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This is inspired by the "Northerners in the South" thread. And by "north", I mean Northeast or Midwest, relate your experiences!
Now, I'm 28, grew up in Virginia, and never considered myself a southerner until I spent two-plus years in New York in my early-20s. I didn't consider myself anything bit a Virginian, and being a southerner was not an identification I had--I guess the South to me was something not really like the parts of Virginia i grew up in...
I lived in Elmira and Albany during my time in New York, and while I hated it while I lived there, I grew to appreciate it by the time I left and grew to love it and look back on my time there fondly since I've been away (going on five years now). I definitely realized I was a southerner while living up there...
I don't know where to begin and I'm sure I'll remember things as this thread moves forward, because I was definitely in culture shock the first half a year I was there. I grew more accepting of the culture as time went on...
Okay, I'd never heard white people use the n-word with prevalence until I lived in New York. And when I say prevalent, I mean it--older white people, younger white people, it obviously wasn't everyone, but I was shocked that so many white people use it. Yes, I'd heard white people use it before, but it was not widespread usage...
I'd never heard the stereotype that all black men like white women until I went to New York. Ever. And I never saw so much black/white dating and marriages, which is saying something because that's common everywhere. In parts of New York State, I'd argue it's more common to see black/white interracial dating than same race dating...
Beer--everybody was a flipping alcoholic. This was mind-boggling, people drink in New York like nowhere I've ever been...
New York is very, very sports dominant. People live and die with their sports teams, from prep to pro. I'd never seen high school swim teams or high school hockey teams, they just didn't exist in Virginia. Hockey is a major deal in New York and I became a follower while living there (tennis, too)...
That's enough for now but there was a ton of "damn, you're not one of these people" moments when I lived there. Interested in hearing other's experiences!!
I'm in my 30s. Grew up in Virginia, moved to New Jersey at age 21. Never looked back. I'll say my experience in New Jersey has been quite a bit different than what you described in Elmira and Albany. But then again, NJ and upstate NY are very different places.
If you want to see alcoholics and hear the n-word in Virginia, I know a few places you can go.
I grew up in SC and lived in Maryland near DC, and in NJ outside of Manhattan.
I didn't notice any difference living up north vs SC other than traffic and colder weather, and in NJ, you couldn't make left hand turns in many areas and you could not pump your own gas.
There is a greater number of townhomes in the DC area compared to SC.
Grew up in Florida, lived in Texas for a while.. been in Minnesota for 4 months now and love it. This is for sure where I wanna raise a family.
I love the Twin Cities, I love the nature here, I love the weather with very DISTINCT seasons, I love the lakes. The people are pretty nice. I love living in Saint Paul especially my neighbourhood because its got that "community" feel. My only grievance is missing friends back in Texas, and I wish I had a car. My transmission died back in October and there's so many wonderful places that buses and trains don't go to. Before my car broke down I spent a lot of my free time exploring different nature spots around the cities. Gonna be a while til I can enjoy that again. As for right now... I can't wait to go ice skating!
This is inspired by the "Northerners in the South" thread. And by "north", I mean Northeast or Midwest, relate your experiences!
Now, I'm 28, grew up in Virginia, and never considered myself a southerner until I spent two-plus years in New York in my early-20s. I didn't consider myself anything bit a Virginian, and being a southerner was not an identification I had--I guess the South to me was something not really like the parts of Virginia i grew up in...
I lived in Elmira and Albany during my time in New York, and while I hated it while I lived there, I grew to appreciate it by the time I left and grew to love it and look back on my time there fondly since I've been away (going on five years now). I definitely realized I was a southerner while living up there...
I don't know where to begin and I'm sure I'll remember things as this thread moves forward, because I was definitely in culture shock the first half a year I was there. I grew more accepting of the culture as time went on...
Okay, I'd never heard white people use the n-word with prevalence until I lived in New York. And when I say prevalent, I mean it--older white people, younger white people, it obviously wasn't everyone, but I was shocked that so many white people use it. Yes, I'd heard white people use it before, but it was not widespread usage...
I'd never heard the stereotype that all black men like white women until I went to New York. Ever. And I never saw so much black/white dating and marriages, which is saying something because that's common everywhere. In parts of New York State, I'd argue it's more common to see black/white interracial dating than same race dating...
Beer--everybody was a flipping alcoholic. This was mind-boggling, people drink in New York like nowhere I've ever been...
New York is very, very sports dominant. People live and die with their sports teams, from prep to pro. I'd never seen high school swim teams or high school hockey teams, they just didn't exist in Virginia. Hockey is a major deal in New York and I became a follower while living there (tennis, too)...
That's enough for now but there was a ton of "damn, you're not one of these people" moments when I lived there. Interested in hearing other's experiences!!
