S/o: cultural differences that surprised you when traveling to other states

[LucyStoner]

The threads on culture shock between countries got me thinking how blown away I am by little cultural differences even within the US. What have you observed?

 

Mine:

 

-Where I live, you put the cart back in the cart return or suffer the wrath of those around you. I was shocked when in central Florida to see carts strewn all over the parking lots. I did a double take when I noticed there were not even cart returns at a lot of stores. I was baffled then I realized why- all of those parking lots are flat. Here, few lots are flat. If you leave a cart out here it will roll away and damage a car. There, it's not moving unless someone hits it.

 

-Here you do not talk to people you don't know so much. I am always pleasantly surprised to travel and have people strike up conversations with me on transit or when walking etc. I know I am home when people uncomfortably glance away in public places.

 

-I was really doing double takes at all of the very well dressed people in the heat of downtown Chicago in July. I wondered where all these people in suits were going and then it hit me that I live in a city where the only people who wear suits daily are pretty much suit salesmen. Even lawyers and bankers here will only wear nicer suits on certain days- court, presentation. Most common outfit of white collar workers here is casual Fridays or less other places.

[Ibbygirl]

I haven't traveled too much within the US, but I went up north (East coast) for the first time 2 years ago. I was most surprised I think when I went to New York City. Up til then I had only ever seen it in movies and on tv. I always imagined it would be HUGE with tall buildings towering up all around. I was really surprised by how close everything is. I would walk down one street and suddenly there is Broadway, or Times Square. I always figured these places were really far away from each other. I never realized how everything in Manhattan is just blocks away. I also didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I always figured that NYC with the buildings towering up would make me feel closed in and claustrophobic, but I didn't feel that way at all. I really loved the intricacies in the architecture and how varied it was throughout the city. I went on a Sunday and there were some streets closed off (barricaded) and they had all these food stands there. It was fun to go to one cart and the other and get little bits of things to try. The only downside was that it was spendy, but I would totally go back again someday. :)

 

The only other thing I find strange, happens to be a Southern thing which I've always seen growing up, but never understood. Boiled peanuts. Seriously does anyone eat these things?? LOL There are boiled peanut stands all over the place in Alabama and Georgia and yet I never EVER have seen a single person buying them. :lol:

[Onceuponatime]

kind of silly- When we went to NH for a family reunion, our family and my brother's family noticed that they have a different style of hot dog bun that we don't usually see in the south. All the northerners were astonished that we couldn't buy those kind of buns in our grocery stores. :-)

[SKL]

The only other thing I find strange, happens to be a Southern thing which I've always seen growing up, but never understood. Boiled peanuts. Seriously does anyone eat these things?? LOL There are boiled peanut stands all over the place in Alabama and Georgia and yet I never EVER have seen a single person buying them. :lol:

 

Decades ago I was dating a guy who had previously gone to school in Atlanta and we drove down there to visit his old buddies. Along the drive we saw all those boiled peanuts and decided to buy some. He went and bought two bags of them (probably over a pound each). THEN he expected me to eat half of them! I mean, a handful is OK, but a whole bag!? We both ended up throwing most of them away after struggling for a couple of days.

 

So now you've sorta met someone who's bought and eaten boiled peanuts. :D

[Onceuponatime]

My boiled peanut story:

 

As a military brat in Florida, I had never heard of boiled peanuts. A friend of mine bought some at a local quick stop and we went to the play ground. We sat on the merry go round and ate boiled peanuts. I tried to like them. Did I mention that I suffer from motion sickness and we were on a merry go round? I had to run home. Today, just the thought of a boiled peanut makes me nautious.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Onceuponatime

[hsbaby]

We moved from CA to TN 8 years ago. Here's what stood out to me:

-People wave to you here (especially driving through subdivisions and back roads)

-there is very little graffiti on freeway signs

- our neighbors all came over to introduce themselves

-people bring you meals for everything!!!

-everyone knows where you live based on the name of your subdivision (I don't even know the name of any subdivision where we lived in CA)

[SKL]

Here are some that have been "new experiences" on a first trip to some places.

 

• Nobody really looks casual in New York City. (Except me, when I visit - and I get looked at as if I were a bag lady.)
  
• A luxury hotel room in NYC is as big as a walk-in closet in the Midwest.
  
• In NYC, at dinner time, there is always stinky garbage piled up in front of the restaurants. Appetizing.
  
• In some cities, you never go long without hearing a siren. You never go one second without hearing cars (if your window is open). Even at 3am. I can tell who's in a big city during a conference call by how often I hear sirens whizzing by.
  
• People taaalllk rreeeeeeaal sloooow in the south. Way fastr inthnorth.
  
• Different places have different levels of tolerance for children. Also, a lady hollered at my kid in DC for running on the sidewalk. (She assumed she was going to run into the street.)
  
• Once I went to McD's in DC and the staff could not understand English, nor Spanish. I think Chinese might have worked. Folks attending the conference with me were quite surprised that it was so hard to order a McD's burger in the US capital city.
  
• Beggars have a different MO in different cities.
  
• My ex-boss from DC lived in a very expensive townhouse that was so small, his kids had to sleep in the living room. He drove a very expensive sports car (and paid an arm and a leg to park it). He couldn't understand why I wouldn't want to move to DC to advance my career.
  
• In Florida and Texas, I've heard the comment that it feels like you're in a different country, since so many people don't speak English.
  
• The more diverse an area, the more racism appears in the general population. Seems logic would have it the other way around.
  
• In Alaska they celebrated Christmas in August, since most folks don't stay up there year-round (or so they tell me).
  
• In LA it is scary to use mass transportation. Our friends tried dropping us off at the bus station and we were nearly mugged by some self-employed "window washers." They keep change in the car so they are ready to pay off whoever may accost them during their travels.
  
