This Northerner's Top 10 Things the Triangle is Missing Out On

My last post outlined some great things I have embraced since I moved to North Carolina from Long Island, NY more than 6 1/2 years ago.  There are still a number of things that I miss terribly.  Of course my family and friends top the list of what I would like to magically appear here.  But the following list contains ten more things I long for daily (in no particular order). 
DISCLAIMER: I know that some of my southern friends think that I am "putting down" the south when I say something is better up north.  I'm not.  There are things that are better here and other things are better there.

7-Eleven Coffee & Buttered Roll

My first breakfast that I eat when I visit Long Island is this tasty treat.  You can all keep your Starbucks and scones.  There is no coffee like a LI 7-Eleven coffee.  This is not Kangaroo coffee that was brewed 12 hours ago.  There is someone there tending to it and the fantastic prep bar with anything you could ever want for your coffee.  Pair that with a fantastic poppy roll with butter in the wax bag.  Nirvana.  Yes, the ad is correct... Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven!

Sports Radio You Can Listen To

Being a freaky sports fan, I can listen to sports radio for hours on end.  I love the different opinions and predictions.  I love to learn all the human interest stories about players and coaches.  My commute in NY was often easily 2 hours.  I would listen every second in the car.  I don't care if it was WFAN 660 or ESPN 1050 radio, I was entertained, even if I completely disagreed with the talking head.  Some hosts were mainly impartial  Some were completely biased.  Either way, the host owned their perspective.

Most of the hosts here are biased and refuse to admit it.  Many days while listening, I can only come to one conclusion which is that they are not worldly or informed.  They present opinions as facts and mock anyone who disagrees.  It is an embarrassment to the profession.

Salt Water

Hands down this is the biggest miss on this list.  I love salt water... the smell, the feel, everything. I love clearing my head with a sunset.  I miss the sound of seagulls flying overhead.  I yearn to smell salt water as I drive down a highway.  I love walking on a beach when I have a cold to dry my sinuses out.  It is all about perspective.  People will say one of the great things about the Triangle is that we are close to the beach.  Ummm... really?  Maybe if you are originally from North Dakota.  Two hours is not close.  Not when you literally grew up on an island, where you were never further than 10 miles from the water.


Mass Transit

This one speaks for itself so I won't elaborate much here.  However, I will stand by my theory that you can not be considered a real city without mass transit.  Besides environmental reasons, mass transit is needed for those with disabilities, economically and convenience. 



Major League Baseball

I've already put it in writing that the college sports scene is fabulous in the triangle.  I love it.  However, I find that "America's Game" is forgotten here.  It is a bit strange considering I would say that if I forced to describe who lives in the triangle, I would say "your typical Americans."  Many transplants come here with love and passion for their team, but most seem to not have any passion for a team or even the sport.  The Durham Bulls and the Carolina Mudcats provide a nice day or night out (at a reasonable price) but somehow that has not translated to a love of the game.

Again, this is not a sweeping statement and/or insult to everyone in the South. 

I absolutely appreciate the manners and the attempt to not hurt any one's feelings that I observe regularly.  It is nice and polite.  But I do miss people just keeping it real.  Just because you are upfront does not mean you are mean or rude.  If you want to know if you look good in an outfit, ask me.  I will tell you the truth even if it may temporarily hurt your feelings. I feel that is a whole lot nicer than letting you look like a fool and then talking about it behind your back.

 

Ability to handle Winter Transportation

This is not a shot at people not being able to drive on snow.  Hell, if you never did it, why would you know.  This is not a shot at the DOT not being stocked with resources because honestly for the small amount of times we have bad weather, they should not be investing in more equipment.  However, this is meant to call how how crazy it is that the powers that be try to come up with new ways to treat roadways, as opposed to using what works in all the other states around the country.   This is also another chance for me to giggle like a school girl at the panic that spreads at the mention of snow, often school being cancelled before one flake falls.

Parking Lots

This may be the thing that is craziest to me. What is wrong with straight parking lot lanes?  Why must the parking lots here turn and curve every which way?  It is so confusing that it MUST cause more accidents than help anything. Again, I feel this is like snow removal.  Why not just do what works everywhere else.

Delis / Italian & Jewish Foods

Although I have finally found a good New York Style Deli, I can't understand with all these northerners down here why we don't have more establishments that carry "northern" food.  Deli cases with salads, meatballs, chicken cutlets, perogies, and knishes.  Delis that make a Reuben correctly on rye or offer a menu of aptly named sandwiches.  Ahhhh....

