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I had considered that, but it does get a bit grinding after awhile. Maybe I should restrict my observations to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, but there just aren't that many foreigners here.
I suppose my main complaint is that people almost always just use that accent-observation as a launching off point to start a monologue about their trip to London/Slovakia/Sydney: rarely is it just a conversation opener of the sort you describe. That does get a bit tedious after awhile.
This might be due to the fact that the town is dominated by the university, which is massively homogeneous.
chwboy
Hm. I could understand your frustration in that regard if all they do is talk about themselves. Have you considered that maybe people who do this most are the ones who haven't had the good fortune of being able to travel abroad very much? It sounds like you've had many more opportunities than the average person to live in many different places. Perhaps when people find out where you've lived, that piques their interest in places they wish they could go. Maybe I'm just trying to look at it from a positive side, though. Everyone's different. My fiance traveled abroad last year and visited many far flung towns and villages literally on the other side of the planet. We happened to meet a few people recently from one of those towns, and they were shocked to hear he knew of their hometown, much less that he had actually been there. They seemed to enjoy talking to him about different places he had been. But this case was definitely a give and take rather than monologue.
I read your original post, and while I certainly agree wholeheartedly with you about transit in this region, I still think it is unreasonable to compare the Triangle to cities like NYC and DC.
It is not uncommon for an area such as the Triangle to not have decent transit in the US. In fact, several major US cities have miserable jokes for transit, if they have any at all (my hometown of Miami, FL comes to mind). The good thing is that there are Triangle residents who recognize the benefit that transit would bring to the region, and many people are talking about it and trying to create and support possible solutions. It is just a matter of convincing the old school local and state leaders to join the 21st century in that regard. I think it will happen eventually...hopefully sooner than later.
As for the "interesting" people comment, it really doesn't mean much unless you explain what you consider "interesting" people. Instead it just sounds like you don't get out much. I've met plenty of interesting people (including foreigners), as well as people who do not interest me, but that doesn't mean they aren't interesting to someone. It seems to me that the area actually has more interesting people for its size than I would ordinarily expect. I know that Raleigh has a growing community of artists and musicians, as does Durham (I admittedly am not that familiar with Chapel Hill), not to mention that a decent segment of the population is highly educated and we have three major universities, bringing us scientists, researchers and others who are at the top of their fields.
To me, the area is not overrated considering what I was hoping to get out of it. I lived in an area my whole life that I consider overrated because I didn't get out of it as much as I put in, but many people think it's paradise. So, it all depends on what an individual is expecting. If someone thinks the "Best of..." lists are the gospel, well, I don't really know what to say to that. I don't let lists, media, or other people tell me what I should or should not like, I determine that on my own.
If someone comes here expecting a cheaper version of where they live, or a combination of the absolute best things of other cities with a lower price tag and "warm" winters, they've been reading too many magazines.
To me, something that is overrated is something that is given value when it really has no value, for example, Paris Hilton. Otherwise, we are just talking about individuals' opinions. But that's just how I look at it.
I think the issue for CHwboy is where he chose to live. He is at the outer edge of the Triangle, so everything is a fair distance away. There is also not much in the way of diversity there and to be honest, not much to do. I just think he picked the wrong location to live.
I think the issue for CHwboy is where he chose to live. He is at the outer edge of the Triangle, so everything is a fair distance away. There is also not much in the way of diversity there and to be honest, not much to do. I just think he picked the wrong location to live.
You might be right about that -- but hard to do anything else when a grad student at UNC!
You might be right about that -- but hard to do anything else when a grad student at UNC!
And the traffic is horrendous.
chwboy
I don't know how people can stand the traffic way out that way, but you have to do what you have to do. Hang in there until you get done with everything, then maybe give better located Triangle areas a shot.
"overrated" is an "understatment" Just look at the sticky "Triangle Happenings, February 2010" 8 replies, a couple of reapeats and most not more exiting than watching paint dry (in my very subjective opinion)
I must say I'd be interested in hearing some elaboration on this one. Never heard that one before except for by....you know who. (Not suggesting you are him; though I do believe you hale from the same state)
LOL im not charletondude!
i think the triangle area, except for the top 10 list crowd, is almost unknown. people think of golf, "the south" (i.e. hicks and bible thumpers), and maybe the airport/rtp. when i told people i was moving down here from MA, i got either "oh thats a nice area, my ____ lives there" or "WHY?! you mean you're moving to the SOUTH?" which says to me at least half the people outside the triangle think it's crappy. and i don't think it is. it has its own unique issues, but they're a lot better and fewer than the unique issues that Worcester, MA has. i love it here, and it's because of the new and developing downtown stuff, the nice weather, the scenery, and perhaps because it's still an adventure 9 months after moving here.
That's another whole question: "Is North Carolina stereotyped by those who don't live here?"
And the answer is a big yes on that one. (We're all Jerry Springer guests.)
Quote:
i think the triangle area, except for the top 10 list crowd, is almost unknown. people think of golf, "the south" (i.e. hicks and bible thumpers), and maybe the airport/rtp. when i told people i was moving down here from MA, i got either "oh thats a nice area, my ____ lives there" or "WHY?! you mean you're moving to the SOUTH?" which says to me at least half the people outside the triangle think it's crappy. and i don't think it is. it has its own unique issues, but they're a lot better and fewer than the unique issues that Worcester, MA has. i love it here, and it's because of the new and developing downtown stuff, the nice weather, the scenery, and perhaps because it's still an adventure 9 months after moving here.
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