Ppl from Massachusetts are incredibly rude (Boston, Richmond: DMV, taxi driver, cost of)

[jshinjuku]

I am a native new englander and i understand why many people see us as a rude prejudiced bunch. but let me make on thing clear. WE ARE NOT RACIST. we are perhaps the most racially tolerant area in the entire nation. we accept people from all backgrounds, races, and religions. we have the most diverse population (besides that of new york). we can, however, come across as rude. new englanders, as a people, are very reserved. that is due in part to our british ancestors. but think of it this way. America is the nicest, most welcoming country in the world. new england, just happens to be the least nice area. compared to european communities, we are exceptionally nice. granted, we are aggressive drivers, and we sometimes give tourists glaring looks, but we only treat people the way that they treat us. new england has long been nationally known for its rudeness, so when people come hear, they automatically assume that we are indeed rude, and they proceed to treat us like dirt before they get to know us. another instance, people move to new england from other parts of the country, and they have heard of our famous rude, and they try to emulate that rude, because, 1, they think its cool, and 2, they want to fit in. but it is quite obvious to us natives when an outsiders comes here and tries to emulate the new england rude, and we tend to despise those people. Currently living in New Hampshire, I deal with a lot of tourists day in and day out. and people treat us like crap. Southerners, westerners, people from all other areas of the country, and i must say, that i have met some of the most racist people in my encounters with tourists here. our peceived rude is merely a defense mechanism to defend ourselves from the rest of the rest of the nation. if people didnt look upon out culture and tradtions so poorly, and if people took the time to understand our attitudes and viewpoints, they would have much fewer negative words to sling around about us.

and perhaps, they should remember who founded, and built this nation from the ground up, and who accepted them into this union with arms wide open.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by CapeCodder

shhh...let the rumors persist...it'll keep the population in New England down.

I don't think you have to worry about that seeing the MA population hasn't really increased significantly over the past 20 years.

[tex007martinez]

I was born a raised in Texas, and have been in MA for 15 years.

Texas might seem nice and People from MA might not smile and say Hi every time the see someone. In short people from Texas are taught to be fake, and people from MA are taught to treat strangers like strangers and when they get to know them they are friends for life.

It is kind of like, do you want people to smile and think you’re a loser, or do you want someone to avoid you until they realize that you are not.

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

I don't think you have to worry about that seeing the MA population hasn't really increased significantly over the past 20 years.

Yeah, I'm one of the population that left MA...but, that being said I did say New England, not MA. potatoe potahtoe eh?

[holden125]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

I don't think you have to worry about that seeing the MA population hasn't really increased significantly over the past 20 years.

Maybe not but there was enough demand for housing near Boston to triple and quadruple prices

[Boomerang]

I am a native New Englander as well, as I cannot agree that New England is known for rudeness. New Englanders have long been known for their reserve and other characteristics which are typical in cold northern climates on both sides of "the pond", but outright rudeness, no, I think that's a harsh characterization.

If you go back in history, you'll see that Easterners in general were originally 'famous' for their emphasis on the importance of education, manners (polite reserve), and other values in accordance with their relatively sheltered society, in contrast to the values held by the "rugged individualists" who had to forge a new kind of life in less populated areas of the country.

I believe that whatever rudeness we see in today's society is a direct product of today's culture, which seems to embrace egocentric behavior and lack of respect for others, and is definitely not restricted to either New Englanders or any other geographical region.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by holden125

Maybe not but there was enough demand for housing near Boston to triple and quadruple prices

That had more to do with scarcity of land than anything. There just isn't many places around with buildable land.

[swiper]

I'm from MA and not rude. Though some people ARE rude, some people ain't. I don't think MA has it's signature chararestic of rudeness, because it depends on the people, not the state. Kinda' like...let's say, restaraunt. Some workers there may be really polite, while some seem to be acting rock hard like hey hate their job (lol, I know, weiord example!).

[holden125]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

That had more to do with scarcity of land than anything. There just isn't many places around with buildable land.

That is true but I'm just taking issue with the portrayal of Mass. as some sort of depressed economy (more than the rest of the country in 2008!). For sure Western and much of Central Mass. has some serious economic problems, and seems not that different in places from the rust belt from upstate NY to central Illinois.

The Boston area's problems have been different, the opposite of the problems suggested by the "decaying industrial north" theory. Though, as with any urban area in the country, there are significant pockets of relative poverty, much of Eastern Massachusetts has become prosperous almost to the point of excess. Certainly it's become very hard for younger people to get a toehold, which is a major problem and is slowly changing the area as local kids are replaced by high-income transplants. But that is not the same as Mass. being in the tank.

When the shift in most towns is toward highly-educated and highly-paid professionals, the problem is not that a sinking ship is being abandoned. The problem, as it is in NYC, DC, SF, LA, Chicago, not to mention London, Paris, etc., is that the economy in those places is becoming stratified so that there is much wealth and some poverty, and the people in between are squeezed. A far cry from the situation in Rochester, Akron, or even Springfield, MA.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by holden125

That is true but I'm just taking issue with the portrayal of Mass. as some sort of depressed economy (more than the rest of the country in 2008!). For sure Western and much of Central Mass. has some serious economic problems, and seems not that different in places from the rust belt from upstate NY to central Illinois.

The Boston area's problems have been different, the opposite of the problems suggested by the "decaying industrial north" theory. Though, as with any urban area in the country, there are significant pockets of relative poverty, much of Eastern Massachusetts has become prosperous almost to the point of excess. Certainly it's become very hard for younger people to get a toehold, which is a major problem and is slowly changing the area as local kids are replaced by high-income transplants. But that is not the same as Mass. being in the tank.

When the shift in most towns is toward highly-educated and highly-paid professionals, the problem is not that a sinking ship is being abandoned. The problem, as it is in NYC, DC, SF, LA, Chicago, not to mention London, Paris, etc., is that the economy in those places is becoming stratified so that there is much wealth and some poverty, and the people in between are squeezed. A far cry from the situation in Rochester, Akron, or even Springfield, MA.

I agree with much of what your saying. Boston and other expensive cities have basically become areas for "old wealth" or the upper middle class and rich. I think the problem is your losing a large % of the workforce and also people who in the future would be driving and having an adverse effect on the economy. You can go to basically any city or place and find rich people and old money passed on through generations, but I think you need a mix of people. You don't want to push out people in their mid 20's when they could be the next inventor or wealthy person, but instead they go somewhere else.

The difference here (MA) is that you have to move fairly far out of the city to where it gets affordable for many. You go to other cities and you can be in the city within 20 minutes and there is still new, affordable housing. They have the land to do that. And that isn't including your homeowner's insurance, taxes, and other expenses.

The cost also effects businesses. If the cost of doing business in MA is more expensive than somewhere else, the company leaves. I know people who have done this with smaller businesses, where they moved to NH and saved lots of money.