Charlotte, N.C.

[typhoonpilot]

Prodigal said:

I'm a native of the area and I agree that it's not quite as friendly as it used to be . . . so many outsiders with an attitude, you know. Having said that, I have many good friends who are not from N.C. Shoot, some of my best friends are even Yankees.
I've lived in many places from out West to up north and I've never had trouble fitting in because I don't go around pi$$in down someones leg just because their ways are different. You know, when in Rome . . .
Anyway, glad you left. Bye.

and Spinproof said:

I've always found people are treated the way they treat others.If I moved to your town and started telling you you can't drive, you talk too slow and your kids are dumb, how much hospitality do you think I'd get?

I challenge either of you to find where in my original post that I eluded to these kinds of actions or statements. You are putting words and thoughts in my mouth that are not true. What I did say or elude to is that Charlotte was my first choice of bases. It is where I wanted to live. The California neutral statement was more to stay out of the "Billy Bob-Rusthead" animosity that was still lingering after the Piemont/USAir merger. When I was displaced to Charlotte I was happy to finally be moving there ( although it was for less pay on a smaller airplane ). I looked forward to the opportunity to make new friends and meet new people. I went with an open mind and a positive attitude. What I found was that it was very difficult to make friends and very difficult to fit in. It was a very frustrating experience. I had never encountered anything like it before.

I've now lived and worked in four different countries. Places with cultures, religions, and habits very different from our own. What I have found is that I am always the one American among my colleagues that fits in the best and ends up with offers for permanent employment. I am the one who makes the most friends, often times lifelong friends who I remain in contact with to this day. I have also lived in many areas of the United States and never had any trouble fitting in and making friends. My experience in Charlotte was atypical. I stand by my original post and warn people about the attitude they will encounter in Charlotte, as can clearly be seen here on this thread. Not only is it one of the most unwelcoming in the United States, it is one of the most unwelcoming in the world.


Typhoonpilot

 

[English]

I was born in North Carolina, and I'll never go back.

I remember my school bus in kindergarten (early 70's) was segregated.

I remember the N word being thrown around quite freely as well.

And, I remember taking my best friend back there to visit in high school. She was a Burmese muslim. She was treated with racist comments and told she was going to hell so many times that I was thoroughly embarassed to admit I was born there.

I still am.

 

[PFTEXPJET]

I speak for all Southern Born people, they are my people and I have their voice. Please DO NOT move to Charlotte or any part of the South. We really do not want any of you people (you people; Yankees that believe that everything in the South is wrong, people that make fun of others because they believe in Jesus Christ, people that complain about everything, people that believe the South has awful food, people that believe the South has the worst schools and roads) here. I just got rid of Citation Lover (he moved back to Chicago) and I'm tired of all you people that have trashed your state moving to Charlotte and taking up space on the Lake and breathing the air. You are allowed one visit to Myrtle Beach every year but that is it. If I see you with a Kerry/Edwards or some liberal BS bumper sticker I will run you off the road. Other than that Have a very nice day!

 

[PFTEXPJET]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
I was born in North Carolina, and I'll never go back.

I remember my school bus in kindergarten (early 70's) was segregated.

I remember the N word being thrown around quite freely as well.

And, I remember taking my best friend back there to visit in high school. She was a Burmese muslim. She was treated with racist comments and told she was going to hell so many times that I was thoroughly embarassed to admit I was born there.

I still am.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

You’re either a liar or you are from Gastonia!

 

[PFTEXPJET]

--------------------------------------------------------------------
and Spinproof said:

Quote:
I've always found people are treated the way they treat others.If I moved to your town and started telling you you can't drive, you talk too slow and your kids are dumb, how much hospitality do you think I'd get?
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Amen Brother!!

 

[English]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
I was born in North Carolina, and I'll never go back.

I remember my school bus in kindergarten (early 70's) was segregated.

I remember the N word being thrown around quite freely as well.

And, I remember taking my best friend back there to visit in high school. She was a Burmese muslim. She was treated with racist comments and told she was going to hell so many times that I was thoroughly embarassed to admit I was born there.

I still am.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

You’re either a liar or you are from Gastonia!

Nope, neither.

 

[Flywrite]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
I was born in North Carolina, and I'll never go back.

I remember my school bus in kindergarten (early 70's) was segregated.

I remember the N word being thrown around quite freely as well.

And, I remember taking my best friend back there to visit in high school. She was a Burmese muslim. She was treated with racist comments and told she was going to hell so many times that I was thoroughly embarassed to admit I was born there.

I still am.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

You’re either a liar or you are from Gastonia!

Speaking as someone all too familiar with Gastonia, that was funny!

 

[HawkDrvr]

How about Winston-Salem area ????

 

[Snakum]

Winston-Salem is just like any other medium-sized town in Virginia, North Carolina, or South Carolina (I can't speak for TN or GA), and is as already stated: you usually get back what you put out.

