Does Cleveland Have a "Us vs. Them" Attitude?

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by gouldnm

In a way, that's the point. I'm not trying to say that Cleveland is better or worse than other cities. They all have their pros and cons. I don't understand why Clevelanders worry so much about what people in other cities think.

Because other cities have constantly trashed Cleveland for years especially cities like NYC, Boston and Chicago. We've been called "The Mistake by the Lake" and been the butt of jokes for over the last 50 years. Maybe you don't understand because you live or lived in those cities that get constant praise from the media and tourists. Those cities are looked at as cool, hip and glamorous while Cleveland is looked at as boring, dull, flat, industrial and behind-the=times. Those cities are like the rich kids who get nice new shiny things, and we're the poor kids who have to work twice as hard to get those things. It's not about being worried about what other cities think; we're just tired of other cities putting us down. And, they put us down in order to go out of their way to say, "At least we're not Cleveland."

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Good for you for considering Cleveland. My background is similar to yours. I've lived in Chicago and
Portland, OR. I have a sister in LA and have visited there many times. I am familiar with the PNW and San Francisco.

I chose the Cleveland area for retirement. I don't really give a flying fig as to other people's negative opinions about Cleveland. I made the right choice which was based on what would work for me. I think many misconceptions of Cleveland comes from hearsay. When I told Portland friends I was relocating to Cleveland to retire I got all kinds of Clevand bashing responses from people who never set foot here.

I wonder what your Portland friends said at the time.

[gouldnm]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

Because other cities have constantly trashed Cleveland for years especially cities like NYC, Boston and Chicago. We've been called "The Mistake by the Lake" and been the butt of jokes for over the last 50 years. Maybe you don't understand because you live or lived in those cities that get constant praise from the media and tourists. Those cities are looked at as cool, hip and glamorous while Cleveland is looked at as boring, dull, flat, industrial and behind-the=times. Those cities are like the rich kids who get nice new shiny things, and we're the poor kids who have to work twice as hard to get those things. It's not about being worried about what other cities think; we're just tired of other cities putting us down. And, they put us down in order to go out of their way to say, "At least we're not Cleveland."

Honestly, most people in the East do not sit around making jokes about Cleveland. Most don't think of Cleveland at all. It's just not on their radar screen, one way or the other.


People also put down New Jersey, and when I first moved there, I couldn't get over what a beautiful state it was. I made a comment to someone about how New Jersey was one of the "best kept secrets" in the United States, and they laughed and said, "It's not so secret anymore". They were referencing the fact that the area was becoming increasingly more populated and expensive.


Be careful what you wish for. Many people in New Jersey would give anything to go back to the "good old days" before the area was discovered. I have heard similar things about places like Portland and Seattle. Even in the so-called "glamerous" cities like NY and Boston, people are constantly complaining about how expensive and crowded it is.


People in Cleveland should just appreciate what they have and be grateful for it. Who cares what people on the coasts think!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by gouldnm

People in Cleveland should just appreciate what they have and be grateful for it. Who cares what people on the coasts think!

110% agreed.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by gouldnm

Honestly, most people in the East do not sit around making jokes about Cleveland. Most don't think of Cleveland at all. It's just not on their radar screen, one way or the other.


People also put down New Jersey, and when I first moved there, I couldn't get over what a beautiful state it was. I made a comment to someone about how New Jersey was one of the "best kept secrets" in the United States, and they laughed and said, "It's not so secret anymore". They were referencing the fact that the area was becoming increasingly more populated and expensive.


Be careful what you wish for. Many people in New Jersey would give anything to go back to the "good old days" before the area was discovered. I have heard similar things about places like Portland and Seattle. Even in the so-called "glamerous" cities like NY and Boston, people are constantly complaining about how expensive and crowded it is.


People in Cleveland should just appreciate what they have and be grateful for it. Who cares what people on the coasts think!

That's a good point. Cleveland, while obviously not perfect (no city is) is in a very good place right now compared to what it was even just a decade ago. It has many assets even many much larger cities don't have and it's just enough to appreciate our city and to hell with what others think.

[LargeKingCat]

Originally Posted by TheProf

That's a good point. Cleveland, while obviously not perfect (no city is) is in a very good place right now compared to what it was even just a decade ago. It has many assets even many much larger cities don't have and it's just enough to appreciate our city and to hell with what others think.

