Sunday Travel(ish) Thread: Regional Differences [Y-not]

'Been a while since we had a new thread...

In the comments this morning Mama AJ asks:

Oklahomans seemed nice when I'd encounter them in Texas. Nice is important to me.
Nice is a good start. Beyond that, my mom and I were discussing differences in "willingness to make new friends".
I don't know if differences in that are actually geographic vs. things are different these days vs. small communities vs. cities.
I'd love to know what you all think about that.

I had been thinking about similar topics this week after reading story after story about regional differences (primarily to do with Thanksgiving traditions). This is the time of year when many of us return "home" to see family, so I guess it's natural that the topic of regional differences tends to surface.

This report from last year claims to have identified the personality traits that dominate particular parts of the U.S. Here's a sample of their findings:

Creative types in the U.S. cluster in the West while friendly folk tend to stay in their hometowns in the Midwest and South, according to new research.
American-born Jason Rentfrow, a psychologist at the U.K.'s University of Cambridge, tracked the general temperaments of each state and found that people with certain personality traits tend to reside in three distinct regions.
People living in the South and Midwest were the most conventional but also the friendliest in the country, according to the study. Americans living in the West were the most relaxed and creative, while those in New England and the Mid-Atlantic were the most temperamental and uninhibited.

On a related note, I stumbled into this 2013 article about the 11 American nations:

Red states and blue states? Flyover country and the coasts? How simplistic. Colin Woodard, a reporter at the Portland Press Herald and author of several books, says North America can be broken neatly into 11 separate nation-states, where dominant cultures explain our voting behaviors and attitudes toward everything from social issues to the role of government.

Not sure I agree with the map, but it's good thread-fodder.

What makes your home state (or your favorite state, if you don't happen to be living there) special?

Try to keep it positive and avoid bashing other parts of the country. Just tell us why your state is the best and what you like about the people there.

Also, with respect to Mama AJ's question, what has been your observation about what makes people more apt to be willing to make new friends?

Open thread for chit chat.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:45 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 No way I'm first.

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at November 30, 2014 02:47 PM (oWhIO)

2 Thank you kindly!

Posted by: Mama AJ at November 30, 2014 02:47 PM (0xTsz)

3 I can only guess that other "morons" were "reading" the "content" of the post.

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at November 30, 2014 02:48 PM (oWhIO)

4
I can only guess that other "morons" were "reading" the "content" of the post.

I had to sound out the words.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at November 30, 2014 02:50 PM (UVfht)

5 The delegation from the great state of Inebriation supports the fisticuffs candidacy

Posted by: duel citizenship at November 30, 2014 02:50 PM (KG1MP)

6 I'm not surprised that Texas culture extends to southwestern Pennsylvania and other sundry place. I've always loved Pittsburgh and consider them a colder Texas.

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at November 30, 2014 02:50 PM (oWhIO)

7 My home State is Massachusetts.

It's okay.

My present State is California.

It is stuffed with all sorts of goodies, but sadly is controlled by retards and madmen these days.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 02:51 PM (MQEz6)

8 Yeah not agreeing with that map at all. Missing is the Sprawl.

Posted by: blaster at November 30, 2014 02:51 PM (Rx8ML)

9 Colin Woodard must be a public school graduate if he think Appalachians goes all the way to Texas.

Oh wait, he's from Portland? Just a stupid CA hippy.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 02:51 PM (0FSuD)

10 The Left Coast could be called Portlandia. Though including Juneau?

Nah.

I would not call any part of Texas Appalachian like, It splits probably 90% West and 10% Deep South.

Posted by: blaster at November 30, 2014 02:55 PM (Rx8ML)

11 What do you think they mean by "temperamental and uninhibited" wrt the mid-Atlantic?

Do they mean loud-mouthed?

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 02:55 PM (9BRsg)

12 Also the folks in MI do not consider themselves Yankees.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 02:56 PM (0FSuD)

13 Portlandia is a very good comedy. I don't know that all the Leftard doofuses understand that they are being made fun of. Not sure those hipster comedians recognize that they are Making fun of the Leftrad doofuses. Somehow I think they think they are sticking it to Bush and all those straights out in Jesusland.

Posted by: blaster at November 30, 2014 02:57 PM (Rx8ML)

14 My home State is Massachusetts.

It's okay.
---

Massachusetts is divided into zones: greater Boston, "central" (Springfield, Holyoke, etc; a lot of depressed/dying mfg towns), and the Berkshires. Very different characteristics imho.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 02:58 PM (9BRsg)

15 I like the county map better.

The cities distort regional trends like crazy.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 02:59 PM (MQEz6)

16 I agree that Appalachia covers a good chunk of Oklahoma, but he takes it way too far west. Lubbock? Roy, New Mexico?

Posted by: Furious George at November 30, 2014 02:59 PM (HpEBw)

17 What makes your home state (or your favorite state, if you don't happen to be living there) special?

Hookers.

Legal Hookers.

Posted by: The Nevada Hat at November 30, 2014 03:00 PM (lN8KC)

18 14 My home State is Massachusetts.