• The tolerance for religious expression varies greatly by region.
  
• In the right-to-work states, the foreign language signs at the airports are in Japanese, not Spanish.
  
• In Nevada, even outside the big casinos, people stand all night playing on gambling machines. It's so depressing to see - these are clearly poor people, getting more poor by the minute. And people wonder why I oppose bringing casinos into my county.
  

This is fun, but I'd better stop, because I could probably do this all day!

[Carrie12345]

You can't get good pizza outside of NY/NJ.

Good bagels are almost impossible to find outside of NY/NJ. My podunk town did get a Brooklyn Bagels, which has been enough to satisfy me.

 

One of the biggest changes for me, coming from suburban NJ to semi-rural PA is about land lots. Before settling for the house we purchased, we bought a 1/2 acre lot and were planning to build. I spent hours dreaming up how I would use "so much" land. Turns out, the expectation around here is to save every tree possible, clearing only enough for the house and septic mound (also a new thing to me - in NJ, septic stuff is ALL below-ground.

I have 1.24 acres and about the same amount of open space I had growing up in NJ on a .10acre lot. It took a while, but I've come to embrace this way of doing things.

 

People who come in and clear cut or near-clear cut have zero chance of making friends.

[Carrie12345]

Hah, funny. I don't like the pizza in NY as much as the pizza in CT. :D

 

Blasphemer!

[Mommyfaithe]

How many fast food restaurants are down south.

Also, how little fresh food is available.....aren't the farms there??

[Onceuponatime]

How many fast food restaurants are down south.

Also, how little fresh food is available.....aren't the farms there??

 

This is a pet peeve of mine. Why in the world do we get fruit from California when we grow it right here?!!!! Why is the zucchini from Mexico? For goodness sakes, I have gardening friends with zucchini coming out their ears. A cucumber in the summer should not cost an arm and a leg.

 

I think part of the problem is many small farms have been taken over by commercial enterprises to grow corn, cotton, and soybeans. However, things are getting better in my area. More farmers markets and u-pick places are becoming popular. People will buy fresh food if they can find it.

[Caroline]

Smoking! Where I grew up, people didn't smoke out in public. Here, in the Atlanta area, they smoke everywhere--outside pools, outside malls, outside restaurants, in bars, at tennis courts,near soccer fields, outside schools (like just off the grounds)...

 

The other thing I see here is luxury vehicles. I grew up in an affluent area, but people didn't drive status symbol cars. Down here, people drive expensive cars. It's like an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in the soccer parking lot.

[Mommyfaithe]

This is a pet peeve of mine. Why in the world do we get fruit from California when we grow it right here?!!!! Why is the zucchini from Mexico? For goodness sakes, I have gardening friends with zucchini coming out their ears. A cucumber in the summer should not cost an arm and a leg.

 

I think part of the problem is many small farms have been taken over by commercial enterprises to grow corn, cotton, and soybeans. However, things are getting better in my area. More farmers markets and u-pick places are becoming popular. People will buy fresh food if they can find it.

 

:iagree:

We have lots of family down south....Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Florida, Georgia etc....and they all have ghastly eating habits:tongue_smilie: It actually makes it difficult to visit....and it is NOT a family thing....because it is many different relatives from my side and dh's side...and our cultures are very different. Dd spent 6 weeks with dh's cousin in North Carolina.....and could not wait to come home and eat something that was not frozen first or deep fried! The kid ate salads and fruit for days! Lol:D

 

We would pass these huge farms...and buy peaches and veggies on our road trips....yummmmy!!! But, it seems everyone local eats at fast food restaurants or out of the freezer....which happens to be my pet peeve:glare:

 

Also, a weird thing I noticed about California when we were there.....Santa Monica Area....DOGS are welcome everywhere! Kids are NOT!

[TravelingChris]

I have not only visited a lot of places, but lived in a lot of places. Some thoughts-

 

DC suburbs- very high achieving population. Homeschoolers there are much, much less likely to be slackers. In the area I lived in, success and high achievement was the norm. That was our norm everywhere but it was interesting to be in an area where it was everyone's norm,

 

Albuquerque and probably all of NM- Very different culture- long, long history of Spanish in the area and lots of use of spanish terms for geography and cultural references including folk stories to warn children about playing in arroyos (normally dry creek beds that became deadly water torrents when the rain falls miles away on some mountains. They direct water from the mountain to the valley and will kill someone who is in them during a rain event somewhere else). Also very different traditions for Christmas, fall, and Easter.

 

Coastal Florida island- everybody spoke English around here. The lifestyle was much, much more relaxed. Perfectly normal to wear nice flip flops just about anywhere. Clothing is more casual but still quite nice for things like church- so bright t shirts without sayings and bright skirt are regular clothes for church year round. Just a very pleasant slower lifestyle.

 

Huntsville AL- not the typical Southern town but with Southern touches- so even transplants adopt some customs. The accents here are very mild even with the Southerners. There is a huge difference in educational levels, dress and habits of the local Huntsville and close suburb population and the out of towners who come in for medical services and other services not available in their rural and very small town areas. Much more obvious difference than in other areas where rural populations also came like Albuquerque and Sacramento. Other differences- police directing traffic at church services, everyone stopping their car for a funeral procession, much more extended family mentions- I am constantly told by slight acquaintances about all sorts of family members.

 

Now mind you, I am talking about my experiences- as a person who always chooses to live in upscale, community oriented neighborhoods- not McMansion land and not working class areas,

[Heidi]

I grew up in GA, living in AL now, but going out west to Utah I was amazed by how beautiful the people are compared to the South. They are generally healthier, thinner, wear nicer clothing, more stylish clothing, hair, makeup, etc.

