# Is Pining For North Carolina Normal?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 9, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224 "2004-04-09T21:07:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/21 "2004-04-10T20:10:13Z")
> [@Bruce\_Daddy](#):
>
> North Carolinians are yankees. š
A Yankee! Suh, thereās to be no name calling in my thread! Mild insults are alright, but letās not take the level of discourse to the Pit! š
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### Author:  [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/22 "2004-04-11T00:36:02Z")
I live in Lincolnton, NC (about 40m NW of Charlotte) and I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I wouldnāt move back to NY if they gave me a free house and doubled my salary.
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### Author:  [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/23 "2004-04-11T00:42:37Z")
We moved to Fayetteville when I was 10 and Swansboro when I was 13. I went to NC State in Raleigh and stayed in Raleigh until I was 27.
Iāve now had a chance to live in Dallas and Seattle and I donāt miss NC at all. I like big cities with real skyscrapers, tons of good shopping, interesting downtowns, good ethnic restaurants and lots of fun stuff to do.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/24 "2004-04-11T00:50:15Z")
Yāknow, people usually pine for the fjordsā¦
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### Author:  [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/25 "2004-04-11T03:25:13Z")
Am I the only North Carolinian who doesnāt really care to move back? I was trying to get out of Winston as soon as I turned 18, finally managed it 7 years later.
I could live on the coast and maybe in Greensboro or the Raleigh/Durham area. Even if I wanted to go back to Winston or Clemmons, they are not the same places I left, too much and too many things have changed and likely the things that made me want to leave in the first place have not.
Besides, when I got married we moved to Norfolk, Virginia, that became home to us.
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### Author:  [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/26 "2004-04-11T15:54:35Z")
I thought I was the only one! I visited there only once back in ?'94? and it was just so wonderful, Iāve longed to return.
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### Author:  [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/27 "2004-04-11T23:37:06Z")
> [@ExTank](#):
>
> Asheville was rated as one of the better (top 10) cities for livability in the country.
Interesting. I have a friend in Asheville and he says there are zero (0) jobs in Asheville. He has several degrees and has to work in the deli of a grocery store. The fun part is, heās vegetarian.
That friend, my fiance, and I recently took a trip to California. I liked seeing the rest of the country, but I realized that Iām NC born-n-bred and I want to stay here. I have seen insanity on the roads, my friends, and it is called Southern California. :eek: Greensboro is _tame_ by comparison. Although I will tell anyone who is planning on moving here or who already lives here this bit of advice about getting across the state: **If you are going across the state, take Highway 64, not I-40.** The scenery is better, thereās not as much traffic, and you _avoid Greensboro completely_.
There are negative parts of this state. I used to live in China Grove, which is just north of Kannapolis. You may remember Kannapolis from such news stories as the local mill shutting down, leaving over 50,000 jobless. I went back there to catch the train to Washington and itās dead there now. Nothing is left but an empty mill and a 9-ft. bronze statue of Dale Earnhardt. Much like the rest of my childhood haunts, it is an empty shell. I wonāt go on about the textile industry leaving small towns in the dust here because itās too depressing.
I live in Greenville now, in that great void east of I-95. Itās nice here, but Iām pining for the hills. My fiance and I have agreed that when weāre both done with grad school, weāre heading to the central part of the state where the red clay lives. Lovely, lovely red clay.
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### Author:  [@chrissysissystar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrissysissystar)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/28 "2004-04-12T01:21:50Z")
Chiming in with the North Carolina love.
I moved to Raleigh in '94 for a job. I can safely say that I **LOVE** it here for all the reasons others have listed: beaches, mild weather, warm people. Just like any city, it does have problems but thatās what you get for living in the big city.
Raleigh has great schools, theater, music and sports (basketball crazy, allegedly, but then again, I grew up in Indiana so I know **real** basketball crazy).
Iāve driven in Chicago, Atlanta, and Indianapolis and, honestly, Raleigh isnāt that bad. Except for the fact that at least in Indianapolis, things are gridded and donāt change freakinā street names every 1/4 mile.
I happen to love car racing and, once the season starts, you can see races Friday and Saturday nights. Dirt tracks, short tracks, any kind of car set up you can dream of.
Unless (god forbid) my folks get seriously ill, I plan on staying here until I get old(er) and gray(er).
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### Author:  [@smaft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaft)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/29 "2004-04-12T04:26:11Z")
> [@catnoe](#):
>
> Am I the only North Carolinian who doesnāt really care to move back? I was trying to get out of Winston as soon as I turned 18, finally managed it 7 years later.
Oh, no- I assure you youāre not the only one. Grew up in NC and moved 3000 miles away as soon as finances allowed. I cannot even conceive of the amount of money it would take to convince me to move back. If I had to, I could live in Chapel Hill, maybe, but only at gunpoint.
Seattle is home in more ways than NC ever was.
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### Author:  [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/30 "2004-04-12T04:34:29Z")
What really sealed it for me was not Raleigh or Durhamā¦those were great. It was Spencer.
See, we stopped to ride the train. (Shut up! š ). And the guy at the ticket counter had the most pleasing Southern drawl I have heard in ages. It sounded like home. Kinda like I felt when I flew into Atlanta and we got out of the car and I smelled the pine trees.
Someone mentioned hurricanes, is that going to come up in Raleigh/Durham? Or are we far enough inland?
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### Author:  [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/31 "2004-04-12T15:06:04Z")
[QUOTE=chrissysissystar]
Iāve driven in Chicago, Atlanta, and Indianapolis and, honestly, Raleigh isnāt that bad. Except for the fact that at least in Indianapolis, things are gridded and donāt change freakinā street names every 1/4 mile.
