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Um. Most of the land area of CA is red. Most of the land area of New England states is blue. Check the map again by county. Case closed.
Oh so now we're just talking about New England, because before it was the "Northeast" in general. Did that map of NY and PA burst your little bubble?
You weren't talking about "most of the land area", you said only the coastal counties. That again was false, plenty of inland counties are blue. And actually the majority of the land area of CA is blue if you take the counties that went blue in the last election and compared them to the one's that went red. So again, you're wrong.
How much do people in other parts of the country engage in random conversations with strangers? I didn't noticed much of a difference traveling, though I guess I did a bit more random small talk.
I'm not sure, but my friend from CA notices that we definitely don't here in NYC/area. Again, these are generalizations and cannot be proven and aren't 100% factual. That's why I don't like these types of questions. I'm sure a lot of people everywhere don't converse with strangers all too often, frankly I think it's weird to.
I mean, if someone does start talking to me out of the blue, I'll probably talk back (as long as I'm not getting a weird/creepy vibe). I'm not unfriendly or impolite, it's just I won't initiate it and think it's unusual to. My friend's told me that back at home (Orange County) people are more talkative, and she likes to see it when she visits.
One time I was in a hotel in Tucson, AZ. I was standing waiting for the elevator to arrive at my floor and there was a guy standing next to me. He looked at me and said "good morning." I was like....
I understand he was being friendly, but to me it's just weird. I would never say anything like that to random strangers in public. Maybe a smile or something, but that's it. I'm sorry, but I think it's freekin' weird when random people in public say things to others. Idk...maybe it's because I'm raised in Connecticut?
Good morning = just a way normal people greet each other in the morning. It's not an offensive term.
You people don't have random strangers starting conversations with you? Happens to me all the time.
It helps even more now that I have an infant son and daughter, but it happened regularly before then too.
Sure, it happens plenty of times, but not in the same way as in the rest of the country. It happens when there's a real, good reason to strike up a conversation. But you won't really see people randomly saying things like "hello" or "good morning" to random strangers in public. However, if the person knows the person they're saying these things to, then that's very common, of course.
New England people are still nice though. Most people I know that came up to visit from the South have said that they were surprised at how friendly New England people really are.
Every state in the U.S. has those kinds of variances.
However, the states from Washington, D.C. to Maine have a combined GDP of 3.5 trillion dollars. That is greater than the GDP of Germany - yet with a far less population.
So, the northeastern U.S. is certainly one of the wealthiest regions in the world by any standard.
Okay, yes, there is a LOT of wealth produced in the Northeast Corridor. There's no contesting that. However, where you're being disingenuous is to suggest that everyone is prospering because of this or that everyone has a piece of the pie. The issue is that the vast majority of this wealth is highly concentrated in the hands of a relative few. You're portraying the region as though the entire Northeast is comprised of towns like Greenwich, Connecticut -- and that's far from the case even in the more prosperous large metro areas.
It comes as no surprise that states like New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut have fairly high degrees of income stratification. That's definitely not a good thing:
Also, as I suggested before, poverty is definitely under-reported in the Northeast due to lack of accounting for high cost-of-living, primarily based on housing costs in the Northeast Corridor region. One study places the real poverty rate in New Jersey -- supposedly one of the wealthiest states in the country -- at 25%. That's pretty terrible, and I'm sure there'd be similar numbers in other Northeastern states by this measure:
Okay, yes, there is a LOT of wealth produced in the Northeast Corridor. There's no contesting that. However, where you're being disingenuous is to suggest that everyone is prospering because of this or that everyone has a piece of the pie. The issue is that the vast majority of this wealth is highly concentrated in the hands of a relative few. You're portraying the region as though the entire Northeast is comprised of towns like Greenwich, Connecticut -- and that's far from the case even in the more prosperous large metro areas.
It's comes as no surprise that states like New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut have fairly high degrees of income stratification. That's definitely not a good thing:
Also, as I suggested before, poverty is definitely under-reported in the Northeast due to lack of accounting for high cost-of-living, primarily based on housing costs in the Northeast Corridor region. One study places the real poverty rate in New Jersey -- supposedly one of the wealthiest states in the country -- at 25%. That's pretty terrible, and I'm sure there'd be similar numbers in other Northeastern states by this measure:
Again, I think the Northeast has a lot of wonderful attributes, but please understand that it is not without significant problems.
Also, did you know that the poverty rate is skewed, because it includes college students who live off campus, even if their parents are paying everything for them? Poverty rate is a skewed statistic because of this, in places with college universities especially.
Sure, it happens plenty of times, but not in the same way as in the rest of the country. It happens when there's a real, good reason to strike up a conversation. But you won't really see people randomly saying things like "hello" or "good morning" to random strangers in public. However, if the person knows the person they're saying these things to, then that's very common, of course.
New England people are still nice though. Most people I know that came up to visit from the South have said that they were surprised at how friendly New England people really are.
That sounds like more of a personal preference to me, rather than a regional attribute. It also depends on context. Certainly if you're walking down a crowded sidewalk, it would be not only strange but impractical to greet everyone with a "good morning" -- but if you're with someone on an elevator, I personally find it awkward not to acknowledge someone with a greeting. I think most Northeasterners would feel the same.
Also, did you know that the poverty rate is skewed, because it includes college students who live off campus, even if their parents are paying everything for them? Poverty rate is a skewed statistic because of this, in places with college universities especially.
I don't see how on a state level that would even make a difference. It's not like college students even make up a significant portion of the population to begin with.
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