Both our sons were born in Elizabeth City, NC and we loved that area. We often thought about returning there to retire.
As I recall (it's been a while) but it almost seemed like NC was three states, the coast, the "Piedmont" and the west (mountains). Where is the greatest number of illegals? I'm guessing the Piedmont.
Fascinating. This is TN in reverse. We are also 3 states. Traditionally republican east, mixed middle, corrupt den of the Ford Family to the west.
BTW, speaking of republican east TN, a very wise FReeper taught me something I didn't know: Any mountainous region in the south will be mostly republican, going all the way back to the civil war. No plantations in the mountains. East TN did NOT want to secede, and almost broke away like WV did. Same for northern AL, GA. They used to have nicknames for the different sides. Johnny Reb. Billy Yank. Those in the mountains who wanted to stay in the union became known as "HillBillys".
Ah, the wealth of knowledge on FR!
Now, back to the slugfest!
Grew up around Charlotte, lived in the mountains for 7-8 years, and now live in the Raleigh area. Believe it or not, my worst experiences (where I saw the most immigrants (non-yankee ones at least)) was in the mountains. I moved to Raleigh in 2000 and it was like a respite. However, it has changed it seems and the upper part of Tobacco Road is being overrun slowly but surely. I can't say as I know anything about the coastal areas but I have friends down there as well. They say it's pretty bad. Definitely not the NC I grew up in...
"Where is the greatest number of illegals? I'm guessing the Piedmont."
In total number, you'd be correct, because that's where the most opportunity lies. In percentage of population, it would be the agricultural coastal plain, though.
You may recall the name Siler City, from the old Andy Griffith series. That small, rural town of about 10,000 is absolutely swamped, around 50% or so I hear; it's the meatpacking plants, hog farming and other agriculture in the surrounding countryside that is the draw. I've been told that it all started with one Guatamalan, who was shown a lot of kindness and was treated well, and it took off exponentially from there. The Mt. Olive area, primarily known for producing pickles, is heavily populated with illegal aliens now, too. As far as more urban locales, the section of Winston-Salem where my mother grew up, known then as Sunnyside, may as well be little Mexico now.
The pace of change is just too, too much for most here. Especially taken on top of the collapse of textiles and furniture (China), as well as the long, slow decline of tobacco. I don't mean to paint too bleak a picture, because the economy is doing surprisingly well, in spite of all this. But it's very unsettling. Five years ago, 80% of my customers were textile companies. Now, I only have two left. Thank god for NASCAR, is all I've got to say. There is a gracious plenty of hardworking, legal citizens here, who have been displaced from manufacturing. I fail to see the need, and actually see a great deal of potential harm in the form of conflict between the two here, should the local economy take a turn for the worse. It could happen easily.