 

I love boiled peanuts, btw.

[dangermom]

I am on a visit in Utah right now. We went into a Walmart to get some needed supplies--guess which kid forgot to pack undies or socks even when reminded to several times? It was a clean and pleasant store! Very strange. I think that must be almost unique.

[Wheres Toto]

Definitely the food differences - no good bagels outside of NY/NJ and no taylor ham at all down south. And what is the deal with chicken fried steak? Is it chicken or is it steak? Whenever I'm down south I'm surprised how much food is fried, especially the vegetables.

 

In NJ, I'm used to 24 hour diners so you can ALWAYS find a place to eat that's not fast food, that wasn't the case in a lot of other places.

 

Stores closed on Sundays. We have one or two counties in NJ that still have blue laws but mostly every place is open on Sunday.

 

There's lot of diversity here with race/nationality and religion but it doesn't seem to be an issue with the majority of people. Nobody looks twice at someone wear a sari or a hijab (although I think this may be less so in south Jersey judging by dh's family).

 

We have strict gun laws so it is strange to see random people walking around with guns other places.

 

We have lots of farm stands, especially in south Jersey, which surprised me compared to other southern states. Like a PP said, aren't more things grown there? But I wouldn't want to leave Jersey tomatoes and Jersey corn even if the season is shorter. Yum.

 

Smoking in public places. Not allowed anymore in NJ so we don't have to worry about asking for the non-smoking section. It always throws me off when we are other places and people are smoking in a restaurant.

 

I mentioned in the other thread, that people seem to have a preconception of NJ that is completely wrong.

[NatashainDFW]

Chicken fried steak is cube steak battered and fried like fried chicken. Top with gravy and a side of mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and green beans is one of my absolute favorite dinners.

[Momling]

Lots more obese folks in the middle and south, fewer on coasts.

 

More agressive driving in the Northeast (NY, NJ, CT, MA) than Northwest (OR, WA, AK) . Pedestrians there don't seem to have the right of way - even in cross walks. Also more trash on the ground... And worse customer service.

 

Dreyers vs Edys

Best Foods vs Helmans

Carl's Jr vs Hardee's

[Meriwether]

We went to the LA area last month. It has such a different climate than than the Midwest. It was hot, hot, hot while we were there but not humid at all. I love when a place has a general syle. Even the chain stores had local architecture. When we drove from LA to San Diego, there were often flowering bushs in the road divider. In town, there were walls along the road. Traffic was bad. I'm used to calculating one minute to the mile for driving, but that wasn't happening there. Everything was right there. There were three targets in a three mile radius. Even when I move back to our nearest city next month, I'll be ten miles to Target and 6 or so from anything similar.

 

Where my IL's live it is very important to have nice vehicles, but housing isn't nearly as important. The vehicles parked in front of the house were often worth more than the house. It was interesting when we got married, because Dh wanted a nice vehicle and I wanted a nice house (as in, in good repair).

 

As we've lived in different areas, I've enjoyed seeing places that were settled by different groups. We are in Dutch country up here. My kids are pretty fair (their Dad is 3/4 Swede), but they definitely stand out here in a sea of white-blond and redheaded kids. There is also a Reformed Church in each little town (our very small town has at least 3 or 4) and some bonus ones in the country. Other areas we have lived have been predominantly Lutheran or Catholic.

 

Here in the midwest we usually give directions using # of miles and n, s, e, and w. I tried to give directions to some extended family who stopped in last week, and they had such a hard time with the directions. In PA, the roads follow natural features more or were designed around existing farms so they curve all over the place instead of being laid out in 1 mile blocks. I remember some cousins visting and they kept saying it was just like a checked table cloth.

 

Traffic is very different here. I can drive for 15 minutes on a four lane highway and not see any other cars. In a one hour drive I might meet less than twenty cars. Depending on the time and day I might meet 100, but I can pretty much drive straight where I want to go and only switch lanes a couple of times. I won't pull out if I see another car coming in the distance because I don't want to slow them down. When I've ridden with people in other places, they zip out as soon as there is a small break in traffic because they might not get another chance anytime soon.

 

More people camp in this area than in other areas we've lived in. I don't know if it is a cultural thing or if it is due to local geography. There are many lakes and the summers tend to be a little cooler.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Meriwether

[lea1]

Many of the differences I thought of have already been mentioned. How about the driving differences?

 

In the northeastern cities it is expected that people will honk their horn at someone if they are not happy with how that someone is driving. People were much more impatient with others (everyone is in a hurry) and you better be paying attention when the light turns because, if you wait in one second longer than what is expected, they will honk at you.

 

People are also much more likely to try very hard to not allow others to merge or cut-in to a line of cars. I lived in the N.E. for many years and I really had to readjust my driving habits when I moved back to Texas & Oklahoma. Here, people wave you into a line of cars with a welcoming kind of wave. When I stop at a 4 way stop, people will wave for me to go ahead before them, even if they stopped first. Nobody hardly ever honks their horn, unless someone else is almost ready to run into them. If you honk your horn at someone here, they are offended. In the N.E. it was just the norm. I can remember being in Boston and NYC and hearing the car horns constantly.

[TheReader]

Not from traveling exactly, but we met a person here who is from California. She and I were chatting, and I said something about us liking Harry Potter, and then made a comment about "...you aren't anti-HP, are you?" or something like that.

 

She looked at me like I had two heads, so I explained the rampant anti-Harry Potter situation in the part of Texas where I lived, and among conservative hs'ers in general, and how we actually knew people who wouldn't let their kids read it or even play with kids who were allowed to read it.

 

She was shocked to hear it; I was surprised to learn this was something within my own little bubble.

