This might be an unpopular opinion, but I find that culture within the US doesn't vary much based on region (high school, living)
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Really? It's all over the Texas forum. I'm constantly seeing posts with conservatives crying about Californians or northerners "taking over". Or in the politics forum where people insist that we should divide ourselves into Red and Blue nations. You can be sure that it's always older posters making these gripes, and they certainly seem to resist the idea that we are a united country and that homogeneity isn't a bad thing. Do you hear this kind of talk in everyday life? Not really, but it isn't crazy to assume that many people do harbor these kind of feelings.
Also, I don't see better, less divisive behavior in any age group.
I've been to several states and have never been culture shocked by anything yet. I find that cultural differences are determined more by ethnicity, urbanity level, and political views
Regional slang, fashion, and accents have been fading to a large degree. I meet people from all over the US as well, and rarely is there anything regionally discernible about their personality.
That's awfully potent crack you're smoking.
Several states? A pretty small sample group. Go out into the rural areas? Different regions? Holy smokes, the differences are widespread and profound in terms of music, politics, literature, manners, history, religious faith, cuisine, sports, and a host of other factors.
The difference from Cajun Louisiana to coastal Maine to urban New Jersey to Utah to Los Angeles to Hawaii to Dallas to South Carolina to Alaska is quite tangible. El Paso? New Orleans? Milwaukee? Salt Lake City? Miami? Boston? I mean, hell, even within states, the culture varies widely. Take a state such as Florida. You go from the ultraconservative Panhandle to Tampa to Miami to Key West. Go to business meetings in different regions. Visit local restaurants. Strike up conversations, or simply listen to the conversations of others. Observe the manners.
Yes, there are commonalities, but the differences should be self evident to anyone paying attention. Yes, most largish towns will have a Gap and an Olive Garden and all those other chains. But that's pretty facile stuff.
I mean, hell, every two years, we have proof of it when people walk into the voting group. Suddenly those cultural differences become glaringly apparent.
Last edited by MinivanDriver; 10-13-2019 at 07:06 PM..
Of the things I listed, geography is obviously not dependant on culture, but I already stated that the other two things are the result of America's more distinct regional differences that existed in the past.
My only point is that I feel these differences are increasingly irrelevant in 2019. Keep in mind that I'm speaking from the perspective of a younger Millennial that grew up with the internet. In our tech-driven world, the vast majority of us are far far more alike than we are different, even if they don't want to admit it. Most use the same slang and barely have regional accents if at all.
Yeah, looking at younger people is how you can really see this homogenization.
I will backpedal a bit on my comment on the Western US and say that you can see some differences in younger people's attitudes, slang, fashion, and behavior between different towns - but only really as a function of class. Here in Washington, Bellingham and Ellensburg are college towns so their culture is more cosmopolitan and similar to Seattle --- whereas in Aberdeen or Longview (which are in the same range of population and similarly far away from Seattle), you'll see more young whites with outdated or oversized clothes, AAVE slang influences, tattoos, and big trucks if they own a vehicle. This isn't really the same as true regional cultural differences.
My Chicago accent still gets pointed out from time to time, and I'm only in my mid-20s. But I've made kind of a deliberate effort not to lose it over the years, and mine isn't even strong compared to how older Chicagoans sound. Even with Seattle being a huge draw for people from all over the country, I seldom hear any kind of regional US accent on a young person here. (I did notice some Upper Midwest inflections in a barista about a month ago, who later said she was from North Dakota.)
There's definitely a lot of cultural differences between the South and the Northeast and West when it comes to food and religion. Different religious denominations dominate in different areas and that shapes the culture of the area.
South Louisiana, while not as Catholic as in the past, is still socially very liberal and alcohol and gambling are generally socially accepted and its easy to buy beer even on Sunday. In other parts of Louisiana and the South, Baptists and Pentacostals predominate while in the Northeast its dominated by Catholics and Methodists.
The food in the South (at least the native cuisine not the chain restaurants) is VERY different from the northeast. Personally growing up on Louisiana seafood, I can hardly stand seafood in most of the rest of the country, certainly not California or the Northeast. You can probably take the most "famous" seafood restaurant in New England or the Jersey Shore and any average hole in the wall restaurant in South Louisiana would have better seafood than that. Many of us also call Red Lobster Yankee seafood and its not flavored the way we like it.
