If you really take the time to think about it, you’ll agree that we seem to have it all here in the Palmetto State. In a short three-and-a-half hours you can go from staring down the most beautiful sunrise over the ocean to hiking through a dense forest on a mountain trail in the Upstate. We are blessed in so many ways in South Carolina. Here are some things South Carolinians just can’t live without.
- Fresh Seafood
Bobbi Bowers/Flickr Yup. There’s no doubt about it. We. Are. Spoiled. Take a trip inland (to another state) and visit a grocery store. Oh sure, that fresh river catfish looks good the first time you see it, but you’ll soon be longing for the salt water fish variety you’ve grown so fond of at home. Am I right?
- Flip flops and/or sandals
Chewy Chua/Flickr The toes must be free. Besides that, your tootsies just feel better on a hot summer day when they’re not crammed inside “regular shoes.” Wait, what am I saying? Flip flops ARE regular shoes.
- The Mountains
Public.Resource.Org/Flickr It’s a stretch and maybe a bit melodramatic to say we couldn’t “live” without the mountains, but we would definitely miss them if they were gone. The mountains are in danger of being taken for granted, without a doubt.
- The Ocean
Sarah H/Flickr Admittedly I spent my childhood in one of those “inland” mountainous states. Once a year we piled into the car and headed to Myrtle Beach. Now that I have the beach in my backyard all the time, I couldn’t live without it. If you’re not living in a coastal county then I’m sure this one is still on your bucket list of things you wouldn’t want to give up, even though you don’t see it as often as you’d like.
- Faith
BrittBrittPhotos/DeviantArt.com They say “never discuss religion or politics unless you’re ready for a debate.” But it’s unholy to leave this one off the list. Faith is how you, personally, define it. It can be religious or not, and most will accept you either way. Faith is at the heart of South Carolina. It brings us together and shields us from those that would intend harm. We couldn’t live without our faith.
- Grits
CarolinaPlantationRice.com Don’t mess with our grits - unless you’re adding hot sauce or cheese, but not both at the same time. Would you want to live without grits?
- G.R.I.T.S.
Don LaVange/Flickr That brings me to the next thing South Carolina can’t live without. G.R.I.T.S. “Girls Raised In the South.” Without them, we’d all be boys! Oh wait, take that a step further - without them - we couldn’t reproduce and then our state would be empty. Ok, enough of the silliness, I swear.
- Family
Wikimedia Commons/Eric Ward There’s no better time than the holidays to remind us how we just wouldn’t want to live without our family.
- In-State Sports Rivalries and Good Sportsmanship
Mike Burton/Flickr Even when our favorite teams lose to our neighbors we still root for the victor when they make it to the playoffs. That’s unique to South Carolina. We love our rivalries, but we love each other more.
- Bathing suit coverups
Stefano Corso/Flickr Hey you! On the left! This ain’t Coney Island, honey. Hmmph. We can’t live without swimsuit coverups in South Carolina. Nor are we afraid to remind our wonderful visitors of our tendency toward modesty.
- A good pair of sunglasses (maybe not THIS pair)
Mike Mozart/Flickr If you’ve ever gotten a sunburn on your eyeballs then you know exactly what I mean. This usually happens if you spend the day at or near a large body of water and get zapped by the glare. In the Palmetto State you can’t live without sunglasses for any length of time.
- Our culture
North Charleston Arts Festival Gala/Flickr From the many festivals around the state to the traditional and non-traditional arts, South Carolina depends on these things to keep us moving forward and to get us out amongst one another. We could maybe live without them, but it wouldn’t be long before they were again part of everyday life. Culture also refers to the traditions we’ve carried forward from our ancestors. We wouldn’t want to live without those either.
- Sweet tea
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr Tasty. I’m glad we don’t have to live without our sweet tea. I’m drinking a glass right now as I write this.
- State pride
Let Ideas Compete/Flickr We couldn’t live without the deep pride we have here in the Palmetto State. Don’t mess with our people, our churches, our sports teams, etc. In times where our pride may have been tested, it didn’t incite retaliation, it inspired unity. We can’t - and let us never - have to live without state pride.
- Sunsets
arielp/Flickr Sunsets signal the close of a day and the impending new dawn that lay ahead. We’ve grown to love our sunsets in the Palmetto State, both for their beauty and their symbolism. There’s something missing on a super cloudy day when you can’t see that big hunk of burning gold hit the horizon. We can get by once in a while if it’s raining, but sunsets are one thing we’d hate to do without.
- Eye candy
Erik Larson/Flickr It’s not bragging if it’s true. We are blessed with some stunning scenery here in the Palmetto State. Would you swap if for anything else? There are beautiful deserts in the world - the Sahara has sand the color of butterscotch - but would you want to trade what you see every day for a desert, no matter how beautiful it is?
