NS & SC trip report

Frank and I recently returned from a whirlwind trip of Greensboro and Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC. Frank is scheduled to graduate from his MBA program in May, and we're trying to determine if we want to stay here or trade in Peoria-living for a city that ranks higher on the Frankenmary Index.

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Here's an overview of Greensboro, NC:

-A b*tchy waitress at Applebees

-Socially, it may be very college-towny?

-Outside of town: lots of random trailer homes interspersed with nicer houses and subdivisions--not very appealing

-Greensboro-proper had some pretty areas, but not Frank-appropriate housing. Some areas reminded me of old Urbana near U of I.

-We had a drink at sports bar near campus that cousin Jimmy recommended

-Frank-jobs are limited--all they really have would be Volvo Trucks

-We found some potential neighborhoods/houses in Jamestown, SW of Greensboro. 17 min from Volvo Trucks, 22 min from DT Greenville

-We only spent half a day here, really, but weren’t too inspired to spend more time.

-Close to mountains & to ocean & racetracks

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And an overview of Charlotte, NC:

-Reputed, at least among its residents, to be growing into the next big metropolis

-Banking center. Lots of money moving around these parts.

-No one we talked to seems to love it, but “you get used to it” after 5-7 years, they say

-Some people seem proud that it is growing into a big city--this is the big thing it has going for it

-Commonly understood fact: no one in Charlotte is from Charlotte. If you’ve been there 7-9 years, you’re a native. (Compare that with areas of New England where they say you aren't a local unless you've been there 7 generations.)

-Seems like the time to (Frank) work->(Frank-friendly) home->fun factor would be a problem. Potentially very difficult to be close to all, as is the case with bigger cities.

-One neighborhood we looked at had some diversity, but mostly, our impression was that the city and suburbs were rather segregated.

-We had drinks at a sports bar downtown (all white people), the Tasty Beaver with lots of Bloody Mary's on the menu and the pig roast or whatever out front (all white hipsters), and another sports bar near the small venue Third Eye Blind concert where we met this guy Taylor, his Montreal girlfriend, and Jeane, the bassist of Wavy Space, and food runner for 3EB...there was a little racial diversity here. A lot of Bears fans too at that bar.

-Close to mountains & to ocean & to racetracks

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But things got a lot more interesting once we headed down into South Carolina.

I have said more than a few times that I want a peach tree some day. I thought this was a sign:

About Greenville:

-Lots of Frank jobs! Great weather! Friendly people! I could live here!

-We spent basically 2 full days here, and easily could have filled more days with activities!

-Hotel staff was notably friendly, as was everyone else we encountered.

-We had dinner Monday night downtown at a sports bar with live acoustic guitar (who gave us his CD! and was very friendly), had pizza at a local pizza place, lunch at Quiznos; all experiences were pleasant, people were friendly, diversity felt healthy & nice.

-People's accents are nice here.

-Had 1.25 hour meeting with a friend of a friend of Frank's at Caterpillar. He loves living in Greenville, moved from Ohio 35 years ago--had great things to say! People like living here, it seems.

-Weather is mild in winter, hot but not humid in summer

-Dirt is red clay, will have to lay down black dirt for gardening.

-Gun culture (which is perhaps surprisingly not a negative). I like the independent spirit that comes with this, I think. The law seems to be a little hands off.

-Rated/voted one of the bike friendliest cities. On a related note, Lance and whatshisname train here. It's what'shisname's hometown.

-100-mile moped competition--has interesting local character. Also: has a subdivision for anyone: including those who want to keep an airplane in their garage...

-A number of housing areas have potential. Location of Frank-job would influence what neighborhood. (eg. Greer, Five forks)

-Downtown Greenville is revitalized and nice--both walking, biking, and driving. Active at night, even on a Monday night

-Greer, a suburb of Greenville that has the BMW plant and housing potential, spoken highly of on city data forum

-Schools are generally bad in SC, but the Greenville area has some good ones

-The Frank-job capital of the world! Catepillar, BMW, GE, Belcan, Michelin! All great possibilities. Also maybe: Standard Motor, Baldor, Rexroth, Automotive Products, Siemens.

-It's near mountains & ocean & racetracks & low commute times to work, fun, home...sounds ideal!

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Here are some other photos from the trip:

We allowed ourselves one hour of fun, a break from research, and hung out at the BMW museum:

This is a super cute little car from the 60s, I think, the door is in front. So cute!!!!

This Formula One engine is only 1.5 liters. Just like my little ECHO! :) It has a lot more horsepower though.

On the drive home, we took the long cut through the mountains:

Here's a view from the Blue Ridge Trail:

It looks really bike friendly up here in the mountains until you notice the bullet holes...

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We've started tearing apart my dad's old motorcycle, but more on that later...