's kind of a negative stereotype.
Yeah, but not so much in this context. It just seems like the OP is using Mayberry as the standard for what's authentically Southern.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 04:25 PM
 
Location: The City of Medicine
1,422 posts, read 1,462,565 times
Reputation: 1328
Overall, I would say the city itself leans left. Ideologically speaking, i'd say it's in the same ballpark as Raleigh (proper) or Charlotte (proper) It's not as 'liberal' as Durham, Asheville (proper) or Chapel Hill, but it's a tad more liberal than Winston-Salem and certainly moreso than Wilmington and Fayetteville.

I believe there's a chunk of Northwestern Guilford county which includes parts of Greensboro that is in Phil Berger's district.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 04:30 PM
 
Location: Charlotte
1,409 posts, read 1,937,145 times
Reputation: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77 View Post
Yeah, but not so much in this context. It just seems like the OP is using Mayberry as the standard for what's authentically Southern.
well no, i'm not basing the entire southern experience on my experience of growing up in a small town, i mean the way of life and pace, i'm not trying to make it sound like a bad stereotype, i just noticed that Greensboro has been increasingly more urban and not just in the city center where i only felt it before 5 years ago, It's just the Vibe of the area in general. when i first arrived in Greensboro i got the vibe of a medium sized conservative city best for going to school and raising families, but that's just my opinion, however now it feels like a completely different area.

I just started thinking about this in my recent stay in baltimore maryland, the vibe kind of felt the same.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 05:15 PM
 
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,427,591 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSOCitizen View Post
well no, i'm not basing the entire southern experience on my experience of growing up in a small town, i mean the way of life and pace, i'm not trying to make it sound like a bad stereotype, i just noticed that Greensboro has been increasingly more urban and not just in the city center where i only felt it before 5 years ago, It's just the Vibe of the area in general. when i first arrived in Greensboro i got the vibe of a medium sized conservative city best for going to school and raising families, but that's just my opinion, however now it feels like a completely different area.

I just started thinking about this in my recent stay in baltimore maryland, the vibe kind of felt the same.
Baltimore is MidAtlantic. Spend time there or Philadelphia, for that matter, & if you're honest with yourself the vibe is neither here nor there. Neither of those cities are what I would call liberal, but they aren't right wing either. Neither is northern or southern, but have elements of both.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 06:41 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
6,081 posts, read 4,553,311 times
Reputation: 10547
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSOCitizen View Post
I live on the north side of Greensboro, 10 years later..my area does not feel traditionaly southern at all, (I grew up in lexington N.C so my definition of southern may differ from yours) i don't see many "small" traditionally southern churches except on the outskirts of the city around the suburbs (summit etc), however i do see alot of coffee shops and vape shops, the apartment complex i live in..is full of transplants, alot from new jersey, new york, MD and PA and a few from CA. there is a massive freeway loop being built in my back yard over wet lands and nobody seems to mind the everchanging traffic patterns..
Part of the perception may be due to the area in Greensboro that you're in. I know what you mean, and I can definitely tell a difference between north Greensboro (if you're really referring more to Northwest Greensboro- with Battleground Avenue being the epicenter- as opposed to Northeast Greensboro-- i.e. up US 29) than much of the rest of the city and the area.

In my frank observation, Northwest Greensboro in particular, has quite a few yuppies (i.e. well educated, image conscious people who like to "keep up with the Joneses") compared to even other parts of Greensboro. And certainly more than Lexington, which largely consists of unassuming people of much more modest means trying to etch out a living and put food on the table. Both types of communities have their own pros and cons in terms of feel, quality of life, etc.

Once you leave Greensboro and head into Summerfield, there have gradually gotten to be more yuppies with a thin facade of being "country", but the housing developments with acre+ lots and uber expensive homes (at least for this part of the country) has changed its feel from what used to be more country and blue collar. This was really changing quickly about 20 years ago. Only when you approach Rockingham county does the feel become more like something similar to Lexington.

As far as Greensboro being southern, I think it has more of a southern feel than the Triangle and Charlotte, but definitely doesn't feel like smaller cities deeper in the south (i.e. Florence, South Carolina; Macon, Georgia, etc.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Renownedtheworldaround View Post
I believe there's a chunk of Northwestern Guilford county which includes parts of Greensboro that is in Phil Berger's district.
Politically, there's a pretty distinct line once you get near the edge and outside of the city limits, which isn't really uncommon when you're talking about many city and suburb/rural area political contrasts.

NC SBE Election Contest Details

Last edited by Jowel; 03-28-2017 at 06:51 PM..
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2017, 10:06 PM
 
12,573 posts, read 15,505,231 times
Reputation: 8960
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77 View Post
Yeah, but not so much in this context. It just seems like the OP is using Mayberry as the standard for what's authentically Southern.
Lol. I was thinking the same thing while typing my previous reply.
Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


 
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > North Carolina > Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top