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Regional Accents and Considering Retreat Regions, by Mr. Falsch
In early-2009, I began researching the possibility of moving my family from Upstate, South Carolina, where I have lived my entire life, to one of the western American Redoubt states. Knowing virtually nothing about the area, I solicited the help of Mr. Rawles and did as much online research as possible. Finally, in October of 2009, I made my first of seven trips to the Redoubt area and I will share some of what I learned with you now.
After flying to the region, landing in Salt Lake, Spokane, or Billings, I would rent an SUV and begin my journey based on a predetermined itinerary of areas that I had researched. I drove so much on the first trip that my eyes had trouble focusing which forced me to slow down my pace somewhat, but it was a good learning experience. For the most part, I would grab a hotel room in one of the more populated areas and use it as a hub of operations to do my traveling; however, I did spend a couple of nights in the vehicle just for the sake of convenience.
After acquiring transportation, shelter, and a plan of action, I would strike out on my journey. With roads being few and far between, proper planning was essential. I used a set of gazetteer map books from DeLorme for most of my navigation. I found that most of the land that I covered in that territory managed by the BLM, Park Service, or US Forest Service. This presented a unique circumstance because it meant that I had to cover great expanses of Federal land between the areas where property might be for sale; however, this logistics obstacle would pale in comparison to my single greatest challenge of these trips.
What I mean by my greatest challenge is that this particular problem followed me wherever I went. It was always there and was so simple that it had been overlooked from the start. It was my southern accent. No matter where I went or what I did, as soon as I opened my mouth, I was instantly identified as an outsider. I had thought nothing of my accent until a stop at a Montana convenience store revealed my weakness. I simply asked the attendant if they had any “Goody Powders” to combat the headache I had from driving, only to find out that she had no clue what I was talking about, nor could she understand what I was saying. From this instance forward, I was very observant each time I opened my mouth as to how people reacted to my accent. It didn’t matter if I was ordering a sandwich or talking about the weather, I could tell from people’s reaction that they knew I wasn’t from around there.
I chalked this language barrier up as the largest negative mark against the Redoubt. It was so simple and so obvious, yet I had taken for granted the fact that I blended in perfectly in the southeast.
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