Bloomington Illinois might as well be the Deep South (Chicago: mobile home, buy)

[JMadison]

Originally Posted by kuvopolis

I lived in Bloomington Illinois for a year. No, I did not lose a bet.

There is this place where I used to sing karaoke twice a week. What irked me is the affinity that the patrons had for southern culture. Over 1/2 of the songs sung were of the Country genre. One time, three of the songs in a row explicitly referenced the South. I do not get why people from central Illinois are passionately singing about places (like Jackson MS and Baton Rouge LA) that are hundreds of miles away, and from what I heard are real crapholes.

I went to sing an Erasure song, and this redneck said "this is going to be a car wreck". Closeminded attitudes like this are why I am glad I no longer live in Bloomington. I do not get it. The Bloomington metro has a large university and State Farm. Its economy is relatively good compared to the United States. Its population has been growing at a healthy clip; a lot of transplants from Chicagoland and India. And it is deep in the North geographically. So why the dominance of Southern culture?

It is a shame that one has to go to expensive parts of the country to experience open-mindedness and diversity. It is like you have to pay a penalty for avoiding rednecks and monotonous music.

One more thing: the bar even disliked it when I sang U2. C'mon!

Is this really a question? Much of Ill. is agriculture. That equals country. You are confusing southern with country. (Not that they don't overlap.)

As for the expensive parts of the country... they like to talk about diversity, but just how diverse are those places? Ever heard the term "limosine liberal"? LOL!

As to the U2... well of course that went over like a bomb. Bono stands for Africa issues in the minds of many country folks, and well, they largely don't care for Africa.

[Switch625]

I'm from central Illinois, am very familiar with B/N, and a recent transplant to Georgia. There is NO comparison. The accent around B/N doesn't come close to the true southern accent. The cultural difference is vast as well. The people here would be insulted if you said this to their faces, just as the people from B/N would be insulted. Rightly so, the comparison is ridiculous on it's face.

[sickandtired12]

well i live in carbondale il you cant get more racist then that i what to move my family to bloomington but i am tried of living in these little racist towns can some one give my an honest opinon about bloomington?

[217 to 614]

Bloomington isn't anything like the deep south in my opinion.

Deep south=somewhere I'd NEVER EVER want to live.

I can deal w/ Bloomington. Low crime, easy access to interstate to big cities(Chicago, St. Louis).

That being said, I can see why many people wouldn't like any of these cities in Central Illinois. I was raised here so, it really doesn't bother me.

[Chicagoland60426]

Peoria seem like the best city in Central Illinois. The second one is Champaign-Urbana, which is suppose to be liberal and somewhat diverse.

[h2ohzrd]

Originally Posted by linicx

If you have not lived in Bloomington, I will tell you the attitude is very much Bible Belt southren and has been for as long as my old gray matter can remember; that's a long time.

After living in Chicago for 25 years, B/N for 25 years and now living in the South, I have to say you have no freakin clue what you are talking about. If anything, the attitude is more centered around the State Farm culture.

[NYrules]

I just loved it how to Bloomington folk 3 cars waiting at a red light was a traffic jam, NOBODY knew how to drive in heavy traffic to save their lives, people have no idea what parrallel parking is or why anyone would do it, people don't understand how to make a left turn on a circle green light to save their souls (pull out into the center of the intersection and wait out there instead of sitting at the white line like a dumb *****), $8 an hour at Wal Mart was considered a good job, Hilltop Mobile Homes was considered "Upscale" LOL, the fact that a law had to be passed to make it illegal to turn your indoor furniture into your outdoor furniture (didn't Jeff Foxworthy joke about that that rednecks do that? But that law was passed in 2000 in Normal), Famous Barr and Bergners were "High End" LMFAO (Guess the folk better never venture to Old Orchard Mall and see things like Zara, and Bloomingdales), $40 was "alot" of money for jeans( I would hate to see the towns folk in Diesel where jeans are over $200), Old Navy is the "cool" clothing to wear and basically the center piece to Eastland Mall LOL!, St. Louis was a vacation spot, Ned Kelly's Steak House was high end, jeans and a sport jacket was considered dressed up, African Americans are still refered to as "the N word" or as my neighbor would call them, "farm equipment" instead of as fellow human beings, anything that doesn't fit into a garbage bag was considered "bulk refuse" and would sit out at the curb until the city got around to it and picked it up and took it back to their little warehouse so they could go through your junk to see what they wanted to take home with them which is why that stuff never made it into a garbage truck with a compactor and instead into a dump truck where items could remain in tact until they could later be picked through, driving more than the town's posted 30 mph speed limits was considered going "lickity split" yes I had a cop pull me over and actually say that to me, "ummm duhhhh, sir would yall mind tellin me whaa you were movin licky split back thar? I'ma gonna have ta write you a ticket"...I got a ticket for moving at 37... Lightening fast I guess. I could go on, but I just thank GOD I am not down there anymore.

[Central Illinois 1]

Like any midwestern town, B/N has its share of backward, uneducated idiots who are going to be racist and ignorant of fashion and culture in general. However, B/N also has alot of educated, cultured individuals with lots of $$$. You may not see these people as often though unlress you are around the university or major businesses in the community. My friends from B/N (both of whom have PhDs) go on a two month trip to Europe and Asia each summer, live in a beautiful home, and are not in any way racist. That applies to their friends and neighbors as well; many of whom were born and raised in B/N.

[cap1717]

Originally Posted by Central Illinois 1

Like any midwestern town, B/N has its share of backward, uneducated idiots who are going to be racist and ignorant of fashion and culture in general. However, B/N also has alot of educated, cultured individuals with lots of $$$. You may not see these people as often though unlress you are around the university or major businesses in the community. My friends from B/N (both of whom have PhDs) go on a two month trip to Europe and Asia each summer, live in a beautiful home, and are not in any way racist. That applies to their friends and neighbors as well; many of whom were born and raised in B/N.

And it is not only those folks with lots of $$$ that are well educated, well read, and intelligent. University towns like B/N are full of the "mentally acitve". . . that is the reason that I sayed in B/N for years after graduation, and the reason it is still one of my favorite places.

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by cap1717

And it is not only those folks with lots of $$$ that are well educated, well read, and intelligent. University towns like B/N are full of the "mentally acitve". . . that is the reason that I sayed in B/N for years after graduation, and the reason it is still one of my favorite places.

Good points.