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Old 12-21-2020, 06:44 PM
 
Location: Baltimore
21,428 posts, read 12,394,780 times
Reputation: 11108

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston Shudra View Post
This is more than a bit exaggerated. Places like Barre, North Adams, Hadley, Monson, Great Barrington etc. are way less rust-belty than Lowell. Not to say that western and central MA don’t have their Lowells (hello Southbridge, Holyoke, and Pittsfield).
Please don’t do this...

Don’t sit here and cherry pick when the gist of what he’s saying is obviously true and not exaggerated. 6 more towns doesn’t mean most of Massachusetts isn’t like that. Most of Massachusetts is covered in mud and snow for 8 months a year and then full of bugs fro 4 months. Add to this the poor infrastructure, inefficient governments, parochialism, old worn look and irrelevant town centers and yea- the majority of MA towns have a nasty vibe similar to much of CT and RI. In general I’d say CT towns feel a bit more manicured actually except NE CT.
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Old 12-21-2020, 07:19 PM
 
13,942 posts, read 14,818,105 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Marcinkiewicz View Post
Huge fan of this post. My brother went to grad school at UMass-Lowell and was entirely naive about what Lowell was like...he had this 'idealized New England' vision in his mind when in actuality it was comparable to certain not-so-nice places near Buffalo, where we're from. He actually ended up dropping out, in no small part because he didn't like Lowell itself.
I think Lowell in general is pretty nice. It feels a bit rundown because it’s much older than basically any city in the country (including “old” cities like St Louis and Pittsburgh)since it peaked in like 1910 then declined and came back to roughly its 1910 population.

I’m surprised someone from Upstate New York was turned off by Lowell because it’s basically like a 1/2 scale Rochester only with a University Downtown instead on the edge of town, and with less violent crime. (Waterfall 1/3rd scale) Buffalo and Worcester have very similar vibes as well. But Massachusetts has more ethnic flavor than Upstate generally.
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Old 12-21-2020, 08:09 PM
 
Location: Bergen County, New Jersey
11,972 posts, read 7,714,784 times
Reputation: 9929
MA, VT and CT in general... are way more manicured or polished than any other rural areas in states like NY, PA, WV, VA...
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Old 12-21-2020, 08:40 PM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,246 posts, read 10,489,726 times
Reputation: 8758
Quote:
Originally Posted by masssachoicetts View Post
MA, VT and CT in general... are way more manicured or polished than any other rural areas in states like NY, PA, WV, VA...
I will agree that rural New England, as a general rule, tends to have more pockets of wealth compared to rural areas in most of America overall, mostly due its long-time attraction of "monied" folks to resort towns and the like.

But way more polished/manicured? I'm not necessarily sure about that. Like everywhere else, it really comes down to each locale.

You can find story-book charm in towns like Wellsboro, PA or Cooperstown, NY.

You can also find plenty of not-so-storybook-y pockets of New England, like, say in Torrington, CT or Rutland, VT.

Cherry-picked examples? Yes, but not as random as you'd think.
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Old 12-21-2020, 09:01 PM
 
Location: Bergen County, New Jersey
11,972 posts, read 7,714,784 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duderino View Post
I will agree that rural New England, as a general rule, tends to have more pockets of wealth compared to rural areas in most of America overall, mostly due its long-time attraction of "monied" folks to resort towns and the like.

But way more polished/manicured? I'm not necessarily sure about that. Like everywhere else, it really comes down to each locale.

You can find story-book charm in towns like Wellsboro, PA or Cooperstown, NY.

You can also find plenty of not-so-storybook-y pockets of New England, like, say in Torrington, CT or Rutland, VT.

Cherry-picked examples? Yes, but not as random as you'd think.
Its a noticeable difference. But of course blight does exist in VT MA CT like in Rutland and Pittsfield.. and Florida MA.

