Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

Anyone familiar with this region? Lived there? Traveled there? Went to school there? Grew up there? Etc.

I'm curious about a few Southern cities I'm thinking of visiting on my next vacation in the U.S.

Asheville, NC
Knoxville, TN
Nashville, TN
Atlanta, GA
Charleston, SC
Wilmington, NC

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I am equally curious of people's impressions of them, etc.

[bucheon bum]

I lived in southern TN for a year, and saw a quite a bit of the region.

Asheville- Cousin lives there. Pretty liberal college town. Decent music and arts scene. Getting yuppified. Beautiful area (blue ridge mountains).

Knoxville- I found it to be rather dull. The UT campus isn't especially pretty, but the region is scenic. River goes through town and there are lots of hils. Seemed pretty quiet place, but I was there at the end of summer. Perhaps it is more lively when classes are in session.

Atlanta- HUGE freeways. I equate it with the LA of the South as far as layout goes (ie really spread out). Buckhead used to be the hot spot but I recently heard its become too popular and not as good as it used to be. It isn't bad, but it isn't very southern beyond its geographical location.

Charleston, SC- Great city to visit. Has a reputation of being snobby. Lots of old money. So while I probably wouldn't want to live there, definitely nice to visit for a couple days.

Wilmington, NC- never been.

Nashville is a cool city. I'd prefer living there than Atlanta.

Chattanooga is a nice place too. Not very big but has lots of greenery, has some things going on.

Savannah is also nice to visit. It is similar to Charleston, but more down-to-earth.

Birmingham is nothing special.

And new orleans- best city in the south.

Overall I'd suggest the following:

Fly into Atlanta, drive to Savannah, go up to Charleston, stopping in Beaufort for a brief visit. After that, cross SC to get to Asheville. From there, go through the Smokey Mountains en route to Knoxville (be sure to stop in Gatlinburg to see the tackiest place in the world). Final leg go from Knoxville over to Nashville, before cutting back down to ATL.

[Allen]

Asheville, NC: A nice small big town. A college town, so it is artsy and has some good food and entertainment. The big attraction is Biltmore(sp?) estate, but the mountains and Forest is where the fun is. Miles of hiking and biking trails, whitewater and nice streams to tube.

Atlanta, GA: I don't care much for ATL, some of th downtown area is nice, especially near Georgia Tech and the consulates. Good food, but hard to get around.

Charleston, SC: Nice southern town. Lots of museum and historical areas. Gret Seafood and bars. Stay in a B&B and skip the chain hotels if you can afford it nd you will get treated with genuine Southern Hospitality. Take a crriage tour of the city, stroll along the Battery at dusk, visit the slave market, and just enjoy yourself.

I will second the above posters recommendation of Beaufort. It is a nice little coastal town. Good food and a atmosphere. There is a tavern/seafood restaurant that Blackbeard "stayed" at, I believe it was a brothel at one point, they have good seafood. Take a ride out to light houses and walk along the beach.

Savannah: A great city, much like Charleston but worth seeing. Like Charleston, the food is great nd Southern hospitality is evident. There is an inn/B&B that was featured on some Haunted House show, that we stayed at.

There is also Myrtle Beach. Also swing up towards Columbia SC and et at Maurice's BBQ and get BBQ and your KKK literature in one place.


Allen

[Tiger Beer]

SOME QUESTIONS...

ASHEVILLE...is it the mountains and surrounding area that make Asheville cool? How about the city - or is it too small, etc.? Is it mostly just typical college town stuff, or a bit more than just that?

CHARLESTON, SC looks really cool with colorful architecture downtown. Saw some stuff on Skyscrapers Forum and looks really cool. Very colorful, really want to see that city...how are the beaches? Heard mediocre, but any beach is always good.

NASHVILLE does look interesting. Looks like a heavy college-oriented city, Vanderbuilt, etc. Probably real interesting music scene as well. I also read that Nashville has largest Kurdish population outside of Iraq/Turkey as well. Sounds kinda interesting...

Is the stereotype true about the South that there are many conservative Republican Baptists that often as 'what church do you go to?' as part of their getting to know you. I keep reading that in different Southern city forums, but wonder if that is true in the city as well, or just the areas around the cities in the South.

OKAY...so if any of you posters were to live somewhere in the South, which cities would you consider?

[Konglishman]

[dean_burrito]

If you are down that way why not add New Orleans to your list.
See the French Quarters, pretty unique for America.
Perhaps you would also be there sometime around Jazzfest.
Anyways, New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the world.
I recommend visiting to see why it is worth saving.

[Poemer]

Nashville is a good time. Great music scene. If you are into guitars, do some shopping while you are there. The music shops always have nice rigs that have been sold off by down on their luck session guys.

[Tiger Beer]

[definitely maybe]

i think you ought to consider adding savannah, ga to the list. full of characters and good times.

[Mandinga]

kind of a late reply but, wilmington is kind of nice, its where some tv shows are filmed like 'dawsons creek'. im not a fan of it, but its a beach town with a few things to do.

[Gatsby]

Make sure you ask around for the best Q.