It's that simple.

Outside of the few small-minded individuals you can find in ANY state (some of them have contributed to this thread, in fact), if you treat locals with respect you will be treated the same, from Charlotte to Bunnlevel. I have a Yankee accent and everyone think's I am from up North. But I have never been disrespected by a fellow North Carolinian unless I was being an @ss first. I am a former Buddhist monk, was married to a black woman, have more minority friends than white friends, and voted a straight Democratic ticket for years. Yet in all the small towns I've ever lived in here, I have never ... ever .. under any circumstamces been given any attitude that I didn't ask for first by being an arrogant jerk - and I can be a bit impatient with the small town pace of things.

We have mountains AND beaches within a half-day's drive. Mild Winters and OK Summers. Lower taxes and cost of living. Schools are better and better each year. It's a wonderful area (NC, SC, VA) where the locals are generally a far different bunch than 25 years ago. In the last quarter century we've been highly influenced by the good things that Northerners bring to the table, and we've kept the good things about our own way of life while letting go of the bad.

We're good folks, and if you are too ... you'll be welcome anywhere. Just remember to talk a little slower and sound out words fully when they end in a vowel. We'll appreciate ya' for it.

Minh

 

[321 busdriver]

I'm originally from Seattle but have lived in Charlotte for roughly 19 years. Your comment proves that ignorance is not defined by geographical boundaries!

 

[wrigley23]

Winston-Salem is just like any other medium-sized town in Virginia, North Carolina, or South Carolina (I can't speak for TN or GA), and is as already stated: you usually get back what you put out.

It's that simple.

Outside of the few small-minded individuals you can find in ANY state (some of them have contributed to this thread, in fact), if you treat locals with respect you will be treated the same, from Charlotte to Bunnlevel. I have a Yankee accent and everyone think's I am from up North. But I have never been disrespected by a fellow North Carolinian unless I was being an @ss first. I am a former Buddhist monk, was married to a black woman, have more minority friends than white friends, and voted a straight Democratic ticket for years. Yet in all the small towns I've ever lived in here, I have never ... ever .. under any circumstamces been given any attitude that I didn't ask for first by being an arrogant jerk - and I can be a bit impatient with the small town pace of things.

We have mountains AND beaches within a half-day's drive. Mild Winters and OK Summers. Lower taxes and cost of living. Schools are better and better each year. It's a wonderful area (NC, SC, VA) where the locals are generally a far different bunch than 25 years ago. In the last quarter century we've been highly influenced by the good things that Northerners bring to the table, and we've kept the good things about our own way of life while letting go of the bad.

We're good folks, and if you are too ... you'll be welcome anywhere. Just remember to talk a little slower and sound out words fully when they end in a vowel. We'll appreciate ya' for it.

Minh

Good post Snakum. No matter where you live if you act like an A$$, people will treat you the same.

I grew up on the east side of Lake Norman, but haven't lived there in 9 years. I don't recognize the place anymore when I go back. Good luck getting to the airport in less than an hour in the morning and the traffic sux going north in the evening. They have widened 77 some and when the outer loop is finished that will help. Every year that goes by I start to miss it more. And if you talked to me in person you would have no clue I was from there, but I do a heck of an impression YA'LL!

 

[spinproof]

Prodigal said:



and Spinproof said:




I challenge either of you to find where in my original post that I eluded to these kinds of actions or statements. You are putting words and thoughts in my mouth that are not true. What I did say or elude to is that Charlotte was my first choice of bases. It is where I wanted to live. The California neutral statement was more to stay out of the "Billy Bob-Rusthead" animosity that was still lingering after the Piemont/USAir merger. When I was displaced to Charlotte I was happy to finally be moving there ( although it was for less pay on a smaller airplane ). I looked forward to the opportunity to make new friends and meet new people. I went with an open mind and a positive attitude. What I found was that it was very difficult to make friends and very difficult to fit in. It was a very frustrating experience. I had never encountered anything like it before.

I've now lived and worked in four different countries. Places with cultures, religions, and habits very different from our own. What I have found is that I am always the one American among my colleagues that fits in the best and ends up with offers for permanent employment. I am the one who makes the most friends, often times lifelong friends who I remain in contact with to this day. I have also lived in many areas of the United States and never had any trouble fitting in and making friends. My experience in Charlotte was atypical. I stand by my original post and warn people about the attitude they will encounter in Charlotte, as can clearly be seen here on this thread. Not only is it one of the most unwelcoming in the United States, it is one of the most unwelcoming in the world.


Typhoonpilot

...and your post speaks volumes. We get it..you don't like people who obviously don't understand your superior skills and musings.
By-the-way I fail to see why they didn't just "cotton" right up to you! ...you're just so warm and fuzzy.....not!