[Wheres Toto]

Not from traveling exactly, but we met a person here who is from California. She and I were chatting, and I said something about us liking Harry Potter, and then made a comment about "...you aren't anti-HP, are you?" or something like that.

 

She looked at me like I had two heads, so I explained the rampant anti-Harry Potter situation in the part of Texas where I lived, and among conservative hs'ers in general, and how we actually knew people who wouldn't let their kids read it or even play with kids who were allowed to read it.

 

She was shocked to hear it; I was surprised to learn this was something within my own little bubble.

 

There's a lot of things like that that I never heard of anywhere but on this board. Much less judgement about what you watch, what you read, what you wear, what you..... around here, from what I can tell. eta: Maybe because it's impossible to assume what religion the person next to you follows, even when you are sitting in a church. The top religions in NJ are Catholic and Jewish (#3 is atheist, although I don't consider it a religion).

[Dory]

I don't want any of this to sound insulting as I love visiting the US but as I've traveled from state to state these are a few of the things that made those states stick in my mind. It's not all cultural, but some of it is.

 

Arizona- pleasant and fairly clean. And before I had visited it I hadn't realized how much nice horseflesh they had.

Oregon-if I ever had to live there I'd end up diagnosed with a seasonal disorder from all the rain.

Utah-everyone seemed to have a baby. I was going through some big baby withdrawal after going through that state.

Texas-very dirty, and a lot of the people seemed to live in their own little world, although I have some very good friends there.

Tennessee- people were shocked that I had walked a few miles. There was a distinct lack of sidewalks in Cleveland. In Chatanooga, people were shouting to each other across the streets, the traffic was wild, and it was overall just very noisy.

Kentucky- gorgeous countryside!

Georgia-the vegetation growing above ground because of the high humidity was really odd to me. And rather pretty. Everything was green, I don't mean just where green was suppose to be. I'm not even completely sure what color tree trunks are there.

North and South Dakota- does the wind ever stop?!

 

 

I found throughout the southern states that the food was a little overwhelming to me, and the prices of everything were soooo much cheaper with a larger selection.

I can't remember any distinct differences that made the other states pop out in my mind and I haven't been to any of the states along the eastern side.

[Meriwether]

North and South Dakota- does the wind ever stop?!

 

 

 

When Mom and Dad got married, they moved to Oklahoma where my IL's were living. At the wedding, Grandma asked Mom if the wind bothered her. Mom had only lived in PA and CO and couldn't imagine why wind would bother someone. Grandma was so relieved that Mom didn't mind the wind - and Mom didn't even know what wind was at that point. When Grammy used to visit us in Kansas, she said we had "good air". She liked the wind just fine.:D

[dangermom]

When we drove from LA to San Diego, there were often flowering bushs in the road divider.

That's the way highways used to be in CA--pink and white oleander bushes in the medians. Where the roads have had to be widened, the bushes have gone, but they were everywhere when I was a kid. My town still has them, which makes me happy. :)

[fairfarmhand]

We moved from CA to TN 8 years ago. Here's what stood out to me:

-People wave to you here (especially driving through subdivisions and back roads)

-there is very little graffiti on freeway signs

- our neighbors all came over to introduce themselves

-people bring you meals for everything!!!

-everyone knows where you live based on the name of your subdivision (I don't even know the name of any subdivision where we lived in CA)

:iagree: This is the way it is where I am!

 

How many fast food restaurants are down south.

Also, how little fresh food is available.....aren't the farms there??

 

I think that must be regional. I've had no trouble here where I am, but alot depends on the cook. You have to know where to get that stuff.

 

Chicken fried steak is cube steak battered and fried like fried chicken. Top with gravy and a side of mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and green beans is one of my absolute favorite dinners.

this is supper tonight!

 

I don't want any of this to sound insulting as I love visiting the US but as I've traveled from state to state these are a few of the things that made those states stick in my mind. It's not all cultural, but some of it is.

 

 

 

Georgia-the vegetation growing above ground because of the high humidity was really odd to me. And rather pretty. Everything was green, I don't mean just where green was suppose to be. I'm not even completely sure what color tree trunks are there.

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

that stuff is called kudzu and it is the bane of Georgia. It grows litereally overnight, and is considered a noxious weed.

[Meriwether]

That's the way highways used to be in CA--pink and white oleander bushes in the medians. Where the roads have had to be widened, the bushes have gone, but they were everywhere when I was a kid. My town still has them, which makes me happy. :)

 

They were beautiful. They were on Dd2's side of the van, and she seemed to think they had been planted just for her. She'd say, "Look at MY flowers!" The roads often had artwork on the walls, too. Just a very appealing style.

[Rebel Yell]

I'm probably going to get run out of town for this- I am NOT a sports fan, and while I wish no ill on the city football team or their supporters, I just.don't.care and never wear black & gold.

 

I've noticed rabid sports fans here seems to wear nothing but football colors- jackets, jerseys, sweats, hats, gloves, scarves, the works. TO WORK! They go home and sit on their team-color/logo recliner, wrapped up in their logo throw. And that's just the tip of the iceberg... and not even during football season!

 

I have never seen quite so much all at once on fans in other states.

 

And as much as I want to, I know it won't end well if I try to correct the grammar on this popular shirt... and yes, it is worn proudly with no editing of the expletives: :ack2:

"If you ain't a Steelers fan, you ain't $#!+ "

So... if you *are* a fan, you know what that makes you, right? (*NOT* my opinion, just the grammar logic of the shirt.) :leaving:

[sarah1615]

We moved from TX to upstate NY. Everyone around here raves about hotdogs called Texas Hots. They're plain wienies topped with a watery sauce of ground hamburger. I've tried to tell them that Texans don't usually put plain, non spiced burger meat on their hot dogs.

