Northwest vs. Northeast
We are the United States, but each region definitely has its own little culture. On my flight home from New Hampshire, I had a layover in Chicago. I had a pretty quiet spot in the waiting area until this mob of people flocked into the seats next to me. I'm not sure if they were all related or not. There seemed to be several families with children and teens. They were pretty loud, boisterous, loving, and sometimes shockingly forthright in their conversation. I tried not to be annoyed. Then from their conversation I picked up that they lived in one of my neighboring towns. "That fits," I thought. I had just come from dignified New England, and I was experiencing minor culture shock at an enounter with my own culture. The Northeast and Northwest share some similiarities (like liberal politics, few churches, and sea food), but here are a few differences that I've picked up:
o Northwest people are normally very friendly and open; New Englanders are not as friendly and open, at least to strangers, but they're perhaps a little deeper in their friendships.
o Northwesterners are politer drivers than New Englanders (I'm sure somebody will try to challenge me on that one!)
o Both regions are pretty casual, but New England is more preppy. However, Northwest women are a little more into glamour, as in hair and makeup. I saw very few women in New England that had makeup on.
o New Englanders are definitely more reserved with their emotions. I went to watch fireworks on July 3rd and I felt like the only one making noise! There was hardly an ooh or aah from the crowd, while I whooped and cheered for just about every one. You'd think we were watching a funeral procession. Maybe because we were sitting in a cemetery.
o Northwesterners are more open-minded about things like alternative medicine (i.e., natural) and education, while New Englanders have a Pilgrim solidity of character and purpose that is refreshing.
Hope I didn't offend anybody; these are just my personal observations which may or may not be true. I'll leave the South and Southwest alone for now. :-)
o Northwest people are normally very friendly and open; New Englanders are not as friendly and open, at least to strangers, but they're perhaps a little deeper in their friendships.
o Northwesterners are politer drivers than New Englanders (I'm sure somebody will try to challenge me on that one!)
o Both regions are pretty casual, but New England is more preppy. However, Northwest women are a little more into glamour, as in hair and makeup. I saw very few women in New England that had makeup on.
o New Englanders are definitely more reserved with their emotions. I went to watch fireworks on July 3rd and I felt like the only one making noise! There was hardly an ooh or aah from the crowd, while I whooped and cheered for just about every one. You'd think we were watching a funeral procession. Maybe because we were sitting in a cemetery.
o Northwesterners are more open-minded about things like alternative medicine (i.e., natural) and education, while New Englanders have a Pilgrim solidity of character and purpose that is refreshing.
Hope I didn't offend anybody; these are just my personal observations which may or may not be true. I'll leave the South and Southwest alone for now. :-)
posted by Kristi | 5:22 PM
5 Comments:
I was born in the midwest. But I now live in the Northeast. Does that give me the best areas?
Well, can't disagree with the driving bit. Mass'ites[to be nice] are the worst. If I was governor of NH, I would sell hunting licenses for MassPlates, keep them from migrating north so much...
The best of both areas.
Yeah, Derrick's right. Born-and-bred New Hampshirites are congenitally courteous. It's those Southern NE imports that veer in front of people and honk at the very least provocation.
Definitely agree on the lack of focus on external glamour in New England. Just the other day, I was thinking about how, back home, personality seems to be valued more than looks. Probably accomplishment plays in there, too. What the NE woman has done is more admired than what she looks like. It's not like that everywhere in the country!
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