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Old 12-14-2017, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA
96 posts, read 133,533 times
Reputation: 172

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"Nothing personal toward me, but the whole concept of customer service seems to be non existent there. Maybe it was just bad luck. In CT, I was actually sneered at by SEVERAL people in a little shop where I was ordering a sandwich and some tea. Apparently my accent got their attention, and I caught a couple of them actually rolling their eyes. I made a mistake ordering my tea (I was trying a new sort of hot tea and I said the name of it wrong) and the guy taking my order not only rolled his eyes, but he also blatantly caught the eye of the customers in line behind me and several people actually snickered. That was surprising. "...[/i]

Well, having lived in CT (Fairfield, County) all my life before moving to Jacksonville,Fl I can honestly say you must have a really bad day with that clerk. Most folks in CT hear accents from all over the world, not to say from other parts of the US.
Traffic is different up there. Keep in mind, though, that many town and small city roads follow old colonial, Indian and even cow paths! Makes for interesting driving.
Folks are folks, wherever you go. The pace of much of the South is probably a bit more relaxed than the metro NYC areas and the cost of living in CT is waaay up there for sure. Thus, why we're loving the South but thinking of moving from Jax to somewhere less hot and prone to hurricanes.

Last edited by BGCTFL; 12-14-2017 at 12:07 PM.. Reason: need quotation marks
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Old 12-14-2017, 01:30 PM
 
636 posts, read 604,078 times
Reputation: 953
Grew up in Richmond and moved to Arlington first, then DC when I could afford it. This one is hard to qualify; not only because DC is barely "the North" but there's transplants from everywhere in middle america there. I've spent a lot of time in NY though so DC, by contrast, never really felt northern to me in the same way. Also was never overwhelmed by being in the "big city" there or found it particularly fast-paced, aside from a few middle-aged white men that will try to run through you getting to the train (many were unsuccessful tryin to pull that ish on me). If anything it was the opposite, and I remember feeling constantly underwhelmed by everything there since the DC boosters act like it's the center of the universe (and you're a loser if you disagree). The arrogant self-importance of that place was stifling.

Then made it up to the Chi...

I like living here for the most part, but I still feel like an alien sometimes. White midwesterners, are weird af to me; boorish, superficially polite, and overly presumptuous while being totally insular and xenophobic. The black folks, however, feel much more normal to me, and in my experience are much more genuinely firndly.

The segregation, of course, is on a whole nother level here (DC felt worse to me in this regard than Richmond but still nothing like here) and it surely is a factor in the mentality of many people here. I've heard an expression that the Chi is the biggest small town in the world and I get that now. Even those that are ostensibly cosmopolitan and worldly just have this...idk...homeliness. Again, after spending time in NY it's very underwhelming and slow (much more similar to the south in this regard than anyone wants to admit). Speaking of NY, the overall insecurity this place has towards NY annoys the f out of me as well.

The only other issue I've had as a southerner here is with the weather. Even then it's like anything else, you layer up and get used to it after awhile.

Probly leaving out a lot but that's all for now.
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Old 12-14-2017, 04:24 PM
 
6,772 posts, read 4,420,268 times
Reputation: 6061
I am 52 years old and have always lived in the Charlotte area. My wife was raised in the Boston area, but moved to NC in the late 80's and never looked back. Right now, we have temporarily (got here in July, will go back home to NC sometime late next year) moved to Cape Cod, MA to help care for my wife's mom who is battling Parkinson's Disease. The towns here on Cape Cod are very beautiful. History is very well kept. People are very nice (and, no, not this "fake" nice that some seem to imagine). The weather doesn't bother me. As long as I can dress appropriately, it can be 90 or 20 and I'm ok.......But it's extremely expensive here in nearly every facet. Money goes a lot farther in the South. Much better buying power. There's much more political diversity and diversity of thought in the South, unlike the stereotypes some seem to have. We like the weather better overall in the South. Love the beaches a lot more in the South. People are a tad friendlier overall (just like NE, genuinely nice/polite). Not a big difference, though. That's just it in a nutshell........I do love it here in New England. We're enjoying our time here. But my wife and I both know we would never want to live outside of the South. The overall, top-to-bottom quality of life is better for us. It's not a knock. We just love living in the South.
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Old 12-14-2017, 07:06 PM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,666 posts, read 60,218,081 times
Reputation: 100999
Quote:
Originally Posted by BGCTFL View Post
[i]

Well, having lived in CT (Fairfield, County) all my life before moving to Jacksonville,Fl I can honestly say you must have a really bad day with that clerk. Most folks in CT hear accents from all over the world, not to say from other parts of the US.
That's why it was surprising - and it wasn't just the clerk, it was several customers in line behind us who responded to the pretty blatant eye rolling by the clerk, by snickering.

