artemisenterri said:
Let me preface by saying (and this will probably boggle a few minds in here) that I am a Christian conservative republican... (Stating that for reference, not to cause any flame wars... I'm a "do whatever you want in your bedroom, just don't shove it in my face" person.)
North Carolina has a republican-led legislature (since 2010, after breaking an almost 150-yr streak of democrat dominance) but a totally insane democrat governor...
South Carolina has a republican legislature and governor.
I have not seen any signs of "theocratic" dominance, and in fact have seen more of a push against the churches by the "accept us or else" activists...
The Carolinas do have the possibility for tornadoes, but on a much lower frequency than the flatlands further inland, due to the Carolinas being part of the Appalachian mountains. The potential for hurricanes exists, but only becomes really dangerous if you are closer to the coasts... My family has lived in the Carolinas since the end of '06, moved south across the NC/SC line at the end of '21. Worst we've ever gotten during hurricane season was heavy wind, rain, and partial flooding from regional rivers/creeks.
Oh my goodness, you are from Upstate South Carolina??!! I absolutely adore the Greenville / Spartanburg area. And you are right, Upstate South Carolina is quite conservative. I'm from the West Coast and can't stand it out here. I have Autism and ADHD too. As much as the liberal Democrats say they are "understanding of differences, diversity, and disability", I certainly haven't been the recipient of such understanding, that is for sure. I got bullied in school from 4th grade onwards. I got bullied even at state university when I lived in a college residence apartment dorm complex by other residents, just for being Autistic in itself. Probably 96% of the students in the complex thought I was intellectually disabled. If they thought I was truly intellectually disabled, that would be one thing. But they didn't do even do that - they called me the r word continuously. And of course, I got bullied because I have restricted interests and hobbies. I happen to collect different things from 45 rpm records to lapel pins to baseball caps from various cities (I have a bachelor degree in Geography) to street maps. But I also happen to collect vintage children's T strap shoes and Mary Janes from the 1970s to mid 1990s mostly. And also long-alls and jon jons (though I didn't start collecting that until 2004, long after I graduated from college, when I was introduced to that type of clothing by a mom from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia). It doesn't take a particularly vivid imagination to think about what horrendous names I've been called. I was even thrown rocks at. I don't think even criminals get treated like that. Odd thing is that a lot of the bullies were totally on marijuana and drugs all the time and got drunk at parties. I never did that stuff. A lot of these people never even graduated from college because all they did was take marijuana. As bad as things are in my state sometimes, there's even worse. Oregon seems to be full of bullies, especially in the northern end of Oregon, around Portland and Astoria. Never met more bullies online ever, than in that area. Thank God I don't live there. A few of them who bully me from there even have higher functioning Autism, and they dislike me because I have Classic Autism and that I am emotionally and socially like a 4 1/2 year old. Actually, I've met nonautistic 4 year olds who have better social skills and more understanding of nonverbal facial cues than I do.
I've had very few jobs and I got terminated eventually from all of them. I'm nearly 100% positive even most of my ex-bosses would say I'm emotionally and socially like a 4 1/2 year old. And my friends (of all ages, Autistic or not), my relatives, my former elementary school to high school teachers, my old college instructors, my parents, my enemies, everyone.
In contrast to the West Coast, I always look forward to my trips that I take to South Carolina. I love South Carolina and talk about it to someone nearly every day. Been to Upstate 4 times. Been to Charleston twice, been to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia twice. Visited Clemson University several times, and I have friends who are university professors there. Clemson is a fairly conservative university as opposed to colleges in Washington, Oregon, and California which tend to be very liberal. And the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is very liberal too. Clemson is more like Auburn University in Alabama. I have friends who live in some of the southern suburbs of Greenville. I feel like I'm back at home every time I visit South Carolina, particularly the Upstate area. I savor every minute of my visits to South Carolina. When I visit, I don't get called names because I have Autism. I don't get called names or get bullied because I like long-alls, jon jons, or T strap shoes. I don't get thrown rocks at in South Carolina, either. I have visited many children's clothing consignment stores in South Carolina, along with my parents or just my dad one time (my mom stayed home). People at clothing stores and shoe stores were always very kind and understanding of me in South Carolina. They went out of their way to help me find long-alls or jon jons in their stores. I want nothing to do with the West Coast anymore. It wasn't like this 45 years ago or even 30 years ago where I am from. As time went on, things got worse and worse. The crime rate got worse and worse, the taxes got higher and higher, the home prices got incredibly high and unaffordable. I can't wait to move to South Carolina to put this all behind me. Even in the West Coast, the few conservatives we have here are way more tolerant of me.
There are places actually even more Republican than South Carolina....for instance, Northern Alabama, like some Birmingham suburbs and even north of that, like towards Cullman and Decatur to Huntsville. The type of clothing I like is actually very common in the Deep South, especially Alabama, but also Tennessee, Georgia South Carolina, and some parts of North Carolina.
Take care
- longallsboy
)...and I'm definitely not Jim Jones. That's not what this is all about...it's about community, not wholesale-withdrawing from society. And it's easier done without being alone or even centralized. The focus here is on community living for those with autism...with AB/DL being a by-the-way factor.
I know it's hard for some to grasp but sometimes the greatest successes come from a dream and a leap of faith toward something you deeply believe in. 
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