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Should I move to North Carolina (Greensboro)?


Moontiger

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Hi all,

 

I'm thinking about moving to North Carolina. Now, I don't want to just get up and move with no plan. There is a grad program there I am interested in and I'm hoping to apply to in the next year or two.

 

I'm more concerned if I will fit in with the people there. I lived in New England for years and never fit in with the culture there, it was horrible. Here are somethings I am worried about:

 

1) How will I be treated as an "outsider"? Will I be shunned for being a "yankee" or will I be given a chance with people? I know that over all that will be a person by person thing but in New England I swear most people did not want anything to do with you unless you had known their family for 3 generations. I don't want to go through that again.

 

2) Things to do/places to eat. I like Chicago because there are a lot of thing to do and places to eat: Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian, American, etc you can find it all. Will I be able to find that in NC? I know it will be no Chicago, I'm not looking for it to be exactly the same, but how diverse is it?

 

3) (I really hope this simple question doesn't get my thread closed) Politically, will I fit in? I consider myself a moderate. But there are a few issues that I feel very strongly about. In particular Equal Marriage. I know it got voted down in NC but not without significant protests.

 

So, I guess, my overall question is what people's experience have been with NC/Greensboro. What is the culture like? What are the people like? Will I be shunned or welcomed? Are different points of view respected?

 

Thanks,

 

MT

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OMG this is so relevant to me! I lived in new england from 1-21 and moved to charlotte, NC about 9 months ago.

 

1. greensboro may be different from charlotte, but here everyone is from somewhere else. The south in general is extremely welcoming and I must say,i LOVE LOVE LOVE it here. North carolina is SUCH a beautiful state and theres just a MUCH BETTER more chilled out vibe to the south.

 

2. I've found the food to be wonderful down south

 

3. politically i'd say it's much more varied then you'd think,atleast here in charlotte. I live in the one of two counties actually that voted against that marriage bill.

 

PM me for anything else you'd like to know!

 

I never felt like I "fit in" in the north either. I definetly feel so much more at home with more kind hearted people surrounding me.

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I live in the south. People (strangers) are just friendlier up here than they are up north as a whole. Even if it's just a front. Most of my family lives up north in New Jersey/New York. Whenever they come to visit they're always surprised to see everyone waving at each other when we're driving. They'll go "who was that" and I say, "I dunno, I just waived." And they're usually shocked with an answer like "OMG, you guys just waive and talk to everyone you don't know??"

 

My point is, nobody is going to care that you're an 'outsider'. If anything they'll ask you tons of questions as to why you don't sound like a redneck and be intrigued by you.

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I was treated GREAT in the South, but I am not an American "Northerner" so I would not know how you would be seen. I think they would be friendly though. I don't think the Southern accent sounds "red neck". I absolutely ADORE it.

 

Go about 25 minutes outside of any major city in the south and you'll hear plenty of "red neck" and you won't like it. If you're white they'll assume you hate blacks and drop the N-bomb like they're saying "good morning".

 

Source: I live there.

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I have lived all over - PA, CA, LA, TX, FL - I was from the south but grew up on the west coast and later lived on the east coast. I can tell you from experience the biggest things that seem to separate the north from the south are;

1. Southerns are fanatical about church - Northerners are fanatical about baseball games

2. Southerns love college football - Northerners love the NFL

3. People marry young in the south and it's ok - People from the north can date for like 8 years without getting engaged

4. Southerners do not cuss as nearly as much as Northerners do

5. The south is full of Wall Marts and large vehicles - the North is about deli's and trains

6. People are way friendly in the south - either fake or genuine - it can be obnoxious how nice and sweet people are - people in the north can be super aggressive

 

You will be thought of as "outsider" but they will think your cool cause you choose to live where they live.

A few pointer for living in the south - Whenever someone says "bless their heart" it means an insult is coming - don't bring beer to a bbq unless you are sure they are drinkers,

don't order anything with the words "pig" or "feet" in the description. A "cold drink" means soda. If you get invited to someones house always make something - don't do store bought. Don't complain about why you hate the south - that gets annoying. Do have some wine and go to Wall Mart at 3 am - lots of fun to be had there.

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Go about 25 minutes outside of any major city in the south and you'll hear plenty of "red neck" and you won't like it. If you're white they'll assume you hate blacks and drop the N-bomb like they're saying "good morning".