- Each other
Valentin Ottone/Flickr Community is important. While each of us could make a go of it living on our own as a hermit in the wilderness, we’d rather not. We need each other. Towns and cities that grow together and work together - stay together. Your family, your friends, your neighbors - they are your lifeline, and you are theirs. We can’t live without each other.
It’s great to have it all here in the Palmetto State. What did you think of our list of things we couldn’t live without? Did we miss anything? I’m sure you have a few more things you couldn’t live without. Share them in our comments below.
Bobbi Bowers/Flickr
Yup. There’s no doubt about it. We. Are. Spoiled. Take a trip inland (to another state) and visit a grocery store. Oh sure, that fresh river catfish looks good the first time you see it, but you’ll soon be longing for the salt water fish variety you’ve grown so fond of at home. Am I right?
Chewy Chua/Flickr
The toes must be free. Besides that, your tootsies just feel better on a hot summer day when they’re not crammed inside “regular shoes.” Wait, what am I saying? Flip flops ARE regular shoes.
Public.Resource.Org/Flickr
It’s a stretch and maybe a bit melodramatic to say we couldn’t “live” without the mountains, but we would definitely miss them if they were gone. The mountains are in danger of being taken for granted, without a doubt.
Sarah H/Flickr
Admittedly I spent my childhood in one of those “inland” mountainous states. Once a year we piled into the car and headed to Myrtle Beach. Now that I have the beach in my backyard all the time, I couldn’t live without it. If you’re not living in a coastal county then I’m sure this one is still on your bucket list of things you wouldn’t want to give up, even though you don’t see it as often as you’d like.
BrittBrittPhotos/DeviantArt.com
They say “never discuss religion or politics unless you’re ready for a debate.” But it’s unholy to leave this one off the list. Faith is how you, personally, define it. It can be religious or not, and most will accept you either way. Faith is at the heart of South Carolina. It brings us together and shields us from those that would intend harm. We couldn’t live without our faith.
CarolinaPlantationRice.com
Don’t mess with our grits - unless you’re adding hot sauce or cheese, but not both at the same time. Would you want to live without grits?
Don LaVange/Flickr
That brings me to the next thing South Carolina can’t live without. G.R.I.T.S. “Girls Raised In the South.” Without them, we’d all be boys! Oh wait, take that a step further - without them - we couldn’t reproduce and then our state would be empty. Ok, enough of the silliness, I swear.
Wikimedia Commons/Eric Ward
There’s no better time than the holidays to remind us how we just wouldn’t want to live without our family.
Mike Burton/Flickr
Even when our favorite teams lose to our neighbors we still root for the victor when they make it to the playoffs. That’s unique to South Carolina. We love our rivalries, but we love each other more.
Stefano Corso/Flickr
Hey you! On the left! This ain’t Coney Island, honey. Hmmph. We can’t live without swimsuit coverups in South Carolina. Nor are we afraid to remind our wonderful visitors of our tendency toward modesty.
Mike Mozart/Flickr
If you’ve ever gotten a sunburn on your eyeballs then you know exactly what I mean. This usually happens if you spend the day at or near a large body of water and get zapped by the glare. In the Palmetto State you can’t live without sunglasses for any length of time.
North Charleston Arts Festival Gala/Flickr
From the many festivals around the state to the traditional and non-traditional arts, South Carolina depends on these things to keep us moving forward and to get us out amongst one another. We could maybe live without them, but it wouldn’t be long before they were again part of everyday life. Culture also refers to the traditions we’ve carried forward from our ancestors. We wouldn’t want to live without those either.
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr
Tasty. I’m glad we don’t have to live without our sweet tea. I’m drinking a glass right now as I write this.
Let Ideas Compete/Flickr
We couldn’t live without the deep pride we have here in the Palmetto State. Don’t mess with our people, our churches, our sports teams, etc. In times where our pride may have been tested, it didn’t incite retaliation, it inspired unity. We can’t - and let us never - have to live without state pride.
arielp/Flickr
Sunsets signal the close of a day and the impending new dawn that lay ahead. We’ve grown to love our sunsets in the Palmetto State, both for their beauty and their symbolism. There’s something missing on a super cloudy day when you can’t see that big hunk of burning gold hit the horizon. We can get by once in a while if it’s raining, but sunsets are one thing we’d hate to do without.
Erik Larson/Flickr
It’s not bragging if it’s true. We are blessed with some stunning scenery here in the Palmetto State. Would you swap if for anything else? There are beautiful deserts in the world - the Sahara has sand the color of butterscotch - but would you want to trade what you see every day for a desert, no matter how beautiful it is?
Valentin Ottone/Flickr
Community is important. While each of us could make a go of it living on our own as a hermit in the wilderness, we’d rather not. We need each other. Towns and cities that grow together and work together - stay together. Your family, your friends, your neighbors - they are your lifeline, and you are theirs. We can’t live without each other.
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