Tell Me About North Carolina

[Xox]

Specifically the cities I list. I'm going to apply to a couple of UNC branches, but I'm not really sure which one to apply to. For me, the location is really important. I need a nice, progressive city. I prefer liberal. But yeah, I think you all know what I'm talking about. I'm an atheist and too much religion bothers me as well. I know Chapel Hill is cool, but besides that, how about - - Raleigh - Greensboro - Charlotte

[Catbus]

Raleigh's a pretty cool city. You've got Hillsborough street, which is your typical college town (NCSU's campus is there). There's a lot of cool places to eat, a cool used bookstore, three headshops, a comic book shop and loads of other interesting things. Raleigh also has a nice train system with tracks that connect all over downtown, which makes them nice to walk along. We've spent so many days just walking and talking on those tracks, but I digress. Raleigh's also nice because all of the interesting parts (in my opinion, at least) are fairly close to each other. There's also a lot of good venues in Raleigh, The Brewery, The Lincoln Theater, The Pourhouse, and a couple of cool cafes that take local artists. As for Greensboro, I've only ever been there to see Between the Buried and Me at the Green Street Club, but it looked like a nice city. I either ate at a really cool Mediterranean place, or a really cool Indian place, I don't remember. Speaking of Mediterranean food, have you been to the Mediterranean Cafe on Franklin street? They have the best food there, and it's not that pricey. Also, the first Saturday of every month at the Town Commons in Carrboro (which is so close to Chapel Hill it should just be part of Chapel Hill) they have the "Really really free market" where people bring stuff they want to give away, and take whatever they want. There's always a lot of interesting people and usually decent food. Anyway, hope that helps some.

[jarrhead]

Raleigh's a pretty cool city. You've got Hillsborough street, which is your typical college town (NCSU's campus is there). There's a lot of cool places to eat, a cool used bookstore, three headshops, a comic book shop and loads of other interesting things. Raleigh also has a nice train system with tracks that connect all over downtown, which makes them nice to walk along. We've spent so many days just walking and talking on those tracks, but I digress. Raleigh's also nice because all of the interesting parts (in my opinion, at least) are fairly close to each other. There's also a lot of good venues in Raleigh, The Brewery, The Lincoln Theater, The Pourhouse, and a couple of cool cafes that take local artists. As for Greensboro, I've only ever been there to see Between the Buried and Me at the Green Street Club, but it looked like a nice city. I either ate at a really cool Mediterranean place, or a really cool Indian place, I don't remember. Speaking of Mediterranean food, have you been to the Mediterranean Cafe on Franklin street? They have the best food there, and it's not that pricey. Also, the first Saturday of every month at the Town Commons in Carrboro (which is so close to Chapel Hill it should just be part of Chapel Hill) they have the "Really really free market" where people bring stuff they want to give away, and take whatever they want. There's always a lot of interesting people and usually decent food. Anyway, hope that helps some. Dude, you went and saw BTBAM!? I am trying to see them next saturday and raleigh and my mother is the only one that dissaproves. Not my dad. Raleigh's great. There's music stores, lots of concerts and events, a nice skatepark, and always something to do. Traffic isn't too bad either. Greensboro is literally a harbor for koreans. Nothing interesting but a place to see concerts, some old battleships, and a couple korean markets and restaurants. Charlotte's got a good music scene as well. Asheville, just wow. Beautiful scenery, great summer weather, and just my favorite place to be. I wish I was there and not here in fayetteville. That said, Raleigh has way too much religion in it. :/ But HOOOOLLLY CRAAAP do NOT go to wilmington or greensboro if you want to escape religion. Fayetteville here doesn't have many big concerts, though we do have the world's biggest skate scene -- which means a surplus asshole police enforcing some very stupid laws that restrict any freedom downtown. We have a huge gang problem in the inner city as well. However just five miles out of fayetteville is a nice place called Linden, it's farms and small neighborhoods and a great place to be, if you aren't black. Pretty sure one of the grandmasters lives in this area. There's a ton of KKK here. A big clash of city-people, rednecks, and gangsters. All three can attend the same school too.