It's okay.
---

Massachusetts is divided into zones: greater Boston, "central" (Springfield, Holyoke, etc; a lot of depressed/dying mfg towns), and the Berkshires. Very different characteristics imho.
Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 02:58 PM (9BRsg)

Springfield is part of Western MA, not Central.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 03:00 PM (MQEz6)

19 In answer to your question, Mama AJ, I think we were getting close to the root of things when we were talking about communities with a lot of turnover/influx versus very stable ones. That might be more important than the size of community.

Or maybe it's the level of homogeneity. Boston always felt to me as very provincial, despite all of the universities there, perhaps b/c the universities were sort of the main industry so it is almost like a "company town"... compared to, say, a Chicago or a Houston.

Or not! What do I know?

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:01 PM (9BRsg)

20 Map is useless as far as the deep south goes. Atlanta is in the deep south and is as much like my "deep south" experience as California. These demographic studies never seem to take in to account the multiple mass migrations this nation has undergone.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at November 30, 2014 03:02 PM (4V8vO)

21 What makes Connecticut "special"??? (where I grew up)

From wherever you're are in Connecticut, you're less than 45 minutes from being the f*ck out of it. Other than that, no many redeeming qualities.

Currently spending about 1/2 time in Washington...

85% of the women under the age of 50 have tattoos... now that's "special"

Posted by: phreshone at November 30, 2014 03:03 PM (LoIJo)

22 You all Yanquis

Posted by: Bumble Bee Che at November 30, 2014 03:03 PM (KG1MP)

23 Do they mean loud-mouthed?

I thought we were supposed to keep it positive and not bash other parts of the country?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 30, 2014 03:03 PM (FS3xS)

24 The "Greater Appalachia" area is also heavily influenced by the "First Nations", to use the terminology from that article. A huge percentage of people in that area are of American Indian descent, and the Cherokee Nation (America's biggest and most prosperous Indian tribe) is based there.

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at November 30, 2014 03:04 PM (5pg79)

25 The Yanks demand regulation when it doesn't affect them, i.e. gun control.

Posted by: Blame Whom at November 30, 2014 03:04 PM (7wyDO)

26 Colin Woodard must be a public school graduate if he think Appalachians goes all the way to Texas.

Reading the Tufts article he wrote, yeah, he doesn't get out much.

Posted by: t-bird at November 30, 2014 03:05 PM (FcR7P)

27 20
Map is useless as far as the deep south goes. Atlanta is in the deep
south and is as much like my "deep south" experience as California.
These demographic studies never seem to take in to account the multiple
mass migrations this nation has undergone.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at November 30, 2014 03:02 PM (4V8vO)

True dat. Same with RDU and Chapel Hill.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:05 PM (0FSuD)

28 Here in western Washington, the condescension of the leftard boomers and hipsters toward the rest of America is overwhelming. Portlandia. But drive an hour over the Cascades to the east and it's basically just the rural West. Oregon the same. Sunny, too. Mrs. Skookumchuk is quietly looking at the real estate ads...

Posted by: Skookumchuk at November 30, 2014 03:07 PM (9tzvc)

29 How is Charlotte, NC part of "Greater Appalachia" for heaven's sake?

Posted by: An Observer at November 30, 2014 03:08 PM (KuUXi)

30 Scranton is a great state because of choo choo trains

Posted by: Joe Biden at November 30, 2014 03:10 PM (LoIJo)

31 I live here in SC because it is where my job was. The upstate portion is OK byut where I am sucks. It is a liberal town buried in the South and I hate it. I would already be gone but wifey's mother is here and she will not leave.

Posted by: Vic at November 30, 2014 03:11 PM (u9gzs)

32 #27: I have a black co-worker who took a vacation in Atlanta several years ago. He told me he couldn't wait to get back home, where there were more white people (his words), because he found everyone in Atlanta to be rude and entitled.

Posted by: Prothonotary Warbler at November 30, 2014 03:12 PM (5pg79)

33 29
How is Charlotte, NC part of "Greater Appalachia" for heaven's sake?

Posted by: An Observer at November 30, 2014 03:08 PM (KuUXi)

Gastonia, Concord and all the other mill towns surrounding CLT.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:12 PM (0FSuD)

34 They didn't seem to know what to do with Kansas and just extended a bunch of zones into it to make it as colorful as possible.

I'd put a zone from from Topeka east through Lawrence to KC and call it "maybe-a-little-lefty-land".

Next I'd put a zone around Sedgwick Co. and call it "BigScaryCityVille"

The rest is just Midwest although far western KS is pretty much indiscernible from east CO.

Posted by: BananaDream at November 30, 2014 03:12 PM (vLk7c)

35 What I like about NJ-It's a small state so within an hour and a half you can be at the beach or the rural NW part of the state which has great hiking and fishing. Close enough to visit great museums and historic sites in Philadelphia or see shows on or off Broadway Also has great old historic towns and a variety of good ethnic cuisine.

Don't ask me about the taxes and the traffic.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 30, 2014 03:12 PM (FS3xS)

36 California is the best because:

1. We have the best weather, overall, throughout the year. averaged out. No contest.

2. We have the most varied geographic diversity: coast, desert, high mountains, farmland, marsh/delta, foothills -- everything, really, except swamps, jungles and tundra. Again: no contest.