[prairiemaker]

In 2000 I got in my convertible and left on a four week road tip through the South. I started in Kansas and drove to Arkansas. Then I dropped down scenic highway 7 all the way to the Louisiana Texas border. From there I drove the coastal roads all the way to across to Florida. I swung down, then up and across Florida to Georgia. After this I hit Jacksonville, Charleston, Atlanta up to South Carolina and on to the Blue Highway and Great Smokies. I then headed across Tennessee to Memphis and then across Arkansas through Current River Valley, Buffalo River and Mark Twain National Forest and then back home.

During the trip I was writing a story and photographing old growth forest and national champion trees. It was the best road trip of my life, and I have taken a lot off them. It always helps me to have a purpose to the trip, such as photographing or writing because it takes you to places you never probably would go otherwise. For me it is always the small things that made the trip worth while. Things that because I was photographing and writing it was possible to do. This allows barriers to break down and meet other people deeply. Things like sitting on a porch swing under a five hundred year old live oak, with an eighty year old man as the sunset across his fields and he told me of his life. Things like standing under the National Champion Live Oak, Seven Sisters in Lewisburg Louisiana, listing to an old women. She cried as she told a total stranger what she had not been able to tell anyone close, that she felt guilty of being relieved when her husband died of Alzheimer�s because it was so hard. She then asked when she would stop missing him. One hour on the other side of New Orleans, I sit in the back of an old country store, on a concrete slab, eating crawdads with three men and drinking beer in the hot noon sun. In Georgia I sat with my back to the oldest living Eastern red cedar in the world, in a cemetery outside Douglas Georgia, watching an approaching thunderstorm. In an ancient old growth forest far in the Smoky Mountains, I sat alone in the forest and cried as I realized for the first time what we as humans had lost in cutting these great giants down, so that only one percent remained.

If you take this trip, if you are a writer at all, I would write about it and tell others you are a writer. It does not matter if you publish what you write it will break down barriers and give you an incredible trip. I would also pick something to look at along the way close to your own heart. It will take you places you would never go otherwise making an incredibly magical trip. For me on this trip, as most, this was old trees. And if I did not own a convertible I would rent one. Sometimes this can be done fairly inexpensively especially when you factor the wear and tear of putting 4000 miles on your own car. There are few experiences that can match driving with the top down on an open road Deep South.

[agentX]

Looking at that list on the first page, the first thing I want to ask is "Why do you want to visit Deliverance terrortory?" What, you looking for some Squidbillies to interview? Want to see the 'slack jawed yokels' up close and personal?
Hahahahaha!

OK, now that I got that out of my system, onto the interesting stuff.

1) There was a major coal ash spill in Tennessee this month. You might want to check it out. I think it was near Nashville or Knoxville.
2) ATL traffic is the pits. If you go, get there in mid-morning and don't leave until after rush hour. Also, be aware that Fulton and Gwinett county are known for their bad cops. Also, stay out of Decauter/College Park, unless you want to see where Outkast hails from.
4) There was/is a major drought in the area you're traveling in. Lake Powell? might still be bone dry so if you go, you might see some old roadway sticking out of the water. Also, there was a water "war" of sorts over a river near the TN/GA border. If you're into ecology/futurism, you might want to check it out. Rumor/speculation has it that this region may become a semi-arid/desert climate.
5) If you're gonna travel in February, pay Hilton Head Island a visit. You'll see the Gullah Celebration and get to hear a very unique language called Gullah.
6) Harkers island, NC, has people there that speak English with a distinct British English accent called High Tider. It's near Wilmington, off the coast.
7) Athens and Albany in GA have spawned some famous bands. If you're a music guy you might spin thru if you have time.

[Bigfeet]

[Gatsby]

OP, you mentioned places, but not what it is you want to do.

Me, I like to take a drive along the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway when I am in the area. It's slow but wonderful. There are government campgrounds along the road, but you can often drive down from the ridge a little and find informal camping along streams. Some places have group camping. Or you can just find a little bridge and camp next to the stream there.

Travel is a whole different experience now, in the sense that you can find out so much more about an area beforehand on the Web. There's that wiki article I just cited. You can go on Flickr.com and find lots of pictures. Google maps has picture links plus street view for some areas. And of course there are accommodations and food links, and learning about the culture/history of an area.

While you can overdo this, of course, I think knowing about an area's history can enchance the experience. And the quality of food can vary a lot when you travel. The key, especially in the South, is to find the places that are especially popular with locals.

You don't want to do McDonalds if you are a tourist, but there is one chain worth trying: Ryan's Steak House.

http://www.ryans.com/whats-new.asp

Ryan's had a restaurant where I lived, and I never tried them until later I was traveling. Fresh home made bread with real butter, a wonderful selection of food, all tasting fresh and home made. This is the only chain buffet I can recommend for quality.

You should ask around for the smoked best pork shoulder barbecue place in town. In the South the way Q is prepared and served varies by region. So you will have an opportunity to try a variety. It may be a bit expensive, but don't be put off. It takes time to make great Q, and the pork kinda shrinks by the time you're through.

The Gulf Coast is, of course, a must see if you want to go swimming. Some of the whitest beaches in the world can be found at Pensacola Beach/Navarre Beach. Just realize that if you go in July the beach may be too hot to walk on. This area can easily go into the 90s or above 100 degrees in the summer. Heck, the spring is probably a better bet for the whole South, or fall.

Bon Voyage.