Beyond Fiction

Well, it’s Friday night and my plans for going to the beach at sunset were ruined by the rain. Bummer!

Instead of wasting my time whining about that I figured I would just write a few lines here. I’m enjoying some music and a pretty good drink right now. It’s my own creation but it is pretty nice. 7 shots of liquor in it so it makes you feel OK.

I thought I would write about some of my impressions of North Carolina, now that we have been here for 2 weeks. Of course, the very first “First Impression” was strong enough that I moved here so I guess this would have to be my second “First Impression”. Huh? I’m confused!

There have been quite a few culture shocks for me. Nothing as far as people and such because I feel quite at home with the people here. They are all so friendly! No, the culture shock is in the general, day-to-day stuff that you just take for granted. In Texas, we were comfortable with the grocery stores, banks, utilities and so forth that we had grown used to. The one thing you can always count on no matter where you go is that there will be a Wal-Mart around somewhere. Well, I’ve never been much of a fan of Wal-Mart. In Paris, Texas I could go to Brookshires or Kroger for most of my shopping. Well, when we first got here all we saw was Food Lion and Wal-Mart. That is it! Being familiar with Food Lion from their short-lived stay in Texas I was disappointed because I thought I was going to be beholden to Wal-Mart only. Food Lion is just too high on their stuff!

Well, I’m an explorer. I like to know more about my surroundings. So, I set off to see what I could find. In the 2 weeks we have been here I have now discovered that there is a Harris Teeter, Lowe’s Foods, Piggly Wiggly and a little IGA food store all within 15 miles of where we live. I grew up close to a Piggly Wiggly and I like to go check out their meat deals. Harris Teeter is pretty awesome. They have just about everything you could imagine and their meats are some of the best looking meats I’ve seen. They are also running a “Super Double Coupons” promotion this week where they double coupons up to $1.98!  I’m still seeing how Lowe’s Foods will grow on me. It’s not as high as Food Lion but it isn’t quite low either.

One other thing I have discovered is that there is a difference in the sales tax here. It seems like North Carolina has a tax for just about everything but I was surprised to see that their sales tax for non-food items was only 6.75% compared to 8.75% in Texas. Hey, that’s 2 cents on every dollar I am saving. Of course, on food items there is no sales tax in Texas but here there is a 2% sales tax on food items. Still, it seems like there are less taxes in the long run on food and non-food items.

I have also discovered a very nice little produce place where I can buy great, fresh veggies for a very nice price!

Of course, living close to the ocean has its advantages also. I can buy jumbo shrimp for $1.99 a pound as long as I buy at least 10 pounds. Fresh seafood is also a little cheaper if you find the right place. I think we will be eating alright!

So, my first culture shock is that I have to get used to different food stores and ways of buying my groceries and such. Of course, as always, I make the adjustments and continue to go forward.

Isn’t it so strange that we are surprised by such things. I mean, 1300 miles difference means there are going to be some big changes but my first impression was that of groceries? I guess it is because that is such a big part of our lives.

I’ll write more later and cover the other essentials, such as utilities, driving, and other things.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ken