3. Best and most beaches.

4. Widest variety of people from all over the world (to the extent that "diversity" is a good thing).

5. Widest variety of food, and of good food.

6. Center of technological innovation.

7. ..and others as well.

California is the worst because:

1. Its politics are dominated by leftists.

2. Progressivism.

3. Moonbats.

4. Hypocritical liberals.

5. Entrenched corrupt crony-capitalist Democrats,

6. Marxism, overt and covert.

7. ...and every variation thereof.

Posted by: zombie at November 30, 2014 03:14 PM (K4YiS)

37 Colorado is becoming California.

From cowboys, hippies and Mez'cans living in libertarian harmony to McMansions, anonymity, and regulations.

Californians should be quarantined. And yes, I note the irony of saying that as a libertarian.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 03:15 PM (yxw0r)

38 I think he's a reporter from Portland, Maine rather than that *other* Portland.

Posted by: Sarcastic Homeschool Mom at November 30, 2014 03:15 PM (/h17O)

39 >>Springfield is part of Western MA, not Central.

I thought that until I married a guy from the Berkshires.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:16 PM (9BRsg)

40 Hah! As a citizen of the Far West, my recommendation is to immediately seize 3 or 4 ports along the Pacific coast for international import/export. Portions of the Left Coast and El Norte are about to get annexed.

Posted by: Fritz at November 30, 2014 03:16 PM (dVmLD)

41 Don't think that map is accurate at all. Looks like someone that has done some acedemic postulations but very little time traveling.

Posted by: Soona at November 30, 2014 03:16 PM (TVEB6)

42 If the USA offered to send all of its Leftists to Cuba, Cuba would say Hell no!

Cuba recently made its first baby steps back to Capitalism.

The last thing they want is a bunch of useless Commies.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 03:17 PM (MQEz6)

43 3
I can only guess that other "morons" were "reading" the "content" of the post.

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at November 30, 2014 02:48 PM (oWhIO)

Nobody told me reading would be involved.

Posted by: Killerdog at November 30, 2014 03:18 PM (vntmB)

44 I'm from Massachusetts & find Southerners much nicer, more polite & generous than people here.

For years I'd order roses from a man in SC. Vernon was a one man company. His wife found him dead from a stroke when she arrived home from work. His wife was obviously in a state of shock. At first she sent out an email to all his customers that he'd passed & she didn't know how to ship, take care of greenhouse grown roses, etc.

Then she decided to sell the inventory he had. She sent me an order & overfilled me. I sent her an email to tell her that I knew pricing system & it should be this much & unless I hear otherwise I would send check for that amount. She didn't reply & instead sent more roses to equal invoice total from week before & added an "apology rose."
I didn't want to accept it but emailed a friend of hers from NC & she told me Nancy would be insulted if I didn't accept the Rose.

Posted by: Carol at November 30, 2014 03:18 PM (sj3Ax)

45 @ 36
You know what really would have been a great place to live? Santa Barbara/Montecito/Ojai area during the 1920s-1950s.

Posted by: An Observer at November 30, 2014 03:19 PM (KuUXi)

46 Nobody told me reading would be involved.

Posted by: Killerdog at November 30, 2014 03:18 PM (vntmB)

Us eithers.

Posted by: UNC Football team at November 30, 2014 03:19 PM (0FSuD)

47 Illinois is dominated by Chicago. Chicago is dominated by organized crime, politically and otherwise.
You don't have to get far outside of Chicago to find actual living conservatives. But they are completely dominated by the democrat/marxists.

Posted by: Taqyia2Me at November 30, 2014 03:19 PM (PiGvm)

48 What I like about NJ-It's a small state so within an hour and a half you
can be at the beach or the rural NW part of the state which has great
hiking and fishing
---

One thing that I really like(d) about New England and the northeast in general is the scale of the place. And that there are still little towns with distinct personalities not far from each other. Makes for fun and relatively easy day trips.

But I love the open spaces out here in the mountain west (and southwest).

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:20 PM (9BRsg)

49 I lived in California for 6 years. Since I left I've been waiting for the completion of Lex Luthor's plan from the 1978 "Superman" movie... even if only SF and LA drop into the ocean.

Posted by: phreshone at November 30, 2014 03:20 PM (LoIJo)

50 Yeah, college towns all seem the same.
Chapel Hill, NC and Madison, WI are the same -- just one has fish fry and one has pig pickin'.

Posted by: Costanza Defense at November 30, 2014 03:21 PM (zwdxl)

51 I lived in Northern NJ in HS. Nice people, too many of them.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:21 PM (0FSuD)

52 39 >>Springfield is part of Western MA, not Central.

I thought that until I married a guy from the Berkshires.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:16 PM (9BRsg)

Ah, I see, a well-hidden schism.

Yeah, the land between Spfld and NY is unexplored wilderness as far as other MA residents are concerned.

In the Spfld area folks will tell you Central MA begins somewhere east of Palmer.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 03:21 PM (MQEz6)

53 >>I thought we were supposed to keep it positive and not bash other parts of the country?

Well, it doesn't count as bashing since I'm from there!

