Designing A New Intellectual Paradigm For Baltimoreans

[Eugene80]

Originally Posted by rfp

You have obviously never lived in Chicago (or in Detroit or in Cleveland too, for that matter.)
There are more Poles in Chicago than in Warsaw.

yeah but what if the poster is from Minnesota or Oklahoma or something? The Midwest isn't just Chicago.

[Infinite_heights77]

Agreed to some of your points!! The ignorant townies need to step up their game. Time for an upgrade!!

Originally Posted by The Notorious DGD

So where's this "new intellectual paradigm" the OP talked about? All I'm seeing is a couple people griping about how ignorant everyone is here. The irony is, you're the ignorant ones. If you actually traveled to other cities (besides DC, which might as well be on another planet) and spent time in non-tourist areas with non-tourist people, you'd see that the same people and problems you b**** about here are hardly unique to Baltimore. With the possible exception of DC, which is an artificial bubble world and thus doesn't really count, every city has small-minded townies who can't hold a conversation about anything other than last night's game (if they can even discuss the game itself) and live within minutes of museums and theatres they never go to. Every city has plenty of people who aren't like that as well -- even this one. If you're not finding them, maybe you are the one whose paradigm needs a shift.

[Infinite_heights77]

Rednecks vs. Weirdos........ I gravitate more to the weird and eclectic, than the proverbial and mundane. Sorry!!!

Originally Posted by Eugene80

I don't know if my experience is helpful to anyone, but here goes -

In 2009 I got fed up with Baltimore's uneducated redneck environment and moved to DC in pursuit of a more sophisticated, white-collar milieu. DC did deliver on the educated population, but actually, my life in DC has been extremely miserable and so unhappy that I'm actually worse off socially than I was in Baltimore, and I'm considering moving back.

When I was in Baltimore, I kind of didn't appreciate the normalcy (for lack of a better word) of people in Baltimore vs. the bizarro world of D.C. where people are complete weirdos and extremely unfriendly on top of that. Their education matters little, because the lack of community and roots in D.C. makes people very lonely and miserable and this largely overshadows (in my experience) any benefits DC offers.

I share the OP's sentiment but for me personally DC is even worse in terms of overall happiness.

[Infinite_heights77]

Shameful by any and all means!!!

Originally Posted by jonjj

I recently met someone who has lived in Canton for over 10 years and has never been to the BMA and didn't know where it was located. Nor did he know about the dell off of Charles in front of the museum. To top it all off, he is a real estate agent. I was amazed!

[picardlx]

I wouldn’t equate a lack of passion for history with lack of sophistication and or intelligence. The study of history doesn’t necessarily spark everyone’s intellectually curiosity.

[mancat100]

It's not just Baltimore that's like this so don't be too hard on yourselves.

[Infinite_heights77]

Agreed a little, but I'm not concerned with that.

[Infinite_heights77]

Ok, I understand what you're saying. But, I think one who claims to love so much about they city they live in, don't know anything about it.

Originally Posted by picardlx

I wouldn’t equate a lack of passion for history with lack of sophistication and or intelligence. The study of history doesn’t necessarily spark everyone’s intellectually curiosity.

[Zestywaters]

So what, you perecieve people differently from yourself. Who defines a person based on them going to a museum or not knowing where one exist. This kind of thinking got us the "American Slavery System, and got WWII due to Hitler and his views.

Please be careful with yourself and others. We are ALL playing a role in life that has some significance.

[Miss Crabcakes]

While I definitely have an idea of what the OP is referring to, I think it comes down to who you choose as your social network of friends.

I have a small group of friends in Baltimore but they share the same interests and pursuits that I do. They are all educated (with MBAs, master's and JDs), travel internationally (not just to the Caribbean), are interesting in local arts, take dance class, enjoy plays, theater and music festivals, attend museums and art exhibits, attempt to lear new languages, own real estate, invest money, discuss politics and social ills, etc.

The ones that choose to stay in their little hole are ones I choose not to associate with.