We are escapees from Northern CA and settled into update SC-close to the NC border. We love the area as it backs up to the Blue Ridge Mts, with so many great parks, lakes etc.
There has been an influx of NY and NJ people moving here. The bigger towns are really turning purple. Some of them will call into local talk radio, complaining about Southern culture, too much fried food, too many churches, confederate flags etc. Last Christmas, one of our “new” neighbors complained about a home that had a nativity scene in the front year. Needless to say, the new people decided to move to another state as they hated being here.
We miss our old friends and our CA property, but it was the best decision we ever made to get out ofd there.
Good luck with your travels. You will find your special place. Southern hospitality is legendary.
In all honesty, I love the Confederate flag. It is not a symbol of racism. It is a symbol of heritage. I am furious that the left has turned the Confederate flag into the physical equivalent of the “N-word”. The very display is not allowed in most states and spreading rapidly to the South. It is horrendous.
It sounds like South Carolina can use my vote. Lets hope the liberal transplants keep moving back. If I move their, I will buy a big old nativity scene for the lawn just to piss them off.
Our son lives between Spartanburg and Greenville. Sounds close to you? We like it there. We ended up in Florida because we cared for my mom in her last years, then I inherited her house and had already settled in by that time.