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If we're going to divide this along any rational lines I think "white-collar" vs. "blue-collar" may be more appropriate. Many white-collars I met in NoVA were rather reserved, insular, and possessed a palpable aura of self-importance. I witnessed white-collars berating blue-collars there on a bi-weekly basis to reinforce their own insecurities whereas I haven't observed that here.
What? Nonsense. That can't happen since we have no such creatures as "blue-collar" workers in NoVA. Don't you know, everyone is upper middle class here! Even New Republic says so.
On the other hand, things are completely peachy in Pittsburgh, because there are no white-collars there and people do their own lawncare.
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Does God care that you drove an Audi TT Roadster...
I don't know about God, but *I* think that is a horrible car. Audis are totally unreliable and when they break down here in NoVA, you will be completely out of luck since we NoVAns are horrid, self-absorbed creatures and never help anyone in distress. The nightly news in Loudoun County is filled with stories of stranded women being robbed or abducted while driving Audis. Volkswagens are the same since they are made by the same company.
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Originally Posted by Tone509
Midwestern friendliness...
I once belonged to a gun club in a small Midwestern town where I lived for a few years. When I mentioned that my (rather well-to-do) friend and colleague (who happend to be black and was a transplant from SoCal) had her house burgled ("Welcome to the 'friendly' Midwest!"), the hitherto friendly natives at my bench told me, "Well, that's the problem with these folks from elsewhere -- they bring their problems with them." The police eventually apprehended the burglary ring -- all nice white, local boys.
The problem with generalizing a lot of these anecdotes is that the level of friendliness, as such, may depend on one's specific situation and circumstances based on a myriad of factors, not the least of which is the place of origin and comfort level with new environments.
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Originally Posted by CAVA1990
I think a lot of those insecure acting folks are the more recent transplants who may be under a lot of financial pressure since their homes are costing them a fortune.
NoVA Natives bemoaning the new arrivals here are never unfriendly or insecure.
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Originally Posted by Fern435
...the level of McLean or Great Falls.
And what level is that? I didn't realize there was a McLean level, a Great Falls level (or is it a combo McLean/Great Falls level?) and then a Mount Vernon level.
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The public elementary school was run like a private school
Did this public school charge money for the kids to attend?
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and the parents were extremely clique-y.
I gather you weren't in this "clique"? Ah feel your pain. I am never invited to cliques in NoVA despite my charming personality and humility. That's why I joined a church where others are forced to interact with me. So far I haven't been asked to leave, but it's only been a few years. I'm pretty sure that my parish priest forced all the 200+ people who showed up to my first child's first birthday party to do so. Or maybe it was the free food. Greedy NoVAns (shakes head).
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"laid-back, down-to-earth"
Translation: "these know-it-alls wanted to talk about Tiger Moms, piano lessons and the World Bank, not 'The Bachelor' and cookie recipes. Snooty twits!"
Close, Trek Verve. I refuse to pay for a non motorized bike that costs more then my Harley!
I have to say that most cyclists I run into on W&OD Trailer seem to be more impressed by the newfangled frames than the classic stuff.
They were downright disdainful of my hand-made custom steel-frame Colnago (supposedly built by Ernesto himself) from a few decades ago. A couple of riders, though, recognized it and "ooohed and aaahed" and one of them offered to buy it from me on the spot (couldn't do it since it was a gift from my in-laws who apparently own several such frames and my wife would have killed me in my sleep, had I sold it -- she and her family take all this bike stuff way too seriously -- I'd be just as happy with a $500 Trek).
I do find it a bit funny to see some, ahem, "heavy-set" folks riding carbon fiber frames on the trail in NoVA. I guess when you are racing every gram of frame weight off helps.
On the other hand, things are completely peachy in Pittsburgh, because there are no white-collars there and people do their own lawncare.
I don't know about God, but *I* think that is a horrible car. Audis are totally unreliable and when they break down here in NoVA, you will be completely out of luck since we NoVAns are horrid, self-absorbed creatures and never help anyone in distress. The nightly news in Loudoun County is filled with stories of stranded women being robbed or abducted while driving Audis. Volkswagens are the same since they are made by the same company.
I once belonged to a gun club in a small Midwestern town where I lived for a few years. When I mentioned that my (rather well-to-do) friend and colleague (who happend to be black and was a transplant from SoCal) had her house burgled ("Welcome to the 'friendly' Midwest!"), the hitherto friendly natives at my bench told me, "Well, that's the problem with these folks from elsewhere -- they bring their problems with them." The police eventually apprehended the burglary ring -- all nice white, local boys.
