Charlotte vs the Triangle vs the Triad, more southern?
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Some of the arguments against narrow or stereotypical definitions of the South could be applied to the argument that DC and Baltimore are still in the South.
Some of the arguments against narrow or stereotypical definitions of the South could be applied to the argument that DC and Baltimore are still in the South.
To an extent (DC and Baltimore are much closer geographically to the North than much of the South), although that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
Why do we always get these posts and questions? All three are still strongly southern. If you drive 3 minutes out of the core of each city you will see that all of the areas are still strongly southern. Perhaps the real question should be what does "Southern" look like in 2014? Even in the core of each city there is still strong Southern culture.
The Triad is the fairly obvious answer here. I agree with whoever said that it is more "North Carolina's brand of southern" than what most people associate with "southern" though. I think a lot of people think rural-cotton growing deep southern draw with a broken pair of overalls and a cigarette hanging out of their mouth good ole' boys when the southern stereotype comes to mind. That is something more commonly found in Eastern NC. The Triad (and peidmont area of NC in general) is more post-textile small-town/neighborhood everyone-has-connections/ deep family ties soft southern accent with deep feelings about college basketball . It's a little more of a southern spin on middle class "Americana"
Why do we always get these posts and questions? All three are still strongly southern. If you drive 3 minutes out of the core of each city you will see that all of the areas are still strongly southern. Perhaps the real question should be what does "Southern" look like in 2014? Even in the core of each city there is still strong Southern culture.
Yes, the influx of transplants (mostly from the northeast, not the "less northern" mid-west) are flooding the south's major urban areas. Look at the major urban areas of North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. Even some of the less populated states of South Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas are gaining more and more transplants as times goes by. I'm in college at the moment, but I attended high school in the Triangle region and it shocked me that southern accents were actually quite rare if you thought about it! Most of the kids didn't sound southern at all, but like me, they were born and raised in NC and many of their parents were as well. I'm not as familiar with the Charlotte and Triad areas regarding the situations in those areas with transplants, so that's why I started this thread. I did live in Charlotte for a few years at a young age, and most of the times I pass through that area are coming to and from the Atlanta area. To me, it seems more southern than the Triangle, but I wondered if I was the only one with this perception. I'm more familiar with the Triad, but I'm not really sure if it's gaining any outside transplants like the Triangle.
Charlotte is more southern if you observe the vegetation and soil carefully. The pines are more round-topped, the soil gets more South Carolina sand-ish in areas. Crepe Myrtles are "weed trees" that pop up in corners of the yard. You can find cabbage palms in protected coves around the nearby lakes.
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