49% of Residents Want to Leave NJ and Come to NC/FL

An interesting tidbit appeared in yesterday's Charlotte Observer newspaper, claiming that a recent poll said 49% of the residents living in New Jersey wants to move out of the state and go to either North Carolina or Florida.

Digging around, I found the story in the Star Ledger which appeared on October 17th. Don't just read the story itself, but also read the near 50 comments from readers that wrote in to voice their thoughts. Here's one particularly entertaining one:

"New Jersey, if the fumes, taxes (personal and corporate), traffic, and corruption don't kill ya, the stupidity in government will!

Hey, here's an idea, let's tax the people who don't make as much; an idea that will work right? Less tax to those who make more, more tax to those that make less. This state is in dire straights right now, along with many towns. Towns need more help financially, and the state has no funds to help.

$3.5 BILLION in deficit? The state just keep running up the credit card bills, chasing out the businesses. There is soon to be a tax on the tax.

I guess discussing this is like trying to introduce logic to an illogical equation. Nothing will change, anytime soon. Get used to it, or be prepared to move. I felt exactly like these people about living in the northeast. Taxes too high, cost of living is nuts." -1lvdherelong

I can totally relate to what these people are feeling, as I was one of them over 3 years ago. Between the taxes, the cost of living and the traffic, you simply don't feel like you can get ahead in the northeast. You're working like a maniac to pay bills.

A friend of ours who still lives with his wife in northern Jersey is purchasing a house and told us the property taxes were going to be $9,000. He said it without any emotion or shock...as if it was all normal. I guess in Jersey people just accept those numbers. I held my breath when I heard the figure and said to Matt--can you believe we're paying $2,200 property taxes for 3 acres??

So, I don't blame folks in New Jersey for wanting to run as fast as they can. And you won't be alone, because your buddies that left a few years ago are already waiting here for you.

There's Nothing Better Than Charlotte Weather

Never mind the cost of living, lots of people come to Charlotte for the great weather. I sure did. It used to be that the minute I saw the leaves changing color, I would head into a funk. It meant that 5 months of frigid temperatures were coming along with the possibility of snow. As a kid, you love snow because you get to stay home from school and play in it. Most employers I've had didn't enjoy giving me the day off just because its snowing out. So, as an adult--snow and wintry weather sucks.

It means you've got to commute in it, shovel it, and try to cross the street while hoping you don't get sloshed by the downtown bus. It means wearing heavy coats and a hat. It means not being able to go outside to enjoy a beautiful day. Brrrr!

Now, Charlotte doesn't really get snow. In the 3 years I've lived here, it has snowed exactly twice for approximately 4 hours each time. By the end of the day, there was not a single trace of the white stuff. And, most importantly, I don't own a snow shovel. The mountain regions to the north of Charlotte provide a wonderful buffer to that wintry stuff being shot down our way by those pesky Canadians. You can have many lovely winter days of 40 degrees where only a light jacket is required. It might be nippy in the early morning or evenings, but still nothing that requires the northeastern parka.

There is ice in Charlotte, however. Or at least, that's what I'm told. I haven't seen it once in the 3 years I've lived here, but I did hear that there was a mega ice storm the year before we arrived where many people in Charlotte lost electrical power for two weeks. Two weeks! I think Matt would murder someone if he missed two weeks worth of Sunday football on TV.

The caution here is that Charlotteans seem to completely freak out in poor weather. Several hours after one particular dusting of snow, I made my way to the Toys R Us off Pineville Matthews Road to grab my kid some diapers. The snow had long melted away and the sun was out, but there wasn't a soul on highway 485. I get to the store and there's a huge sign in the window that said: Due to the terrible weather, we have closed at 1PM. The employees were huddled inside and horrified that I was tapping on the glass door. They waved me away and shouted through the plate glass, "We're closed! The weather is really bad!!" I turned around to look at the completely dry pavement. I shrugged my shoulders and made my way to the Harris Teeter supermarket. I was confident they that had to be open, after all, it was a 24-hour store. Thankfully, they were, but the Teeter employees looked miffed--they were probably wishing they were Toys R Us employees instead.

Oh, and speaking of the supermarkets, the minute that TV weather personality begins to hint at the possibility of the white stuff coming--Charlotteans sprint to the Teeter as if the end of the world were coming. Milk, juice and toilet paper will fly off the shelves. Generators with 2 inches of dust disappear from every Home Depot and, yes, those snow shovels go too. And finally, the weather personality actually has something to report on. You see, most days in Charlotte are pretty much the same--sunny and lovely. Nobody pays attention to the weatherman because, well, its going to be sunny and lovely for the next six days in a row. Ho hum. But, snow gives the weather man something to crow about. Finally the spotlight is on him, and he's determined to really take that moment and run with it. He's going to instill the fear of God into all viewers. "Get thee to the supermarket and stock up on all dairy products! A blizzard is coming," he shouts at you through the screen. I'm convinced the weather man is getting a kickback from the Harris Teeter.