But, honestly, when I read that I immediately pictured Chris Christie.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:22 PM (9BRsg)

54 Posted by: zombie at November 30, 2014 03:14 PM (K4YiS)

I used to live in Northern CA. The beaches there suck. You can't even wade in the ice cold water. You have to go South of LA before you get semi-warm water.

Groceries are cheap but everything else is high as hell. And housing is insane. The old apartment I had in union city is now renting for 2,000/month and that is 35 miles south of Oakland. Don't even ask about buying a house there.

Posted by: Vic at November 30, 2014 03:22 PM (u9gzs)

55 Posted by: zombie at November 30, 2014 03:14 PM (K4YiS)

Why, Dennis Prager, I didn't know you posted here?
;^)

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 30, 2014 03:22 PM (FS3xS)

56 Yeah, the land between Spfld and NY is unexplored wilderness as far as other MA residents are concerned.

In the Spfld area folks will tell you Central MA begins somewhere east of Palmer.
--

Too true!

Most of my family is from Chicopee-Holyoke-Springfield. So, as I said, I was surprised to learn that they weren't Western MA.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:23 PM (9BRsg)

57 >>Or maybe it's the level of homogeneity. Boston always felt to me as very provincial, despite all of the universities there

Philly and surrounding areas have lots of colleges, too, but the neighborhoods are...not diverse. It's a mix. Which I guess makes it...diverse.

*head explodes*

Posted by: Mama AJ at November 30, 2014 03:23 PM (0xTsz)

58 I like east coast beaches. Smaller waves, but I'm not a surfer so doesn't bother me. And the water isn't so cold you get instant hypothermia without a wetsuit.

Posted by: Costanza Defense at November 30, 2014 03:25 PM (zwdxl)

59 West coast beaches are more spectacular to look, that's true.

Posted by: Costanza Defense at November 30, 2014 03:25 PM (zwdxl)

60 >>I didn't want to accept it but emailed a friend of hers from NC & she told me Nancy would be insulted if I didn't accept the Rose.

That sounds about right.

I got hugged by my plumber's wife last month. Long story leading up to why, but it makes me laugh because that's probably not the plumbing experience most people have.

Posted by: Mama AJ at November 30, 2014 03:26 PM (0xTsz)

61 NYC is the most provincial place I have ever lived.

They still go to meat markets, have no Wal Marts and think it's cool to go to a parade every week for some group.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:26 PM (0FSuD)

62 >>I got hugged by my plumber's wife last month.

Did he snake you pipes?! ;-)

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:27 PM (9BRsg)

63 Looks like The Panthers are going to fuck up another one.

We suck.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:27 PM (0FSuD)

64 56 Yeah, the land between Spfld and NY is unexplored wilderness as far as other MA residents are concerned.

In the Spfld area folks will tell you Central MA begins somewhere east of Palmer.
--

Too true!

Most of my family is from Chicopee-Holyoke-Springfield. So, as I said, I was surprised to learn that they weren't Western MA.
Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:23 PM (9BRsg)

No kidding! I'm from Springfield.

Springfield would be a much nicer place if it didn't rest on its laurels and insist on itself so much.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 03:28 PM (MQEz6)

65 Taqyia2Me,
Boston is same, we have conservatives here too. That's one of reasons Scott Brown wasn't reelected to Senate, he dissapointmented too many of us.
It was a fluke that he won because special election was in January & he had more support than probably any senate candidate at same time in history. People from the entire country donated to him, but he voted with Ds too often for most.
I voted for him in 2012 but didn't do anything to help as I did in 2010.
I didn't make phone calls, give $, or anything else.

Someone showed up, unannounced & put a Brown sign in my yard w/o asking.

Posted by: Carol at November 30, 2014 03:28 PM (sj3Ax)

66 The rest is just Midwest although far western KS is pretty much indiscernible from east CO.
Posted by: BananaDream

The Kansas Outback is an interesting blend of Far West and El Norte. Definitely not the Midlands. You can drive through open range country to get to a barn dance being played by a Norteno band.

Posted by: Furious George at November 30, 2014 03:29 PM (HpEBw)

67
Springfield would be a much nicer place if it didn't rest on its laurels and insist on itself so much.

Posted by: eman at November 30, 2014 03:28 PM (MQEz6)

Won't that pretty much describe all of MA?

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:29 PM (0FSuD)

68 North Dakota - we've got oil (even with falling prices), we've got food, we have cold weather and best of all - we have very few people. Population is even going back to "normal" because all the carpetbaggers that came for the boom are LEAVING! There is an upside to falling oil prices in adition to lower gas prices. This is the 5th oil boom/bust in my lifetime coming none too soon.

Posted by: oldgeezer at November 30, 2014 03:30 PM (+uiwA)

69 Of all the places I've lived, I'd still put Houston tops and that's the despite the gawdawful weather and lack of natural beauty. It was the best mix of livability/affordability, things to do, and likable/interesting people.

I loved Chicago when I lived there, but that was when we were first married and had no possessions. So we just enjoyed the city. To try to live there as a homeowner would probably be too difficult -- unless we had huge buckets of cash.