Some people say parts of extreme southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania feel "Southern" because its friendlier and laid back, the thing is a more rural area would naturally be more friendly and down to Earth, but the food and religion still sets these areas apart from the South.
If its an apples to apples comparison, then the South would still be friendlier even if Southern hospitality isn't the same level it used to be. For example New Orleans is friendlier than Philadelphia, and a small town in Louisiana would be friendlier than a small town in Pennsylvania. But in many cases a small town in Pennsylvania would be friendlier than New Orleans or Baton Rouge. The rich parts of Baton Rouge or Atlanta or Charleston are snobby compared to the rest of the region, but not as snobby as Boston or Long Island.
There's definitely a lot of cultural differences between the South and the Northeast and West when it comes to food and religion. Different religious denominations dominate in different areas and that shapes the culture of the area.
South Louisiana, while not as Catholic as in the past, is still socially very liberal and alcohol and gambling are generally socially accepted and its easy to buy beer even on Sunday. In other parts of Louisiana and the South, Baptists and Pentacostals predominate while in the Northeast its dominated by Catholics and Methodists.
The food in the South (at least the native cuisine not the chain restaurants) is VERY different from the northeast. Personally growing up on Louisiana seafood, I can hardly stand seafood in most of the rest of the country, certainly not California or the Northeast. You can probably take the most "famous" seafood restaurant in New England or the Jersey Shore and any average hole in the wall restaurant in South Louisiana would have better seafood than that. Many of us also call Red Lobster Yankee seafood and its not flavored the way we like it.
Red Lobster is like condemning Italian food because you ate at an Olive Garden. Ever been to a New England clam bake? Bonfire at the beach. Hot rocks. Seaweed. I doubt it. Ever had harpooned swordfish? Ever had cod caught that morning? Striped bass caught a couple of hours ago? I’m partial to the Jean Georges seared scallop recipe. I’m 4 miles from the largest scallop port in North America.
I ate at Ugelish’s a few times before Katrina killed it. I’ve eaten at a pretty representative selection of French Quarter restaurants. I like the cuisine but it’s designed to mask the flavor of low quality ingredients. You’ve probably never been exposed to truly fresh cold water seafood. It’s like good Italian. A small number of very fresh ingredients where they speak for themselves.
I’ve always lived in places where most people are white collar professionals from all over the world. The least religious part of the country. People travel. Your neighbors include Asians, Indians, Muslims, Jews. Everyone cares that their kids get into good colleges and get launched. It’s a very different worldview.
Red Lobster is like condemning Italian food because you ate at an Olive Garden. Ever been to a New England clam bake? Bonfire at the beach. Hot rocks. Seaweed. I doubt it. Ever had harpooned swordfish? Ever had cod caught that morning? Striped bass caught a couple of hours ago? I’m partial to the Jean Georges seared scallop recipe. I’m 4 miles from the largest scallop port in North America.
I ate at Ugelish’s a few times before Katrina killed it. I’ve eaten at a pretty representative selection of French Quarter restaurants. I like the cuisine but it’s designed to mask the flavor of low quality ingredients. You’ve probably never been exposed to truly fresh cold water seafood. It’s like good Italian. A small number of very fresh ingredients where they speak for themselves.
I’ve always lived in places where most people are white collar professionals from all over the world. The least religious part of the country. People travel. Your neighbors include Asians, Indians, Muslims, Jews. Everyone cares that their kids get into good colleges and get launched. It’s a very different worldview.
Judging Gulf seafood by what you ate at a few French Quarter restaurants is like judging Italian food because you ate at an Olive Garden.
OK I've had fresh seafood from the Gulf and I've had it from the Northeast Atlantic and I've had it from the Northwest Pacific and I've had it from the Southeast Atlantic. It's all good, in different ways. I'm actually partial to Atlantic seafood myself but that's not saying that fresh seafood from anywhere can't be delicious.
Personally, even though I am from New Orleans, I don't prefer typical "Cajun" foods. I like many of them, but it's not my favorite genre of seafood. I really, really love seafood from about the Mid Atlantic region northward.