Ya know, we had fun there . my son wants to go back, see a browns game and visit the hall of fame. Just a weekend trip.

As for what we had heard about people being rude or unapproachable, we think that it is mostly in how we approach others. Good manners and a good attitude can be contagious

Would welcome a chance to explore Cleveland and especially the arts scene because arts are often the most revealing aspect of a society.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

I wonder what your Portland friends said at the time.

I meant to get back to you on this and then forgot. So sorry for the delayed response.

Not unexpectedly, my Portland friends thought I was crazy when I told them I was leaving the city. They thought I was even more crazy when I told them I was moving to Cleveland. Forget the fact that none of them had ever been to Cleveland, they were going by hearsay regarding all the bad Cleveland jokes like "the mistake on the lake" just as people think Portland is populated with huge numbers of hipster weirdos exactly like the TV show "Portlandia."

While there is a grain of truth in both situations; the Cuyahoga River did catch fire and there are some hipster weirdos in Portland, neither of these describes the entire character of an entire city.

Just as many Clevelanders have a self effacing attitude, Portlanders have an inflated one. The truth is neither lives up to the hype. So I just told my friends the best place to live is the place best for the individual. I still don't think some of them get it.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I meant to get back to you on this and then forgot. So sorry for the delayed response.

Not unexpectedly, my Portland friends thought I was crazy when I told them I was leaving the city. They thought I was even more crazy when I told them I was moving to Cleveland. Forget the fact that none of them had ever been to Cleveland, they were going by hearsay regarding all the bad Cleveland jokes like "the mistake on the lake" just as people think Portland is populated with huge numbers of hipster weirdos exactly like the TV show "Portlandia."

While there is a grain of truth in both situations; the Cuyahoga River did catch fire and there are some hipster weirdos in Portland, neither of these describes the entire character of an entire city.

Just as many Clevelanders have a self effacing attitude, Portlanders have an inflated one. The truth is neither lives up to the hype. So I just told my friends the best place to live is the place best for the individual. I still don't think some of them get it.

But difference is that there actually are hipsters in Portland. The river hasn't caught fire since my mom was 4.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

But difference is that there actually are hipsters in Portland. The river hasn't caught fire since my mom was 4.

Boy, you are a young 'un.

Your comment triggered memories not of the Cuyahoga River, but of a dying if not dead Lake Erie, which I witnessed first hand. Much as in recent years with the toxic algal blooms, the condition of the lake had deteriorated much in just a decade, remembering many days at Mentor Headlands beach in the 1950s.

https://clevelandhistorical.org/item...8#.WSm06sa1u9s

Even more so than the Cuyahoga River fire, the national consternation over Lake Erie helped inspire the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency only in 1970 and the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972. I wonder if Millennials generally know how recent and still fragile is regulatory protection of the environment.

Sadly, we now have the most anti-environmental Presidential administration in at least a half century, and Lake Erie and even the entire world is at escalated risk as a result.

While there is general awareness of the Lake Erie toxic algal problem, there is little general knowledge about the emergence once again of massive dead zones in Lake Erie, as agricultural run-off from massive livestock operations are insufficiently curtailed, even as urban areas spend small fortunes to capture 100-year rains for treatment before discharge into the lake.

http://www.livescience.com/49347-lak...e-drought.html

I wish I could say that the environment is healthy today in northeast Ohio, but with the changes accompanying global warming (the ongoing extinction of maple trees in our region) and the general condition of Lake Erie, I'm not proud of our commitment to the environment.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

But difference is that there actually are hipsters in Portland. The river hasn't caught fire since my mom was 4.

Portland was no more a hipster dominated town then any other fast growing, gentrified city. Some major examples are New York with its Williamsburg in Brooklyn. San Francisco with the Mission District. Chicago with Wicker Park. Portland has its areas like where I used to live in the Buckman neighborhood but their hipster explosion did not dominate the city as the Media would have us believe. They were a big, noisy show-y portion of the population who loved Media attention. Many were trustafarians who have toned it down quite a bit since the their heyday in the 90's.

They haven't all gone of course but but fewer than before.

Likewise the river catching fire stop happening when it got cleaned up but I still had people in Portland talk about it as if it were ablaze just yesterday.