McMansions

  What surprised me about Kennesaw, Georgia is that it really doesn’t look Southern.  I do see neighborhoods comprising of one-story brick houses with carports, but those with modern homes surpass them in number.   We call these homes “McMansions”.  They are built very quickly.  Perhaps too quickly that quality suffers.  Down here, they are pretty much cookie-cutter, standing close together.  Too close, I think.  Being the country girl that I am, I prefer to be surrounded by a bit of yard.  Kennesaw, though, is a city with a population of about 40,000.

   Southerners are very polite.  It is bad manners to outwardly insult the newcomers to Kennesaw.  However when I do converse with some of them, I sense a little sarcasm.  I don’t think they’re too happy that their home had changed so dramatically in the 90s.

   In rural New Hampshire, especially in towns where they don’t have public sewage and water systems, ordinances had been passed.  They have to be.  Even a McMansion has to stand on a sizeable piece of property that can support a leach field, septic tank, and well.  The towns also designate areas for businesses.  Stores cannot locate outside certain parameters.  The locals do what they can to prevent explosive growth.

   The government down here is county based.  Locals have less control.  They cannot attend a planning board meeting regarding giving a business permission to build.  If they don’t want a particular retail outlet, they have less power to fight and keep it out. 

   People who live here now are from all areas in this country.  We have folks from upstate New York, far west California, and the southern tip of Florida.  I can safely conclude that while Kennesaw may no longer be Southern in the true sense, it does represent mainstream America.  It has been a learning experience for me to see this American lifestyle.  I love being American, and the freedom that this country offers, but New England has a distinct culture that I miss.