Does Cleveland Have a "Us vs. Them" Attitude? (Cincinnati: 2013, rent)

[Vanderbiltgrad]

I had similar experiences being from Ohio when I lived in New York and Boston everyone thought Ohio was like Alabama, they would ask me if I grew up on a farm or if I rode a horse to school I kid you not, even a college professor thought Ohio was a dying state full of closed factories. I live in Nashville and when I say I am from Ohio almost everyone says something positive about the state, I think people on the East Coast think the entire world revolves around the Boston, NY, DC area.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Vanderbiltgrad

I had similar experiences being from Ohio when I lived in New York and Boston everyone thought Ohio was like Alabama, they would ask me if I grew up on a farm or if I rode a horse to school I kid you not, even a college professor thought Ohio was a dying state full of closed factories. I live in Nashville and when I say I am from Ohio almost everyone says something positive about the state, I think people on the East Coast think the entire world revolves around the Boston, NY, DC area.

Depends on who you're talking to. I met a lot of cool people from the East Coast when I was in Ohio, and even now here in Virginia. But they do have their snobs. Ohio tends to be modest. But we don't take a lot of sh_t from people. East Coast people are more comfortable with their arrogance on their home turf. They wouldn't be that way with you if they didn't like you though.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

Originally Posted by goofy328

Depends on who you're talking to. I met a lot of cool people from the East Coast when I was in Ohio, and even now here in Virginia. But they do have their snobs. Ohio tends to be modest. But we don't take a lot of sh_t from people. East Coast people are more comfortable with their arrogance on their home turf. They wouldn't be that way with you if they didn't like you though.

Lot of the East Coast tends to be liberal elitist, not everyone but a lot of people are ignorant as well, it happens everywhere thou I do not get upset over anything anybody says anymore thou.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Vanderbiltgrad

Lot of the East Coast tends to be liberal elitist, not everyone but a lot of people are ignorant as well, it happens everywhere thou I do not get upset over anything anybody says anymore thou.

Probably the biggest misconception you'll get, other than the rural thing, is that Ohio is conservative, or religious, etc. Some of that is warranted because of a few of the megachurches we had back in the fifties.

East Coast loves to hear themselves talk. Let them. Listen and learn. You'll get along with them a lot easier if you do that, as opposed to finding yourself in a situation where the two of you are talking over each other. Even though I prefer the East Coast, for obvious reasons, as far as temperament, interacting with people, etc I tend to prefer the West Coast. A lot of people will tell you they're weird, eccentric, etc but no different from anyone anywhere else. You'll find that the Midwest is actually a lot closer to that lifestyle than it is to the East Coast anyway.

Of course if you ever find yourself living on the East Coast you'll probably end up being as insufferable as they are, just so that you do not get ran over out there.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by goofy328

Probably the biggest misconception you'll get, other than the rural thing, is that Ohio is conservative, or religious, etc. Some of that is warranted because of a few of the megachurches we had back in the fifties.

East Coast loves to hear themselves talk. Let them. Listen and learn. You'll get along with them a lot easier if you do that, as opposed to finding yourself in a situation where the two of you are talking over each other. Even though I prefer the East Coast, for obvious reasons, as far as temperament, interacting with people, etc I tend to prefer the West Coast. A lot of people will tell you they're weird, eccentric, etc but no different from anyone anywhere else. You'll find that the Midwest is actually a lot closer to that lifestyle than it is to the East Coast anyway.

Of course if you ever find yourself living on the East Coast you'll probably end up being as insufferable as they are, just so that you do not get ran over out there.

Ohio actually has decent diversity of ideas, cultures, thoughts, backgrounds, etc. So sure some parts are really rural, conservative, liberal, religious, hedonistic, etc. So it's not wrong per se, but people don't realize that Ohio is really different from region to region. I've had multiple conversations where people were shocked when I told them Ohio is actually the 7th most populated state.

