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I'm usually amazed at how people react to me being from NY. I'm from the metro area, not upstate but I know how to clean, maintain and fire a rifle, I had a trapline in the woods near the railroad tracks, I can identify most of the major native plant and tree species where I grew up and everywhere I have lived, I can build and repair houses, I cut wood, etc. and these skills were learned in Westchester county of all places.
Yet, people assume that all New Yorkers are adept at little more than eating bagels and navigating NY transit.
ABQConvict
Parts of Westchester are quite rural … not surprising
New Jersey: How not disgusting it was, and how the suburbs were actually almost as nice as MetroBoston's. Hoboken also was like a whao wtf, because my best party night to date was in Hoboken. NJ was an awesome surprise. The whole negate I have is the Jersey Shore was run down a lot, I was shocked to see that for a NE beachy area (albeit Cape May and Lavalette, however). But I was shocked to have such an awesome time in NJ!
Upstate NY: I pictured Upstate NY (Syracuse-Oswego-Utica-Finger Lakes Area) to be rolling hills with cute little farms and very progressive people. I just assumed since it was New York. My first day in Upstate taught me that its heroin central and lacks quality healthcare and it was largely rundown and very conservative. I remember driving to Ithaca one day and on the way down there were atleast 20 confederate flags. I was shocked to see how depressing that area of New York was and I was severely let down. After three years in Upstate, glad to have left.
Los Angeles: How Crazy the drivers were. I thought NY, Boston and Miami had crazy drivers. I was shocked to see cars going 100mph+ on the highways, tailgating and riding a ss like we were trynna merge on i-95. LA showed me, people are in a rush... on the roads. haha. But it was definetly a cool experience.
Raleigh: Being in the South, I really had a mindset to not expect much similarities to up North. But going to Raleigh, reminded me a lot of the Merrimack River area in New Hampsire-Mass. The road designs mimicked that of the Merrimack Valley and just the landscape in general. Its not exact but it gave me those vibes... I really like Raleigh because of that.
Chicago: How underrated this massive, awesome city is. The food, people, atmosphere and vibes were all great. I love the architecture and everything in the city. Going there for the first time shocked me because I was expecting a bigger version of Philly... but instead Chicago blew me away. Seriously one of the best cities out there. Im not saying I didnt think Chicago was great before I went, I just didnt expect really any US City to be that awesome! I wish Chicago was closer to my family because Id call that awesome place home anyday!
Pittsburgh: Probably the biggest shock Ive had. I didnt know much about Pittsburgh. I thought it was a dying rustbelt ity that was depressed economically and socially. Was I wrong? 110%.Pittsburgh was a vibrant, gorgeous, hilly and attractive city for literally any age group to enjoy. I love the Dormont area too, with light rail and proximity to downtown. Pittsburgh blew me away at every corner. Nicest people in the country, no seriously... Some of the Best food. Dont @ me! Pittsburgh has a really good thing going on and I want to apply for jobs there pretty soon when my contract is up in Mass. Too bad the Steelers and Penguins play there.. >_>
NJ is not given enough credit. Everyone hates on it. I don't know why. I'm a NYer and I love NJ. Great state!
But actually … CA has freeways that are like 8-10 lanes wide … now that's crazy!
8-10 lanes on each side? Nah, there might be a few places where several freeways are merging that have that many lanes for a short stretch, but otherwise no. This one is typical. Four lanes on each side plus an appearing/vanishing exit lane:
You may have seen this image. https://www.rcinet.ca/parcourez-en/w...03/img-067.jpg. It's photoshopped. The actual freeway, which is the 405 in Los Angeles, has four northbound and five southbound lanes at that spot.
I was really surprised to find out that the mountains behind my town are higher than the highest points in 31 states. At 5600 feet, they are not at all high by West Coast standards.
You have to consider topographic prominence, not just elevation above sea level.
Where I live, there are Walmart parking lots higher than 5600 feet. No one is excited about that.
You have to consider topographic prominence, not just elevation above sea level.
Where I live, there are Walmart parking lots higher than 5600 feet. No one is excited about that.
Speaking of WalMarts with high elevations, I was recently in Flagstaff AZ and found myself, against my will, being dragged into a WalMart (an experience I try to avoid in any state).
One thing that shocked the heck out of me was that the WalMart in Flagstaff had SOLAR PANELS that also doubled as COVERED PARKING. I thought that was awesome.
We've got the "What shocked you about the US" for foreigners list on here. Since America is so big it's like being in a different country from one area to another I thought I'd start a thread for Americans about what surprised you when traveling to another part of the US.
I'll start. I'm a lifelong Kentuckian. When I went to South Carolina and SE Georgia for the first time I was shocked at why there were no farms on all that flat land - in Kentucky all flat land is cleared of forest and farmed, only creek beds and hillsides are left to forest. I actually asked someone at a restaurant if something was wrong with the land around there
When I went to Pennsylvania I was shocked that there were no name brand gas stations - everything was named "Wa Wa" or something else equally stupid. How do people up there know they're getting good name brand gas from Shell or Chevron and not lower quality stuff from Speedway or BP?
I was shocked that it was 60 degrees on the June afternoon I was at the beach in San Diego and 112 degrees in Palm Springs on the same trip.
I was shocked by how disconnected the west coast seems to be from the foundation and birthplace of the United States - that is the east coast.
Is this typical?
That's because the best place in the United States lies exactly on the left coast. Also the world revolves the Pacific ocean Andrew Jackson recognized this and knew it was essential for America to expand west to be serious.
You have to consider topographic prominence, not just elevation above sea level.
Where I live, there are Walmart parking lots higher than 5600 feet. No one is excited about that.
Yeah, but you’re at 5,300 feet so I can see why no one is excited. When you’re at/near sea level, like the poster you’re responding to in Orange County is, it’s a bit different. More impressive is that it’s still less than half as tall as the tallest mountain in Southern California is that’s only 75 miles off the coast.
Pittsburgh: Probably the biggest shock Ive had. I didnt know much about Pittsburgh. I thought it was a dying rustbelt ity that was depressed economically and socially. Was I wrong? 110%.Pittsburgh was a vibrant, gorgeous, hilly and attractive city for literally any age group to enjoy. I love the Dormont area too, with light rail and proximity to downtown. Pittsburgh blew me away at every corner. Nicest people in the country, no seriously... Some of the Best food. Dont @ me! Pittsburgh has a really good thing going on and I want to apply for jobs there pretty soon when my contract is up in Mass. Too bad the Steelers and Penguins play there.. >_>
Speaking as a Pittsburgh resident who grew up in New England, went to school in Massachusetts, and spent a lot of time in Boston, the two cities have a lot of similarities. Both are historically working-class white blue collar cities which were reborn as "eds and meds" capitols (although Boston is further along). And both are very heavily influenced by the numerous colleges located within them, functionally making large parts of the city a "college town." Both are also the core of rather decentralized metropolitan areas, with numerous smaller cities and towns stretched around the metropolitan area which are more urban than a great deal of the city proper.
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