As a New England export living in the Midwest, I brought a lot of the "old" NE ways with me (without even really realizing that it was a "New England Way"), but lost many of them as well. My wife, a native Michiganite, came up with a very succinct way of describing the three major personality types:
East coast: "Don't look at me." Midwest: "Look at that!" West coast: "Look at me!"
I'm still of the "Don't look at me" variety. I prefer not to strike up conversations with strangers while waiting in the check-out lane. I don't look at other drivers on the road unless I want to give them the I Hate You look.
I don't have the New England accent anymore, but give me a week there and it'll come back. And with reinforcements. Especially if we go to Tahget, even though they don't sell the Dawk Mahtins that my brotha weahz in the Ahmy. ;)
Midwest stereotypes -- yep, absolutely. Michigan historically has been an industrial state so much so that with the lessening impact of American industry in the global economy, we're suffering here. Small tool & die shops that thrived in the hayday of the Big Three are all closing, no one needs workers, and general laborers are all unemployed.
And unfortunately unemployable because of their limited skillsets. When you've been a welder or pipefitter or a tool maker for 20-30 years and your shop closes down...what do you do? It's tough to switch tracks in middle life and jump into the technical fields, especially when your life had consisted of working 12-14 hour days, leaving you with no time to learn new skills on the side.
There is stagnation borne of misery and desperation here. There isn't an influx of people here, which is also exacerbated by the outdated infrastructure of the Midwest -- Chicago is the lone exception, really.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 02:32 pm (UTC)East coast: "Don't look at me."
Midwest: "Look at that!"
West coast: "Look at me!"
I'm still of the "Don't look at me" variety. I prefer not to strike up conversations with strangers while waiting in the check-out lane. I don't look at other drivers on the road unless I want to give them the I Hate You look.
I don't have the New England accent anymore, but give me a week there and it'll come back. And with reinforcements. Especially if we go to Tahget, even though they don't sell the Dawk Mahtins that my brotha weahz in the Ahmy. ;)
Midwest stereotypes -- yep, absolutely. Michigan historically has been an industrial state so much so that with the lessening impact of American industry in the global economy, we're suffering here. Small tool & die shops that thrived in the hayday of the Big Three are all closing, no one needs workers, and general laborers are all unemployed.
And unfortunately unemployable because of their limited skillsets. When you've been a welder or pipefitter or a tool maker for 20-30 years and your shop closes down...what do you do? It's tough to switch tracks in middle life and jump into the technical fields, especially when your life had consisted of working 12-14 hour days, leaving you with no time to learn new skills on the side.
There is stagnation borne of misery and desperation here. There isn't an influx of people here, which is also exacerbated by the outdated infrastructure of the Midwest -- Chicago is the lone exception, really.