The problem with generalizing a lot of these anecdotes is that the level of friendliness, as such, may depend on one's specific situation and circumstances based on a myriad of factors, not the least of which is the place of origin and comfort level with new environments.
NoVA Natives bemoaning the new arrivals here are never unfriendly or insecure.
And what level is that? I didn't realize there was a McLean level, a Great Falls level (or is it a combo McLean/Great Falls level?) and then a Mount Vernon level.
Did this public school charge money for the kids to attend?
I gather you weren't in this "clique"? Ah feel your pain. I am never invited to cliques in NoVA despite my charming personality and humility. That's why I joined a church where others are forced to interact with me. So far I haven't been asked to leave, but it's only been a few years. I'm pretty sure that my parish priest forced all the 200+ people who showed up to my first child's first birthday party to do so. Or maybe it was the free food. Greedy NoVAns (shakes head).
Translation: "these know-it-alls wanted to talk about Tiger Moms, piano lessons and the World Bank, not 'The Bachelor' and cookie recipes. Snooty twits!"
How clever of you to include another swipe at the entire midwest based on one anecdote. After displaying one's vast esoteric knowledge, it's probably the most popular thing to do in NoVA (disparaging other parts of the US). Everyone knows that crime, racism, elitism and narrow-mindedness are non-existent in NoVA. Living in NoVA automatically makes everyone happy, tolerant, friendly, intelligent, and compassionate, as well as superior to everyone else in the country.
I am both fascinated and repelled by how often you mention your wealth or having a well-to-do connection, ILD. Since you are the expert on kids, virtue/character, and fitting in with Northern VA/DC residents and apparently the entire world, perhaps you should write a book so individuals like me can be just like you.
They were downright disdainful of my hand-made custom steel-frame Colnago (supposedly built by Ernesto himself) from a few decades ago.
As I would be, but politely so. A Colnago was fine if you had to settle for COTS. I much prefer the "bespokes" I had custom crafted for me each season by a secret bike building brotherhood at a Monastery I stumbled upon in the Dolomites.
As I would be, but politely so. A Colnago was fine if you had to settle for COTS. I much prefer the "bespokes" I had custom crafted for me each season by a secret bike building brotherhood at a Monastery I stumbled upon in the Dolomites.
How clever of you to include another swipe at the entire midwest based on one anecdote.
There was one paragraph that was serious in my earlier post. To repeat:
"The problem with generalizing a lot of these anecdotes is that the level of friendliness, as such, may depend on one's specific situation and circumstances based on a myriad of factors, not the least of which is the place of origin and comfort level with new environments."
My "one anecdote" about a small town in the Midwest was not intended to generalize, but to caution against making generalizations based on one's anecdotes.
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I am both fascinated and repelled by how often you mention your wealth or having a well-to-do connection, ILD.
Well, I used to work in the hedge fund industry and therefore my social circle includes a fair number of affluent folks (and a few extraordinarily wealthy), so when I extrapolate from my personal experiences such things are mentioned. Sorry this "repels" you. I will strive to mention only my poorer associates in the future.
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Since you are the expert on kids, virtue/character, and fitting in with Northern VA/DC residents and apparently the entire world, perhaps you should write a book so individuals like me can be just like you.
A whole book is unnecessary. A sentence or two would suffice starting with "vote with your feet" and ending with "the best revenge is living well."
I lived in a lot of other places. I did not like most of them overall (though there were always positive things at each place). I like it here in NoVA so I settled here and live here. I don't go back to fora dealing with those other places and obsessively complain about how horrible those places were. I think that's completely counter-productive to "living well." I would give the same advice to those who find NoVA unfriendly -- find somewhere more friendly, live well and forget about NoVA.
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Originally Posted by CAVA1990
As I would be, but politely so. A Colnago was fine if you had to settle for COTS. I much prefer the "bespokes" I had custom crafted for me each season by a secret bike building brotherhood at a Monastery I stumbled upon in the Dolomites.
Untrue. There is no bespoke bicycle builder in the Dolomites. But there IS at least one bespoke bootmaker (for hiking) there -- I know because I have a couple of pairs.
Last edited by IndiaLimaDelta; 03-11-2013 at 07:18 AM..
