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Again, well said Honey. It all comes down to the WHY one moves from urban/suburban to rural-again Chatham, Kinderhook, Goshen is NOT rural in my mind.....We looked there before we settled here-it was just another suburban area with a little more land! The area is lovely-no criticizing from me-but I had to LAUGH wondering what they would do here
It seems like the motives that made them move are quite popular now, and folks like us and you Honey, etc. have relocated for other reason with other motivations. We nned to remember this was New York Mag. and the audience probably has the exact motives as the author. We are not the audience, we are older than the author, more seasoned in terms of life and career, and it took us a lot longer to get here than it did the new Citiots-in their 20s and 30s. Hopefully, the article will make some take pause and reassess whether they should hit the burbs instead of rural, because frankly I don't think they will find what they are looking for. But, it is bang for buck, which I think is one of the true motives-I state a gain buyiong a too-big, too-old house that they can fancy up and show off to their city friends. Somehow I read that between the lines with the constant, my friends are fixing up 5,600 sq. ft. 1898 Victorian homes stuff. Remember several years ago there was an article about the Catskills being the new Hamptons, with Brad and Jennifer, and Kelsey Grammer, and DiNiro coming up. Some did-Frazier can still be seen in town in the summer. Brad and Jennifer never made it
I think that article was good and I respect the authors honesty about having her doubts about making it in a whole different environment. As most of you have noted upstate NY is a diferent type of environment than NYC, and if the shoes were reversed and some of you were moving downstate Im sure some of the same insecurities and fears would arise. Living in Queens NY I find the "citiots" to be a little offensive but I guess its no worse than when I here someone down here refering to upstate folks as "hicks".. I also agree 100% with everyone that said the motive is the key point on wether or not a person moving from downstate will adjust/enjoy a move to a upstate area.. I think anyone from down here that moves upstate just for a bargain and bragging rites is out of his (or her) mind!!! Sure its an incentative, but theres gotta be more to it than that....Personally my wife and I are considering an upstate move for lots of reasons: 1.We love the outdoors (and I love winter). 2.We have family and friends up there (some are new others born there). 3. There seems to be an incredible sense of community in a lot of towns,while most of the city people dont seem to support each other or give a crap about the neighborhood. I hope that if and when we do make the move that we will be lucky enough to find good friends (and our children) that can one day will consider us as equals and not outsiders and we can add to the local community that we are in.
Looks like you revived this somewhat dormant thread. Some of the downstaters and "Jerseyites" who have relocated to our area have truly become "locals". Others....car alarms still being set out in the middle of a farming area, annoyance at the slower pace(traffic lights, stores,etc..), avoidance of casual talk or a friendly greeting....
It's alive!! Great post Tioga and the same thing here where we are! You certainly know when Thursday rolls around as the weekenders begin to arrive! And many of us new transplants have maintained the weekender mentality but many of us have blended right in. Again, I think it all boils down to motivation and reasons for relocating.
Northeastcouple, it sounds like your reasons for considering a move are solid ones. It really does not matter what made you make the decision as much as what your mentality is once you arrive. If you respect the locals and their ways, particpate and contribute to the town and community, and SLOW down-in the car, in the stores, at the gas station, etc., it will allow you to see the relaxed and community-oriented nature of many towns north of Duchess If you are your true good self and WANT to be part of a community I don't think you will have any problems in "find good friends (and our children) that can one day will consider us as equals and not outsiders and we can add to the local community that we are in."
Happy friday all-it is one spectacular day up here in the Southern-tier, I hope it is as well where you are!
Yeah i stumbled on this thread and i figured hey why not charm in...Thanks to both of you so much for your positive feed back. I laughed about the "alarm thing" it reminds me of paranoid neighbors that have 3 of them on each car, yet when they go off no one seems to even look their way because we are so used to ten going off every other minute, kind of like the boy who cried wolf, one to many times..!!! Personally I am looking forward to a slower pace (even though I know it will take time)and a chance to enjoy the day for a change. I never understood any of the people that move out of the city only to bring with them the all the kaotic craziness that they so much talked about escaping, whats the point??!! Also besides upper Dutchess and Columbia, can anyone tell me about Rensslaer County? THANKS AGAIN!!!