[KY_Transplant]

Cleveland is certainly an underrated city. I think in some ways, there is a "Us vs. Them" attitude. Seems to mainly be in sports, but you can see it when Clevelanders get defensive about their city from outsiders. Interestingly, I feel that Cleveland is the most East-coastish city of Ohio, so people from the East Coast who bash Ohio would do well to visit Cleveland. In addition, the other Ohio C's are great too. I think if Cleveland had better weather it would have a better reputation. It's not just the cold and snow, but the general cloudy, gloominess that creates a somewhat negative perception of the city, thanks to Lake Erie. It is typically cooler and cloudier in Cleveland than it is in Columbus or Cincinnati.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Ohio actually has decent diversity of ideas, cultures, thoughts, backgrounds, etc. So sure some parts are really rural, conservative, liberal, religious, hedonistic, etc. So it's not wrong per se, but people don't realize that Ohio is really different from region to region. I've had multiple conversations where people were shocked when I told them Ohio is actually the 7th most populated state.

First conversation I had like that I was talking about how high the dormitories at Ohio State were. Second time I told someone that Columbus metro was as big as Hampton Roads. I had an interesting exchange comparing the size of Hampton Roads to Northeastern Ohio before I moved here. Rather ironic as I didn't know anything about Hampton Roads, and the person I was going back and forth with didn't know anything about Northeastern Ohio. Now, if she moved to Northeastern Ohio since then my head will explode.

[gouldnm]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Ohio actually has decent diversity of ideas, cultures, thoughts, backgrounds, etc. So sure some parts are really rural, conservative, liberal, religious, hedonistic, etc. So it's not wrong per se, but people don't realize that Ohio is really different from region to region. I've had multiple conversations where people were shocked when I told them Ohio is actually the 7th most populated state.

As a Midwesterner who has lived on the East Coast for nearly 30 years, I'm always amazed at the misperceptions that people have about the Midwest. As someone on this thread stated, they confuse Ohio with Alabama.

There's a reason why most of the purple states tend to be in the Midwest. It's a reflection of the "diversity of ideas, cultures, thoughts, backgrounds, etc." Compare that to the South, which always votes Red or the Coasts, which always vote blue.

[dbcook1]

I'm an east coaster (born and raised in Savannah, went to college and grad school in Charlotte, and now live in Lynchburg, VA) and love Ohio. I was in Cincinnati with a Charlotte friend last year for my vacation and would place it in my top ten US cities I've visited and I've been all over the US. I could easily live there. Now this Memorial Day weekend myself and two east coast friends are super pumped about our first time visiting Cleveland (five day visit). Got a nice private room at the Cleveland Hostel in Ohio City and plan on exploring great neighborhoods like Ohio City, University Circle, Detroit-Shoreway, downtown, and Tremont. We are also catching an Indians game! I tout how nice Cincinnati is (especially OTR and Pendleton) on my travels and to my friends and am sure I will be equally impressed with what's going on in Cleveland. Looks like a city on the rise with lots of potential and lots of very nice urban neighborhoods and architecture. A lot of my friends like to visit Ohio too so we're not all east coast elitist snobs over here

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by dbcook1

I'm an east coaster (born and raised in Savannah, went to college and grad school in Charlotte, and now live in Lynchburg, VA) and love Ohio. I was in Cincinnati with a Charlotte friend last year for my vacation and would place it in my top ten US cities I've visited and I've been all over the US. I could easily live there. Now this Memorial Day weekend myself and two east coast friends are super pumped about our first time visiting Cleveland (five day visit). Got a nice private room at the Cleveland Hostel in Ohio City and plan on exploring great neighborhoods like Ohio City, University Circle, Detroit-Shoreway, downtown, and Tremont. We are also catching an Indians game! I tout how nice Cincinnati is (especially OTR and Pendleton) on my travels and to my friends and am sure I will be equally impressed with what's going on in Cleveland. Looks like a city on the rise with lots of potential and lots of very nice urban neighborhoods and architecture. A lot of my friends like to visit Ohio too so we're not all east coast elitist snobs over here

I would certainly distinguish between the east coast DC and northward and south of that.

Sounds like you are doing your Ohio experience right! Please do share how your Cleveland trip turns out.