Discussions

What comes to mind when you think of North Carolina?

Posted by calais50 • 9/18/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: nc

I visited Ireland one time and people often asked where in the states I was from. When I said "North Carolina", at least 4 people said, "That's where Billy Graham (the evangelist) is from." I was extremely surprised at that response.

What comes to mind for you, if anything? Obviously non-Americans will most likely say "nothing."

User Comments

9/18/08

poisonapplesauce

Fort Bragg

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Good one-I hear it a lot on the news. I have a cousin there.
2. 9/18/08
  
  poisonapplesauce
  
  it's a decent little place, I am army jaded though haha if you ask me about Georgia, where most people would say peaches, I say Ft. Gordon, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Benning Gosh I miss the army
9/18/08

therealo

The beaches wait maybe that is just me, cause I am at the beach in NC. Thus why I created my website and blog therealouterbanks.com , to inform people of how great the beaches here are

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  poisonapplesauce
  
  I love your avatar!!!!!!!!!!
2. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  The Outerbanks are awesome. I love Corolla.
9/18/08

kdawg68

Several things for me:

-the huge price that sons of North Carolina paid in the Civil War (there's a note on their state monument at Gettysburg that I haven't researched the validity of - but it says that 1 in every 4 rebels shot in the Civil War were from North Carolina)

-Duke University (where a relative graduated Law School)

-Chapel Hill (beautiful College town)

-Charlotte and it's banking center

-cheap furniture

-the violence of the area during the Revolutionary years

and of course, Tar Heels.

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Very good Kdawg! You should write a book on Nc BTW, our colleges are well known b/c of sports and b/c a lot of-out-of staters come here for our super cheap public universities. Even paying out of state tuition in NC is cheaper than going to college in a lot states.
2. 9/22/08
  
  barryfromtexas
  
  They should have learned to duck - ok not funny, but kinda
9/18/08

drjay1966

Jesse Helms

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  ick!
2. 9/19/08
  
  drjay1966
  
  My feelings exactly. Sorry...he was just the first thing I thought of.
  
  Would Myrtle Beach be better?
3. 9/19/08
  
  calais50
  
  that's south carolina, lol
9/18/08

Anok

The very first thing that comes to my mind is the very fast southern drawl I encountered the last time I was there.

Maybe it was an anomaly, but man, they spoke at New England breakneck speeds but with a full southern accent.

I didn't understand a word anyone said

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Lol, sounds about right!
9/18/08

aningeniousname

The Empire state building, Saks fifth avenue, the Yankees,king kong,central park and the statue of liberty.

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  Anok
9/18/08

ernestlobo

12dailypro.... An autosurfing site that went kaboom. Apparantly the administrator was from NC.

[reply]
9/18/08

hippieprincess4

HOME!

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Go 'heels
9/18/08

Sebastyne

I'm one of the non-Americans, and at first I got nothing. Then I got some weird song going through my head, repeating "north Carolina" over and over again, and I'm quite sure it is not how the song really goes. Then I thought about southern belles and the civil war, but that would be it...

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Very good that you were able to come up with anything. Yes, there are several popular songs about NC. And you're right on the southern belle part. Here is a picture of me:
2. 9/19/08
  
  Sebastyne
  
  Oh Scarlett isn't from North Carolina! She's a Georgia girl! Don't you try to fool me with Gone With the Wind!!
3. 9/19/08
  
  calais50
9/18/08

rmaxwell142

I think of my sister because that's where her and her family lives!

[reply]
9/18/08

lisamcglaun

My honeymoon in the mountains outside of Asheville.

[reply]
9/18/08

RTBjr73

Duke Blue Devils...went there back in 2000.

[reply]
9/18/08

TragicComedy

My first thought was the home of all things Nascar. My second thought was beaches.

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Nascar is soooo embarrassing, lol.
9/18/08

KtotheIMMY

My POD storage unit... it's still sitting there in Raleigh

[reply]
9/18/08

SweetViolet

NASCAR. My oldest son and my husband are fans...we get it on satellite TV all the way over here in South Africa!