The food here is extremely bland. People raved about "salt potatoes", asking us a hundred times if we'd tried them. Let's see--they're small potatoes boiled in salt water. That's it! Then we waited for the early spring festival of gathering wild leeks from the forest. From what we heard, it was supposed to be out of this world! Wild leeks-- just a glorified, over hyped onion taste.

Mexican restaurants are rare. I really miss them. Grocery store aisles are very narrow(even Wegmans) and the lighting is different, sort of golden instead of bright. I miss Krogers and HEB.

 

I'm originally from the Central upstate NY area, but now live in Western upstate NY and I do not understand that "Boss Sauce" on hotdogs. It's quite strange! I will have to disagree about the salt potatoes though!!! They are awesome! You missed the key to salt potatoes and that is the melted butter that you smother them with! And Wegmans is the best! I have been to other grocery stores (in NY and down south) and there is just no comparison to Wegmans!

[SKL]

I'm probably going to get run out of town for this- I am NOT a sports fan, and while I wish no ill on the city football team or their supporters, I just.don't.care and never wear black & gold.

 

I've noticed rabid sports fans here seems to wear nothing but football colors- jackets, jerseys, sweats, hats, gloves, scarves, the works. TO WORK! They go home and sit on their team-color/logo recliner, wrapped up in their logo throw. And that's just the tip of the iceberg... and not even during football season!

 

I have never seen quite so much all at once on fans in other states.

 

And as much as I want to, I know it won't end well if I try to correct the grammar on this popular shirt... and yes, it is worn proudly with no editing of the expletives: :ack2:

"If you ain't a Steelers fan, you ain't $#!+ "

So... if you *are* a fan, you know what that makes you, right? (*NOT* my opinion, just the grammar logic of the shirt.) :leaving:

 

I'm from Browns country, and before the sale of the old Browns team (now decades ago) we had a really big rivalry going. Once my sister and I drove to Pittsburgh with a friend who was from a foreign country. It was on the day of a Browns-Steelers game (though that was not our destination) and we were in Browns clothing. The way we were talking, my friend was afraid we were going to encounter deadly violence as we approached Three Rivers Stadium. :lol:

[LostSurprise]

You can't get good pizza outside of NY/NJ.

 

 

Clearly you've never been to Lou Malnati's, Great Lake, or Spacca Napoli.

 

I only spent a few days in NYC and I can make pizza better than the 2 slices I ate in that time period. I know there's better out there if I go back. You should know that too.

[justLisa]

It is illegal to smoke everywhere here, and I never realized how much I have grown to hate the smell of that stench until I go some place else.

 

I have been to a few states that seem to be over the top crazy about sports teams. I feel like tell them "hello, you're not the one hitting the ball." I don't get the obsession with sports teams/players in general but some places are more extreme than others.

 

I don't know I find this so interesting, but here the streets are blacktop. Other places that get very hot look like side walk. I guess it melts.

[LibraryLover]

I visit FL frequently, and sometimes drive. I love driving through the south, and in my mind Waffle House is destination #1 once, I get into South Carolina. I don't even like fast food restaurants, and the food there is not even that great. But walking in...I love it. "Hi Honey, can I get you some coffee?" Just like we're old friends. Right away, I am "Yes, Ma'am & Thank you, Ma'am." There is something so great about that. lol And me such a Yankee. Flying is not the same, as so much of FL isn't very Southern. You miss all the interesting in between.

 

When I drive through WV, I always make sure to list to John Denver's Country Roads a few times. I love stopping in Georgia for tomatoes and peaches etc. on the way home. Those roadside stands get me every time. The beach communities of the Carolinas. That expanse of ocean is gorgeous. It's the same thrill I get when I visit Cape Cod Historical National Seashore. Endless ocean. (Hate the traffic to get to the cape.)

 

NYC is great, and I especially enjoy various parts of Brooklyn. I like how you can see the casual artists and the designer divas, all in the same area. I always feel comfortable there. I just wear black. No problem. lol My favorite thing to do is walk through the park, from John Lennon's Imagine Memorial, towards the carousel, and then up to the Park Plaza (which isn't anymore). I love watching the mothers and nannies pushing prams (used to be Maclaren all the time, but now it's Bugaboo city. Lots of Ergos as well, which is also true of San Francisco), and the people walking all their different dogs, The pick -up games on the grass, the people just sitting on blankets in Sheep Meadow. People in the shops in Brooklyn are very nice, especially in places like Cobble Hill, but elsewhere as well. I think NYers are quite friendly.

 

The North End of Boston is one of my most favorite places, especially in late spring/early summer. The shop doors are all flung wide open, the restaurants put seating on the sidewalk. It's not too humid yet, and there is always music. If you go on a Saturday in Spring or Summer, you might catch a bridal party coming out of a church. :)

 

Chinatown in Boston...especially for the Chinese New Year is so much fun. Bundle up, watch the dances and parades, the dragons fighting, the drums beating, flags flying--and then go for dim sum. Great. Love the markets.

 

Brookline & Cambrdige (Harvard Sq) MA, and Berekely CA= books, and people-watching heaven.

 

Embarcadero in San Francisco. Love the diversity of items and people. It's always so friendly, lots of tourists, but many locals, especially on Saturday, when all of the local veggie sellers are there. So much organic food crammed into one place. It's like a party. I also enjoy The Mission area, and my kingdom for a little house in Noe Valley. Worse than NYC prices, really. lol Southern CA and the flowers everywhere. The avocado trees "just there". It always tickles me that so many of my FL relatives have lemon and oranges growing their backyards. To go out your own door and pick a lemon? :)

 

 

Stopping now. I always find people decent almost everywhere I go. The traffic in CA is bad. Less patience than in Boston or NYC (where you are now fined for excessive honking. No such law in CA). Boston traffic is pretty terrible, and the ridiculous lines for tolls in NH, ME etc is enough to make you want to stay home. But who would want to miss out on ME or VT? More trains, America! Affordable trains!