Who doesnt love reading IndiaLimeDelta elegant soliloquies over coffee which have nothing to do with the topic of "Old Guy saying hello to everyone he meets and no one saying hello back".
Who doesnt love reading IndiaLimeDelta elegant soliloquies over coffee which have nothing to do with the topic of "Old Guy saying hello to everyone he meets and no one saying hello back".
Yes, apparently I'm the only one who wrote off-topic items in this thread. And thanks for saying that I write elegantly.
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Try a trek bike, you will never be the same.
I do have a Trek hybrid that I used to use for mild mountain biking (more like hill biking). Worked fine. But since all this bike talk is off-topic, let us return to the conversation about this friendliness experiment.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,742,544 times
Reputation: 41381
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Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
I love how so many of you Northern Virginians rationalize the lack of noticeable friendliness towards strangers as being "typical of large urbanized areas". I live in Pittsburgh, which actually has the urban vibe that most of NoVA is lacking (big skyscrapers and rowhomes vs. cul-de-sacs lined with beige vinyl), and the people here, overall, are MUCH friendlier than those whom I encountered in Fairfax County.
If we're going to divide this along any rational lines I think "white-collar" vs. "blue-collar" may be more appropriate. Many white-collars I met in NoVA were rather reserved, insular, and possessed a palpable aura of self-importance. I witnessed white-collars berating blue-collars there on a bi-weekly basis to reinforce their own insecurities whereas I haven't observed that here. NoVA, to me, was a collecting pond of people thought they were too smart, too educated, too important, or otherwise "too good" from the communities from whence they came, and they worked tirelessly to maintain that elitist persona once they realized they went from being "special" in Dubuque, Kalamazoo, or Bangor to being "nothing special" in NoVA. I witnessed the executive "don't you know who I am?!" temper tantrums at the atrium security desk of my former McLean office compound more often than I wish I had. I witnessed a female executive berating a fast food worker in Reston due to a language barrier. I was actually in a shouting match once defending a blue-collar from a fellow white-collar in a similar circumstance. It seemed as if a lot of these "important" white-collar types felt they had to put others down to maintain that "I'm a somebody" social status they had when they lived in the "small ponds" across the nation. That whole culture of so many Type-A career-obsessed individuals being squashed together churned me out in a hurry, and I'm so happy to now be living in a REAL city where people are, ironically, more down-to-earth than a network of poorly-planned suburbs.
To this day I will never understand the "keeping up" vibe down there. Can you take any of your "stuff" with you when you die? Does God care that you drove an Audi TT Roadster while your next-door neighbor only drove a Volkswagen Passat?
You bring up a fair point. I still think there is a divide between white and blue collar values in this country.
A good case of this is my previous residence of Louisville. Three sides of town. South Louisville (below I-264), mostly white and blue collar, West Louisville (west of I-65 and inside I-264), mostly black and blue collar/working-class, and East Louisville (east of I-65 inside I-264) mostly white and white collar and upper class. I lived in East Louisville but in a very inexpensive older apt. Pretty much, these sides of town do not get along. South and West Louisville hate the East End with a passion and the East End hates them back.
I think it is inevitable that the classes will be more in conflict today than ever, since everyone is in survival mode these days. I think it will be more evident in some places, Northern VA is one of them.
I think a lot of those insecure acting folks are the more recent transplants who may be under a lot of financial pressure since their homes are costing them a fortune. I can tell you my neighbors, a nice blend of old timers (some of whom inherited their homes) and active or retired flag level military officers, aren't like that at all. I tend to see the type of behavior you describe more amongst the younger Gen-Xers in Old Town than the more mature crowd here in Mount Vernon. We're pretty laid back down and down to earth at this end of the parkway.
Well, anecdotally, every run-in I had with someone like this was with a Gen-X member, so there may indeed be some merit to this. We're all stressed out for different reasons. That's no reason to displace your frustrations onto strangers. "I can't keep up with the Jones's here, so I'm going to berate someone whom I deem to be beneath my social stature to reinforce my own insecurities". That's not acceptable. The cost-of-living has been rising here in Pittsburgh, too, but I don't see people lashing out with classist rants and tantrums in public here the way I did in Fairfax County.
P.S. As a general rule of thumb if I'm ever again living in NoVA and overhear one of these "big shots" who forgot his ID badge berating a security guard saying "Don't you know who I am?!" I'm going to reply "Yeah, you're a &$*!&".
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