[Universal Mind]

I used to live 45 or so miles outside of Raleigh in a town called Henderson. Socially, Henderson sucked, but I liked the landscape and scenery. I went to Raleigh a few times for swim meets and to see relatives. I was young, but it seemed like a cool city. I went to Duke University (in Durham?) for the regional swim meet. Duke had a 17 foot deep pool and some outrageously tall diving platforms. That was awesome. The Smokey Mountains in North Carolina are very beautiful. That's about the full extent of my take on the state. I am sure I will never live there again.

[ninja9578]

Raleigh has somewhat of a conservative problem and will probably be too redneck for you. Charlotte is a very liberal city (well, by Southern standards.) In terms of political sides, the higher the concentration of blacks, the further left it goes and Charlotte is a fairly mixed city. Things might have changed, I haven't been to either city in years.

[Universal Mind]

Raleigh has somewhat of a conservative problem :bravo: Man, I honestly think you might be more prejudiced against conservatives than anybody else I have ever met. You bring this shit up in every thread you ever post in. Are you afraid they are going to read Bible verses to you or play golf in your yard or something? Maybe you should start something like a KKK, except against conservatives.

[ninja9578]

She said that she wants a progressive city, I told her that Raleigh isn't that.

[Xox]

Yeah man. I really don't want a place with too many conservatives. (The main issue is socially) I've lived in a extremely conservative town for the past two years, and I'm ready to get the fu*k out. I'm going to be living in this place for the next four years or more, and I want to make it worthwhile. Sooo Raleigh's redneck you say? I'm really considering not applying to any of them now, lol. :p

[Universal Mind]

She said that she wants a progressive city, I told her that Raleigh isn't that. Yeah, I guess she did. I didn't catch it right the first time because I had an image of "liberal" in terms of a city meaning "with relaxed party laws", which I am very much for. I'm socially liberal but economically and militarily conservative, so the word "liberal" has more than one meaning to me. However, when you (Ninja) say "conservative", I only think of our past conversations and just how bad of a connotation you put on the word. Xox, if you want to live in an area where most people are liberal (in every sense of the word), live in an art district or college district. I'm sure the UNC branches have surrounding areas you would like. I love hanging out in areas like that, but I tend to avoid certain subjects when I do. You can make a few closed-minded enemies in a hurry by mentioning that you don't all out despise every cell in Republican leaders' bodies. A Southern college district you would especially love is LSU's. I used to live there. It is PLENTY liberal. I loved living there, and so did all of the liberals I knew, including my roommates.

[Bizarre Jester]

- Raleigh - Greensboro - Charlotte These are the 3 major cities of NC. Raleigh is the capital. It's a pretty laid back state, cost of living isn't bad. It is in the bible belt so watch out, if you're concerned about too much religion. I've only been to Charlotte, and me being raised in the North thought everyone had rediculous accents. Surprisingly more then other southern states like Texas, and Louisianna. The climate is pretty nice. long summers, cool but not cold winters.

[oniman7]

I've been up and down South and North Carolina, but I've only really been to Charlotte ( from what I hear, it's the banking capital of the US, and my friend's dad was a banker at Wachovia, so I used to go visit him. ) Also, I thought Greensboro was in South Carolina? Or was that the city on the border? Anyways, about the whole religion thing, that area's pretty bad. I didn't see it as much in Charlotte, but when I lived in the Greensboro/Columbia area ( South Carolina ) it was pretty bad. On Sundays, none of the shops opened until 1:00, and it was illegal to buy alcohol. Now, Charlotte's pretty cool. Where I stayed was a rural part of the city, however, about a 30 minute drive is the big industrial part, a lot of banks there. That's about the extent of my knowledge. Oh, also, if I recall, cost of living is very low there. However, the only other place I've lived in is Florida, so I wouldn't really know.

[Dannon Oneironaut]

You want ASHEVILLE! It is all liberal, it is all artistic and there is a dream conference here this summer. There is tons of music and art and young people of all colors and shapes and sizes. It is not a big city, it is a small city but with lots of heart and soul. There are at least 10 head shops and it is the most progressive place on the East Coast with the possible exception of Burlington Vermont. It is in the Heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and has lots of culture. It is three and a half hours from Atlanta. The surrounding areas are redneck though. But Asheville is great. in fact, most of the people here are from out of state and they all moved here because it is so cool. It is on the French Broad river and the Swannanoa River. Lots of festivals and music festivals on the streets, wilderness survival festivals, dream conferences, breweries, octoberfest, etc. But keep it a secret.