Edited August 3, 2012 by LibraryLover

[PeacefulChaos]

Let's see...

I agree about the boiled peanuts. I've never tried them, but we've always been like, :confused: ... they don't even sound appetizing!

NYC is dirty (shocker lol) but one interesting thing to me was that a fair amount of homeless people were still overweight. I worked at a soup kitchen one day and I really couldn't help wondering if some of these guys weren't making the rounds to every soup kitchen in the area - a couple of them had to be 250-300 lbs. Oh, and I didn't find the city 'scary' like some of our teenagers did. But I think that's perspective on my part that they don't have - they have heard all these horror stories about NYC, but as an adult it's not hard to realize that the majority of people are not going to try and mug you. :D They're just common, everyday, hard working people like anywhere else.

Colorado is flat and the interstate is boring on the east side. Literally. If you don't stop for the night in Denver, you'll be hard pressed to find anything at all til you get to the next state...

The midwest - MO in particular - is home to the all you can eat buffet. Everything is an all you can eat.

Iowa has corn. Everywhere. I've never seen so much corn. :D And some small towns celebrate funny things - like tulips. :lol: Not that it isn't fun - it is - but when I think about it there aren't really weekend festivals in the south like there are in the midwest. My hometown in MO had a weekend festival, too. In the south it's maybe a day.

DC is interesting. I haven't seen a whole lot of it, just the National Mall mainly. It was very clean, though I didn't understand why there were no lids for the cups?? :001_huh: Is it an environmental thing?

AZ is gorgeous. People who haven't been there sometimes assume it's all boring desert, but the desert isn't boring, and it isn't what they expect. I love it there.

Illinois and Indiana are two of the most boring states to drive through. You can see miles in both directions. :ack2: Not my cuppa.

 

Inevitably, every state has a state next to it that they like to consider backwater. For MO, it's Arkansas. For VA, it's W.VA. I think it's hysterical.

[fairfarmhand]

I go to FL very frequently to visit family, and sometimes I drive. I love driving through the south, and in my mind Waffle House is destination #1 once I get into South Carolina. I don't even like fast food restaurants, and the food there is not even that great. But walking in...I love it. "Hi Honey, can I get you some coffee?" Just like we're old friends. Right away, I am "Yes, Ma'am & Thank you, Ma'am." There is something so great about that. lol And me such Yankee. Flying is not the same, as so much of FL isn't very Southern. You miss all the interesting in

I love NYC, and I especially love various parts of Brooklyn. I like how you can see the casual artists and the designer divas. I always feel comfortable there. My favorite thing to do is walk through the park, from John Lennon's Imagine Memorial, towards the carousel, and then up to the Park Plaza (which isn't anymore). I love watching the mothers and nannies pushing prams (used to be Maclaren all the time, but now it's Bugaboo city. Lots of Ergos as well, which is also true of San Francisco), and the people walking all their different dogs, The pick up games on the grass, the people just sitting on blankets in Sheep Meadow. I just wear black. No problem. lol People in the shops in Brooklyn are very nice, especially in places like Cobble Hill etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Stopping now. I always find people decent almost everywhere I go. The traffic in CA is bad. Less patience than in Boston or NYC (where you are now fined for excessive honking. No such law in CA). Boston traffic is pretty terrible, and the ridiculous lines for tolls in NH, ME etc is enough to make you want to stay home. But who would want to miss out on ME or VT? More trains, America! Affordable trains!

I've never wanted to visit NYC until now. But I will never get my dh to take me. Sigh.

[myfunnybunch]

In our hometown/state, people are very friendly. We strike up conversations with strangers in line, the clerk at the grocery store, people on the bus, at the park. Out-of-state friends and our foreign exchange students have remarked on how friendly people are, and that if they look as though they are lost or need help with something, people will stop to volunteer directions or help. Also drivers are very accommodating here, letting others over and stopping for people pulling out. (We do not live in a teeny town, btw.)

 

My mother lives on the east coast part time, near Washington D.C. and in the PNW part time. She says people there are more busy and more formal. They tend to wear less casual clothing out and about, even to the grocery store. People in the PNW tend to be more laid back but more casual and spend a lot more time on outdoor recreation. And, according to my mom, it's really hard to find good authentic Mexican food back east, but authentic Asian cuisine, as well as a wide variety of other world cuisines, is everywhere and really good. Here in the PNW, there are excellent Mexican restaurants, food carts, hole-in-the-wall burrito joints. There's even a family that goes door-to-door selling AMAZING tamales in our neighborhood. But it's hard to find good Asian food, aside from a few casual restaurants by the universities. (Our Japanese exchange students said, "We don't really eat sushi very often!" :D ) And forget other kinds of cuisine.

 

Cat

[LoriK]

I grew up on the Central Coast of California, in a town called Santa Maria...home of the Santa Maria style BBQ tritip. Every store parking lot has a booster club, church or school doing tritip BBQ fundraisers on Saturdays...makes the town smell amazing. LOL

 

DH was in the Air Force. He was transferred not long after we got married and I was thrilled to find tritip at the commissary in Montgomery, Alabama...but it was nothing like the triptip they sell in Santa Maria. In Santa Maria, they don't trim the fat and it makes for a very tender and moist roast. We have lived in many places and I have never seen tritip cut or cooked the way they do it in Santa Maria.