Just discovered this old thread! Fun article! Of course, the rivalry between the two "types"-- homegrown country vs. city slicker transplant-- breeds some resentment expressed here in name-calling-- "citiots"
City, rural, or suburb- there are always warm, accepting people open to different people of all stripes and experience, and uptight people who like their own corner and hold firm to a local identity (be it urban or rural) as a way of keeping others on the outs.
Alright, I live in Western NY and I must say this article is a joke if you think that is what life is like here. I live near a wide variety of colleges and universities and in a neighborhood of very educated individuals (masters and PhDs among us). I live in a brand new development that sits six minutes from "civilization"- ie big box stores, starbucks, parks, dining establishments, on of MANY Nationally acclaimed grocery stores (Wegmans) and a bunch of congestion in terms of traffic... our schools are some of the best with amazing test scores and very involved teachers with a variety of extra curriculars. Perhaps this individual didn't do the appropriate research prior to moving to such a remote and dismal location (18 minutes to a Target and several Farm Stands!). I believe that is where the stupidity lies. It is a shame they have branded all of Upstate as uneducated and remote due to that one experience. It is also a shame, and a fantastic example of generalizing, how such an article can create a stream of followers to believe the same only because it is in print. I do not understand the problems NYC dwellers have with their Upstate Counterparts. Many of the ProNYC Goers have not stepped foot West of the Hudson in order to compare ALL of NY. NYS is rather LARGE and the array of towns and people are quite different in each area... it would be nice to see a better representation of Upsate than an article like this.
Just read the article. I lived in Columbia Country till into my 30's (early 90's). There was always a clash between the "woodchucks" as we were called and the "city birds"--as they were called. I think these names were around as long as I can remember.
I found the article arrogant, but what was interesting is--I doubt she would characterize it in that way. It's permeated through the article. Oozing arrogance, sometimes dripping.
Just because many people in the county don't have BA's, MA's or PhD's doesn't mean anything more than they don't have BA's, MA's or PhD's. It doesn't qualify them as stupid or ignorant. I know lots of people with degrees, education, whatever that are frankly not that bright or obviously bright. Everyone has different ways to evaluate such things.
When I lived in Columbia County (I've lived in Florida and now here in the larger metro Phoenix), I didn't think much about these things. I had a life and lived it. There were many people from all walks of life living there. My best friend's family, down the street, were a family of musicians and teachers. One kid went to Juliard. Next door might be a machinist, by occupation. After all, what people do for a living is only one part of the person. People are multi-faceted and there might be a part of the person,aside from vocation where two people hit it off. We had a sheriff across the street, an IBM'er across from our house, a teacher's aide down the street, a librarian over on the corner... I loved the mix of people. I miss it so much. It keeps life real.
All of the folks in this particular area were pretty "good" neighbors, as far as noise, clutter, etc. House's next to each other, but alot of respect for each other.
We didn't have a Starbuck's (of course they weren't conceived yet..) or a Barne's and Noble (we had the local bookstore) or alot of other type places, yet there was a saaviness there and within the landscape of living there that was so much more "superior" than other places I've lived.
The west out here is a whole different ball of wax and I couldn't begin to compare it. Sufficient to say, NY'ers from almost anywhere are more worldly and saavy than many other groups.
The local farmers in Columbia County were some of the most grounded (literally and figuretively) people I knew. They weren't by any means "dumb" people. One family we knew the father was a lawyer, the mother an local historian, the one son a musician and the other had his own business (nursery). This kind of defines what Columbia County was when I lived there. Ecclectic and interesting and real.
As far as shoveling your sidewalk and driveway for "4 hours" and it "being an ordeal." Oh my God--is she real?? If you can't figure out the right tools, you're pretty, well, I don't want to use the word, stu*id, but my god. More likely, she felt it below her--If you have this attitude of being "above" fixing things yourself, doing any manual labor and having to think of how to make a pot of coffee, without a Starbuck's next to you. Whewie. You do have some issues to work on.
Being in a more rural area gives you more space, and time to look at yourself--maybe as you really are, because there are less distractions around. I think her chickens are coming home to roost, both literally (ha) and metaphorically.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 06-10-2008 at 10:18 AM..
Reason: spelling
I thought it was very funny especially the parts where she refers to falling down houses as mansions. With wires hanging down from the walls I'm surprised the places weren't condemned. Apparently they didn't realize the fire safety issue involved. And pulling a roof off the house in the middle of winter for renovations - priceless.
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