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CMDallas, I'm also a minority but I'm really interested in the middle American lifestyle and I'm in that stage of my life where I'm thinking about what I want. I've lived in an East Coast metro area (the DC area) most of my life and am sick of it. I feel trapped here.
Some minorities here still believe rural areas are "racist" and all but you said you have a lot of connections there. How easy is it for a minority (an assimilated and Americanized one) to fit into a rural area? I do know a lot of areas in the heartland do have large numbers of Latin Americans working on the farms and there are Chinese restaurants everywhere.
I really want to travel cross country one day and especially see the small towns in teh heartland. I feel liek living on the East Coast especially as a minority on the East Coast I've never experienced what most of the U.S. is like.
yes, it is quite easy to assimilate. I do think the people are more racist, but not to an outrageous extent. Its basically the same, you won't find much of your own kind unless your towards the south and Latin American or African American and in the deep south. Maybe if you are Asiatic California rural might have more to offer in the terms of your own kind...but no, the rural life is nice do not get me wrong it has its perks. I just prefer the city life.
The Rural US is like a totally different country from DC, depending on what your values are you might love it or hate it... if you're really different no one will expect too much out of you although if you are Caucasian the rural areas can be more demanding. More is expected if you're white. You are more expected to be Christian and conservative, if your a minority everyone is pretty friendly to you and doesn't expect as much. everyone exaggerates how 'bad' the rural areas are...its not bad, its actually nice even if you are white... Hope you can come and see, the life style might puzzle you.
I think it's easier for a small-town person to adjust to a big city, then a big city person to adjust to a small town. Just my take. Either way, each kind looks like fish out of water, in the opposite locale, at least just in the beginning.
Sometimes I feel sorry for the bored kids walking around random small town roads, absolutely killing time. But then you pass thru the ghettos of big cities & you feel sorry for the kids too, often. In those situations, their lives are often very much at risk. Unless you come from a very privileged background, city life is not necessarily the greatest to grow up in (or even to live in generally- higher costs, more stress, etc). Likewise, small town living can be suppressive. And I know what you mean about "small town mentality" in a young person's context- let's put it this way- the most driven youth will not remain in their respective small towns since they often seek greater opportunities elsewhere.
Yeah, Kansas City. The people are ignorant, shallow, pretentious and paranoid. It's no place to find a decent girl friend let alone a wife. BBQ is good but that's about it. Can't wait to move...Less than a year to go!
I should add that while technically I would not consider KC to be a small town with a metro population of close to 2 million, it's people certainly behave like those found in an oversized cow town.
Last edited by WILWRadio; 05-09-2008 at 06:25 AM..
I live in Johnson City,TN and it's not as bad as it was when I first moved here. This East TN area is growing because people from other regions are moving here but it's to small for me so I'm moving back home.
LOL, AGREED!! When I was a kid growing up in Church Hill, TN (population about 4,000), I couldn't WAIT to leave, grow up, and get the hell out of there. Well, now, that I'm older and settled down and married, I live in a city of 120,000 outside of NYC, but I still long for the small town life in many ways. I miss it. Not the mindset, but definitely the relaxed, slow pace and friendly people.
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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I'm the opposite. I was raised in a small town and I'm now kinda looking to return to one, for various reasons. Mostly I'm just tired of city living and daydreaming about living someplace smaller, quieter, and less stressful with little transience. Not small town Texas, though. I'm looking at Northampton, MA and Eugene, OR at the moment, and best-kept secret type towns not found on any "Best Places" lists. I don't want to move somewhere that's just going to grow and become overrun with transplants and thick with traffic like where I live now.
The more I think about this, the more I see that there are many variables to consider when people seek the "big city" life.
Many people who seek the dynamics of a big city move to areas that are not urban at all and probably resemble the small towns that they left...just with more people. They can't walk to the coffee shop on the corner, they don't get a true urban neighborhood feel due to a lack of density, the people are not progressive, the environment is not socially accepting.
I'll probably get flamed for saying it, but there are very few cities in this country that give you the true "big city" vibe. Numbers don't always translate into that.
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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I think it depends on your age and where you are in life. It's not surprising someone fresh out of high school would want out of his small town. They can be confining, to say the least. But things change. I've lived in four different cities. I've had my fill of city life. I'm in my early thirties and I feel like my life is headed in another direction now, another experience waiting to be had...
I think it depends on your age and where you are in life. It's not surprising someone fresh out of high school would want out of his small town. They can be confining, to say the least. But things change. I've lived in four different cities. I've had my fill of city life. I'm in my early thirties and I feel like my life is headed in another direction now, another experience waiting to be had...
I get where your coming from. There will always be people who prefer a more rural environment, and those who prefer a more urban life. Those preferences do often change depending on where your at in life.
I just think that some people think that ANY big city will give them the dynamics that they are looking for. So they flock to the nearest big city, or the one that they have heard good things about through word of mouth (usually not from those who like a true urban lifestyle).
When they reach those cities a lot of them are probably disappointed. I just think that sprawl has really damaged the development of American cities and there are only a few cities that offer true "urban" experiences.
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I'm looking at Northampton, MA and Eugene, OR at the moment, and best-kept secret type towns not found on any "Best Places" lists. I don't want to move somewhere that's just going to grow and become overrun with transplants and thick with traffic like where I live now. 