 

Right after we got to Montgomery, Dh had a potluck at work and asked me to make a potato salad. I tried to buy Best Foods Mayonaise because that is what my mom always used, but I couldn't find it. I even asked the manager and he had never heard of it. The Hellman's jar was the same color, so I picked it up and was happy to read, "West of the Rockies, Hellman's is known as Best Foods."

 

I have always found it interesting to learn what different areas call soda. Sweet tea is also very different from place to place. In California, sweet tea usually has a flavor with it...like Raspberry or peach. Very few places sell brewed sweet tea.

 

The style of churches is also different from place to place. In California, you will find a lot of non traditional structures. Everything from storefronts to converted wearhouses. As you head east you see a lot more of the traditional look. It is also harder to find a more traditional service in California. People also tend to dress for church in a much more casual way, compared to other states I have lived in.

 

Dh is from Pittsburgh and we own a house there. I love it there, but I have had to learn a whole new vocabulary. LOL They have a language all their own.

[LibraryLover]

I have never bought boiled peanuts! How odd. I will next time. I am not a huge peanut fan, so that's probably why.

[Dory]

 

that stuff is called kudzu and it is the bane of Georgia. It grows litereally overnight, and is considered a noxious weed.

 

 

lol good to know! That would be like all the people coming up here and commenting on the pretty scentless chamomile (it's considered a noxious weed here but looks like a daisy). Looks pretty but is not so fun to deal with.

[Singingmom]

We moved from CA to TN 8 years ago. Here's what stood out to me:

-People wave to you here (especially driving through subdivisions and back roads)

-there is very little graffiti on freeway signs

- our neighbors all came over to introduce themselves

-people bring you meals for everything!!!

-everyone knows where you live based on the name of your subdivision (I don't even know the name of any subdivision where we lived in CA)

 

All of these ( except maybe the bottom one!) are reasons we want to end up in Tennessee someday. When my husband and I have visited, it just feels like home.

[Ibbygirl]

Decades ago I was dating a guy who had previously gone to school in Atlanta and we drove down there to visit his old buddies. Along the drive we saw all those boiled peanuts and decided to buy some. He went and bought two bags of them (probably over a pound each). THEN he expected me to eat half of them! I mean, a handful is OK, but a whole bag!? We both ended up throwing most of them away after struggling for a couple of days.

 

So now you've sorta met someone who's bought and eaten boiled peanuts. :D

hehehehe but they were gross right? I won't even try them because I keep thinking they must taste like a really gross soup or something. blech.

 

My boiled peanut story:

 

As a military brat in Florida, I had never heard of boiled peanuts. A friend of mine bought some at a local quick stop and we went to the play ground. We sat on the merry go round and ate boiled peanuts. I tried to like them. Did I mention that I suffer from motion sickness and we were on a merry go round? I had to run home. Today, just the thought of a boiled peanut makes me nautious.

That's what I figured. :p

 

We moved from CA to TN 8 years ago. Here's what stood out to me:

-People wave to you here (especially driving through subdivisions and back roads)

-there is very little graffiti on freeway signs

- our neighbors all came over to introduce themselves

-people bring you meals for everything!!!

-everyone knows where you live based on the name of your subdivision (I don't even know the name of any subdivision where we lived in CA)

 

Oh, your mention of people waving reminded me of a funny with my mom. My mom moved to Georgia from South Florida 10 years ago when she retired from her job. She's always going on about how much nicer and friendlier people are up there (she's 1 mile away from the North Carolina border up in the mountains). Every time I'm up there visiting, at least once during the visit she'll point out an act of friendliness and say, "see, look how nice they are how they stop and let you go. Back home they would just run you down." Well one day when we were out driving, she was taking the backroads and as she passed a car the man in the other car (a local) pointed his index finger at her and she did the same to him as they passed each other. My mom said, "you see? They all do that here. They point their finger to acknowledge you and say hello. I call it 'the Georgia finger'" I told my mom, "well, we have that too back home when driving, it's just a different finger." :tongue_smilie: and she just lost it laughing. She was like, "yeah, the Florida finger means something a little different though than the Georgia one." :p hehe

[TN Mama]

We moved from CA to TN 8 years ago. Here's what stood out to me:

-People wave to you here (especially driving through subdivisions and back roads)

-there is very little graffiti on freeway signs

- our neighbors all came over to introduce themselves

-people bring you meals for everything!!!

-everyone knows where you live based on the name of your subdivision (I don't even know the name of any subdivision where we lived in CA)

 

:iagree:

 

Good bagels are almost impossible to find outside of NY/NJ. My podunk town did get a Brooklyn Bagels, which has been enough to satisfy me.

 

 

 

I have to throw Maine into this mix. People in the South talk about "good" bagels from Panera or Einstein Bros or <insert another chain here>, but those are just bread shaped like bagels. Oh, how I truly miss the Jewish deli bagels of the NE. <sigh>

 

And some small towns celebrate funny things - like tulips. :lol: Not that it isn't fun - it is - but when I think about it there aren't really weekend festivals in the south like there are in the midwest. My hometown in MO had a weekend festival, too. In the south it's maybe a day.

 

My small hometown (also in MO) has a huge weekend festival, complete with tour buses lining the streets. :D

[Renthead Mommy]

[quote name=Dory;4166525

 

Georgia-the vegetation growing above ground because of the high humidity was really odd to me. And rather pretty. Everything was green' date=' I don't mean just where green was suppose to be. I'm not even completely sure what color tree trunks are there.

 

I'm betting that's the kudzu you are talking about! When we were first in NC my brother commented on 'animal hedges' they had growing in areas. What he was referring to was the metal scaffolding type poles for power lines that were grown over with kudzu. He thought they were like the animal shaped hedges at Disneyland.