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  A couple of weeks ago, I went on a lake dinner cruise in Charlotte. The ship captain pointed out Nascar driver Casey Cain's house on the lake. It looked more like a hotel than a house! My dad ran into Dale Jarett at a restaurant a couple of years ago.
2. 9/18/08
  
  SweetViolet
  
  My guys are huge Jeff Gordon fans.
  
  I'd rather watch paint dry
3. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Agreed
9/18/08

bradhart

The giant bugs that thrive in the humidity.

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  The humidity will kick your ass, but I'm not aware of particularly large bugs.
9/18/08

voodooKobra

scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/09/just_like_dover.php

First thing that comes to mind.

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  Geez, I apologize for that
9/18/08

ThriftShopRomantic

I would have said Ron Francis formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey team (and our Pittsburgh Penguins)

[reply]
1. 9/18/08
  
  calais50
  
  You must be a diehard fan, b/c hockey sure isn't the first thing people usu. associate w/ NC
2. 9/18/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  North Carolina got my favorite player. It was tragic. (Sniff!)
3. 9/19/08
  
  RTBjr73
  
  It still sickens me that Ron Francis wore a Carolina jersey. It just didn't look right!!
9/18/08

legbamel

The Connells profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=47846136

[reply]
9/18/08

JenniferTFFQ

I think of my sister who lives there.

[reply]
9/18/08

jefftompkins71

It makes me homesick. I'm from Raleigh and wish I still lived there.

[reply]
9/18/08

Jeunelle

Peaches come to mind. I have no idea why.

[reply]
9/18/08

ptitpraince

North Carolina makes me think to...South Carolina. Yes, i'm not American

[reply]
9/18/08

craftymug

Mountain scenery, and Cherokee.

[reply]
1. 9/19/08
  
  calais50
  
  my grandmother was Cherokee.
9/18/08

RuinousRight

Blue Ridge Parkway and lots of hiking.

[reply]
9/18/08

JacobDiv

Robin lives there.

[reply]
9/18/08

ttiger

900$ of shipping fees to get my 383 lingenfelter corvette engine from NC to quebec!

[reply]
9/18/08

clioandme

An annoying accent, beautiful beaches, and that first in flight license plate. And cheap cigarettes on the northern border and people smoking indoors.

[reply]
9/18/08

okokokok

1965, four-thousand roadside billboards advertising "South of the Border" motel.

[reply]
9/18/08

gerri50

Fort Bragg.

I visited friends of mine in NC a couple of years ago.
He lives close to the base and everything there revolves around the military.

[reply]
9/18/08

jackpayne

Hillbillies.

???

[reply]
1. 9/19/08
  
  calais50
  
  We have our fair share, but not so much in the resort areas around my house.
9/18/08

globalgirl

Affordable living

[reply]
9/18/08

acousticguitarist

James Taylor.. in my mind I'm going to Carolina

[reply]
9/18/08

Theresa111

Well now I think of my bother and sister-in-law because that is where they moved a few years ago.

[reply]
1. 9/19/08
  
  globalgirl
  
  My brother and his family just built a lovely home there and love it! They live on a lake and have all the luxuries associated with a waterfront home. In California their property would be worth 3x the value of what it is there. Such is why the words "affordable housing" comes to mind with NC.
9/19/08

osquid

Tarheels. Blech, I am a die-hard Kentucky Wildcats fan, so of course I know what to associate North Carolina with! (add Duke to that list too) =P

[reply]
9/19/08

izzy69rocks

Matt & Jeff - The Hardy Boys ....

[reply]
9/19/08

EarthShepherd

Beautiful! I was born and raised in NC but never realized how beautiful it was til I moved away. Lovely beaches, rolling hills, mystical mountains.