California may have a lot, but it was too hard to take advantage of it b/c living was just too stressful (jobs, economy, traffic). I can have sunny weather in the mountain west or southwest without those downsides.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:31 PM (9BRsg)

70 In my experience as a second-shift telemarketer (yeah, I'm still looking for a job), southerners are the most courteous and will listen before they tell you now. As the night wears on, and I'm having to call the West Coast, they do get ruder and ruder.

Did not get one single yes when I was calling the Bronx either.

Posted by: Bretzysdude at November 30, 2014 03:31 PM (M4OHn)

71 @68

You left out the pheasant hunting!

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:31 PM (0FSuD)

72 What makes your home state special?

I didn't know there was going to be a test today. Let me take a guess. Is it because I live there?

No? Ok, then how about #Ferguson?

Posted by: olddog in mo at November 30, 2014 03:32 PM (6hrmc)

73 *before they tell you no

Posted by: Bretzysdude at November 30, 2014 03:32 PM (M4OHn)

74 >>Did he snake you pipes?! ;-)

LOL.

Posted by: Mama AJ at November 30, 2014 03:32 PM (0xTsz)

75 In my experience as a second-shift telemarketer (yeah, I'm still looking
for a job), southerners are the most courteous and will listen before
they tell you now.
---

Bretzy -
What stage of your career are you in at this point -- early, mid, or late? What's your background?

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:34 PM (9BRsg)

76 Why do I buy these stupid Panther's tickets. They have had one, maybe two good seasons in 20 years.

Not a good percentage.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:34 PM (0FSuD)

77 61
NYC is the most provincial place I have ever lived.

They still go to meat markets, have no Wal Marts and think it's cool to go to a parade every week for some group.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:26 PM (0FSuD)

Thing that struck me about NYC is how tribalist it was...and that was back in the late 70s, early 80s. A boss could hire or promote someone, and everyone wanted to know if he/she was part of their particular clan, and would keep score if he/she wasn't.

Hardly a melting pot. A lot of different oils and a lot of different waters. 'Course, from what I hear, Brooklyn is now a lot of vinegar and water, but that's another story.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 03:34 PM (yxw0r)

78 It's a pretty great country, I have to say. There's usually something nice about any community you might find yourself in.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:35 PM (9BRsg)

79 Gaming thread up, btw.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:37 PM (9BRsg)

80 Gaming thread up, btw.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 03:37 PM (9BRsg)

sorry for the stomp, didn't see this up

Posted by: The Dude at November 30, 2014 03:38 PM (SyKbw)

81 @77

Good take on the place. Going up Thursday for the weekend. I'll go to the same bar, the same restaurant and the same club I have been going to for 30 years.

And yes they all remember you. My bartender who has not seen me in two years will pour me my favorite drink when I arrive without asking.

I, of course, will tip him very well.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:38 PM (0FSuD)

82

I've found nice people in every state.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at November 30, 2014 03:40 PM (IXrOn)

83 I have lived all over the country but the only place I have ever hated and could not wait to get out of was Bremerton, WA. There was only only day that I lived there that it did not rain. My transportation was a motorcycle.

Posted by: Vic at November 30, 2014 03:40 PM (u9gzs)

84 Fox announcer says Panther's coach will be telling his team how disappointed in them he is after this loss.

Fucking rocket scientist. Probably an old UNC player?

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:41 PM (0FSuD)

85 75

In my early 40's. Had most experience with vb6, c, SQL. Not sure if I want to go back to programming or put my marketing degree to use and do data research.

Posted by: bretzysdude at November 30, 2014 03:41 PM (M4OHn)

86 I've found nice people in every state.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at November 30, 2014 03:40 PM (IXrOn)

True dat. People usually are just as nice to you as you are to them.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:41 PM (0FSuD)

87 I have a dubious honor of sharing a hometown with Cankles, Park Ridge Illinois. It was a great place to grow up in the 60s-80, can't think of any better. Would not live there now if you put a gun to my head.

Extreme suburban Atlanta is now home, and I would be hard pressed to move, unless it was to Texas.

Posted by: ManWithNoParty at November 30, 2014 03:42 PM (/RpVl)

88 After moving to the Kansas/Nebraska hinterlands, I can tell say:
- some slack jawed yokels (weird staring when you walk into the hardware store), but generally Midwest nice
- these people are giants...definitely something to being "corn fed"
- the area is hollowing out; lots of old people and not too many kids coming back

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at November 30, 2014 03:44 PM (Dhdnu)

89 I've found nice people in every state.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at November 30, 2014 03:40 PM (IXrOn)

Troofiness.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 03:44 PM (yxw0r)

90 Panther's to lose their SIXTH straight game.

Boy, I bet the coach is going to be disappointed.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 30, 2014 03:45 PM (0FSuD)

91 >>Colorado is becoming California.

To true!

Native Coloradans, or at least ones who grew up here (as opposed to transplants) are quite friendly. My hubby, a MA native, was put off at first - didn't want to converse with strangers all the time - until he picked up that it's just friendly chi-chat, not invasive/too sharey-touchy-feely conversations.