Street Grids

There is something to be said about curving country roads.  I love them. 
On the contrary, in a city environment and with major highways, it would assist everyone if the streets ran in ways that are easier to navigate.  Highways should run north/south or east/west.  The should not run in multiple directions.  Two streets should intersect once, not twice.  Yes, it frustrates me that I can't learn, but I would bet many accidents have been caused by a confused driver.



This Northerner's List of Top 10 Things About the Triangle

Some Southerners think that all transplanted Northerners do is point out things about the South we dislike.  Once again (read sarcasm), you are incorrect. 
This is a Northerner's Top 10 things that I love about the Triangle (in no particular order):

No Traffic
I know people who travel on 40, 440, 70 and/or 55 daily may disagree with my claim that there is no traffic.  However, trust me, there is no traffic here.  Traffic is when it takes you 2 hours, every day, to drive 30 miles. Traffic is sitting at a stand still on the highway and there is no accident or ice on the road to justify it.  My 8 hour work days up north was easily a 12 hour day, door to door (when it didn't snow).

College Sports
You can argue with me should you choose, but there is not a better state for all 4 major sports than New York.  In football we have 3 teams (Jets, Giants, Bills); two baseball teams (Mets, Yankees), two Basketball Teams (Knicks, Nets) and three hockey teams (Islanders, Rangers and Sabres).  I would actually argue that many New Jersey Devil fans would consider themselves New Yorkers as well.  We are passionate fans.  However despite the once proud basketball program of Saint John's, a few good professional NFL players out of Hofstra and new surge of athletics from Stony Brook, there is very little interest in college athletics.  We, as a community, do not go to games, grow up watching games and generally don't understand the college fandom. 
However, the sense of community that college sports fosters is amazing.  The excitement, the passion, and the days spent with family and friends are unmatched in the pricey professional sport environment.  I would encourage every New Yorker to visit the triangle on any given fall Saturday.  More so, I would challenge anyone to find a more electrifying 4 days than the ACC basketball tournament.

Ability to Relax
This is so hard for me to describe, but I feel I must try.  Since moving to the South, I have learned the art of the exhale.  I can't remember a time in my life before when I actually sat back satisfied and relaxed.  There is the right here to not worry about corporate ladders all the time.  There is the freedom to not be 100% on at all times.  There is an unwritten permission to take time for one's self and family regardless of the needs of corporate America.

Manners
By no means am I saying that northerners as a whole don't have manners nor am I saying that all southerners do.  However, overall, the south wins the manners battle.  Children refer to me as Miss (or the less preferable Ma'am).   We hold doors for others.  We allow people to cross the street.  Please, thank you, your welcome, pardon and "if you don't mind" are in constant use.  Something about common courtesy makes my soul smile.

Clean Roadways
This is something that you may not notice everyday.  However when you leave the area, it is something you will appreciate.  I don't know if as a community the south litters less or that the clean up efforts are better.  I suspect there is just less littering, but either way, it is nice to stop at a traffic light and not spend the wait trying to count the number of cigarette butts and/or get tempted by fast food wrappers. 

Weather
The summers are hotter for longer, but who doesn't love summer? The winters aren't as cold and aren't as long.  Snow may come in some form every year, but often it is not enough to cause a northerner to even call it snow.  Even so, most people will get one snow day, at least, a year.  On that day, you will normally be able to take an outdoor walk later that day. 

Chick-Fil-A
Chicken soaked in pickle juice and then fried?  Then dunked in a bit of secret Chick-Fil-A sauce?  Cute cows begging us at every event to eat more chicken?  Yes Ma'am!

Neighborhoods
There are some drawbacks of subdivision living, but the good outweighs the bad multi fold.  Neighborhood living provides a number of benefits including a sense of community, recreation (pools, parks, tennis courts, etc.), and protection of home values with Homeowners Association enforcement.  There is no need to spend your summer cleaning your pool or traveling to a community pool.  I have no worries that my neighbor will paint their home neon orange and let the grass grow to a second story level.  If they do, I know it will be addressed without a feud.

Crime Rates
No area of this country is free of crime.  There is no place that you can move where you will be 100% safe for your lifetime.  Maybe it is a sense of community or maybe it is the ability to relax, but something provides us with a greater safety in our daily lives.

Cornhole
I'll never forget the first time someone asked me if I played corn hole.  I was convinced that they had just vulgarly insulted me. Now, I have learned to love those silly bean bags and slabs of wood.   Not only is it a fun game, but it is a great way to mingle, form bonds and my sure fire way to liven up any get together.  I can't believe this hasn't caught on up north yet.