Designing A New Intellectual Paradigm For Baltimoreans (real estate, theater)

[rfp]

Originally Posted by mcleanexec

... Was that you I saw near Sargeant St ...

Originally Posted by jzcrandall

... I have advanced degrees ...

He has advanced degrees.

[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.

[jrh0341]

Originally Posted by jzcrandall

You want sophistication? Move to DC! Baltimore is a blue collar, meat-and-potatoes kind of city. I have advanced degrees, and I'd fit in better in Baltimore than I would in DC. We're talking about a city that gave us John Waters, and you want everyone to be all hoity-toity? You need to GTFOH.

This is exactly the problem that the OP and others legitimately have a problem with.

"Baltimore is blue collar". My ass. Its not a complaint that Baltimore is incapable of higher levels of culture or sophistication. Its that so many Baltimoreans reject it. People need to let go of the BS attitude that liking nice things or taking an interest in art, politics, culture etc = not being down to earth. As if the Ravens, Os and Natty Boh are the only things you are allowed to be interested in without looking pretentious.

[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.

[SouthSiderJ]

Moving to the wealthy state of Maryland from the dusty Midwest, I thought I would experience uppity daily life interactions. However, I cannot believe how different my actual experiences have differed from my expectations. After two years here, my initial views have not changed. Although there are times when Baltimore surprises me through the art scene or funky community events, daily life and interactions are unfortunate. The general lack of adhering to unspoken social rules such as keeping a tidy yard, good personal hygiene, refraining from foul language / yelling in public, maintaining comfortable personal space in public spaces / markets or general manners is strikingly apparent.

My social network here consists of people from other cities or countries and it's interesting how we've had similar experiences and conclusions.

[rfp]

Originally Posted by SouthSiderJ

Moving to the wealthy state of Maryland from the dusty Midwest, I thought I would experience uppity daily life interactions ...

Baltimoreans are not uppity.

I never noticed much difference between Baltimoreans and Chicagoans, but maybe that says more about me.
Not everyone goes to the opera.

[L in sobo]

Every city has a core group of people that are uneducated, generational, small-world, urban folk. They live their lives in a 3 or 4 block radius. They clash with the newcomers. They pine for the "old days". You dont have to travel from your living room to hear their stories of woe- just go to Anchorage Alaska, or Boston, MA or any other city on this forum and there are plenty of posts from natives. I was watching a documentary about a murder in Boston and they were interviewing a local bar owner. He proclaimed that Boston was one of the most historic places in the world. In the world. Really? More historic then say.... the pyramids?

Is the city rougher, more aggressive, grimier than others? I guess that is open to debate.

Also- if you think you can change others (uh... no.) and you think by changing others you will bring happiness to yourself- well, then you are on the wrong forum. Try psychologytoday.com I dont mean that in a sarcastic way- its just that you are hell bent on being miserable if you are allowing strangers to upset you by just being themselves. Ignore them! Dont YOU let them ruin your day. Switching cities wont always help, switching your attitude will change your life.

I have found that connecting in your community, meeting other like-minded people through neighborhood groups, social clubs, church, book clubs wherever- is the fastest way to ground yourself and bring a sense of normalcy and richness to your life. You will quickly forget your annoying loud-mouthed neighbor or the trash on the sidewalk if you are walking home from a great late night supper with friends. Actually some of the most outrageous stories from city living (such as a break-in by my own neighbor because he was too drunk to realize what house he was in) has made for interesting dinner conversations...

[The Notorious DGD]

Originally Posted by SouthSiderJ

Moving to the wealthy state of Maryland from the dusty Midwest, I thought I would experience uppity daily life interactions. However, I cannot believe how different my actual experiences have differed from my expectations. After two years here, my initial views have not changed. Although there are times when Baltimore surprises me through the art scene or funky community events, daily life and interactions are unfortunate. The general lack of adhering to unspoken social rules such as keeping a tidy yard, good personal hygiene, refraining from foul language / yelling in public, maintaining comfortable personal space in public spaces / markets or general manners is strikingly apparent.

My social network here consists of people from other cities or countries and it's interesting how we've had similar experiences and conclusions.

Let me guess: you came here for college/grad school, and your social network here is mostly made up of people you've met on campus...

[Eugene80]

In the Northeast, people are more direct, and their culture is closer to Europe.

It has to do with the ethnicities living here. Back in the Midwest you probably didn't have Italians or Poles or Jews. The Northeast is White-Ethnic and people from these cultures have a very different way of life than WASPs.

[rfp]

Originally Posted by Eugene80

Back in the Midwest you probably didn't have Italians or Poles or Jews.

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.