Posted by: Lizzy at November 30, 2014 03:52 PM (ABcz/)

92 Everyone I have met from Ohio has been crazy. Either all Ohioans are crazy, or the crazy ones are driven out.

Posted by: toby928(C) has drink taken at November 30, 2014 03:53 PM (rwI+c)

93 People move around so much these days that regional differences are evaporating.

Posted by: The 1980s are back at November 30, 2014 03:54 PM (0LHZx)

94 I used to work for a western-sports organization. We had a few events at Madison Square Garden.

Funny...you could walk through town in a loincloth and a 6-foot green mohawk, and no one would give you a second look.

Walk through town in a cowboy hat and boots, and it's like you have six eyes and 14 arms.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 03:54 PM (yxw0r)

95 When I went to college in MA I initially found people to be much more brusque. Didn't help that they, A]talked much faster, and B]had a different idea of personal space, i.e. get much closer. Had a friend point out that, hey, they're more honest - they'll tell you to f%$# off if that's what they're feeling, no patience for that fake friendliness. Guess it's a matter of what you're used to.

Posted by: Lizzy at November 30, 2014 03:57 PM (ABcz/)

96 I've noticed that cons seem to care a lot more about specific states than libs. For libs there's the "good" states and the "bad" states. But within those two camps, they don't really care if you come from California or Oregon or Mass. You come from a "good" state and that's what matters. Likewise if you come from Kansas or Oklahoma, you're from a "bad" state and it doesn't matter which one it is.

But cons will spend an hour telling you why Oklahoma is different than Kansas.

Also I've noticed when reading articles by cons, often times the state's identification is mentioned, like the Nutmeg state or the Sunshine state. Liberal authors never do this.

Goes back to the idea that states don't mean anything to libs since the federal govt is supreme while the opposite is true for cons.

Posted by: The 1980s are back at November 30, 2014 03:58 PM (0LHZx)

97 No problem, dude. I was going yo put it up later but there was a gap in posts so it went up sooner.

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at November 30, 2014 03:58 PM (9BRsg)

98 Food thread up.

Posted by: olddog in mo at November 30, 2014 03:59 PM (6hrmc)

99

36 36 California is the best because:

3. Best and most beaches.

Nope. Water temp...

Posted by: Destin Tourism Board at November 30, 2014 03:59 PM (4DCSq)

100 Ugh sock

Posted by: Mr. Moo Moo at November 30, 2014 04:01 PM (0LHZx)

101 I have lived all over the country but the only place I have ever hated and could not wait to get out of was Bremerton, WA. There was only only day that I lived there that it did not rain. My transportation was a motorcycle.

Posted by: Vic at November 30, 2014 03:40 PM (u9gzs)

Well, you could not have lived there for very long, then. It rains a lot, but not constantly. And that's a feature, not a bug. We are completely drought-resistant.

I live about 30 miles southwest of Bremerton, in the middle of a small second-growth forest (about 125 acres) of which I own a good chunk. It is cold but sunny today, and I intend to take the dogs on a nice walk through the back country. After having lived in CA, IL, DE, PA and CA again, this is by far my favorite part of the country. The air is clean and it is quiet.

Best of all, even at the height of summer it is not oppressively hot. I have a portable air conditioner on wheels (looks liked of like R2D2) that I usually deploy only about 2 days per year.

Also, no state income tax.

Posted by: CQD at November 30, 2014 04:02 PM (tcvYF)

102 Hardly a melting pot. A lot of different oils and a lot of different waters. 'Course, from what I hear, Brooklyn is now a lot of vinegar and water, but that's another story.
Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 03:34 PM (yxw0r)

____________

All big liberal cities are like that. Lots of talk of diversity, inclusion etc. But go out on a Friday night to an upscale restaurant and every table will be white people OR non-white people. As segregated a society (outside of work) as 1950s Deep South.

Posted by: Mr. Moo Moo at November 30, 2014 04:04 PM (0LHZx)

103 In my early 40's. Had most experience with vb6, c, SQL. Not sure if I
want to go back to programming or put my marketing degree to use and do
data research.
--

Ooh, nice combo. Look into development/fundraising. You could be a natural for alumni relations or annual fund or maybe even prospect research. The SQL background would be a big plus, but the fact that you're able to do phone work makes you very annual fund oriented. Tends to be a data-driven type of fundraising.

Only question would be salary requirements etc since you'd be new to the field, but people with the data skills plus a "softer" skill like marketing are somewhat hard to find.

Where are you? You could take a Fundraising School course (general one on development) and see if you liked it and network. Indiana University School of Philanthropy is the best one. They hold classes across the country.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 04:04 PM (9BRsg)

104 Native Coloradans, or at least ones who grew up here
(as opposed to transplants) are quite friendly. My hubby, a MA native,
was put off at first - didn't want to converse with strangers all the
time - until he picked up that it's just friendly chi-chat, not
invasive/too sharey-touchy-feely conversations.

