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Arguably Los Angeles. Sure it's got all the stereotypes, but it's a city of millions, most of whom are pretty average.
I agree. That's because all the media hype is reserved for Mario Lopez types, in front of some new(er) Los Angeles entertainment venue, talking about Kim Kardashian and Ashton Kutcher, and who they're sleeping with, how much Botox they've had, and how much they paid for their homes. Trust me, most NORMAL people native to Los Angeles are just as sickened by this as the rest of America by the time they've completed puberty, if not sooner.
Entertainment types, and other types, who have those spendy homes on stilts overlooking some canyon (with coyotes and rattlesnakes that are a threat to their pets), the city skyline or, better yet, the Pacific is what people think Angelenos are like, or want to be like. The people who live in its flat areas, or even slightly rolling ones without views, are really normal. Better yet, they have this world-weary jaded sarcasm and are highly tolerant, because they've seen everything and either laugh about it or shrug it off which, in my book, makes them more normal. That's what I remember.
I have a friend from Philadelphia whose work sometimes took her to LA and SF, and she described them, more so LA, as being "free-wheeling and irreverent" (and she didn't mean religiously or sexually). She meant the metro area's general frame of mind. She hit the nail on the head, saying this in 2004, and I like to use that same observation.
Last edited by robertpolyglot; 11-16-2012 at 02:13 PM..
Detroit, MI. Not all of Detroit is a dump like is believed. It isn't that dangerous outside of a few areas (like most large cities), and there are some rather beautiful areas there.
Yep, the "Beverly Hills Cop" chase scene area and the opening scenes from the more recent Chrysler Super Bowl Eminem commercial are definitely war zones. However, Detroit, for being the powerhouse that it is (it has seen way better days), has many beautiful suburbs.
The default language in Miami is English, not Spanish. Certainly Spanish is spoken by many and can often be used but it's not the default language.
People think that you can't survive in Miami without speaking Spanish. That's completely false. Afte 11 years here, I still don't speak Spanish and I get by just fine. That said, I would say that it's harder (but not impossible) to get by in Miami with only speaking Spanish. There are more "doors closed" to non-English speakers than there are to non-Spanish speakers.
People make the same complaint about Los Angeles. I actually find that the generation that grew up here in LA has on average, really messed up Spanish that uses way more English than actual Spanish in their sentences. Considering that there is a huge population of people that speak neither English nor Spanish here, the language by default becomes English since its how everyone in the population communicates in English.
Of course, someone will post an anecdote about how I'm wrong, etc. but considering I used to work for LA County....yeah.
People make the same complaint about Los Angeles. I actually find that the generation that grew up here in LA has on average, really messed up Spanish that uses way more English than actual Spanish in their sentences. Considering that there is a huge population of people that speak neither English nor Spanish here, the language by default becomes English since its how everyone in the population communicates in English.
Of course, someone will post an anecdote about how I'm wrong, etc. but considering I used to work for LA County....yeah.
Monterey County, CA actually has worse educational attainment statistics than Los Angeles County, CA. Shocking but true.
Monterey County, CA actually has worse educational attainment statistics than Los Angeles County, CA. Shocking but true.
Not really that surprising for most California natives who've been to Monterey County. A huge chunk of the population of Monterey County, CA is made up of agricultural workers, a lot of whom have extremely low educational measures.
The whole area from Salinas to King City is made up of a string of agricultural towns. Salinas itself is actually the epicenter of one of the largest Hispanic gangs in the country, the Nortenos, headed up by the Nuestra Familia.
Lots of problems in what is otherwise a beautiful region
Not really that surprising for most California natives who've been to Monterey County. A huge chunk of the population of Monterey County, CA is made up of agricultural workers, a lot of whom have extremely low educational measures.
The whole area from Salinas to King City is made up of a string of agricultural towns. Salinas itself is actually the epicenter of one of the largest Hispanic gangs in the country, the Nortenos, headed up by the Nuestra Familia.
Lots of problems in what is otherwise a beautiful region
This surprised me when I visited. I was told to stay away from Salinas and couldn't figure out why. It didn't seem bad and was located in a beautiful area.
This surprised me when I visited. I was told to stay away from Salinas and couldn't figure out why. It didn't seem bad and was located in a beautiful area.
Yeah, a lot of the Central California farm towns have that sort of innocuous all-American look, but when you delve in deeper, it is full of problems that make even the more urban areas of California more understandable. There is the "race" element (I guess), but its the lack of jobs and really the lack of things to do that drive a lot of these youngsters to that kind of thing. It's even worse when you AREN'T in the city, and feel like there is no escape.
Here's a pretty well done (albeit a pretty over the top) documentary about the Nortenos and their start in Salinas. To most out of staters, it would make much more sense if they were conceived on the streets of Oakland or San Francisco, but nope....
Nowadays, things have calmed down quite a bit and like everywhere else in America, much of the "gangsters" are made up of either bored kids wanting to claim they are part of something bigger or tagger crews which want to make a statement of some sort.
Boston- The people are not cold and racist, like what is claimed on CD. The people might not strike a conversation with a stranger on the bus or the checkout line, but that doesn't mean their cold. In fact, most people I know who are from Boston are kind, friendly, and pretty outgoing. As for being racist, people must be joking. Sure the people may have a more "preppy, white-bred" vibe but that doesn't equate to racist. Many of the people and college students in Boston are so liberal minded, they would be horrid about the fact that people would think they're racist.
NYC- New Yorkers are not rude. Aloof and rushed on the surface is a better term to describe New Yorkers because of the "rat-race" lifestyle. Once you talk or get to know many New Yorkers they're quite friendly. I actually found downstate New Yorkers to be a lot more extroverted, outgoing, and more willing to meet new people than their fellow Upstate New Yorkers.
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