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LOL same with San Antonio - and I've lived in Texas for twenty five years. It's just a few hours away and it feels like I'm in Mexico.
Not that that's bad - I actually really like San Antonio.
Another area that feels like a foreign country in many ways is New Orleans. Other cities that struck me as very "different" feeling are Annapolis (OK, it's small but the uniqueness was striking) and Minneapolis. Oh, and SALT LAKE CITY which felt like a parallel universe to me!
Minneapolis is quintessential America, and I'd venture to guess that Annapolis is too, considering its one of the oldest US cities.
There are some expenses that drive up cost of living in North Carolina that I never realized until I moved here. Homeowner's insurance is higher than it was in Maryland. There's an annual car tax. The sales tax is higher, including being taxed on groceries and OTC medications which weren't taxed in Maryland; and gas expenses being much higher having to drive so much to get anywhere.
However, I'm lucky in that I have a job which pays the same so I still live better off, especially since since most people around me don't make that much unless they moved to Atlanta or Charlotte.
Many of them are true though. Try living in New England for 20+ years, then go down and spend time in the South and you'll see what I mean. Last summer, I had a friend come up to visit me from just outside of Charlotte, in South Carolina. One day we took a trip to Boston and spent time in the area. At that point, he said "geez...this don't feel like America at all." Let me tell you....the culture and people of Boston are MUCH different than in Charlotte.
Hahaha, my niece moved up to MA (from NJ) and when I went to visit her, we went to Boston. As we approached it, I said, "What a cute little city!" Her friends in the car looked insulted. But I didn't mean it in an insulting way. It is small and quaint-looking.
The funny thing is that the SC 'burbs of Charlotte are very transplant heavy; tons of Northerners and Midwesterners down there.
Even so, I'm not sure what stereotype of the South that statement was intended to confirm. This is a big, culturally diverse country we live in and the unfamiliarity of certain parts of it really do make it seem like you're having an international experience in some cases. I said the same thing the first time I visited Santa Ana, CA which is overwhelmingly Hispanic.
Have you ever been to some small towns in Alabama or applied for an elementary school teacher in parts of Atlanta?
Yes, to me, even places with high transplant populations such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Dallas still feel remarkably southern to me, coming from New England. Of course, I have also visited places like Jackson, MS and the FL panhandle, which feel even more southern than those transplant cities.
Jackson MS feels more "southern" than Dallas TX? Why?
Jackson MS feels more "southern" than Dallas TX? Why?
Well of course. Jackson is mostly comprised of natives. Dallas is loaded with transplants and is more cosmopolitan. Dallas is also over 10 times the size of Jackson.
Minneapolis is quintessential America, and I'd venture to guess that Annapolis is too, considering its one of the oldest US cities.
Not sure what you're talking about.
And that's OK - I know what I'm talking about.
It's my personal opinion, based on my personal experiences.
What seems "quintessentially American" to individuals will vary dramatically, due to the huge size of our country, the diversity, different climates, etc. I am not doubting that Minneapolis and Annapolis seem quintessentially American to some people, but they don't to me. Fort Worth and Memphis and Asheville and Williamsburg and Birmingham seem "quintessentially American" to me though.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 02-05-2014 at 11:04 AM..
Baloney. I lived in Charlotte for a month and was called a yankee (for humorous purposes and joking) by a few people (they are my friends now). I mean, they weren't trying to offend me, but still....it feels weird to be labeled as something, simply due to geographical location.
You're telling people that live in the South this? That's funny.
It's my personal opinion, based on my personal experiences.
What seems "quintessentially American" to individuals will vary dramatically, due to the huge size of our country, the diversity, different climates, etc. I am not doubting that Minneapolis and Annapolis seem quintessentially American to some people, but they don't to me. Fort Worth and Memphis and Asheville and Williamsburg and Birmingham seem "quintessentially American" to me though.
Yep. That was my personal experience. Have you been there? It feels like England to me.
I'm not saying that in a negative way. I like England.
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