I moved to Cary NC over 25 years ago.
During my first trip to the grocery store & post office almost everyone said "hey" & nodded & smiled.
I came home KNOWING I would love it here! (THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN IN NJ OR PA)
FAST FORWARD A FEW YEARS:
While showing homes to a young couple from New Jersey, I pulled into a gas station, got out to pump gas (we have self serve here, not full service like NJ) and while filling the tank had a nice conversation with the man behind us.
As I started up the car my clients asked if I knew the man I was talking with - "No, I don't know him...but I know he had a bad car wreck, has a bad back & that's why he drives that huge truck." See Rule #1 below.
Rule #1 - If you're at the gas station, grocery store, coffee shop, restaurant, post office, etc. and someone in line or at the table next to you talks to you...99.9% of the time they do not want money. They just want to talk...about the weather, the stock market, the traffic, whatever.
Don't be rude...talk back. And smile! You'll be glad you did.
Rule #2 - If you're at a red light & it turns green DO NOT BLAST your horn! Count to 15 SLOWLY, then 2 little "beep, beeps" will usually do the trick.
Rule #3 - When you are driving through neighborhoods, ANY neighborhoods; people in their yards, walking their dogs, driving...they will wave at you. Don't look around to see who they're waving at. They're waving at you and they don't know you! Wave back!
Rule #4 - There are still some of us who drive the speed limit and sometimes we're in the passing lane on the beltline. Just go around us. There's no need to get that upset. Slow down your pace. Relax. And get to where you're going in one piece.
Rule #5 - If you've moved "SOUTH" to Cary, Raleigh, Durham, Holly Springs or just about any where in North Carolina ... tried it out for a while, and just don't like the "slower" pace, the "hey, how are y'all?", the vinegar based North Carolina BBQ, strangers talking to you in line at DMV, stores, parking lots, restaurants....either get with the program to it or go back where you came from. And don't complain.
If you are moving to Apex NC - Cary NC - Raleigh - Holly Springs - Wake Forest NC or practically anywhere in North Carolina....
These are the basics. Do you have anything to add to this list? Look forward to "waving" at you!
Nellie has lived in the Raleigh area for almost 30 years.
Please contact for any real estate questions you may have. homesbynellie@gmail.com
Nellie Lytvinenko
Realtor/Broker/Owner
Homes by Nellie
919.210.9992
www.homesbynellie.com
www.nellie1.com
Voted Best Realtor in Cary NC 2009 - 2010 - 2011
My business is the result of the support and referrals from people like you...Thank you!
Nellie, I love your list, and I think I'd feel right at home where you live! I don't think I'd do well in New Jersey! I need friendly folks and warm weather!! :)
Nellie - I love this post! Brings back some fun memories of when I lived in the south. No lady ever changed her own flat tire there, or even had to wait more than a minute for some gentleman to stop and help. Even a man with a flat tire, someone stopped to see if they needed help.
Everybody took time to be nice.
No offense to my area here - but ,,, my daughter rolled her car on the freeway, crawled out of it, NObody stopped. Just honked at her to get out of their way. She waited there for the cops to arrive.
Sonja & Virginia - It's always wonderful to show people around who are moving to this area - I call it the "Chamber of Commerce" tour - we go to locally owned restaurants for lunch, we drive through downtown areas and especially neighborhoods where the majority of residents DO wave at us! When was the last time somone let you in traffic with a smile?
Pay it Forward...
Welcome to the South, Y'all.
"Southern Hospitality" is not some cute saying - it is a way of life here.
I have lived in Atlanta. We have a house in Highlands, NC and my sister is in Charlotte, NC. I have family in Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and across much of North Florida (where I presently live). Kindness and courtesy and friendliness prevail in these parts.
Glad you chose to move here, Nellie.... I have close friends in Chapel Hill not too far from you - say "Hi" to them for me, please. ;)
Nellie:
Love the Southern charm. People are friendly here too. But not to the extend that people in South Carolina are.
Fred, I'm just a short trip from Chapel Hill - if you ever need anything this way, keep my info and let me know! I mean it.
Evelyn, I'm gonna hafta get you.....SC is NOT better than NC...we'll have to start a "rain jacking" here. :-)
Nellie, small town life is different. I often wave when driving on the roads here when I see someone, they wave back on the whole.. or talk to who is getting gas on the other side of the pump.
But there are times my mind is racing, I admit it...
NJ is the ONLY state that requires attendant assisted gas stations....I don't understand it. I LOVE talking to people in elevators....makes the RIDE go FASTER!
Andrea - small towns in NJ are also pretty friendly, but the town where my parents live isn't that way. I love going into the 7-11's for coffee and talking with everyone in the store - I'm sure when I leave they think I was just let out of the funny farm!! :-)
Wallace, I don't understand why they have the gas station attendant rule in NJ - you think it's to keep some employed?? But I have to admit it's nice to have someone check the oil in the car & wash the windshield...do miss that.