This was one of my very favorite seafood meals - from a coupla years ago in Maine:
Several states? A pretty small sample group. Go out into the rural areas? Different regions? Holy smokes, the differences are widespread and profound in terms of music, politics, literature, manners, history, religious faith, cuisine, sports, and a host of other factors.
The difference from Cajun Louisiana to coastal Maine to urban New Jersey to Utah to Los Angeles to Hawaii to Dallas to South Carolina to Alaska is quite tangible. El Paso? New Orleans? Milwaukee? Salt Lake City? Miami? Boston? I mean, hell, even within states, the culture varies widely. Take a state such as Florida. You go from the ultraconservative Panhandle to Tampa to Miami to Key West. Go to business meetings in different regions. Visit local restaurants. Strike up conversations, or simply listen to the conversations of others. Observe the manners.
Yes, there are commonalities, but the differences should be self evident to anyone paying attention. Yes, most largish towns will have a Gap and an Olive Garden and all those other chains. But that's pretty facile stuff.
I mean, hell, every two years, we have proof of it when people walk into the voting group. Suddenly those cultural differences become glaringly apparent.
Agreed!
Yes - there is a generic American culture, but there are also regional cultures.
I live in Metro Detroit and when I go "up North" in Michigan it feels like a different planet. Rural, Upper Michigan is a lot more tied to Wisconsin/Minnesota culturally than lower Michigan. We root for the Lions - they root for the Packers! (Need I say more!) And Mackinaw Island has it's own vibe and lifestyle - no cars on the island!
West Michigan has a different feel than the Metro Detroit area. Here in the Detroit area, we don't run into a lot of Amish at Meijer like they do in West Michigan, but we have events with our Canadian neighbors all the time (which they don't). The Detroit area is also much more Catholic and Muslim than other areas in Michigan. Paczki day really isn't a thing for most in the rest of the state, but it's truly a holiday that people look forward to here in the Detroit area. It took me awhile to get my head around that when I first moved here. West Michigan tends to link itself with Chicago for news out of the "big city".
When I'm in the Midwest - it's similar to Michigan/home, but it's not home. There are distinct differences to how people behave and talk. Southern Indiana/Ohio - you can find people who have thick southern accents. (But we've all got our cornfields!) The pace of life is can slower and it takes a bit for a city dweller like myself to get into that rhythm/mindset, but it's there - that subtle difference.
I notice when I go back home (West Michigan) that a lot of the things/places that we have in the metro area can now be found there and it kind of makes me sad in a way that it's all packed with the same chains. However, once you get beyond that surface, there's still the culture that makes Kalamazoo - Kalamazoo, Michigan (the weird name, the cheering for the WMU Broncos, Theo/Stacy's, Bilbo's Pizza.......the slower pace of life/nicer drivers.....the activities that happen year after year).
Judging Gulf seafood by what you ate at a few French Quarter restaurants is like judging Italian food because you ate at an Olive Garden.
OK I've had fresh seafood from the Gulf and I've had it from the Northeast Atlantic and I've had it from the Northwest Pacific and I've had it from the Southeast Atlantic. It's all good, in different ways. I'm actually partial to Atlantic seafood myself but that's not saying that fresh seafood from anywhere can't be delicious.
Personally, even though I am from New Orleans, I don't prefer typical "Cajun" foods. I like many of them, but it's not my favorite genre of seafood. I really, really love seafood from about the Mid Atlantic region northward.
This was one of my very favorite seafood meals - from a coupla years ago in Maine:
I'm just rising to the Red Lobster troll bait. I'm always aghast at what flyover country thinks seafood is. Kind of like a real tomato vs a grocery store flavorless rock hard nitrogen bath-ripened tomato.
My favorite restaurant in New Orleans is Bayona which is pretty far removed from "Cajun".
I don't eat lobster rolls in restaurants. I'm kind-a fussy about how they're prepared. Since we're doing food pron shots:
To me, different regions can and DO encompass differences in race, religion, income, heritage, etc. I don't know that it's so easy to say "that's not due to a difference in region, but rather race...." That may be true to an extent, but when I say one region is different than another, I'm taking into account that there are most likely different ethnic makeups in those two regions.
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