I'm not at all self conscious about my Texas/Southern accent. I used to be a corporate trainer and I got a lot of (mostly) positive feedback when I'd lead classes or seminars outside the southern region regarding my accent. So yes, I was very surprised.

It was an aberration though, because we didn't get any responses like that at any other time in our travels. I thought people were pretty friendly everywhere on that particular trip, except for that weird little sandwich shop.

I especially loved Maine!
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Old 12-15-2017, 06:39 AM
sub
 
Location: ^##
4,963 posts, read 3,669,791 times
Reputation: 7831
Connecticut also seemed horribly snobby to me. We encountered it at a Best Western. Yes, a Best Western. That prim and proper little breakfast crowd. Sheesh.
Later stopped at a little roadside seafood place that somewhat made up for it.

Moved from the deep south and eventually ended up in the upper midwest. Things were different, but overall much more to my liking.
Cleaner by far. Nicer cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Generally, not always, things were kept up better regardless of neighborhood wealth and even the rural areas had less trashiness to them.
More community minded for certain.
People down south complain a lot about how things aren't like they used to be in that aspect, but that's a result of bad dicisions right down to where and how they build houses, streets, schools, etc. Hard to be neighborly when you're so spread out and closed off all the time. Eventually it just gets to the point that everyone is suspicious of each other and stops communicating.

The beer culture was definitely a thing, but not necessarily because more people drank, maybe they do a little, but they're less weird and uptight about it:
Quote:
Q: Why do you have to take two Baptists with you when you go fishing?

A: Because if you take just one, he'll drink all your beer.
And this...

Quote:
What's the difference between a Catholic and a Baptist?

A Catholic will say hello when he sees you in the liquor store.
That sort of thing.
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Old 12-15-2017, 07:28 AM
 
3,733 posts, read 2,845,551 times
Reputation: 4903
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA All Day View Post
Grew up in Richmond and moved to Arlington first, then DC when I could afford it. This one is hard to qualify; not only because DC is barely "the North" but there's transplants from everywhere in middle america there. I've spent a lot of time in NY though so DC, by contrast, never really felt northern to me in the same way. Also was never overwhelmed by being in the "big city" there or found it particularly fast-paced, aside from a few middle-aged white men that will try to run through you getting to the train (many were unsuccessful tryin to pull that ish on me). If anything it was the opposite, and I remember feeling constantly underwhelmed by everything there since the DC boosters act like it's the center of the universe (and you're a loser if you disagree). The arrogant self-importance of that place was stifling.

Then made it up to the Chi...

I like living here for the most part, but I still feel like an alien sometimes. White midwesterners, are weird af to me; boorish, superficially polite, and overly presumptuous while being totally insular and xenophobic. The black folks, however, feel much more normal to me, and in my experience are much more genuinely firndly.

The segregation, of course, is on a whole nother level here (DC felt worse to me in this regard than Richmond but still nothing like here) and it surely is a factor in the mentality of many people here. I've heard an expression that the Chi is the biggest small town in the world and I get that now. Even those that are ostensibly cosmopolitan and worldly just have this...idk...homeliness. Again, after spending time in NY it's very underwhelming and slow (much more similar to the south in this regard than anyone wants to admit). Speaking of NY, the overall insecurity this place has towards NY annoys the f out of me as well.

The only other issue I've had as a southerner here is with the weather. Even then it's like anything else, you layer up and get used to it after awhile.

Probly leaving out a lot but that's all for now.
Hard to take a post seriously, when you denigrate an entire region of people, assuming they're all like you think. I'm not buying some of the rest of what you said, either, not a bit. I lived in Chicago, and no one EVER talked about NYC, unless they were going there on business or for a week-end of fun. I don't know what kind of people you meet, and I'm not buying what you're saying, but maybe you need some new friends, if all they do is sit around and lament about how Chicago isn't NYC. Lol

Actually, I just looked at all your posts, and you love to post anything negative about Chicago. SO, now that I know you have a motive....
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Old 12-15-2017, 07:50 AM
 
636 posts, read 604,078 times
Reputation: 953
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enean View Post
Hard to take a post seriously, when you denigrate an entire region of people, assuming they're all like you think. I'm not buying some of the rest of what you said, either, not a bit. I lived in Chicago, and no one EVER talked about NYC, unless they were going there on business or for a week-end of fun. I don't know what kind of people you meet, and I'm not buying what you're saying, but maybe you need some new friends, if all they do is sit around and lament about how Chicago isn't NYC. Lol

Actually, I just looked at all your posts, and you love to post anything negative about Chicago. SO, now that I know you have a motive....
Discount what I said all you want, this thread is about personal experiences. Funny how you can't refute anything without personally attacking me and making assumptions of your own. You wouldn't have even bothered to make a response like that if you didn't harbor some insecurity about anything I said. lolzers

And since you've decided to investigate my post history (not creepy at all btw), I've made plenty of positive posts about Chicago. I still genuinely like living here most of the time. Even if I didn't, I don't know how that translates to some "motive." Thanks for demonstrating exactly what I was talking about...you're weird af my guy.

