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My husband and I moved here almost 2 years ago for a job and are now (hopefully) moving back north to our hometown area (Indianapolis 'burbs). We heard tons of great things about North Carolina before moving and came here very open minded and excited for a good experience. The weather is beautiful and so is the scenery, those will be what I miss most. However my good feelings stop there I guess. We have been very disappointed in the lack of safe areas and decent schools in the triad. If we didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for a home in one of the very few "good" school districts we were pretty much out of luck. We have also seen A LOT of racial tension here (we are caucasion) that has been very surprising compared to the area we came from and found people to be a bit closed-minded and intolerant of other races, religions, etc. Has anyone else had negative experiences here? I don't mean to upset anyone, as I have met some very kind people here and value those friendships I have made, but I guess I was a bit more shocked and disappointed with some things here than I ever expected. Anyone else had similar experiences?
well alot of people who may have been racial in the wrong way might be because their born and raised on the south and yes it is wrong anywhere to talk down on ones skin color but here in the south ive been around it and with both white and black people ive had to deal with raceism going to high point central that is 80% black but the whites that talk about race are really just being the way the see life in some citys
I think that people should toughen up a little. People are so "politically correct" anymore you can't say anything about anyone without offending somebody else. So, you heard a racial slur? Ignore it. They go both ways. People have every right to believe what they want, there is nothing wrong with it. It is just an opinion. If it's better up north then go back. If you can get over it, stay and enjoy the warmer weather.
My wife and I moved to the triad area in Sept and here is my take...for what it's worth. First, I am originally from Houston and my wife from PA. We relocated here from Sacramento so yes, its definately been a change. Mostly a good one. Specifically, people are friendlier and overall more courteous in various areas of life (eg. driving, at stores). I tend to stay away from labels such as "liberal" or "conservative". I would say that generally speaking there is less openess for things that people perceive as "not the norm". Whether that is telling someone you and your wife dont have/dont want children and receiving a look or comment along the lines of "whats wrong with you that you dont have children" or that you take Tai Chi. I'm not being critical of this..I assume it's what people are exposed to. The religion aspect here is a bit different for me. Mostly along the lines of having complete strangers (eg. a secretary at work from a totally different dept) ask me what church I go to....To me, that is a personal question that I just would not ask someone unless they care to share it with me. Buttom line: We love living here...the area is beautiful, the people are friendly and polite and there is a lot of nature to explore. Ok...I wouldnt mind a Trader Joes here though
My wife and I moved to the triad area in Sept and here is my take...for what it's worth. First, I am originally from Houston and my wife from PA. We relocated here from Sacramento so yes, its definately been a change. Mostly a good one. Specifically, people are friendlier and overall more courteous in various areas of life (eg. driving, at stores). I tend to stay away from labels such as "liberal" or "conservative". I would say that generally speaking there is less openess for things that people perceive as "not the norm". Whether that is telling someone you and your wife dont have/dont want children and receiving a look or comment along the lines of "whats wrong with you that you dont have children" or that you take Tai Chi. I'm not being critical of this..I assume it's what people are exposed to. The religion aspect here is a bit different for me. Mostly along the lines of having complete strangers (eg. a secretary at work from a totally different dept) ask me what church I go to....To me, that is a personal question that I just would not ask someone unless they care to share it with me. Buttom line: We love living here...the area is beautiful, the people are friendly and polite and there is a lot of nature to explore. Ok...I wouldnt mind a Trader Joes here though
Do you think it will be difficult to make friends with the people there?
I moved here from So. CA in November, and besides my friends and family, I miss Trader Joe's the most. I think I'll send a request to the corporate office... who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and they will open one here. For now, I'll have to settle for Fresh Market and Whole Foods...