I just don't see how Western MA (OUtside the Berkshires), Vermont and NW CT have more pockets of wealth than most of Upstate NY. Upstate NY did exceptionally well during the Depression and during the 40s, 50s, and 60s.. and in recent years, have a lot of colleges like Cornell, Colgate, Union, all the SUNYs, Syracuse, Rochester, Ithaca, etc...
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Old 12-21-2020, 11:29 PM
 
Location: Earth
1,529 posts, read 1,713,574 times
Reputation: 1877
For those of you who think that people from Mass/Boston wear their homestate/town pride wherever they go (even forums), the fact that this thread alone has posters named Massachoicetts, btownboss4, BostonBornMassMade, BostonShudra and MassNative2891 probably won't change that stereotype.

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Old 12-21-2020, 11:43 PM
 
Location: Medfid
6,777 posts, read 5,911,819 times
Reputation: 5207
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade View Post
Please don’t do this...

Don’t sit here and cherry pick when the gist of what he’s saying is obviously true and not exaggerated. 6 more towns doesn’t mean most of Massachusetts isn’t like that. Most of Massachusetts is covered in mud and snow for 8 months a year and then full of bugs fro 4 months. Add to this the poor infrastructure, inefficient governments, parochialism, old worn look and irrelevant town centers and yea- the majority of MA towns have a nasty vibe similar to much of CT and RI. In general I’d say CT towns feel a bit more manicured actually except NE CT.
Dude, I'm not cherry picking. Wait. That's a lie.

I was cherry picking the most urban of MA's least urban towns and cities.

For every Lowell, there are at least 5 Floridas. :|

And Florida isn't exactly "manicured", but it's still nothing like Lowell. The two are "trashy" in different ways.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bolehboleh View Post
For those of you who think that people from Mass/Boston wear their homestate/town pride wherever they go (even forums), the fact that this thread alone has posters named Massachoicetts, btownboss4, BostonBornMassMade, BostonShudra and MassNative2891 probably won't change that stereotype.

But (at least on this thread) I think we're the ones dunking on MA the most. There's an important distinction between "loyalty" and "pride". At least for me, the former is more relevant. I think there's a lot that's great about Boston, Mass, and New England. However, there's a lot of evil too. I'd like to see the good bits get better, but I'm not exactly holding my breath.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade View Post
Last time I was in Boston I heard a DJ call herself “it’s Katiria aka ya favorite Boston Baked Bean!” the woman called herself a baked bean just to rep Boston. It’s different.
I wonder if she was baked when she said that.

Last edited by Boston Shudra; 12-22-2020 at 12:45 AM..
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Old 12-21-2020, 11:50 PM
 
Location: Baltimore
21,428 posts, read 12,394,780 times
Reputation: 11108
Quote:
Originally Posted by bolehboleh View Post
For those of you who think that people from Mass/Boston wear their homestate/town pride wherever they go (even forums), the fact that this thread alone has posters named Massachoicetts, btownboss4, BostonBornMassMade, BostonShudra and MassNative2891 probably won't change that stereotype.

Last time I was in Boston I heard a DJ call herself “it’s Katiria aka ya favorite Boston Baked Bean!” the woman called herself a baked bean just to rep Boston. It’s different.
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Old 12-21-2020, 11:51 PM
 
3,332 posts, read 3,659,134 times
Reputation: 2633
For big cities I've lived in

DC - everyone is government. Only 80% true. Lots of people on the arts, hospitality etc....
Chicago - its awful during winters. Only 99.9% true
SF - its overrun by techbros. Not really bc SF is beyond tech with lotsbog banking, bio & retail HQs
Atlanta - its urban. False 100%. It has urban pockets that all require a car ride travel....
NYC - people are rude. False.. people in NYC are the most open to starting dialoage with random folk.
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Old 12-22-2020, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Earth
1,529 posts, read 1,713,574 times
Reputation: 1877
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston Shudra View Post
But (at least on this thread) I think we're the ones dunking on MA the most. There's an important distinction between "loyalty" and "pride". At least for me, the former is more relevant. I think there's a lot that's great about Boston, Mass, and New England. However, there's a lot of evil too. I'd like to see the good bits get better, but I'm not exactly holding my breath.
And that's fine. I miss a little Mass-style self-deprecation. It's paht of our chahm.
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