The cost of living has skyrocketed and the entire area has turned into a cross between Berkley CA with hippies and South Florida with retirees. Most of the jobs in the region are low paying service jobs catering to the implants. The only people that don't 'fit' in are Southerners that were born and raised in this state. The area has never been a dump, but yes there may be a car or two out in the yard being worked on.
News flash!!! This is the South, we work on our cars out in the yard, we listen to country music, and by God we might have a fishing boat somewhere in the back. If you don't like the way it's done, I suggest YOU move. But don't tell others how they can live in a place that they grew up in. It's bad manners, heck it's downright northern.
I know this is off topic of the thread and try not to do that, but your response, sad to say, is without knowledge of the situation in western NC