I've been daydreaming a lot about other places I want to visit in the United States, so I've created a follow-up to my previous list.
Technically, these should probably be numbered 6 & 7, but if looking at all seven, I'd want to rearrange their order and expound on my previous five entries. So I will stick with 1 & 2.
As I've mentioned before, I've loved North Carolina since I was young. It's a southern state without being too far south, parts of it are charming and beautiful, and it's got great weather, without being too extreme in either direction. The aggressive humidity could take a hike, though.
Wilmington is located in the southeastern portion of the state, about an hour from the coast. It's a fairly small city, but is absolutely gorgeous.
It's been a relatively long time since I was last in North Carolina, but one of the things I remember about the state is the gorgeous greenery everywhere—Wilmington is no exception; look at that Spanish moss!
Wilmington seems like a wonderful place to live—it's not overwhelmingly large, it's beautiful, and if the line about southern hospitality is to be believed, the people are polite and kind. I like small cities and the cost of renting in Wilmington has got to be dirt cheap. It's near the ocean as well as a river (and I think the Riverfront is so charming and picturesque).
Of course, my rationality always rears its head, and I tell myself that I could never realistically live here, as I don't think the job market in this particular area is all that great.
I think it'd be relatively easier to find a job in the Raleigh-Durham area (the latter being one of the cities on my first list). So maybe one day I'll live in North Carolina and spend long weekends visiting Wilmington and the surrounding areas. That would be glorious.
Don't be fooled; I am not in love with the South, though this list seems to indicate otherwise. I balk at a lot of Southern traditions, and the general conservatism that tends to inundate the area isn't something with which I can easily identify. I doubt I could ever live any further south than North Carolina. But living and visiting are two very different things.
I always imagine Charleston as comparable to Savannah, both in look and feel, although I have nothing to back this up beyond Google Images searches and the occasional internet article.
Whenever I picture either city, I imagine antebellum buildings and homes, a style that I always perceive as the visual embodiment of the South. And it's a nice image to have: the wide porches, long columns, and stark white color are beautiful, and are so reminiscent of the Greek and Roman structures that influenced this particular style.
But Charleston's culture and architecture is diverse, so while there's overall a sort of pristine look to the city (made stronger by the large number of churches), Charleston is more than rows and rows of similar-looking buildings. That would probably be a little boring, visually speaking.
Charleston is also said to have some of the strongest historic preservation in the country; many of the historic buildings date back to the Civil War. From what I read, the city's residents also exemplify the charm, friendliness, and courtesy associated with much of the South, too.
I'm sure there are some interesting places to visit in Charleston, but honestly, all I want to do is walk around, take a bunch of pictures, and soak in the uniqueness of the city, aesthetic and otherwise.
Also, the New York Times published "36 Hours in Charleston" on their website yesterday. Check it out.
Hopefully one day I'll be able to cross at least one (if not both!) of these places off my list. For now, I'll just have to settle for fawning over pictures of these cities. I got a little heady just looking at pictures of Wilmington and Charleston. Seriously. Give it a try—they're insanely gorgeous.
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