Posted on 04/01/2005 7:34:43 AM PST by Bogey78O
I know the type you are referring to! I was complaining about the lack of road repairs, and one local redneck looked at me and said, "Well, if you don't like our roads, why don't you go back where you came from?" To which I replied, "If I drove a piece of crap car like you, I probably wouldn't care!"
Our family moved here ten years ago from the Sacramento area (ok, via a year in Alabama, but that's not important).
We've been in Raleigh the whole time, and I do like it. Pluses: VERY pretty state, great climate, four true seasons.....even a snow or two every winter. Mountains, flatlands, beach......has it all. Gorgeous. Great for families. Negatives: kinda dull. Not much to do, and everything costs (unlike California). Get outside of Wake (Raleigh/Cary), Orange (Chapel Hill), or Mecklenburg (Charlotte) counties and the quality of the schools nosedives. Outside of the major metropolitan areas.....it's dirt cheap, people are friendly.
We do have a State income tax, but it's not too bad. We DO have sales taxes.....they're comparable to what you're used to, maybe a bit less.
I like it here and have no intention of moving.
Of the three cities/towns you've mentioned, Lumberton would be my last choice.
Raleigh is about 3 hrs from the mountains and 3 hrs from the coast. Several hundred thousand folks. Known as the 'City of Oaks'. Rolling country, lots of trees.
Rutherfordton is at the mountains, beautiful. Small
Lumberton is in the sandhills, flat, sandy, pine trees, hot in the summer. But closer to the beaches (Wilmington). Right on I 95.
Guess it's whatever you like.
Moved here (Raleigh) from Miami in 1984. Love it.
BTW.. Hope you like basketball, the state sport.
Hmmm....nobody mentioned the hurricanes....
We've been in Charlotte for 4 years and we still catch ourselves saying"look at all those trees". Get prepared for 48 inches of rain per year and humidity that just kills me. I disagree with a previous poster; the schools in Mecklenburg County are the worst I've ever seen. Prettiest place I have ever lived and really a nice place to live.
So did we. I'm still looking for a job here, but my category is a bit rarefied, given there's only one of me for any given 500 employees in a reasonably sized company. So, I brought my job with me and telecommute back.
We do love the living in NC. We're pretty convinced that Carolinians are sensible types who just need to have someone back 'em up against the politicos. Thing is, most of the media is as in bed with 'em as is true whence I came (the People's Respublik of California), so it's tough to get any kind of consistent message out. Ways are ingrained here, so it seems, and a general sense of 'I'll just be heading along my own way, thanky' pervades the ways.
Gotta be manly enough for NC, is what I find. You want sompin? You better go get it, cause ain't nobody handing out heps for the lazy.
Cheers!
Hurricanes may occur on the coast, but rarely inland. We've had two with substantial damage inland in the last 12 years, Fran and Floyd. I will take a hurricane any day over an earthquake, but then again the original poster was from Louisiana, which has exposure to both.
One more item: The locals do tend to practice some unusual driving habits. They think everyone can stop on a dime so they can pull out in front of you, and they think having 4 wheel drive entitles them to do 60 MPH on ice. Many think it is perfectly acceptable to throw their Mountain Dew or Natural Light bottles on your yard as they drive by.
I'm a Georgia boy, but I've spent some time in the Carolinas.
Love the place. The food is good, the people are nice, the scenery is nice.
Gravity is strong there. There is plenty of oxygen. Cats can be seen roaming around.
Yeah, I know....been through Fran, Floyd, and Hugo. It's just that no one mentioned it in the weather critique. Then there's ice storms.
Watauga Co has the best schools in state next to Orange Co
My family been in NC since early 1700s. BUT the mtns consider anyone not from mtn to be a foreigner. I think that is true anywhere you are a native
So glad to have you in NC. Funny, ALL my friends are Yankees, even my dear husband
As for Forrest City it is a pretty small community - Not to well off (financially) - A new Chili's came into town last year and that was huge news! - Has lost a lot of jobs over the past 8 years or so - (but does seem to be coming back slowly).
I have to be in this area (work related) but still have a place in MI as well - If I didn't need to be here right now for work there is no way in hell I would be - (though, I should say lots of people here are very nice, that is true).
I grew up 20 miles from Forest City. It is quiet, rural, and a decent area. Easy transit to Charlotte, Greenville, SC, or Spartanburg, SC if you like a faster town. You have the South Mountains in your back yard, and lake James not too far away.
You could do a lot worse.
If you're a baseball fan, NC is the best state in the country for minor league ball. So many towns have their own team and quaint ballpark. The park in Asheville is a gem.
Folks who live there speak well of it!
;^)
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