 

[CKlimko]

I speak for all Southern Born people, they are my people and I have their voice. Please DO NOT move to Charlotte or any part of the South. We really do not want any of you people (you people; Yankees that believe that everything in the South is wrong, people that make fun of others because they believe in Jesus Christ, people that complain about everything, people that believe the South has awful food, people that believe the South has the worst schools and roads) here. I just got rid of Citation Lover (he moved back to Chicago) and I'm tired of all you people that have trashed your state moving to Charlotte and taking up space on the Lake and breathing the air. You are allowed one visit to Myrtle Beach every year but that is it. If I see you with a Kerry/Edwards or some liberal BS bumper sticker I will run you off the road. Other than that Have a very nice day!

Hells bells! I couldn't agree more!

 

[KeroseneSnorter]

As a general statement (not to be confused with all people from other places) the folks in the south normally are pretty laid back about most items. Most who grew up in the south, especially in the small towns are used to leaving people alone and not bothering other folks, and they expect the same. Talk to most of the teenagers from the little towns and they normally reply by saying sir or ma'am, something that you hardly ever hear in the NE.

As a general statement, people from the large metropolitan cities tend to be more rude, from a southern standpoint. Normally it is not the intent of the "yankee" but their body language tends to be more confrontational than someone from the south. Again I think that is due to the slower pace of life in the south.

Many items I have seen arise from a "land ownership" mentality. In the south, if you own some land you expect to be able to do whatever you like on it. Be it Dirt biking, shooting, hunting, whatever. If you use others land for these activities, it is a given that you would ask permission prior to doing so, and 99% of the time the land owner has no problem with it, as long as you are what he considers a "good neighbor" meaning that you leave him alone to do what he likes, and don't biatch when he has a cookout and gets loud from time to time.

It extends into the housing developments as well, most in my development are from the south originally, or have adopted the southern way of thinking. All except one family. This particular family seems to feel the need to control what all their neighbors do on their property. This couple will moan and complain to anybody that will listen about garage doors being open while someone is mowing their grass, saying it make the neighborhood look bad, or some guy rebuilding thier 60's muslecar in his garage or just about anything else that he finds offensive to his way of thinking.

Currently their house is on the market, their welcome in the community quickly dried up once they started their personal crusades. They happen to be from New jersey originally, but considering that one of the neighbors that hates his guts the most is also from New Jersey, and well liked in the neighborhood, I do not think that just being a "yankee" is the reason for the problem. After all, you get a ways out in the country in NY or PA and you would swear you are in the south, except for the accent and all that cold white stuff all over the ground.

As I said before, it is not where you come from, it's what kind of person you are. Like the saying goes "When in Rome"

Someone who grew up enjoying the freedom of the countryside and all the "Redneck" sports that goes with growing up a countryfied bumkin (MotoX, sport shooting, hotrods, fishing, hunting, etc.) does not take kindly to some closed minded individual trying to tell them that guns are evil, Dirt Bikes destroy the enviroment, etc etc.

My own best example is from a few years back. Close family friends own a beach cottage on the coast in a small family beach community, they have had it since the mid seventies. Lately there have been many northerners buying realestate on the beach, and then leasing it out on a weekly basis to their northen buddies. Well across the street is one of these rental houses. Some time back I was down fishing with my friend and we got back from the ocean about dark, well in the process of cleaning the fish and washing and refueling the boat and all that comes with fishing the big pond, these renters from NY took offense to us and our lights and what they perceived as "ruckus" So this guy comes onto my buddies property, and on to his boat dock and proceeded to chew him out and inform him that he was a NY state trooper and yadda yadda. My buddies only reply to this guy was "Piss Off" 20 minutes goes buy and a local police officer comes by. Knows us by name, matter of fact he knows all the locals by name. Listens to this NewYorker Biatch, listens to my buddies reply "I told him to piss off"

His solution to the New yorker, go back inside and leave the property owners of the beach alone.

Not sure how this rant applies to anything, but I always thought it was a great story and details how some "yankees" get their reputation in the sunny south.

 

[PFTEXPJET]

KeroseneSnorter

Great Post. I will say that not all Yankees are bad people but it pisses me off when anyone moves to my community and then starts to point out all the things that are wrong. I find this happens a lot with Yankees, most from the Big NE cities.

Again please, do not move to Charlotte. In 1988 I moved from Charlotte to Lake Norman and at that time, the town of Cornelius had 2000 people and 20,000 cows, now we have 80,000 people and 200 cows. Please stay away, move to Rock Hill or Pineville. Thanks and Everyone have a great day.

 

[Snakum]

I'm originally from Seattle but have lived in Charlotte for roughly 19 years. Your comment proves that ignorance is not defined by geographical boundaries!

You are one of those who proves my point. My post was rather tempered, by any measure, yet you called me ignorant. Obviously, your experiences with the locals in Charlotte are colored by the also obvious fact that you're an @$$hole ... and so you get treated like one.

Minh