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I like the northeast the best. It has the best scenery in the summer, with all the green deciduous mountains, and the beaches, world class cities and all. I would say that it is old school and old money compared to CA, however. BUT...the northeast is the most progressive area in the country. For example, almost every state here has had gay marriage for years, and universal healthcare systems, among other things. CA is behind in that regard. And CA is conservative in the inland areas, whereas the northeast is liberal almost everywhere, rural or urban. And, the northeast is the LEAST religious area of the nation, which I like. But the northeast leads the nation with progressive politics.
One thing I like about my community,
Nobody cares about others political views, religions, etc.. we all live on the same street so we respect each other ... My neighbor could be a bleeding heart liberal but it wouldn't matter because we are all Americans.
California - Scenery, Beautiful weather, Illegal immigration problems.
South - Laid back, friendly, hurricanes.
Northeast - Best cities on the globe, history, segergation.
Last time I checked, the only state in the N.E. with some sort of health care mandate in place to take care of all people was M.A. And that was actually created by a republican (Romney.)
I disagree about politics. I think many in the northeast are still hung up on being bullied by unions instead of using the money to repair infastructure.
And the northeast is ENTIRELY more religious than the west coast. Nobody participates in Lent or Ash Wednesday out here. I went to a Jesuit college out west where nobody went to the on campus church. I visited a girl I was dating in college who went to another Jesuit school on the east coast and the church was packed.
I feel that people in the N.E. just struggle with thinking outside of the box, which is something I cannot tolerate at this point.
It's not just MA with the health care system. Vermont has passed a single payer universal health care system that will begin in 2017.
Also, VT and NH are the least religious states in the nation. Look it up.
I would post this in the NJ forum but I know I'd get some surly and savanty answers so it goes here:
What makes up CA (socal, norcal, central coast) culture vs. Southern and Northeast culture? What are the attributes? Which do you find superior?
In my experience, CA culture is easy-going, car centric, relaxed, progessive, and sort of an "anything goes" mentality. Southern culture is largely based on socially conservative, honky tonk and largely centered around "Southern Belle" traditions.
Where I grew up, the Northeast is very preppy, stubborn, narrow-minded, and "old money" type culture. A big win is if you know the right people or if your family has money. Also I don't find them as liberal as west coast types as people are democrats but probably the most rigid demographic of liberals out there.
I think this could be a fun thread. Run with it!
Why would you post this in NJ as this is clearly General US? Maybe your responses would be "surly and savanty" because this has no relevance to just New Jersey, and people would think you're just stirring the pot (common, btw, in the NJ forum), especially because you basically bash the NE where NJ is located.
I agree with your classifications of CA and Southern cultures, for the most part, but disagree with that of the Northeast. People just love saying those things about us (stubborn, narrow-minded), in addition to griping about our weather of course.
people love to label you depending on what quadrant of the country you reside. it's pretty annoying how often these threads come up... the difference between us is really not that significant.
Yup!! Good post, pretty much sums it up IMO. We label too much. We're all Americans. There are good and bad people everywhere, nice and rude people everywhere, and it's hard to generalize any place to me.
A better thread would be "What's the attitude of these regions as depicted in mass media and popular culture?" You're never going to get any type of agreement on this topic. There's always going to be someone who says they know a Type-A, liberal, former hippie friend in rural Mississippi and an Evangelical Christian in Cambridge, Mass.
Part of the image a lot of people have in their heads of the Northeast can be seen in the video below (nearly everyone's view of the NE seems to be completely dominated by NYC). I guess it would be this along with Quaker meetings, subways, chic restaurants, and people sailing in expensive boats off the Nantucket coast.
I just find it laughable that anyone would say the northeast is close minded, especially when 8 out of 9 states in the region have been open minded enough to accept gay marriage, well before anywhere out west. People in the northeast, however, are reserved and keep to themselves most of the time. That doesn't mean close minded, however.
I just find it laughable that anyone would say the northeast is close minded, especially when 8 out of 9 states in the region have been open minded enough to accept gay marriage, well before anywhere out west. People in the northeast, however, are reserved and keep to themselves most of the time. That doesn't mean close minded, however.
I just find it laughable that anyone would say the northeast is close minded, especially when 8 out of 9 states in the region have been open minded enough to accept gay marriage, well before anywhere out west. People in the northeast, however, are reserved and keep to themselves most of the time. That doesn't mean close minded, however.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
New Yorkers are reserved?
I think people in some areas of the Northeast aren't reserved, but I do think they keep to themselves. You won't see people, complete strangers, greeting each other on the street too often. My friend from CA hates this about the NYC area. She calls us "unfriendly". I just think we see no point in saying hi to strangers as we're walking along. We also tend to not strike up random conversation as much, like with an employee at Dunkin who's serving us coffee or even a waitress. She also complains about this. There are exceptions, for example my mother, who will talk to anyone and is a lifelong northern NJ resident. We aren't reserved, IMO, but in a sense we do keep to ourselves. This gives others the idea that we're unfriendly when in reality, to me, we see no point in talking to people we don't know when we have things to do. We're hurried, I guess.
I think people in some areas of the Northeast aren't reserved, but I do think they keep to themselves. You won't see people, complete strangers, greeting each other on the street too often. My friend from CA hates this about the NYC area. She calls us "unfriendly". I just think we see no point in saying hi to strangers as we're walking along. We also tend to not strike up random conversation as much, like with an employee at Dunkin who's serving us coffee or even a waitress. She also complains about this. There are exceptions, for example my mother, who will talk to anyone and is a lifelong northern NJ resident. We aren't reserved, IMO, but in a sense we do keep to ourselves. This gives others the idea that we're unfriendly when in reality, to me, we see no point in talking to people we don't know when we have things to do. We're hurried, I guess.
I think the "hurry, hurry hurry" attitude is mostly in Manhattan. That's been my experience anyway. It dissipates in Brooklyn quite a bit, imo. I never thought of Boston as being particularly "fast" (especially when your transit shuts down at midnight).
I think the one area where the Northeast stands out is people who will give you a dose of the nasty. I seem to come across the gregarious construction worker who starts up a conversation about the "sweet ass" that just got off the elevator or the completely unhelpful police officer who couldn't be the least bothered with you. It's not so much the pace of life that's really stood out to me as much as the abrasiveness and vulgarity of a significant percentage of the population.
I've always felt the tabloid papers reflect what I'm talking about.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 01-14-2014 at 01:50 PM..
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Maybe your responses would be "surly and savanty" because this has no relevance to just New Jersey, and people would think you're just stirring the pot (common, btw, in the NJ forum), especially because you basically bash the NE where NJ is located. 