[reply]
1. 9/19/08
  
  calais50
  
  I love NC. I live in the mtns. When I visit other states, they sometimes seem like foreign countries, because NC is so well maintained by the govt and we have so many facilities, and parks, and other things we take for granted.
9/19/08

jadedconformist

Some hot belly dancer from BC. Duh

[reply]
1. 9/19/08
  
  calais50
  
  I hear she's putting NC on the map
9/19/08

fairchildonrage

wonderful beaches

[reply]
9/19/08

mssusangale

High Point, North Carolina where the furniture show is held. I'm an Interior Designer and I attend in the Spring. I love it!

[reply]
9/20/08

roadgurl5

Outerbanks...surf-fishing, the Christmas Shop, Cape Hatteras, ferry to Ocracoke Island...does anyone know if the Froggy Dog is still there? I think in Avon. Agree with Acousticguitarist, JT's song comes to mind, always makes me weepy.

[reply]
9/21/08

dquesada

Michael Jordan

[reply]
9/22/08

fated82

Jeff Hardy and the Hardy Boyz from WWE.

i am not sure if Jeff is still wrestling though.

[reply]
9/22/08

barryfromtexas

My friend James I worked with in Iraq. Also a james Taylor song comes to mind.

[reply]
9/22/08

Michguy

As beautiful of a place as there is anywhere. Asheville, the Blue Ridge, Hendersonville, Lake Lure. It's magical! I love Wilmington. Not too keen on the Carolina Beach area, but anyplace from Greensboro west is wonderful. The drive from Hendersonville to Knoxville, TN is to die for!

[reply]
10/17/08

Poetmaw

To me! HOME - Born and raised here in North Carolina - Carolina on my mind!
Really we are very lucky here to have such beauty as the Mountains and the Coast!
Come visit!!!

[reply]
10/17/08

lotusb

A REALLY annoying old club hit..."This ones for North Caroline...come on and tear it up..."

[reply]
10/17/08

jadedconformist

This:

jadedconformist.blogspot.com/2008/09/rural-merka-doin-jesus-proud.html

To be fair, this was Athens, GA.

[reply]
10/17/08

psychosolodiver

You
Moonshine
Two people I worked with who retired there
Chewing Tobacco
freezing temperatures
The Confederacy
cotton

[reply]
1. 10/17/08
  
  calais50
  
  Lol, from that list, I'm betting you would be surprised to find out that we DO wear shoes
10/17/08

faithsju243

My half sister and rednecks, sorry you asked.

[reply]
10/17/08

dosox

You are right Non Americans will hardly say anything...

Well, I don't know anything about North carolina but your topic makes me think of DON WILLIAMS..

[reply]
10/17/08

Kryptonitemare

The Military, Marines to be exact.

[reply]
10/27/08

Sonnenblumen

Mines and moonshine!

BTW whilst you were in Ireland, what did you think of NC?

[reply]
1. 10/27/08
  
  calais50
  
  Parts of NC look similar to Ireland. Both places have their pros and cons. Most smaller cities in Ireland are too small and "sleepy." I like the suburbs of NC-not too crowded, but uber convenient with a little bit going on.
10/27/08

Anniepooh

Kernersville - used to live there when dad taught college.

[reply]
10/27/08

annz

My mom was born in NC. We used to visit her aunt and cousin on their farm there in the mountains. NC makes me think of feral kittens, honeycomb on fresh biscuits, picking wild raspberries, and spending nearly the whole day sitting on the front porch. But it's been years since I was there.

[reply]
10/27/08

morgantj

Being stationed in Jacksonville.

[reply]
10/27/08

RTBjr73

Jim Valvano - NC State

[reply]
11/12/08

creemos

Billy Graham

[reply]
11/12/08

Vinty

Sand Dunes

[reply]
11/12/08

Financialnut

My sweet wife (she's from Raleigh). Also, I really like the Outer Banks!

[reply]
11/12/08

bloggernoob

michael jordan's warm up shorts

[reply]
11/12/08

lordsomber

Lexington, NC bbq!

[reply]