 

Source: I live there.

 

I never really heard any of that. They were too busy trying to figure out where I was from...........lol

 

My husband was in the South for 4 months and never saw any of that either.

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It's hard to beat Chicago, but North Carolina is the gem of the South IMO. It's one of the few Southern states I would consider living in. You'll be close to mountains and the ocean and the people are very friendly there. NC has it's fair share of transplants so I wouldn't worry about being treated as an outsider there. I haven't been to Greensboro specifically but any reasonably large city in NC should have plenty of options. Great beer scene there too!

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  • 1 month later...

I moved to NC recently. Moontiger, check your PM.

 

1. Southerns are fanatical about church - Northerners are fanatical about baseball games

Religion is emphasized, but not as heavily in NC. The state maybe apart of the "Bible Belt," but the people I live among are not "fanatics." The churches hold festivals and many, many social community events for the most part. And if they got a free fried chicken dinner... GO. Even if you aren't apart of the faith, DO IT. You will have the best fried chicken you will ever had in your life.

 

2. Southerns love college football - Northerners love the NFL

Correction: North Carolinians love football and basketball... middle school, high school, college, AND NFL/NBA. Football and Basketball in general is a BIG cultural deal in North Carolina. Also if Moon is talking about living in the Greensboro area... there is serious rivalry between NCU and Duke than any other college team in the states.

 

Northerners just love Football AND Hockey. Period.

 

4. Southerners do not cuss as nearly as much as Northerners do

This part is somewhat true depending on where you live. If you're in Atlanta and downtown Raleigh... different.

 

5. The south is full of Wall Marts and large vehicles - the North is about deli's and trains

I lived in backwoods Appalachia region of Pennsylvania (coal miner town) and we were all about the Wal-Marts and trucks. Again... depends on where you live. The one thing I love about the Wal-Marts is they got super centers (grocery store included). Trains (Amtrack) are also big travel in the South unless you mean the Metro subway system.

 

And if you wanna talk about vehicles... the common trend is the small sedans with oversized rim blings and added truck tires. I can't wrap my head around of why this is so popular because you will get highly ridiculed for doing it if you come up North and all that money could be invested for the most important parts: Under The Hood or towards a better vehicle.

 

don't bring beer to a bbq unless you are sure they are drinkers

Most southerners I came accross my area don't drink. In fact we don't even have a happy hour. This was the hardest realization I came accross when I moved down here and I am still looking for a place that offers it. Most of NC people are BIG Sweet Tea drinkers!

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  • 1 month later...
Most southerners I came accross my area don't drink. In fact we don't even have a happy hour. This was the hardest realization I came accross when I moved down here and I am still looking for a place that offers it. Most of NC people are BIG Sweet Tea drinkers!

 

What? Adults drink. A lot of adults when I was growing up drank. When I visit friends who moved out east in NC, their neighbors drink. Let's not stereotype people please.

 

Generally, who don't need to do anything other than follow the laws wherever you move. Then you just observe how the news and people react to sports and for the people you hang out with, you can just ask, "what do you like to drink?". A very, broad question that doesn't hint at the meaning being alcoholic or non-alcoholic.

 

All you have to do is focus on finding people like yourself. The same type of people go to clubs in the North as they do in the South and so on.

 

Just be aware that usually on the highways people will drive 5-10 mph faster than the speed limit and be on the lookout for people running red lights as there can be less cameras in the more suburban areas and I've seen people fly straight through.

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What? Adults drink. A lot of adults when I was growing up drank. When I visit friends who moved out east in NC, their neighbors drink. Let's not stereotype people please.

Not in my neck of the woods. There are no bars in the town I reside in. The nearest bars are over 20 mins away and NONE of them have a happy hour. The colleagues I went out with to a restaurant all wanted to drink soda and tea (this was after work), and they were born in the area. I also noticed people at other tables were mainly drinking sweet tea.

 

My observation are my own. I only spoke for the area I live in and NC is a very large state. It all depends on which part you're at.

 

Just be aware that usually on the highways people will drive 5-10 mph faster than the speed limit

That's anywhere you go. However in NC the people drive slower since you can get your license suspended for driving 15 or over. Cops don't play around here.

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