My thoughts about Cincinnati after moving here 9 months ago... (Canton: house, high school)

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by goyguy

Most of the people in City-Data and on the street who sing the praises of Cincinnati are not only so-called normal, they're transplants.

I have to agree, in that most native Cincinnatians are too damn pessimistic to realize what's good about Cincinnati. #sarc

[Briolat21]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

1 - I still don't get the highschool thing
2 - I have NEVER been asked that in Cincinnati, or anywhere else I've lived.

Don't get the high school thing either.

Yes, I've been asked it countless times. Generally by people who ASSUME I must be from the area.

At work, where people knew I transferred from another state, I have not been asked that.

In my neighborhood, in town (Lebanon and Cincy proper) when chatting with folks (making small talk with a business proprietor, chatting with hostess/waitress, etc.) I have been asked it.

My husband gets asked it all the time - especially at work. It seems to greatly matter to them, so they can identify him as an East sider or a West sider, and then assign the requisite stereotypes (snob or appalaichan hick apparently). Because of course, they assume he's from around here - because apparently EVERYONE must be from around here.

We find it very parochial and it reinforces our experience that *in general* Cincinnati (and the inhabitants of the metropolitan area) seem to take a very limited view of things.

Sorry to the OP that your experience hasn't been all roses, but I'm glad you've made some friends and found some things about the city that you have enjoyed in your time here. Not every place resonates with everyone, and if you have opportunities that will allow you to explore other places - take advantage while you still can.

[natininja]

Cincinnati is not for someone who wants to live somewhere with political groupthink. You can comfortably organize your life so you don't often come into contact with people whose politics/beliefs you find abhorrent. But they are there, and you have to be able to cope with not always getting your way at the ballot box. (This is actually true of Ohio as a whole.) It can be very frustrating, and it's unsettling when confronted by it unexpectedly (e.g. racial epithets in Northside), but it can also be really rewarding when you feel like your vote counts, and your presence makes a difference. It's an especially rewarding place to get involved in the community.

The people are honest and genuine, and value lasting and meaningful friendships. Some people see this as a small town quality, but I think of it as European. There is a muted German-Dutch-British stoicism counterbalancing the Midwest American extroverted friendliness. The resulting no-nonsense, genuine and not exaggerated friendliness I find welcoming and refreshing. I think it's why OP said it's easy to make friends. It also explains why Cincinnatians are often described both as stiff and friendly, which is pretty rare, and doesn't make sense on the surface.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by Briolat21

(and the inhabitants of the metropolitan area) seem to take a very limited view of things.

I don't doubt that it's common. It's just not common where I live and move. I tend to think it's more of a suburb/east/west sort of thing.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

the rose-colored glasses crowd

Cmon, is the view all that bad?

[natininja]

I think Brill is basically right about high school being an "impressionable" period. The question is a proxy for "where did you grow up?", but it controls for the possibility that someone might not have lived in the same place for all their childhood years. Personally, I find it interesting to know where people are from. Not to tag and label them, but to see where they're coming from (literally and figuratively, lol...apparently this is where the phrase "comes from"...pun NOT intended). My partner often asks people where they are from, usually meaning "what country are you from?", because where we live people come from all over the world. It's ultimately the same sort of question, but if you went around Cincinnati asking what country people were from people would think you were nuts, and rightfully so. Materially, they are the same question, depending on the context.

That parenthetical note was a bit of a revelation for me, as I was writing it. Even our everyday metaphors assume this is a meaningful concept. I get that the question seems like the person is assuming you're from the area, and that may be true in some cases. But answering "in Oregon" or "in Japan" would be totally valid as well. It would tell the person asking where you spent a key portion of your childhood, which is, I think, what they want to know.

[zach_33]

The OP rings true to this ex-Cincinnatian. Now, I live in St. Louis and I can tell you it is extremely similar (from a social/cultural tolerance perspective) to Cincinnati. Chicago is as good as it gets in the midwest for social libertarianism. The thing I liked about Cincy, though, was that the social conservative current was so strong that there was a very vibrant counter-culture which seemed to relish existing in defiance to the extermism of folks like Simon Leis (sp?)... artists, beatniks, weirdos, punks, hippies-- those folks are (or were back in the 80s, at least) largely in control of everything that was worth being interested in down in the city-- Clifton, OTR, pre-gentrified Mt Adams, etc. I get the impression that counterculture is still alive and well in the city of Cincinnati if one knows where to look.

San Francisco is beautiful, and being gay there won't hurt, but it is way too elitist for my (now firmly entrenched) midwestern sensibilities. Instead of hating gays, they just hate culturally/economically disadvantaged people.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Briolat21

Don't get the high school thing either.

Yes, I've been asked it countless times. Generally by people who ASSUME I must be from the area.

Hey, maybe that's why I don't get asked that question in Philadelphia (which is every bit as parochial as Cincinnati, maybe even moreso) -- because it is quite obvious that I'm "not from around here."

At work, where people knew I transferred from another state, I have not been asked that.

In my neighborhood, in town (Lebanon and Cincy proper) when chatting with folks (making small talk with a business proprietor, chatting with hostess/waitress, etc.) I have been asked it.

You need to play up a Michigan accent. That'll confuse 'em. Especially in Lebanon. LOL

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Cmon, is the view all that bad?

Is that Lake Erie?

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by natininja

Call me crazy, but I can't imagine a gay, liberal, nonreligious person, who is concerned with open racism, would have a better experience living in the suburbs. Especially not someone who clearly does not have reclusive tendencies.

That is a perfectly realistic feeling. At the same time, do not characterise an entire metro area with a narrow view. At least identify it as my view, not necessarily the majority.

[natininja]

zach_33's description of the "counterculture" is very insightful. There is a large geographic area controlled by those people. The effect is a culture which is passionately progressive, rather than complacently liberal. City government is very responsive to the currents in this community, because they make up a huge voting bloc in the city proper. The area is easily big enough to make these your primary stomping grounds. In more culturally-left regions, the cultural current is often not so progressive, because there aren't so many righty-tighties around to stir the pot.

For those who are conservatively-inclined, they also have large stomping grounds, and the luxury of a progressive city (a city that wants to be a city and not a dense suburb) to visit and serve as a whipping boy.