[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

I think most of South FL is a magnet for pompous New York transplants or those who think they should be/could be pompous. They are usually the ones who say "well, that's not how we did it up North".
They also tend to feel that fellow Floridians, either native or transplant, are all idiots and are below their level of social standing (even if the guy was a trash collector and a high school graduate up north), they still feel that they should act like pompous jerks in an attempt to impress their new neighbors. They put on an air of sophistication and are sure they know everything there is to know. Most people see through this and immediately distance themselves from the individual. That makes the pompous jerk think that he is too good for those people and wind up without friends.

Those are the people who give New York and NJ transplants a bad reputation. We are all not that way.
I was born in NYC and spent 30 years there. I put the NY attitude behind me when I went over the Gothels Bridge (bridge from NY to NJ.

I know not all the folks who hail from NY and NY are jerks- my husband's originally from Long Island. He's been gone a long time too- he went into the Navy at age 19 and never lived in NY after that, and says he'd never live there again. I know other folks from that part of the country and they're not like that either. Or they may be to some extent but we get along and they respect me.

I can even see the determination on the part of folks from that part of the country to get what they want. Heck, in this world you'll likely be pushed all over the place if you don't stand up for yourself. I tend to be like that too but there are ways to do it without being overly aggressive. My husband is like that too but he's got a finesse to it, and somehow does it without an attitude that he's better than others.

But that mentality that assumes that folks born and educated in the northeast are better and smarter than people anywhere else, especially the south, especially when that mentality just drips from these transplants every time they deal with anyone from the south, or visit the area, IMO is just ludicrous. And the entitlement mentality that accompanies this attitude is even worse, but I guess it's to be expected. I just figure their thinking they're better than anyone, doesn't make it so, so I generally just consider the source and ignore them. If they can be courteous and respectful in their dealing with me, that's all I ask and otherwise they're done.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

This forum/section of C-D.com is for sharing your experiences, feelings, opinions, etc. of a given place--objective stuff. The other half of the website, the statistical/data portion, is where you can find the non-objective stuff. Quite frankly, I find people's opinions, feelings, perceptions, and experiences of a place a lot more helpful and insightful than the facts, so that's why I often share mine. But that's just me. Most of you probably aren't all that emotionally intelligent anyway, especially if you spend most of your time on a message forum, so you probably can't relate.

Oh, so now the guy with the burning desire to post on multiple portions of the forum about how awful location X is compared to location Y... even though you don't live there and haven't lived in well over a decade is.... lecturing others on "emotional intelligence?"

REALLY? It must be opposite day!


BTW: the OBJECTIVE portions of the forum are worth 2X as much as subjective opinion on how you "think it is." Case in point: The dolts who think crime is "getting crazy and out of control" not just in Florida, but the United States. Despite demonstrable, factual information showing that per capita, crime is down across the board. Yes, even in Boca.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Everyone is NOT entitled to an uninformed opinion.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

This forum/section of C-D.com is for sharing your experiences, feelings, opinions, etc. of a given place--objective stuff. The other half of the website, the statistical/data portion, is where you can find the non-objective stuff. Quite frankly, I find people's opinions, feelings, perceptions, and experiences of a place a lot more helpful and insightful than the facts, so that's why I often share mine. But that's just me. Most of you probably aren't all that emotionally intelligent anyway, especially if you spend most of your time on a message forum, so you probably can't relate.

Actually it's the other way round.
Being subjective about something is inserting you own views and opinions whereas being objective means stating facts without subjecting them to your own interpretation.
Sorry if that makes me one of the emotionally unintelligent.

[rye-rye]

I understand what you are saying. I went to FAU. Bosca Raton is a high end community and the university is not integrated into the city at all (no college district). I found West Palm beach, Delrey Beach, and Ft Lauderdale had more of those local, neighborhoody feel I was searching.

I would recommend that you join a campus club. It's a better way to find your niche and your people. I found just asking people in the dorm if they want to go to the beach was a great way to break the ice and make new friends. The beach unites people. You can't change the town but you can reach out to people.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

IMHO, it might be the area you chose. I'm a SW Florida native and I don't feel any of what you said. The people are open minded and very friendly. Maybe you might want to look into the Sarasota area. Sounds like you'd fit in well at New College.

I've vistied the other coast many times and never felt like I fit in.

I second this idea. Your problem is not the state of Florida. It could be FAU.

New College and I'd add, Eckard College would both be worth exploring.

SAD is a compelling reason to make friends with the Sunshine State.

Judging an entire state by your one month experience at FAU is akin to judging the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the student population of MIT or Hampshire College. Both are extremely different, and neither reflect the nature of Massachusetts.

FAU does have many local students, commuters and transfers from community colleges. There are students who attend because the just want the degree. It sounds as though you are looking for "the whole college experience". My niece attended FAU for two years and had a similar experience.

Send me a direct message if you want more information. I have some ideas.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

Haha, yeah, right! I'm a consultant with a master's degree who drives a Range Rover--most people in South Florida were "out of my league."

Don't get it twisted.

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

Florida is, arguably, the most anti-intellectual state in the entire country, and I've been saying that for years.

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

This forum/section of C-D.com is for sharing your experiences, feelings, opinions, etc. of a given place--objective stuff. The other half of the website, the statistical/data portion, is where you can find the non-objective stuff. Quite frankly, I find people's opinions, feelings, perceptions, and experiences of a place a lot more helpful and insightful than the facts, so that's why I often share mine. But that's just me. Most of you probably aren't all that emotionally intelligent anyway, especially if you spend most of your time on a message forum, so you probably can't relate.

LOL. So feelings and opinions are objective "stuff" and statistics/data are non-objective. I suggest that you hop into that Range Rover of yours, drive north out of anti-intellectual Florida, and head to whatever institution awarded you a Master's Degree and demand a refund of the tuition you paid for your so-called education.

[OpinionInOcala]

Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda

LOL. So feelings and opinions are objective "stuff" and statistics/data are non-objective. I suggest that you hop into that Range Rover of yours, drive north out of anti-intellectual Florida, and head to whatever institution awarded you a Master's Degree and demand a refund of the tuition you paid for your so-called education.

Haha, this was more or less my first thought as well:

• Blatant misconstruction of the word, "objective."
• There's the issue with the use of "non-objective." The hyphen is not necessary (if we're being picky) and the word "subjective" would have been far more natural and appropriate. Then again, the word choice was likely a reflection of the misconstruction mentioned in point #1.
• Then there's the suspicious use of the word, "stuff."
  • Using the word "stuff" typically means one of three things:
    • That the author lacks sufficient knowledge regarding a subject that he/she is engaged in.
    • That the author believes the audience lacks sufficient knowledge regarding the same.
    • That the author needs to generalize so as to keep the audience focused on a greater point being emphasized. (We of course know from the author's post that this is not the case, because conditions #1 and #2 of using "stuff" have already been met)

In either case, a real hoot to be sure...

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

You have only been here a month, you have to give it time. They say it takes two years for the average person to make real friends in a new place. Its only natural to think twice shortly after a month, many people question their move, hang in there.

When a person is as judgmental as the OP... he could stay here 10 years and feel the same way. He would feel this way about any new city in the world though. I've moved 10 times in my life, Boca Raton being one of them and I met many wonderful people there. Seriously, why does the NE send all their crap down to Florida?