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there is a difference between not wanting people to see your city in a negative light and outright asserting areas are safe that are in fact very dangerous.
best post on this was between me and a moderator who was asserting that there was no armed guard in front of rendezvous in memphis. i called up the manager and she looked out the door, LOL. end of argument.
Last edited by Huckleberry3911948; 04-09-2012 at 02:54 PM..
It is one thing for someone to make an "informative" post about his/her personal experiences in another city. It is quite a different animal for posters to generalize an entire city or metro based on their personal experiences, and sometimes it can get downright nasty. I've seen this happen quite often here on CD.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamofmonterey
Well, all above is true, but stating facts like if your heat bills are too high (TVA pays their Ops. Manager 2M per year and their winter bills have skyrocketed because " poor TVA " doesnt make enough profit in summer). They also had a very bad mudslide which destroyed peoples homes and there is a class action lawsuit now. Also, that things economically arent perfect in this area, are basic facts.
I would think anyone debating moving to east Tennessee should be made aware utility bills are now high in winter. Its a fact, yet people were attacking me. Saying to get a wood burning stove.lol.
I dont "smear" but many get their gizzards in an uproar if someone doesnt act like certain states are "peaches and cream". It's a form of immature denial imo.
This is a perfect example of someone misrepresenting a personal experience as fact.
If you want to say that YOU experienced high utility bills that would be a fact. My bills are low, also a fact.
When you extrapolate that east TN has high utility bills, simply because your own bills were high, it's misleading.
If you want to talk facts then compare price per KWH, talk about the new billing method and how it affects your bills, etc. Saying that something is 'high' is subjective, especially when other people's experiences don't support your 'facts'.
I see a lot of this type of presenting opinion as fact on many of the CD state forums.
People should take what they read on these forums with a grain of salt and do their own research to get the real facts.
talking about KWH would be off topic. General opinion is different than energy facts/costs. I doubt most readers are interested in specific delineation of house size and exact KWH.
people can Google it for facts. Forums are for open discussion.
I think it's similar to the idea that you can say whatever you want about your own parents, but don't let anyone else bash them!
I live in NJ, and people who know nothing about the state love to say stupid things about it. It certainly is a state with its share of issues without having to have people cling onto on all the misconceptions. When people say moronic things, like that the entire state is looks/smells like a small area along the NJ Turnpike, I usually snap back at them. If they say things like our government is corrupt--well, then I remain silent. Hehehehe.
Mightyqueen...I don't watch reality shows about NJ so they don't affect me...Oh I take that back. Isn't the "Cake Boss" from NJ? I like that show!...I've had online friends from different parts of NJ for years now and everyone has been great!..I suppose that something could "move me" to defend AZ. Guess it just depends...I feel like a "temporary resident" here today because I'm ready to move on soon. My days here are "numbered" so to speak..I feel like a "nomad" because I don't feel a "part" of my "homeland" (So CA) anymore either...People and places and seasons change and sometimes we just have to move on in order to keep "growing." I feel like a "pot-bound plant" right now and it's time to "bust free" and play "rolling stone" again!.. Ever feel like this? Thanks!
I don't know about the rest of the country, but a big part of what is contributing to this on the West Coast is a generation of New Age thinking. In SF, where I'm from, people hold on to the idea that they can positive-think their way out of not really being able to afford to live there right up until they can't work anymore and have to try to survive on Social Security while they get on a waiting list for an assisted living facility full of bedbugs and MRSA. The PNW is full of Californians who moved up here full of a lot of positive thinking hoohah and take the slightest, most accurate beefs as a personal attack. Why? Because these people are very invested in a childlike magical way of viewing the world, which honestly isn't all bad, but it means they must aggressively protect themselves against the incursions of people saying anything that is bad *and true.* They have to relentlessly maintain a super-happy, nothing-bad, cheerfulcheerfulcheerful positivepositivepositive mindset and your innocuous comments about, say, not being able to find decent Chinese or high utility bills or bad traffic or something else that is inarguably true about the area isn't perceived by them as a simple gripe but as a direct act on their ego.
I think an accurate negative and even nasty portrayal of an area is an incredibly useful tool, however. My particular complaints about the PNW, for example, are useful to someone who has my tastes and priorities. Someone like me *should not move here,* and if they do, knowing what they're going to find will help them ameliorate things. Conversely, when I read people bitching about a place and their bitching can be rephrased as "women spend too much time on their hair, men spend too much time on their cars, grandparents spend too much money on their grandchildren and everyone spends too much time showing off to their neighbors" I know this place will not bother me. But someone who really dislikes superficiality, materialism, and grandiose narcissism is warned off.
[quote=stuckinseattle;23804996]I don't know about the rest of the country, but a big part of what is contributing to this on the West Coast is a generation of New Age thinking. In SF, where I'm from, people hold on to the idea that they can positive-think their way out of not really being able to afford to live there right up until they can't work anymore and have to try to survive on Social Security while they get on a waiting list for an assisted living facility full of bedbugs and MRSA. The PNW is full of Californians who moved up here full of a lot of positive thinking hoohah and take the slightest, most accurate beefs as a personal attack. Why? Because these people are very invested in a childlike magical way of viewing the world, which honestly isn't all bad, but it means they must aggressively protect themselves against the incursions of people saying anything that is bad *and true.* They have to relentlessly maintain a super-happy, nothing-bad, cheerfulcheerfulcheerful positivepositivepositive mindset and your innocuous comments about, say, not being able to find decent Chinese or high utility bills or bad traffic or something else that is inarguably true about the area isn't perceived by them as a simple gripe but as a direct act on their ego.
I think an accurate negative and even nasty portrayal of an area is an incredibly useful tool, however.
~~ quote
Thanks for the info. PNW is like this in parts too?. lol. I would skip posts like where someone in California was dumped by their girlfriend, so "hate all" of L.A., or Santa Monica, etc.
Same with New Jersey, some of the beaches there are beautiful. I don't watch reality trash to make mind up on an area.
Every area has good and bad. It's informative to learn about the bad before moving. Plus most state forums have people who give good facts about their region, the economy and statistics. Wish I had known of this forum 12 years ago.
The way I think about it, there's the US and there's the Pacific Rim. The West Coast of the US is part of both and there is conflict between two sets of values here. A lot of white people resolve this conflict for themselves by disappearing up their own ass and refusing to engage with reality. But in CA, they still have to go to work and make rent. In OR, not so much.
The way I think about it, there's the US and there's the Pacific Rim. The West Coast of the US is part of both and there is conflict between two sets of values here. A lot of white people resolve this conflict for themselves by disappearing up their own ass and refusing to engage with reality. But in CA, they still have to go to work and make rent. In OR, not so much.
Amazingly we still have to go to work and pay rent in Oregon. Portland might be a little cheaper than California cities, but unless you're a trustafarian(which are in other parts of the country as well, just go to Colorado or Vermont) or some transplant kid living with 6 roommates in a 3 bedroom house, everyone I know is working hard or trying to hard to find work to pay rent or pay off a mortgage.
See, here it is. Any moderate suggestion that people in the PNW are spoiled rotten by the low cost of living, low competition for jobs, and, in OR, sweet deal on welfare benefits, gets someone butthurt.
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