Posted by: Lizzy at November 30, 2014 03:52 PM (ABcz/)

The pickup truck pulled over to help the spun-out SUV always belongs to a native Coloradan (or at least someone who "gets it"). The Californians just assume the gubment will take care of her and drive on, staying on their Bluetooth conversation with the contractor to make sure their new granite counter tops are on schedule. Gah. I'm almost willing to put up with Wyoming weather.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 04:05 PM (yxw0r)

105 Also, no state income tax.
Posted by: CQD at November 30, 2014 04:02 PM (tcvYF)

___________

Sure but an insanely high sales tax and even more ridiculously high property tax high gas tax, etc. I live on the other side of the state, so I know of which I speak.

The savings from a lack of income tax is more than made up by higher taxes everywhere else.

I agree with the weather though. Winters are gray and wet and dreary. But from around May to October, you can't beat the Pacific NW weather.

Posted by: Mr. Moo Moo at November 30, 2014 04:08 PM (0LHZx)

106 Link to fundraising school courses in my nick.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 04:12 PM (9BRsg)

107 >>Walk through town in a cowboy hat and boots, and it's like you have six eyes and 14 arms.

If you strip down to your skivvies and play a guitar you can make a pretty good buck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLcy5Qd4s5s

Posted by: JackStraw at November 30, 2014 04:13 PM (g1DWB)

108 I love California! I just wish the psycho liberals and the illegal aliens undocumented workers non-citizen voters would move elsewhere. The weather is temperate; I'm 3 hours from beautiful beaches, the gorgeous redwood forests, or an hour from the scenic foothills. The big cities are close enough for me to catch a symphony or musical, but far enough away that my small city has a more conservative city council. I know Sacramento is the center of craziness, and it would be cost-effective to leave the state, but I find I'm addicted to my home state.

Posted by: California Girl at November 30, 2014 04:14 PM (l+qoZ)

109 I had family in Atlanta in the 90's, and every visit I found that people there were just the friendliest I've ever experienced.

Posted by: Lizzy at November 30, 2014 04:15 PM (ABcz/)

110 I'm in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania. We used to be overwhelmingly conservative. I remember lining up to vote for Reagan's reelection and all my neighbors saying to the wife and me, "You're late" as they ALL stood in line before me. Last time I checked Obama got 50% of the vote in my little town. It's heading wrong, and quickly.

Eventually I'll be heading further south. Picked out a community in NC over the summer. When I espoused my political philosophy to the realtor and she said, "You sound like my husband, and everybody else who lives here" I was pretty sure I found my next home. Now all I have to do is find a two income family of brain surgeons who can afford to heat this place and pay the properly taxes.

Posted by: Emotional Support Pig at November 30, 2014 04:16 PM (zxQ4h)

111 I've found folks to be friendly just about everywhere.

Midwesterners in general, and Michiganders in particular, are nice and polite but keep that arm-and-six which I appreciate. I assume it's a holdover from their predominantly Teutonic/Scandi heritage. I don't need people invading my space.

The only place I experienced some tension was in Hawaii, where they pride themselves on being multiculti. It's less of a melting pot and more of a crazy salad. Haoles will marry just about any ethnic flavor but the groups themselves seem to break along ethnic lines.

For all the time I've spent in Maryland I still feel like a transient bum, and I do enjoy ripping into my adopted state, but I must say Marylanders are a pretty decent lot.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 30, 2014 04:16 PM (QBm1P)

112 >>I must say Marylanders are a pretty decent lot

I was back in MD in the spring for a family thing and I was pleasantly surprised by how quick people were to make eye contact and say hello.

I'm a friendly, gregarious person, but I hadn't remembered my hometown being that way. Maybe it always was and I'd forgotten.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 04:20 PM (9BRsg)

113
If you strip down to your skivvies and play a guitar you can make a pretty good buck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLcy5Qd4s5s

Posted by: JackStraw at November 30, 2014 04:13 PM (g1DWB)

No one wants to see that.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at November 30, 2014 04:20 PM (yxw0r)

114 it would be cost-effective to leave the state, but I find I'm addicted to my home state
---

Yeah, if you're a native, I imagine it would be harder to leave.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 04:21 PM (9BRsg)

115 This map has been done before, and better. "The Nine Nation of North America" by Joel Garreau 1981.

Garreau is now a professor at Arizona State. There was a New York Times article about the old book just this July.

Google it. Wikipedia has an article about it too.

Garreau had a better fit for Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit as part of the "Rustbelt" than putting Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota as Yankees...

I fortunately now live in Bakersfield, California, which can only be correctly understood if one realizes that it is where the Grapes of Wrath ended.

Texas and Oklahoma accents are common here, country music is popular. Hard work is respected and people are pretty friendly.

The always-interesting Zombie lives in California too, but thankfully, in a completely different world.

Posted by: Bill Lever at November 30, 2014 04:22 PM (l3M2g)

116 Grocery prices have increased more than anything in past few years.

Posted by: Carol at November 30, 2014 04:31 PM (sj3Ax)

117 I grew up in Northern California, but could never go back.

I do miss banana slugs...

Posted by: Yes, I Know the Way to San Jose at November 30, 2014 04:31 PM (4DCSq)

118 SPAMMER

Posted by: VeronikaMa at November 30, 2014 04:53 PM (TQz0K)

119 108
Posted by: California Girl at November 30, 2014 04:14 PM (l+qoZ)

I wish they all could be California girls.