[QUOTE]
Ah, I see youāve been on Infamous Street in Charlotte.
> [@GMRyujin](#):
>
> What really sealed it for me was not Raleigh or Durhamā¦those were great. It was Spencer.
>
> See, we stopped to ride the train. (Shut up! š ). And the guy at the ticket counter had the most pleasing Southern drawl I have heard in ages. It sounded like home. Kinda like I felt when I flew into Atlanta and we got out of the car and I smelled the pine trees.
>
> Someone mentioned hurricanes, is that going to come up in Raleigh/Durham? Or are we far enough inland?
I used to live near Spencer. I loved it there. The local elementary schools used to take the kids up there for a field trip and we got to ride the trains and see the roundhouse.
Hurricanes do come up to Raleigh occasionally, but by the time they get there, they arenāt as strong as they are when they hit the coast. They most common track is through Wilmington/Cape Fear to Greenville and then across 95. We get some of the good out of it before it gets to you. Youāre welcome.
This is, of course, barring another Hugo-type hurricane that went through Charleston and up through Charlotte, but that is VERY RARE and the odds against it happening again in our lifetimes is astronomical. Someone needs to tell that to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board.
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### Author:  [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/32 "2004-04-12T15:07:36Z")
I will preview before I post.
I will close my tags.
I will preview before I post.
I will close my tags.
I will preview before I post.
I will close my tags.
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### Author:  [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/33 "2004-04-12T15:39:12Z")
I just moved to Virginia a few months ago, and like it here so far - but from everything Iāve heard about North Carolina, Iām sure Iād like it there too. I have family around Charlotte, so Iāve thought about visiting down there & seeing what it is like. They are also said to have a thriving tech community, which would definitely work for me.
Susan
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### Author:  [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/34 "2004-04-12T20:52:32Z")
**Spazcat:** that datum was from '99 or '00; things certainly couldāve changed since then, especially with the nation-wide economic slump.
But IIRC, the rating also took into account things other than just economics, rating its _overall_ livability. Again, IIRC, Austin TX rated pretty high and I have several friends in Austin wishing they were living somewhere else, so the whole survey may have been bogus.
In any case, I thought North Carolina was a dandy state to live in, even if I only lived there for 4 months on a job site for the military.
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### Author:  [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/35 "2004-04-12T22:03:46Z")
> [@SpazCat](#):
>
> We get some of the good out of it before it gets to you. Youāre welcome.
Great, we appreciate it. š
I grew up in hurricane country, so Iām not worried about em too much, but living in Atlanta, I havenāt had to worry about em.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/36 "2004-04-13T02:31:59Z")
I opened this thread havubg misread the title as **Is Dining in** North Carolina Normal?
Since I was very unpleasantly introduced to a dreadful āaritficial margarineā called _Sheddās Spread_ at a NC restaurant, I have to answer emphatically NO!
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### Author:  [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/37 "2004-04-13T16:54:36Z")
> [@NothingMan](#):
>
> Somebodys never had to fight through rush hour traffic in the nightmare that is Greensboro. . . or driven anywhere near downtown Raleigh. . . or waited an hour and a half to go 6 miles - just west of Asheville on I-40. I grew up in NC and I love it too - but this idea of a drivers nirvana is simply not true. Sure its not NYC, but there are idiot drivers everywhere.
As someone who has driven I-40, the Beltline, and downtown during rush hour. Raleigh had _nothing_ on 285.
Pining for NC is perfectly normal. Mrs Magill, Pinky, and I just got back from a visit, and all I have to say is, āI wanna go home.ā
My only complaint is that my cell phone tends to be quirky. (Which is why we missed your call Saturday night, CSS.)
> [@wonder9](#):
>
> Nobodyās mentioned Chapel Hill yet!
Thereās a reason for that. š
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### Author:  [@chrissysissystar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrissysissystar)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/38 "2004-04-13T16:59:48Z")
> [@Mausmagill](#):
>
> My only complaint is that my cell phone tends to be quirky. (Which is why we missed your call Saturday night, CSS.)
I knew there had to be a good reason!! Sorry I missed you guys too. ā¹
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### Author:  [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/39 "2004-04-13T17:43:04Z")
My wife and I planned to spend our two week honeymoon going up and down the eastern seabord. We wanted to visit Atlanta, Nashville, DC maybe Miami. We started in Asheville so my Mom could meet my wife face to face. We spent the whole two weeks there. My wife even sabotaged our departure purposely because she didnāt want to leave. Since I work from home now and can do this job anywhere that has internet access, as soon as Iāve saved enough dough, the family and I are Asheville bound.
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### Author:  [@Silly\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silly_Dog)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pining-for-north-carolina-normal/239224/40 "2004-04-13T19:09:51Z")
Iāve lived in Illinois, New Hampshire, Vermont, Arizona and North Carolina. North Carolina is my favorite!
I think Iām a Southerner at heart. I was born in Jacksonville, FL and although we moved shortly after that, Iām told I started speaking with the biggest Southern Drawl ever heard coming out of the mouth of a baby in the Midwest.
The seasons are beautiful in North Carolina. Ok, well, the summer is hot & humid, but the rest of the year is wonderful! The rain is warm most of the year. The vegetation is lush and semi-tropical, and the sky really is a distinctly different blue color there. The convergence of several really good public and private universities makes for an interesting populace. The Duke Forrest Preserve and the Chapel Hill Botannical Gardens are great.
And how can you not love the state that gives us the Venus Fly Trap? Yep. Theyāre indigenous to coastal NC.
If I donāt get the chance to move back to the Triangle while Iām working, Iām seriously considering it for retirement!
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