State boundaries tend to complicate matters. This is extremely evident in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, where North Carolina and South Carolinas share a common boundary. This boundary comes together near Tryon, NC and Landrum, SC where Polk County (NC) borders both Spartanburg County and Greenville County (SC). Communities like Landrum that are near the northern edge of their county are dozens of miles (and a long-distance call) from their nearest SC county seats (the metropolises of Spartanburg and Greenville). Landrum is much closer to the North Carolina town of Tryon, which is only a few miles away.

When looking at the topic of Internet broadband, it is necessary to first define what broadband is in comparison to dial-up. The general definition for broadband is that it is a fast connection to the Internet that is never turned off. The exact speed that is considered the minimum for broadband is disputed, ranging from anything above the maximum of dial-up which is 56 kbit/s to 1.0 Mbit/s. Unlike dial-up, a broadband connection is always turned on because broadband does not tie up a phone line, so it is possible to use the Internet for long periods of time. Click here to access a helpful PDF from the FCC that defines what exactly is meant by "broadband."

Homeschooling is defined as the teaching of children at home by their parents rather than at a traditional school. Since the advent of public schooling, homeschooling has been seen as controversial among the educational community. Homeschooling was legalized in North Carolina in 1985 with opposition from public educators who felt that it could be harmful to children if the parents attempting to homeschool were uneducated themselves. Since the legalization of homeschooling in the state, the number of children who are homeschooled has grown rapidly. In the past five years, the percentage of children who are homeschooled in western North Carolina has almost doubled from 3.6 percent to 6.1 percent. If the number of homeschoolers continues to rise at that rate, by 2020 homeschoolers will make up 12.7 percent of the school age population.