Gosh, can you think of anyway we can get them to head out of here? Maybe to Arizona or something?

Don't send them to the Pacific Northwest. They'd be shocked by the way native Americans were treated, especially in Oregon. Oh, and forget Chicago, once called the most segregated city in the US, and for good reason. Or Indiana, which has historically had the largest KKK chapter in the USA. Hmm. Better not show them Atlanta, home of MLK, and the city which didn't have race riots while other cities burned in the 1960's....the City with great African American mayors and universities. Nope. Oh the US is a confusing place!

A place is what you make of it.

Keep your head high.
Do as to others as they would do to you.
Try and try again... and you will feel at home no matter where you move to.

Sometimes it takes trying a few different options to find your niche, but if you keep trying, you will find it.

People are people -- everywhere...

FYI- I moved from NY to Atlanta 8 years ago and by following the above advice am having a good time in the "deep south"

Kindest regards,
Amanda

There are an awful lot of history lessons posted here????... What is that all about? And again what is a troll? I am beginning to think I am missing all the lingo.
Amatters you are going to love living on your own and you are only 24-you have a great attitude and will have fun anywhere!

Thanks for the support, i think a troll is someone who is not serious about a post, although i dont know what I have posted that somone would consider to be a fake posting, but we are each entitled to our own opinions

Girlonthego, a troll is someone who intentionally posts a bogus message with the intent not of obtaining information, but rather of stirring up other posters, to get other posters yelling at each other. The original post is usually written in an unassuming manner, indicating that they are seemingly unaware their post could cause problems. Sorta like fishing, where you throw out the baited hook and drag it behind the boat (trolling) over areas where you believe the fish to be. Not sure if amatters is a troll or not, kinda doubt it, but it does show that there are still discussions that have to be handled with a bit of sensitivity. If you want a roaring, heated discussion, try talking about which is better, barbecue from Eastern NC, Western NC, Virginia, or SC.... Your intelligence, parentage, and taste will be pretty quickly questioned.

Thanks for the reply. I do not think amatters is a "troll". But I do think her post has been an interesting read with many fun responses.
Have enjoyed reading all of this....

girlonthego, most southerners don't consider Virginia to be a southern state but an eastern state. Our weather in South Carolina is much different from yours. We don't really have fall and we don't get snow.

amatters, Charleston is a very culturally and socio-economically diverse area. You will find all religions and many Catholics (being one myself). You will find one of the largest Jewish populations in the south.

You aren't moving to Mayberry. Charleston is a world class city.

Tandoori Girl, only ten years where you live? People are "from off" until at least the second generation in the small community where I grew up, and then the older people will include a remark about when their parents moved in. After a heated discussion of what to do with some church funds, my mother was indignant over a suggestion made by a man who, she said, was just a newcomer. (At that time, he had lived in the community for 20 years.)

mayberry..My mom used to make me watch that show, they even still had in black in white on a local netwowk.

I plan on visiting the area on sept 3,4
I will most likely be driving, but i found some good air fairs in UA, $223 from charlest to harrisbug, which is amazing becasue Harrisburg is usually very expensive to fly out of. I will let you all know who my move went. I am sure I will have more questions before i leave though :)

GoTravel...You have never lived in Richmond VA. The South lives on. They may not have thick accents, but it is a very southern city. (At least from a Yankee's perspective!) ha ha ha....
As to weather, yes I guess you are correct in the fact that your weather is much warmer than ours.

But I have lived in Richmond. I spent a summer living with my then boyfriend at his Aunts big house on Monument Avenue. He was in summer school at VCU and I spent the summer hostessing at The Tobacco Company.

Amatters, We moved from the north to South Carolina 16 years ago. There are differences here to be sure, but you happen to be moving to the best of all possible cities in South Carolina. One difference I found right away was in the speed of speaking. I had to learn to slow down--perhaps it was my northern accent?? People here are as friendly as you want them to be, and as you are to them. Generally, that's the way it is in most areas of the US.

Charleston is very rich culturally with tons of things to do and see. The Spoleto festival in late May, early June is one example-- great operas, theatrical performances, and art exhibits. The entire coastline of South Carolina has great beaches, several near Charleston.

When we have "northern" relatives visiting, we always include day trips to Charleston. I envy your relocation choice. You'll love living in Charleston. Kathy

Thanks for the tip about talking fast..people always tell me that I do that,oh and also that i talk way too much..lol

Gotravel, Virginia not considered part of the south? Says who? Weren't you able to see see the monuments from your boyfriend's aunt's house on Monument Ave.? Did they not take you to Hollywood Cemetery? Tredegar Ironworks? White House/Museum of the Confederacy? Appomattox? Cold Harbor? Seven Pines? Weren't you there long enough to see at least one exchange in the Richmond Times-Dispatch op ed page either condemming or honoring R E Lee or A Lincoln?
Not part of the South? This will come as a shock to both Mason and Dixon.

Southern VA is certainly the south. Culturally, VA is sort of two states now - Arlington and the suburbs around DC are more Nothern, but outside of that VA is a Southern state. In fact, if you've ever tried to get around DC in a snow storm you'll realize that it is a southern city at heart too.

Add the Tidewater area to the parts of Virginia that don't fit into the southern mold. It is more eastern seaboard than southern.

I also found people telling me Virginia wasn't really southern when I moved deeper into the south. It is definitely not part of the "deep south," but neither are Tennessee and NC.

I have loved the banter on this post, but I am getting tired of scrolling all the way down to see what someone else wrote. Either we start a new post or we continue this story in Sept.after amatters moves in and we find out the scoop on a brand new post....like a trip report....amatters loves charleston or amatters misses ny..amatters finds true love in the deep south...any other ideas?????...

girlonthego-
Then you would not enjoy reading the For Wine-Os thread on Other Topics..they have 487 replies on there!
This is just getting started! :)

Ahh--some levity after so many hurricane stresses.

Here's a snapshot of my family:

It's hard to believe that this used to be the mentality...My dear late mom was as yankee as you can get (New York); dad is as Southern as you can get (born and raised in rural Georgia). When they met (1956), no one in either family had ever married an "outsider". My mother's two old maid aunts were intellectual snobs (Aunt Sally claimed to be the first woman to get her masters at Cornell sometime in the late 1800s). Aunt Sally could not believe my mother was marrying an "uneducated" Southerner. My mother reminded her that my dad was a graduate of the University of GA, to which Sally responded "You make my point". My maternal grandfather adored my dad and vice versa, my grandmother tolerated him. These two old maid aunts were a hoot--Sally lived to be 100. Her sister Jayne liked my dad because he sneaked her out to go to the dog track which Sally would NEVER approve of.

Then there was my dad's side. They were just as happy about the marriage. My mama (one of a dozen Southern words for grandmother)huffed around for months--she thought my mom was starving him because "yankees can't cook worth a damn, they boil everything and they use store-bought chickens" My mom didn't think a yankee had ever been to my dad's hometown. The first time she came to visit she sat on the front porch with the family after dinner and she swore the whole town walked by to get a look at the yankee.

Fast forward 25 years and when my southern uncle, a physician, met my husband (then my fiancé)the first words out his mouth were "My gawd, you're not only marryin a lawya, you're marrying a damn yankee lawya". I THINK he was joking.

My mother eventually came to be a converted Southerner who loved the South as much as my dad. You'd never know she'd ever stepped north of the Mason Dixon (she even acquired a slight Southern accent).

So troll or not, there's something about the South and esp. Charleston so I predict you'll be a convert as well!