I’m not going to contest your experience, but how do you forget lacrosse in regards to sports?
I'm in my 30s. Grew up in Virginia, moved to New Jersey at age 21. Never looked back. I'll say my experience in New Jersey has been quite a bit different than what you described in Elmira and Albany. But then again, NJ and upstate NY are very different places.
If you want to see alcoholics and hear the n-word in Virginia, I know a few places you can go.
Elmira to NY would be similar to many of the cities on the western side of VA, with some suburbia and a little bit higher Black percentage. Out of the 2 NY areas, it is known for its share of interracial couples and its smaller size likely, along with perhaps its history may play a part in that. It is near northern PA, which may offer more perspective.
Elmira to NY would be similar to many of the cities on the western side of VA, with some suburbia and a little bit higher Black percentage. Out of the 2 NY areas, it is known for its share of interracial couples and its smaller size likely, along with perhaps its history may play a part in that. It is near northern PA, which may offer more perspective.
Where in western VA other than Roanoke would have any decent amount of blacks?
Where in western VA other than Roanoke would have any decent amount of blacks?
I was referring to Elmira having more than the cities in western VA. Winchester is just under 11% Black. Covington is about 13-14% Black. Staunton is about 11-12% Black. Pulaski is just over 10%. Besides those 4 cities and Roanoke, the rest I believe have under 10%.
Elmira is about 13-14% Black, but when you count those in combination, it goes up to 20% out of about 30,000 people.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 12-14-2017 at 08:47 AM..
Though I've traveled north of the Mason Dixon line a lot, I have only lived in one state that's above the Mason Dixon line - Ohio. And I still have quite a bit of family living in Ohio so we go up there a lot.
I also used to live in Maryland (actually I lived there twice - loved it) so we often went north on vacation. My husband works a lot in PA, so I've visited there a lot as well on business or pleasure. And we've visited Maine, CT, MA, NH before as well.
I always enjoy visiting those states - I think they all offer so much in the way of sights, experiences, different cultures, history, etc. And you can't beat the fall foliage! I do not care for the winters at all, but to each his or her own.
My experience is that the NE states tend to be much more expensive, and much more crowded, than the Southern states I've spent most of my life in. Generally speaking, the roads are more narrow and crowded as well and there are more toll roads. Towns seem to be right on top of each other (or townships - that's a term we don't use down here).
I love the different architectural styles. And along the coast, I LOVE all the waterways, bays, lighthouses, etc. Love, love, love all that.
The food is different and I do enjoy the diversity. We have diversity and various ethnic specialties in the south, too, of course, but the NE seems to have easier access to a lot of diverse cuisine, and I like that. I do, however, miss Tex Mex and southern style cuisines "up there." I love the abundance of fresh sea food along the NE coast. Yes, we have fresh seafood down here too, but it's different - and I like the differences - up north.
The people IN GENERAL don't seem as outgoing as they are in the southern states. But I've never had a problem with anyone in particular. Ohioans tend to be more friendly and Ohio in general seems to be more laid back than along the northeastern seaboard.
I take that back - I did have a slight issue with a handful of northern folks in both Philadelphia and in some CT town (don't remember the name). I found the folks of the City of Brotherly Love to be less than friendly, which was surprising - and seemed universal. 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. This had nothing to do with my intelligence or where I'm from - it was just some odd, off the wall name of a particular tea - but you would have thought I had mispronounced "dog" or "cat" and that I was the most ignorant person they'd ever run across. I don't know if it was the overall area or just the particular clientele of this one little sandwich shop (I've got news for them - there was nothing special about the tea or the sandwiches), but the interaction left a bad taste in my mouth regarding the folks in that area. I felt like turning around and saying to them, "Tell you what - why don't I take you shopping at a supermercado in Texas and see how well you order from the deli there."
But overall, the people in that region seem just fine. I particularly like the folks in Maine. And though I'm underwhelmed by the personalities I've run across in Philadelphia, the folks in Pittsburgh seem very friendly.
The accents of the NE are interesting to me, and I'm pretty sure my Texas accent is interesting to them too - at least that's what I hear. Ohioans don't seem to have an accent. The Maryland accent seems nasally and an odd mixture of NEastern and Southern to me.
I could happily live north of the Mason Dixon line if I had to - but I don't have to, so I don't! But I enjoy visiting those regions and I think there are lots of positives.
Kathryn, I always appreciate your perspectives gained on your travels. Very nice post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
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.
Provincial elitists, I call them. They probably have a stereotype in their head about southern/Texan accents, but are not well traveled enough themselves to know about anything outside their own little bubble. It's pretty pathetic how they sit on their high horses while not knowing much themselves.
To be fair, a New York or Boston accent can get a similar response, maybe concealed a bit behind the facade of the conventional hospitality, down in the South.
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