 

He was 22 at the time.

[Ibbygirl]

I'm betting that's the kudzu you are talking about! When we were first in NC my brother commented on 'animal hedges' they had growing in areas. What he was referring to was the metal scaffolding type poles for power lines that were grown over with kudzu. He thought they were like the animal shaped hedges at Disneyland.

 

He was 22 at the time.

 

Ugh I HATE kudzu with a passion. I see it all the way up the state of Florida on the turnpike growing over all of the trees. It's awful!

[Mom23Boys]

I haven't traveled too much within the US, but I went up north (East coast) for the first time 2 years ago. I was most surprised I think when I went to New York City. Up til then I had only ever seen it in movies and on tv. I always imagined it would be HUGE with tall buildings towering up all around. I was really surprised by how close everything is. I would walk down one street and suddenly there is Broadway, or Times Square. I always figured these places were really far away from each other. I never realized how everything in Manhattan is just blocks away. I also didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I always figured that NYC with the buildings towering up would make me feel closed in and claustrophobic, but I didn't feel that way at all. I really loved the intricacies in the architecture and how varied it was throughout the city. I went on a Sunday and there were some streets closed off (barricaded) and they had all these food stands there. It was fun to go to one cart and the other and get little bits of things to try. The only downside was that it was spendy, but I would totally go back again someday. :)

 

The only other thing I find strange, happens to be a Southern thing which I've always seen growing up, but never understood. Boiled peanuts. Seriously does anyone eat these things?? LOL There are boiled peanut stands all over the place in Alabama and Georgia and yet I never EVER have seen a single person buying them. :lol:

 

We love boiled peanuts!! We rarely get them now bc my youngest is allergic to peanuts, but everyone else in my family loves them too! I live in Louisiana. :001_smile:

[QueenCat]

Smoking! Where I grew up, people didn't smoke out in public. Here, in the Atlanta area, they smoke everywhere--outside pools, outside malls, outside restaurants, in bars, at tennis courts,near soccer fields, outside schools (like just off the grounds)...

 

The other thing I see here is luxury vehicles. I grew up in an affluent area, but people didn't drive status symbol cars. Down here, people drive expensive cars. It's like an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in the soccer parking lot.

 

LOL...... I too moved to the Atlanta, after growing up in the same city as you. You are spot on with all of the above. Hardly any adults I knew smoked where we grew up...... and if they did, they did it privately. And the cars.... definitely more status cars in the Atlanta area, but I wonder if that is a sign of the times & we might see more of it back home. Another difference is the use of "ma'am and sir". We called our teachers "Mrs. Jones", not ma'am. Ma'am would have gotten us in trouble, as it would have been viewed as sarcasm or sassing.

Edited August 2, 2012 by CathieC

[LucyStoner]

Oh, I thought of something else. In 1991, my family moved from the PNW to Louisville KY for a year. We all just about fainted when we observed that people smoked in grocery stores. Your apples would smell like smoke. What in the heck was that all about?! I imagine that 20 years later you can't do that anymore in KY. Of course now where I am the only indoor place you can now smoke is your own house. No smoking in bars, restaurants, clubs, offices etc. no smoking within 25 feet of a door, window or vent of a public building, apartment or bus stop (but not enforced.)

[mommymilkies]

I was born/raised in Ohio and Illinois. Some perspectives from our many moves & travels: (I mean no offense, y'all!)

 

Northern California is so clean! We were in San Fran and Stockton and it was complete culture shock. Not just the lovely weather with no humidity, but it was so well manicured and well taken care of-even the impoverished neighborhoods! I loved it. The count down crosswalks were great, too. And I would kill for In & Out Burger.

 

Utah is really pretty and clean. Even the Rez was nicer.

 

Arizona was touristy and overpriced. Very.

 

New Mexico was beautiful but way too dry for my tastes. The artist markets are incredible.

 

Oklahoma was great. Beautiful areas...I was also amazed at the cuisine diversity.

 

Kansas was unsurprisingly green rolling hills, but it was so wonderful after weeks in the desert. I almost got out to fondle the grass and roll around like a dog! I would move there in a heartbeat!

 

Illinois is dirty. Sorry, fellow Illinoisians (?), but it's true. Even in more well to do areas, it is not well kept or cleaned. Poverty, meth houses, way more abandoned houses and buildings an thriving ones...the racism is horrible in rural and suburban areas, too.

 

Indiana is beautiful, but also impoverished and racist. Southern IN often scares me with the signs I see there. But the people are friendly.

 

Kentucky is wonderful. Other than the poverty. The kudzu is annoying, but the roads are well maintained and the people are friendly.

 

North Carolina is like several different worlds. The obx are pretty, but the people are not as friendly (I'm sure the tourists get annoying). Eastern and central areas have the downright most polite and kind people ever. I was so unused to this that I cried the first time I was called ma'am because I thought it was a backhanded insult. I would miss it, but the fire ants are too horrid.

 

NYC is actually really nice. But all of the streetwalkers would scare me off of taking my kids there any time soon.

 

Ohio is very child friendly. Hands down the most of any place I've ever been to.

 

Missouri is the adult teA shop Capitol of the world. Seriously. I was very disturbed by it and I'm liberal.

 

Wisconsin is so cool. Dh says they have freaky Mosquitos, but they have soft water (near Madison) and a very clean state. It's strange for so many of those areas to be near Chicago, yet so different.

Edited August 2, 2012 by mommymilkies
Stupid iPad

[QueenCat]

Missouri is the adult teA shop Capitol of the world. Seriously. I was very disturbed by it and I'm liberal.

 

 

I thought Florida got that distinction.... it starts right when you enter, on I-75!