Re: The Carolinas
 

Thanks everyone :)

If hubby gets a job in the Carolinas, I will be back on here asking loads of questions, I'm sure! :lol:

Re: The Carolinas
 

Every single person you have a conversation with? That is amazing! I have just never found that at all, in a small town or large town.

Re: The Carolinas
 

Hi there
One day , hopefully soon when my K1 visa nightmare is over , I shall be living in Raleigh North Carolina , it's lovely there and reminds me of Cornwall
The heat I shall have to get used to , but I am sure I will acclimatise .
Myrtle beach is lovely but overun with sixteen year old clones of each other
Would recommend NC .
I will get there eventually
J

Re: The Carolinas
 

We have lived in both Carolina's We moved to a town in the Charlotte NC area in 1973 and to be honest we hated it. Back then everything revolved around the Baptist Church even to the point where the county we lived in was dry (no alcohol sales ) After two year we moved to Greenville SC and we have been there ever since and absolutely love it.

Re: The Carolinas
 

All I can say is that you both must look like lost souls who need some spiritual guidance, whereas I must look past all redemption. I have never felt the "in your face" religious aspect of Southern living despite there being a proliferation of churches. Then again, there are a hell of a lot of banks and I don't get people talking about money to me either.

Re: The Carolinas
 

We live around 100 miles from "wildinvirgina" and our experiance is very similar. A new member of the church is like a prize buck in hunting season hence the attempts to lure you to their particular church. There is the concept here of the "home church" where your family is tied to that church no matter how bad the pastor is so basically the congregation is fixed. As I mentioned we went to a small Methodist church which was a dumping ground for dud pastors so we left. A small number people do change churches but this is the exception.

Re: The Carolinas
 

Been in Charlotte 5 years, have never been asked what church I go to, and have only been invited once as they had a guest speaker that I may have been interested in hearing.

Re: The Carolinas
 

Came to comment on the appearance of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Greensboro appearing in the top ten cities affected by poverty. Really didn't get that impression whilst I was there which just goes to show these things aren't always easy to spot and how carefully you need to research if you're moving into an area permanently! It also explains the employment boom in G'boro - it's the 'create new jobs' money being spent lol.

Thanks for the comments on my very real experience in church invitations by the way. Hey Guess what? I am giving in and going to church! It IS that prevalent! And no, I don't receive frequent invitations because I look like I need saving spiritually, it's probably more because I'm open, chatty and easy to invite! Plus, the head-hunting thing is truer than you know and I fit the prime demographic - I have a young family, my husband is in a community based job ... and I probably look like the type who'll be easily pressed into volunteering lol Maybe the fact you're NOT being invited is because they don't like the look of you or think you wont be as easy to convince :) Or maybe it's true that the last thing a 'nice' church wants is a real sinner and you fit that bill by the looks of you :)

Re: The Carolinas
 

Church? in the 21st century? :rolleyes:

Re: The Carolinas
 

There are quite a few 'dry counties' and areas in the U.S. even now.

Re: The Carolinas
 

Baa! Baa! Baa!

Maybe it's because I have a mind of my own. "Giving in", gives the impression you are doing this under some sort of duress. You either want to go or you don't. Get a backbone.

Re: The Carolinas
 

Including Moore County, TN. The county seat of which is Lynchburg, home of a certain brand of whiskey you may have heard of.

Re: The Carolinas
 

Fromthemanorborn - my backbone - and my manners - are both fully in tact, tact you. It's simply a case of, when in Rome really. The simple fact is, after a year of trying to find alternatives, i recognize that when you move to a rural area of Virginia, you have to accept that some things are done a certain way and adapt. Duress, perhaps as church wouldn't be my first choice - however, it is my only choice. As the mother of a small child who needs company of more than just her parents, I will have a lifetime of doing things in a way other than my own way for my children's benefit. And when the only person to extend the hand of friendship purchases a child seat so that she may collect you and your child and take you, those in tact manners come out and 'giving in' is actually something you do for someone elses benefit. So, not going through a lack of courage but an abundance of motherly love and gratitude. But thanks for using your manners to brighten my morning .....

Re: The Carolinas
 

You do not have to explain your actions to me, but since you have put more "meat on the bones" of your decision, I sincerely and wholeheartedly back your reasoning. I too am the parent of a small child (15 months) and agree that the company and interaction of people other than parents is vital to the child's all round development. Not sounding hypocritical here, my daughter occasionally goes to church with her Grandmother and generally has a whale of a time. However, she also enjoys being part of the creche when I visit the gym and going to school with my wife whenever they hold an event. I suppose we are lucky that we have options.

Going back to my original point though, I still don't agree that all life in the South revolves around the church.

PS. I apologise for coming across as ill-mannered this morning. I think I got out of bed on the wrong side.

Re: The Carolinas
 

No need to apologize! I get out of bed the wrong side every morning, and several times a night - mine is nine months old lol!

I live in a particularly strange part of Virginia I think - I have friends farther north and they have all the options of larger towns and big cities - I have to drive over an hour for a bookstore that isn't a Christian book shop! The closest city to me has undergone a period of rapid decline it seems, losing it's industry almost overnight. Funnily enough the article I read about the new poverty statistics last night indicated that for the first time, poverty is greater in non-urban areas .... I think that's definitely the case here! Whilst it's easy to direct redevelopment resources to a town or city, it's harder to do in dispersed communities. Therefore I think apart from the schools, the only remaining organizations are churches, hence their prevalence in people's lives. In Britain, families tend to stay closer intertwined in daily lives when need is greatest, I think the church provide that role here. There is however also a much deeper belief in God and a genuine surprise when we say we don't go - even more so when my husband admits to not having belief at all! And he works in a prison where even the convicted are surprised by that - but then perhaps repentance is part of penitence lol and he is a a maximum security :) Right now, the two key issues of debate given upcoming elections are whether the local council meetings should begin with prayer (they do although the law strictly forbids it) and whether the Ten Commandments should be posted in schools as again, the no religion in schools policy is flatly ignored here, but only for Christian religions! Mention Islam, Hinduism, Buddishm around here and people look at you with suspicion or outright confusion! I entered Evolution into the county wide library search engine and the only titles available were fiction and a David Duchovny film! The fact that I rented it or searched under my library account has probably put me on a list lol. I borrowed a book on world religion that I specially ordered ...... I await the burning cudgels coming up the drive with trepidation!