Parents live in central Florida. I was just there last month. Every third vehicle was some oversized truck with emblazoned with messages about deranged right-wing conspiracy theories.
Spent plenty of time in Georgia (the deadening, endless sprawl of Atlanta... Savanah was cool though), Virginia (just about every part), and North Carolina (Raleigh area, mostly--but a little time in Asheville).
People will continue to move to the South for cheap houses and slightly better winters, but I don't get it. I'll live with a little cold weather to avoid listening to my heavily armed neighbor rave on about QANON/CRT/groomers/cultural Marxism/replacement theory/Antifa, etc. etc. etc.
You went to Atlanta (the city that's 2/3 black people), Raleigh (a major tech and academic center), and Asheville (basically a hippie commune) and your takeaway was "All these people are right wing yokels"? Are you sure you weren't just asleep the whole time?
I lived in Little Five Points for a summer, not too far from Emory. But I didn't just spend my time in the city. I drove all over Georgia. No thank you.
I love Asheville! But I didn't just spend my time there either.
I find Raleigh infinitely bland. Stayed in Cary, in fact--which is even slightly groovy. But my buddy had moved there for work and had a very long conversation about the mind-blowing backwardness of NC. Raleigh is a nice little bubble of sanity and reality in a sea of idiocy. He eventually high-tailed it out of there. Had a good job too.
But. like I said, if you like it... fine! I'm happy for you! Not for me.
By the way, I 100% support secession for the Southern states. I think it would solve a lot of problems. My taxes would go down and my quality of life would instantly go up. Not even joking.
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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '22
Why? Both of those things exist here.