<p>"I quite seriously was never aware of the obnoxious NJ stereotype "</p>
<p>Watch some of the "Movin Up" reruns on HGTV. Most were done in NJ and some NY suburbs. The edginess and in your face attitudes came through in nearly every family. It was a hoot.</p>
<p>Several comments- just read 16 pages of posts...</p>
<p>Way back to the beginning- since when are bagels important in determining the worth of a place? They seem to represent a group's favorite food, but others like other, equally, if not more important, ones that are not available on the east coast. </p>
<p>It seems as though the majority of the Jewish population lives on the east coast, influencing its foods and culture and the majority of the Asian population lives on the west coast- yielding very different cultures. Comfort zones- culture shock when no one knows about or cares about your ethnic group and those things you take for granted. Cultural snobbery. I find the New York Times to be very provincial.</p>
<p>Define patriotic. I would consider the Vietnam war protestors just as patriotic as those who volunteered for military service in that era. Loving and caring for one's country are not the same as supporting the politicians in power.</p>
<p>To emag who went to small Lawrence U in conservative, boring Appleton, WI- it sounds like you got to large, liberal Madison. Shows the contrasts even within one state.</p>
<p>tsdad- like I keep telling my husband, silly is good. You mean he's not the only person who trys to denigrate things by calling them silly?</p>
<p>I've probably antagonized enough people by now... but here's one more for conservatives. Where/when do you start trying to conserve values/beliefs? Back when your European ancestors were Roman Catholic? Or before Christianity took hold in Europe, when people were pagans, heathens...? Somewhere back in everyone's family tree is someone who embraced radical new ideas (even if it was accepting a religion rather than death or economic disaster- far too often becoming Christian was a matter of survival, not belief).</p>
<p>I didn't read the past 17 pages of posts...and I know a lot of people will disagree with what I am about to say. </p>
<p>I am a graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill. I am a native of Illinois (not Chicago), born and raised, and did my undergrad at a private university there.</p>
<p>Now I know that North Carolina is geographically in the Southeast, but I consider the area Southern only in climate. The area surrounding Chapel Hill is like that of many large college towns, it's eclectic. There are a few people who are "southern" (or act like it :) ) , but there is a much larger infusion of people who are from the northeast, or at least act like those who are from the northeast. </p>
<p>Quite honestly, I had thought perfect strangers running me down on the sidewalk in Chicago were cold. That was nothing compared to some of the people that I have met here (or tried to meet) here in NC. I can't wait to go home.</p>
<p>I live in a rural area of the Midwest, but I don't think I would experience culture shock with a move to the Northeast. However, I think there would be some culture shock the other way around. My county is about 93% white, with most of the rest being Hispanic. There are virtually no Jews or other non-Christian groups. Additionally, my county doesn't have one college, not even a community college. Any college education at all is better than most of the people, so there is really no value placed on a top-dollar education.</p>
<p>I can see how it might be difficult to adjust to that type of a situation if someone is coming from the suburbs of Boston or NYC. It wouldn't be a culture shock for me because I know what goes on in the US. Believe it or not, the media is mostly dominated by the two coasts. We'll use the three largest cities in the country: NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Which of those gets the most press? The least? Even though Chicago is a city of 3 million people, it gets considerably less attention than Los Angeles, which is only slightly bigger when looking at the big picture. </p>
<p>When politicians talk about how good the economy is, perhaps they should come take a look at all the ghost towns here in the rust belt where factories have closed. People from the Northeast may experience some shock if they drive through a town where all the houses are run-down shacks, the high school is 90 years old, and the water is permanently contaminated from toxic waste spillage. There are many such towns where I live, and few care about a degree from Harvard in that type of a situation.</p>
<p>I live in a suburb of NYC, 10 minutes from The Bronx and 20 minutes from Manhattan. I spent one semester at a school in central Pennsylvania (which has been called the Alabama of the Northeast, no offense to any AL or central PA people here) I could not believe how different everything was over there. It seemed 95% of the people I met were Christian, Conservative, Anglos. Everybody went hunting on weekends and drove a raised pick up. While this may be appealing to some people I could not stand it and drove 3 1/2 hours home every weekend.</p>
<p>central Pennsylvania</p>
<p>"I live in a rural area of the Midwest, but I don't think I would experience culture shock with a move to the Northeast."</p>
<p>I'll bet you everything I own, and everything I will ever own that you are WRONG.</p>
<p>Cerealkiller, I'd never heard about Penn. being like that, although come to think of it, I guy I knew from Allentown said his upbringing was like the Deer Hunter movie. I'm from 20 mins. from Manhattan (Jersey side) and I can completely relate to your culture shock now that we're in Northern Fla. I thought in NYC I'd met every kind of person under the sun. WRONG!! It can be like what you described in Penn., depending on who your friends are.</p>