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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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In both good and bad ways. They might be more provincial, less tolerant, but also develop more personal friendships. I guess it's not like a lot of liberal cities are that tolerant though.
Some East coast cities like Boston, Baltimore and even Philly to an extent (NYC's boroughs also) and some of the cities in the Midwest, South and West, like Minneapolis, New Orleans, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland might be my guess.
Cities like NY, Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle are examples of cities which do have the classic big city mentality I think.
My instincts would say a more conservative big city like Oklahoma City. Like you said, I see this as a good and a bad thing. If you're moving there it might be a bit easier to meet people quicker which is great.
Also, maybe Jacksonville and San Antonio would fit this criteria based on what I hear.
Small towns are generally clicky and insular. It's difficult to meet and make friends because they are mostly natives who have known each other their entire lives and are cautious about outsiders. They will be friendly but you still won't be "one of them." I don't think it has anything to do with conservative politics either because there are plenty of liberal small towns. Eureka Springs, Arkansas for instance has a gay pride and has a domestic partnership registry.
Personally, I found Little Rock, a left-leaning city, to be very "small town" in mindset. A ton of NIMBY's and anti-growth people and its very insular. If you didn't grow up there its difficult to make friends. Oklahoma City doesn't have a small town mindset because they are heavily encouraging growth and development and there has recently been an influx of transplants over the past five years. Many of its suburbs are however.
So you're saying that NYC's Burroughs have "small town" attitudes but Atlanta has a "big city" attitude?! Interesting ...
(PS ... I have found that even in the largest cities, there's always a sense of identity, place, self and local pride that's as easily as identifiable as any small town. Civic pride is civic pride, whether a population of 800 or 8 million.)
Small towns are generally clicky and insular. It's difficult to meet and make friends because they are mostly natives who have known each other their entire lives and are cautious about outsiders. They will be friendly but you still won't be "one of them." I don't think it has anything to do with conservative politics either because there are plenty of liberal small towns. Eureka Springs, Arkansas for instance has a gay pride and has a domestic partnership registry.
Personally, I found Little Rock, a left-leaning city, to be very "small town" in mindset. A ton of NIMBY's and anti-growth people and its very insular. If you didn't grow up there its difficult to make friends. Oklahoma City doesn't have a small town mindset because they are heavily encouraging growth and development and there has recently been an influx of transplants over the past five years. Many of its suburbs are however.
The perception of Oklahoma is that it's the antithesis of neighboring Texas regarding growth and somewhat insular and with a small town mentality. Unlike the "big-thinking" booming state just south. Maybe OKC is breaking out of that mold but it must be a fairly recent phenomenon. Was a good move to bring the NBA team to town. Having a big pro sports team really helped further solidify it as a big city I'd say. Once that was proven a success (high attendance) maybe it opened or encouraged more business/people to come to the area. Wouldn't doubt it had some effect.
But if we're gonna consider Little Rock a big city then you gotta throw Mississippi's biggest city, Jackson, in the mix too. Another candidate might be Shreveport in this population range.
Last edited by Billy Millennium; 12-09-2012 at 03:06 AM..
Charlotte. Growing up in Columbia, SC I always thought Charlotte as a big city. Then I moved here, been here over 2 years and it really doesn't feel or act like a big city at all...It's populated yes, but if you stick to your side of town then it feels pretty normal. lol
this is one of those irritating cliches. "big city with a small town feel" or "big city with a small town attitude" is ridiculous. you could say the same thing about any city in the country. there is no singular "big city attitude" at all, it's a myth. and there is no "small town attitude" either. cities have a mix of attitudes. that's what makes them cities.
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