Driving in inclement weather in Charlotte is also an adventure. Considering how many of us who live here have come from places with truly nasty winter weather, I'm astounded at what happens to all of you when you get behind the wheel of a car--even when its only raining. Everything seems to come to a virtual crawl, and there's panic and white knuckles grasping every wheel. I mean, you just moved here from Albany two years ago, and you've driven through 16 feet of snow! What's happened to you now that you've moved to Charlotte and you're facing a quarter of an inch of snow? I don't blame native southerners for freaking out...but northerners, too?

Matt and I purposefully call our families in Jersey and New York when we see it's -25 degrees and snicker when they tell us how cold it is. Suckers!

Stuff You Might Miss--or Not!

Aside from the people you know and love, you might actually miss inanimate things that you're accustomed to while living in your new home town of Charlotte.

Matt misses the fact that there's no Temptee brand cream cheese here, for example. There's Philadelphia, but not Temptee. When we first moved here, there was no Wonder bread, but then 6 months later it popped onto the shelves. Hallelujah! For some reason, they do sell Thomas' English Muffins in the regular size, but not that bigger sandwich size. How do Charlotteans expect us to make a good London Burger without the proper sized english muffin?

But in the process of being here, I've discovered new things that I'd never known in the streets of New York. Hushpuppies, for example, are these marvelous bits of fried dough that accompany BBQ pork like nobody's business. Don't even get me started on fried okra--yum! I'm not a fan of grits, but Matt can't seem to get enough hot sauce on the stuff.

The first thing you'll notice about Charlotte is that people here are super friendly. You walk into any retail establishment and you'll get a cheery good morning from everyone in the place. You walk down the street in your neighborhood and you get a wave from most folks. People here are just far more polite that anywhere I've seen. You will usually have the kindest restaurant service you've ever had in your life, too. I certainly don't miss the surly, can't-you-see-i'm-doing-you-a-favor attitude that I was accustomed to up north. Heck, I was one of those surly people once!

At first you think you feel a little bit like a windmill just waving at every damn person you see, and say to yourself that you just can't do this every day. Let me be the first to tell you that you will get used to it really quickly. The first year we moved here, we had to go back to New Jersey for a family visit. Matt made his usual morning trek to the Starbucks and returned in a huff. He explained that he did not get a friendly morning smile from his Jersey barrista. He said that it felt like she was serving him just because she had to, and that she just plunked his change on the counter. Like I said, you do get used to the friendliness, and quickly take notice of it when it's missing.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are rude individuals everywhere on this planet--including Charlotte. We're essentially a bunch of transplants coming together from all over the globe with different perspectives on life into one place. I give the natives credit for having as much patience with us as they do.

There's lots of other things you might miss. If you're from the north, things like pizza and bagels will be high on your list of items to find. Folks from the west might be itching for good vegan/organic fare. Floridians will be hard pressed to find a decent Sandwich Cubano, I'm sorry to say. But more on these controversial subjects at a later time...

As I've mentioned before, I sure as heck don't miss the snow. On the other hand, I do miss the ocean. As you can see, Charlotte is not exactly nirvana if that's what you're thinking--but what place is? I mean, you've just left a place to move here because there was lots about it that you did not like, right?

I'd say Charlotte offers just enough of a balance of great new stuff blended in with much of the stuff you're used to. That way you don't miss home too terribly much.

-Lisa

You've Moved Here, Now What? Part II

Ok, it's my turn. First, a disclaimer: I love living here. Pros v. cons isn't a contest. The weather is great, the people are courteous and friendly, the cost of living is fantastic compared to the northeast, and there is a lot to do.

That being said... there are two things that I'm disappointed about:

First, I miss people with balls, pardon my language, but there's no other way to say it. I'm not sure if it's a vestige of "southern hospitality" or an innate reservedness, but people here seem incredibly reluctant to speak their minds. I'm not used to that. At first I thought it was charming, but after a while I started to find it annoying. Not a whole lot of "characters" around here.....

Second, and more important: Drivers. Now, what I don't get is that there aren't many native Charlotteans here. There are a LOT of transplants from all over the country, and that sort of rules out a cultural or geographic reason for bad driving, but the drivers around here are awful. Really, really awful. For example, when pulling out from a street onto a road with two lanes of traffic in their direction, they will wait until both lanes are free and clear, not just the lane they will merge into. I repeat, BOTH LANES have to be clear. Of course, this can take a while. And, since no one here knows what the automobile horn was designed for, it can take a long while.
The passing lane on a highway? It's not that well known here. Apparently that lane is for the guy in the pickup truck with his arm resting on the windowsill, doing 5 mph below the speed limit.
But the most egregious example by far are the rubberneckers. It's an art form here. Not content to merely glance over at the unfortunate person who got into an accident or is getting a ticket..not merely content to slow down a bit for a better look...no, this seems to require an almost complete stop--even on the highway, no matter how many cars are queuing up behind them. It's a freakin' epidemic.

On top of the drivers, the people in charge of naming the roads in the early days around here must have had some powerful peyote. In the older areas of town it's quite common to have multiple roads with the same name. Just north of Highway 51 near Matthews, you'll find yourself on the corner of Sardis Rd. and Sardis Rd. Further uptown you'll find the confusing intersection of Providence Rd. and Queens Rd. which doesn't behave at all like expected. These are just two examples of many.

But these are things you get used to and learn to live with, and part of the fun of discovering your new home.

-Matt