The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsThe population of SC is growing too fast and too much.
Traffic is getting worse and worse, mucho wildlife are being displaced. I have suggested to some friends that we need to get on the Internet and talk about how it sucks here. So here is my effort.
How it sucks:
Its hot as hell in the summer. Summer lasts about eight months out of the year. And the humidity is such that you would think you were in a sauna.
Its red as a baboons behind.
The vast majority of our elected officials are Republicans.
Its a right to work and also employment at-will state.
In our larger cities, traffic is awful.
Did I mention that it is hot as hell in the summer?
The state is full of evangelicals and fundies.
Gators. They arent in the Upstate yet, but there is a chance that they might evolve to have an orangey skin so that they could blend into the water better here. There are already lots of them in the low country.
Burmese pythons. We dont have them yet. But with the climate change there is a chance they may migrate here sometimes. You may not have to deal with them, but your children and grandchildren might.
Lindsey Graham.
hlthe2b
(102,283 posts)I lived a lot of my youth and early adulthood throughout the South. I understand. I empathize. But, damned if I have an answer. Georgia's emerging Democratic political leaders like Stacey Abrams have given some hope, but damn, one only has to look and listen to the likes of Lindsey Graham to know the Republican control is determined to drive the entire region into the abyss.
I'll tell you what... We had spring snow much of this week (the wet kind that is just messy, somewhat unexpected, but not overly "cold". As I type this at 5 AM, I have a space heater going and it registers 58 degrees. My cold-loving doggy girl is thrilled and lies nestled beside me. I know much of the South has been in full spring and heading toward the heat of summer for months now. Me? I'll take my variable weather of the Rockies any day as the intense Summer heat is sure to come. Right now we have a happy "respite." I can't say the same for traffic. But we have (at least now) rational state and local government in most front range cities/communities that actually believe in balancing quality of life issues with "progress".
The book, "What's the Matter with Kansas" that described why they voted against their own best interest depressed the hell out of me. But this past election cycle showed that even Kansas can effect some change. Let's see the South do so as well in their politics and future.
Lochloosa
(16,065 posts)dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)Ohiogal
(32,002 posts)We drove to Fla. on vacation in July (I know, bad time, but my husband is a school teacher)
The kids and I were looking at license plates on cars while we were on the highways. Many of them would display the state nickname.
As we stopped at a highway rest stop on I-26 in SC, and we were all drenched in sweat, my youngest (age 5 at the time) piped up, "Mom, the state nickname for South Carolina ought to be "The Hot State."
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)there.
Lochloosa
(16,065 posts)Go inland a 100 miles and you'll get a taste of air you can drink.
SC is as bad. Been there in August.
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)time in Orlando which is horrid in the summer. My aunt and uncle had a summer house in SC we used to visit every summer, it was somehow even hotter there. We went for my husband's job last summer, still miserable hot there.
Ohiogal
(32,002 posts)We took our kids to see the Fla Keys and also Key West ..... Even though it was unbearably hot and humid in July, at least in the Keys there was a breeze.
We then drove up to Washington, D.C. so we could look at some sights up there. We arrived in the evening, and we stopped our van in front of the White House just to take a quick look. (this was pre 9/11). The dashboard thermometer in our van said it was 93! And this was after dark, so it had to have been around 10:00 pm. Getting out of an air-conditioned vehicle into that heat felt like walking into an oven.
Corgigal
(9,291 posts)about a year and a half ago. They are putting the Volvo plant there, and building the Nexton building project. I forgot how many homes, it's just insane. Traffic is insane, spring last two days and when I moved my electric bill was close to 500 dollars a month.
My daughter lives in west Ashley, so I can always visit but only in the fall. I just can't do that heat anymore, and I don't stress over hurricane season.
Think about moving, I had 3 offers on my house in 24 hours.
Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)My son is a Volvo exec, relocated there from corporate HQ in NJ. They're enjoying it ~ love the real estate tax difference (especially under Dump's new plan), but the heat difference is another story. The kids were promised a pool with this move, and Dad delivered, so they're happy. From the photos and videos they send, Summerville looks like a great town, and they're taking advantage of their proximity to Charleston also.
I'm planning my first visit, but won't be heading there until October, hoping the heat will pass by then. I'll take my chances with hurricane season, since we get them here in New England also.
Corgigal
(9,291 posts)I lived there for 20 years and raised 2 kids there. Im happier in the mountains with seasons. Enjoy your trip, let me know how it goes. Check out the angel tree, it's beautiful.
safeinOhio
(32,685 posts)The Lamb of God, or Lion of Judah, (Jesus Christ) opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons forth four beings that ride out on white, red, black, and pale horses. Amen
Sancho
(9,070 posts)...mostly because educators here have a union. I started teaching in 1976. The wife will retire next year (41 years). Florida is crazy, but it has pockets of progressives, and it's getting really crowded here. The traffic in Florida is worse, but the roads are better. It hot here too, but we have big storms in the summer to cool things off (as long as your house is still there). Of course, we lived through Hugo, and moved to Florida in time for Andrew!
Most of the family still lives in the Carolinas - and when we visit we are amazed at how insanely backassward it still is in much of SC. Really miss the days of Richard Riley!
rurallib
(62,416 posts)raccoon
(31,111 posts)Went to Maine last June....days in the 70s to die for...but in the winter, uh-oh. One thing I did like about ME is several times people asked me where I was from after they heard me talk.
There are some places with a Goldilocks climate but they are few and far between, and expensive, usually.
If I were younger, I probably would. But the point of my post really is to discourage people from moving here.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)Your dem bumper stickers will have high impact in SC.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)changing demographics is threatening GOP power all over the redstate map
raccoon
(31,111 posts)keithbvadu2
(36,816 posts)Was that last one a bullet point or the author?
Yeah! I'll go with bullet point.
raccoon
(31,111 posts)FakeNoose
(32,639 posts)I'm retired and I'm not moving south of where I am now, which is Pennsylvania. Our summers are plenty hot enough, and our winters aren't so bad. I can say that because I live in the magical area of southwestern PA that misses most of the big winter storms.
But I have visited South Carolina and Florida in the summertime, and I do know how awful your summers get. I can't imagine how anyone can live in that heat and humidity their whole lives. Also you have terrible insects that never seem to die! Your flying and crawling insects scare the daylights out of me.
The key to controlling all the huge growth (including traffic problems) is zoning. Get good people on your zoning and city planning committees, a few northerners would be a big help on that.
Good luck!
keithbvadu2
(36,816 posts)They love northerner Trump who calls them dumb southerners.