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California: LA for most people because it's the beaches and the entertainment industry. For those more in the tech world, SF. But for everyone else it's LA.
NJ: A combo between Atlantic City because it's a shore town and rundown, Newark for being improperly stereotyped as still all dangerous and rundown and ghetto, and any generic suburb full of toll roads.
As for the largest city not being what people think of, I think KY would fit that. People probably think of Lexington, not Louisville. Lexington has the flagship state university, University of Kentucky. It's the bluegrass region where most of the horses come from, even though people think of the Kentucky Derby which is in Louisville. If people don't think of Lexington, they probably think of rural, poor, mountainous, depressed small towns of Eastern KY.
I am from New Jersey, and I believe people think "Newark" or other areas along the northern corridor of the NJ Turnpike, including the refineries. Unfortunately.
But there are no toll roads in the suburbs. You have to take exits off the toll roads to get to the suburbs. Mass suburbia is probably the most realistic image, at least of North Jersey. McMansions and malls.
Most people think DC suburbs. No one thinks of Gone With The Wind nor Lynchburg. And while they might think of naval shipyards, Jefferson Davis, or UVA, it’s a select crowd. Because it’s NoVa most people think of. Probably not even an actual town in NoVa. Actually, if we are honest, the first city most of us think of when we think of Virginia is actually not in the state, DC.
That's probably because Gone With The Wind takes place in Georgia.
What a few short weeks it had been since she was safe and secure! What a little while since she and everyone else had thought that Atlanta could never fall, that Georgia could never be invaded. But the small cloud which appeared in the northwest four months ago had blown up into a mighty storm and then into a screaming tornado, sweeping away her world, whirling her out of her sheltered life, and dropping her down in the midst of this still, haunted desolation.
Was Tara still standing? Or was Tara also gone with the wind which had swept through Georgia?
The "wind", of course, being Sherman's army. It's a great metaphor, IMO.
Agreed. The Twin Cities are the bulk of Minnesota's population, but almost none of the state's stereotypes are embodied by it's denizens. I think St. Cloud might embody the Minnesota stereotype the best. It's on the line where the woods meet the prairie, has plenty of lakes nearby, and isn't that urban. It's far enough north to get guaranteed deep freezes and heavy snows annually as well.
For my state, I don't know that any city works because I get the impression the overwhelming stereotype of Iowa is one gigantic cornfield. The county seats of rural farm counties in the flattest parts of the state probably fit the bill. Towns like Osage, Garner, Forest City, Humboldt, Algona, Jefferson etc are your "stereotypical" Iowa, but I doubt anyone outside the state has ever heard of them.
I think it probably is the stereotype. Although, that famous love story with the covered bridges did give the rest of us a glimpse of the state's loveliness.
I am from New Jersey, and I believe people think "Newark" or other areas along the northern corridor of the NJ Turnpike, including the refineries. Unfortunately.
But there are no toll roads in the suburbs. You have to take exits off the toll roads to get to the suburbs. Mass suburbia is probably the most realistic image, at least of North Jersey. McMansions and malls.
People do associate the shore though with the state too. And Atlantic City kinda conjures images of trashy nightlife, getting drunk on the beach, and gambling with guidos...even though it's not full of guidos but people think it is. Combine AC's shore vibe with it being rundown, and you kinda have what people think of Jersey: trashy guidos on a beach with rundown urban centers all over. After that vibe, definitely Newark and its poor reputation are a close second to what people think of as the entire state being dirty and gross and dangerous cities with rich white people in the suburbs (that's Connecticut more :P )
Oh I know but people think NJ is all toll roads because they drive through it and yeah, you drive on a toll road the entire way through the state. I imagine when people imagine the NJ burbs, they think everyone must live off a toll road.
That's probably because Gone With The Wind takes place in Georgia.
What a few short weeks it had been since she was safe and secure! What a little while since she and everyone else had thought that Atlanta could never fall, that Georgia could never be invaded. But the small cloud which appeared in the northwest four months ago had blown up into a mighty storm and then into a screaming tornado, sweeping away her world, whirling her out of her sheltered life, and dropping her down in the midst of this still, haunted desolation.
Was Tara still standing? Or was Tara also gone with the wind which had swept through Georgia?
The "wind", of course, being Sherman's army. It's a great metaphor, IMO.
Well the post has been changed, but it originally said GWTW and I assumed he was using it as shorthand for plantations and the Old South. But while it obviously housed one of the capitals, I don’t think many people associate Virginia with Tara-like images. Though I could be wrong.
Either way, the 80th anniversary is coming up. It’s playing at several theaters around me, so I’m taking my teenage son (I may leave out the runtime until the last possible moment, like intermission).
In Utah the city most like what people think of is Provo, very white and LDS. Salt Lake City is quite the opposite of the states reputation which surprises a lot of people, but Provo definitely lives up to the reputation.
Do Kingdoms count? København (Copenhagen) is the capital of the Kingdom of Denmark. How many of you can name another city in Denmark (other than Moseby)?
In Texas, Houston and Dallas are the most well known globally but I wouldnt call either "Texan" per se. I think Austin is moreso than either. That said, the image people are thinking of when they think of Texas would probably be Fort Worth or San Antonio.
San Antonio is a close second for me, but the fact that it's dominated by one ethnic group that the average person from out of state has no real knowledge of outside of the food makes FW the easy answer.
Well the post has been changed, but it originally said GWTW and I assumed he was using it as shorthand for plantations and the Old South. But while it obviously housed one of the capitals, I don’t think many people associate Virginia with Tara-like images. Though I could be wrong.
Either way, the 80th anniversary is coming up. It’s playing at several theaters around me, so I’m taking my teenage son (I may leave out the runtime until the last possible moment, like intermission).
You are likely correct. I just chose to pick on the state thing and meant it in good humor.
I loved the book so much more than the movie. After I got over the initial shock the first time I saw the movie, I learned to take it for what it was. Hollywood did an OK job with the story, but so much was left out.
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