Posted by: The Beach Boys at November 30, 2014 05:15 PM (sdi6R)

120 SPAMMER

Posted by: VeronikaMa at November 30, 2014 05:15 PM (TQz0K)

121 What a wonderful country. Sometimes I wonder if we deserve it.

Posted by: redenzo at November 30, 2014 05:18 PM (WCnJW)

122 Grew up in DFW area in the 70s and 80s. Spent 95 - 2005 or so in Austin. Spent two years in Kansas City. Have now lived in northern Virginia for about eight years.

We've also driven through most of the country on various road trips.

One thing I find interesting is that as a Texan I have never considered myself a southerner. I love Texas. We miss Austin and all the food there. But we do know it's just about outgrown its britches in the past decade.

You will be hard pressed to find a more diverse area than Northern Virginia. There is also lots of turnover here due to so many military people. Even down in our little blue collar neighborhood there are people from all over the world.

We've found that people are nice everywhere, but I love the people of Texas the most.

It's a stunningly beautiful country, too.

Posted by: Beth at November 30, 2014 05:27 PM (kiy9d)

123 North, East, and West are directions. The South is a place.

Posted by: Libra at November 30, 2014 05:28 PM (GblmV)

124 I love the Midwest. I love Wisconsin. I just hate the winters. Which means about 8 months of the year I'm miserable.

Posted by: grammie winger at November 30, 2014 05:36 PM (3B+O8)

125 SPAMMER

Posted by: VeronikaMa at November 30, 2014 06:05 PM (yZ/48)

126 SPAMMER

Posted by: VeronikaMa at November 30, 2014 06:05 PM (yZ/48)

127 Illinois is dominated by Chicago. Chicago is dominated by organized crime, politically and otherwise.
You don't have to get far outside of Chicago to find actual living conservatives. But they are completely dominated by the democrat/marxists.

DuPage county (where I live, and the reason I live here) is heavily Republican, but the dems keep on encroaching.

Posted by: Cicero Skip at November 30, 2014 06:07 PM (FIrEF)

128 also I think Illinois might hold the record for most governors that went to prison. Chicago should be up there with number of city councilmen that went to prison.

Posted by: Cicero Skip at November 30, 2014 06:10 PM (FIrEF)

129 Grammie Winger.
I love Wisconsin in the summer,where the summer home is. I do not mind winter as long as I do not have to work outside for a living.

Posted by: Cicero Skip at November 30, 2014 06:12 PM (FIrEF)

130 CQD have you read The River Why or John Irving's short stories?

Posted by: beth at November 30, 2014 06:14 PM (kiy9d)

131 Oops.I meant David James Duncan.

Posted by: beth at November 30, 2014 06:28 PM (kiy9d)

132 I don't think Texas has much to do with the South - and I realized this during my last service TDY, to Gulfport MS.
Mississippi - the coastal bits were very charming, and friendly, and laid-back, languid, even. If it weren't for the casinos along the coast between Gulfport there's be no place open after 5 PM on a weekday. The best bit grocery store in town was a sleepy, somnolent warehouse o' food at 6PM - but in Texas, it would have been the busiest hour of the day. I suspected that there were sedatives in the water supply or something, and I kept biting back an impulse to slap them and scream "Wake up!" Which I didn't, because the locals were friendly and charming, and languid and laid-back. It wasn't the heat, even. The heat and humidity wasn't anything compared to Texas. But Texas hustles, in comparison. No way is it deep South. So the map has got that right, anyway.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 30, 2014 06:42 PM (95iDF)

133 Yeah, I don't think of Texas as the South, either.

Posted by: Y-not at November 30, 2014 06:47 PM (9BRsg)

134 We recently spent five days in Nashville. That seemed to me a great Southern city.

Posted by: beth at November 30, 2014 06:57 PM (kiy9d)

135 I lost a special needs nephew in the spring. They'd lived in WA, OR, CA (Palm Springs), upscale 'burb of Denver. My sis said that Texas, where they ended up, had the worst state programs and the best people.
Nobody would mock these unfortunates, she said. The nearest redneck would kill you and the prosecutor wouldn't bother with the case, on account of the jury he could expect to find.

Posted by: Richard Aubrey at November 30, 2014 07:03 PM (Q/3mX)

136 22 years in the Navy, so here's my rating of best places to live, and when to live there.
1. East Texas (now)
2. Mid- South Carolina 50's/60's
3. Jacksonville Florida/Tidewater Virginia (Navy Tie) 70's/90's
4. Mississippi/Louisiana Gulf (drinking times)
5. Oil Kingdoms '05
It should be noted that I took the South with me wherever I went. It's in my blood.

Posted by: Erowmero at November 30, 2014 07:23 PM (go5uR)

137 Woodard mixed Garreau's Nine Nations conceit with a heavy helping of Fischer's Albion's Seed cultural research and then doused the entire project in a caustic wash of Puritanical loathing for the rest of the country. His book isn't really readable, although he does have some points under all the bile and hatred. You'll encounter many of the same points in political books like Trende's The Lost Majority without all of Woodard's narcissistic provincialism.

Posted by: Mitch H. at December 01, 2014 01:24 PM (jwKxK)

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