It's been challenging, but then again we havent been here all that long. Made some good friends from my work who at least dont think we are "freaks" because we dont want children and we dont attend church
I've been watching this thread for a while, thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. I'm from central ohio, my wife from Pittsburgh/eastern ohio. We both attended Ohio State, then moved to Houston for a few years before moving here. In my line of work, I am all over the place (charlotte to raleigh) and meeting a lot of folks from all walks of life. When making the decision to move to this area we looked at charlotte, raleigh, winston salem and columbia. The main reason we chose winston salem, was for the fact that it is not an over grown, out of control city. The area has retained a bit of the smaller community feeling while still offering many conveniences(albeit, no Trader Joes. Winston salem is definitely a family friendly, "Christian" town. So yes, you will get asked about your church/kids etc... since I seem to feel that's the "norm" here. All going back to the smaller community feel. At first when we moved here, I was down on how it was hard to find younger friends/families to hang out with. But getting yourself involved into the community is the best way to make that connection. Now that we've been here a couple of years, I feel that it was a good choice. As far as the whole racism issue, I feel that it is more a prejudice/cultural issue than true racism, and yes, it does still exist, especially if you look for it. I've seen this work both ways, and while it would be great if there were an "easy" button and make it gone, it will be something that will have to be worked on for quite awhile. As for ignoring the comments or being politically correct, it's a double edged sword. If you ignore it, it can send the message that you condone it and will allow it to continue, however, if you call it out to attention, you are the politically correct person who can't "take a joke". I always try to follow the rule of: if someone I didn't know overheard the comment, would they be offended? Call it being PC, or I call it just trying to respect everyone.
It's been challenging, but then again we havent been here all that long. Made some good friends from my work who at least dont think we are "freaks" because we dont want children and we dont attend church
Yeah we're like aliens in that respect, kind of stuck in a social purgatory. Really don't fit in anywhere.
I don't really see the need for this TJ's addiction. I've been to a couple (one in Chapel Hill and one in Cary) and they are nice, but you can find similar things here as well. Greensboro has Earth Fare (Asheville-based organic/natural supermarket) and Deep Roots Market (a local co-operative grocer). That's where I do a lot of my shopping.
Also, every Saturday and Wednesday there is the Greensboro Farmer's Market that has a lot of great food as well. Support locally!
I like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and I think they are very ethical and great businesses, but try to help out your local farms and grocers.
Also, I don't really see this "very Christian" why aren't you having kids mindset. I'm Greensboro born and raised, and though there are folks like that here, I don't see it as the predominant view.
What part of Winston are you living in? I'm guessing near the outskirts, Pfafftown/Clemmons/Lewisville or Kernersville.
My perception of Winston (though they are more homogeneous than here in Greensboro) is a pretty cosmopolitan kind of place, very arts oriented. Yes, there is a presence (not prevalence) of the Southern Baptist Convention/Conservatives, but very accepting nonetheless.
I don't know about anybody else,but I got the succinct feeling that,(even though it was not outright said),that the politically correct thing to do was to vote for the 'white republican man'. (and don't get me wrong..I'm white).I esp. got that feeling from some churches.Of course that may have been the republican side of it,race not being an issue..I don't know,but I'm not 100% sure that it was.(no stone throwing please,JMO!).I recall reading some ppl were afraid to put Obama stickers on their car,for fear of it being damaged,but I don't recall if that was in nc or not.
Yes,we certainly came a long way w the Obama win here,for sure.
Since you mentioned it, it's really kind of sad that you see Obama's win as some kind of improvement in our culture here in N.C. This just shows that N.C. is becoming more liberal because of the newcomers (a fact that many Northerners will rejoice in, I'm sure). The churches you mentioned probably don't go along with the anything goes mentality towards moral issues that has been adopted by the Democratic Party. As far as the race issue, many people voted for Obama just because he was black or they were making history. Obama himself alluded to this. Does anyone see the racism in this scenario? I bet many of his voters now are secretly wishing that they could tell him to keep the change. Oh, and if any Northerners want some help moving back, please let me know.
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Any Friends?
. Winston salem is definitely a family friendly, "Christian" town. So yes, you will get asked about your church/kids etc... since I seem to feel that's the "norm" here. All going back to the smaller community feel. At first when we moved here, I was down on how it was hard to find younger friends/families to hang out with. But getting yourself involved into the community is the best way to make that connection. Now that we've been here a couple of years, I feel that it was a good choice. As far as the whole racism issue, I feel that it is more a prejudice/cultural issue than true racism, and yes, it does still exist, especially if you look for it. I've seen this work both ways, and while it would be great if there were an "easy" button and make it gone, it will be something that will have to be worked on for quite awhile. As for ignoring the comments or being politically correct, it's a double edged sword. If you ignore it, it can send the message that you condone it and will allow it to continue, however, if you call it out to attention, you are the politically correct person who can't "take a joke". I always try to follow the rule of: if someone I didn't know overheard the comment, would they be offended? Call it being PC, or I call it just trying to respect everyone.
