Relocation to South Carolina the Best Advice

Relocation to South Carolina

The best advice that can be given to the families who will relocate to South Carolina is this: Put aside your preconceptions and be open to new experiences. This brochure examines South Carolina and the South, and puts its history and its culture into context.

You will find the South to be an area with a rich and varied culture. One of the more interesting aspects of life in the South will be your exposure to what it means to be a Southerner. People demonstrate a sort of self-conscious pride in being Southern, even as they acknowledge receiving their fair share of ridicule. This complexity is reflected in the music as well.

The area enjoys a temperate climate with milder winters than what you've been accustomed to, with perhaps more humid summers. Proximity to beaches and mountains provide ample recreational opportunities.

Historically, South Carolina was settled primarily by people from England. The Low Country region came to be dominated by a cotton-based economy, becoming the wealthiest and most heavily populated area. The Midlands area was settled by Germans, Scottish and Irish who worked on small subsistence farms. The South did not have a significant middle class, and its population grew relatively slowly. These geographic and economic factors combined to create an area that was isolated and lacking in economic opportunities. The region developed based on the profitability of raising cotton using enslaved African-Americans, the consequences of which continue to be felt even today.

The resulting political conflicts eventually escalated into the Civil War. Southern politics evolved into a complex mixture of race and class politics. The film The Birth of a Nation sparked controversy with its vicious stereotypes, but it accurately reflected the predominant white view of black political activity during Reconstruction. In the period that followed, blacks and poor whites were forced to compete for economic survival, which furthered the interests of white leaders. Blacks and poor whites remain at odds today.

The South is described as having two distinct socioeconomic profiles, one that is more like the rest of the country, and one that is crippled by poverty. There is also the South that is marketed to retirees, as well as the cultural south. Demographically speaking, Southerners tend to be less educated, with more high school dropouts than most other areas of the country. There are fewer foreign born people in the area, while the percentage of Blacks in the region is higher by comparison with the rest of the country.

The dominant religion is Baptist, and you won't find many Catholic neighbors. Other interesting demographics reveal that reading and exercise are not especially popular, but speeding is. Also, you will find that Southerners both smoke and eat more than what is good for them. People tend to use technology less too.

The following is a profile of your Aiken county neighbors: they most likely voted Republican, have less political knowledge than others, and are most likely religious fundamentalists. If they are white, they probably believe Barack Obama is really a Muslim and that blacks have too much political power. If your and their politics are not similar, then this relocation will provide you with an opportunity to practice tolerance even while you seek to share your political wisdom.

Culturally speaking, the South enjoys a rich musical heritage. If you like jazz, you are in luck. If you like country, you have moved to the right place. Both musical genres have deep roots in the South.

As for cuisine, you will find yourself in barbecue heaven, although the cholesterol conscious may be less than thrilled. The downside of cuisine largely consisting of soul food and fried foods is heavy calorie counts and artery clogging cholesterol. Described as a 'confluence of three cultures," Southern cuisine offers an assortment of exotic-sounding vegetables prepared in a variety of styles that should make up for the less healthful aspects of the cuisine.

Prepare to have some interesting conversations about the Civil War and race relations. The typical white Southerner does not see the Civil War in terms of class politics, nor do they grasp the fact that upper class whites used race politics to solve their political and economic problems. Remnants of the caste system engendered by slavery remain in place today, with Blacks and women still politically and socially disadvantaged. Blacks have engaged in a number of strategies over the years seeking political and social equality.