That said, I didn't include any positives in my other post so here's a few off top:

Chi:
-food - top-tier city for dinning, so obviously better than where I came from.
-public transpo - Virtually nonexistent in Rich.
-Diversity - When I was a kid Rich was just black/white. Although that's changed some in the last 15 years or so, the Latino and Asian populations are still relatively small.
-Music scene - Obviously more venues and shows in the Chi.
-Architecture/skyline - Rich is strong in here in terms of residential architecture but for downtown skylines of course there's no comparison.
-Parks/museums/cultural institutions - Again while Rich isn't terrible in this regard, it's too small to compete.
-Airports - O'Hare sucks but at least you can get places directly. While Rich is better than it was, still no directs to Cali and of course no internationals.

DC:

If you're already in DC, you don't have to go through or around DC to get further north. ALso plenty of cheap bus lines.
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Old 12-15-2017, 07:54 AM
 
3,733 posts, read 2,845,551 times
Reputation: 4903
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA All Day View Post
Discount what I said all you want, this thread is about personal experiences. Funny how you can't refute anything without personally attacking me and making assumptions of your own. You wouldn't have even bothered to make a response like that if you didn't harbor some insecurity about anything I said. lolzers

And since you've decided to investigate my post history (not creepy at all btw), I've made plenty of positive posts about Chicago. I still genuinely like living here most of the time. Even if I didn't, I don't know how that translates to some "motive." Thanks for demonstrating exactly what I was talking about...you're weird af my guy.

That said, I didn't include any positives in my other post so here's a few off top:

Chi:
-food - top-tier city for dinning, so obviously better than where I came from.
-public transpo - Virtually nonexistent in Rich.
-Diversity - When I was a kid Rich was just black/white. Although that's changed some in the last 15 years or so, the Latino and Asian populations are still relatively small.
-Music scene - Obviously more venues and shows in the Chi.
-Architecture/skyline - Rich is strong in here in terms of residential architecture but for downtown skylines of course there's no comparison.
-Parks/museums/cultural institutions - Again while Rich isn't terrible in this regard, it's too small to compete.
-Airports - O'Hare sucks but at least you can get places directly. While Rich is better than it was, still no directs to Cali and of course no internationals.

DC:

If you're already in DC, you don't have to go through or around DC to get further north. ALso plenty of cheap bus lines.
I'll concede, that maybe I came off too, too. I don't like it when the people of any region, not just the Midwest, are stereotyped to be this, or that. People don't walk in lockstep, and everyone has their own brain. Please don't tell me that I'm this, or that, because your neighbor is.
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Old 12-15-2017, 08:12 AM
 
Location: 49th parallel
4,593 posts, read 3,242,623 times
Reputation: 9561
When we first moved up to north of Boston from way down South, I was baffled by someone who was telling me how they made a movie in their little town and "all they had to do was take the cows off the road" in order to shoot. Couldn't figure it out - until I did. She was saying "cars,", not "cows." That was my introduction to Boston English. Getting the snails out of your hair (snarls), etc. In turn I got teased for saying "git" instead of "get," etc.

Everywhere was more different then (40 years ago) than it is now, but there are still differences, and some people are so insular still that they don't realize there are differences.

That's what makes travel fun - even if you did get the nasty eye-rolling treatment, KathrynA - at least it's a story you can tell your grandchildren!

As far as friendliness goes, I think in general people from the South are more superficially friendly, always say hello, wave, and smile, but they don't necessarily want to invite you to their house. That's ok. People from the northeast take a lot longer to warm up to you, so it seems they aren't as friendly. But they make firm friends when they finally get to know you. People from the northwest are so laid back it doesn't matter how you are, they're fine with it. Just let me get my coffee.
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Old 12-15-2017, 09:29 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,822 posts, read 30,876,901 times
Reputation: 47101
I lived in both Indiana and Iowa. I'm a native Tennessean.

I only lived in Iowa (Des Moines) for a year. I couldn't get over how relatively wealthy and well-educated it seemed compared to where I'm from in Appalachia. People on the street were generally nice - but the job turned out to be crappy, the coworkers never liked me (I was hired as a direct hire when most of them came through a staffing agency), and it was so isolated from anywhere else. I ended up moving back to Tennessee. I've basically forgotten I ever lived there LOL

I moved to an affluent suburb of Indianapolis after being back in Tennessee for a year and losing my butt financially. I didn't "love it," but it was a lot better than Des Moines, and a lot better than east Tennessee. People from Indianapolis were incredibly rude. Small town Indiana is much friendlier than Indianapolis.

I would go back to the Midwest under the right conditions. It would likely be to Michigan or southern Indiana.
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