"True Locals"

[dancerjodi]

"Is New England losing its regional character?

''This used to be the home of the frugal Yankee, the stoic stiff-upper-lip Yankee, the modest/unassuming Yankee," writes the author of the Diana Chronicles blog (dianachronicles.blogspot.com). ''What does it mean to be a New Englander today? So many people have moved into New England in the past 10-20 years, the New Englander is an endangered species, to be extinct within the next generation or two."

She makes a list of subtle ways to tell the true locals from the newcomers.

Vanity plates: Locals would never have one on their car (they wouldn't spend the money and wouldn't want the attention), while newcomers can't get enough of them (especially cutesy ways of spelling their name or the location of their second home).

Preferred car: Locals drive Saabs, Subarus, and Volvos, while newcomers drive SUVs, Mercedes, and Lexuses.

Thanksgiving meal staple: For locals, it's corn bread. For newcomers, it's ''jalepeno" corn bread.

Yard work: Locals mow the lawn, walk the dog, and shovel the snow themselves. Newcomers hire the help."

From http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/02/26/true_locals_newton_debt_diners/

Comments

[darthwk.livejournal.com]

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.

locations, economy

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"East coast: "Don't look at me."
Midwest: "Look at that!"
West coast: "Look at me!" "

That's definitely an interesting way to think about it. I do fall into the East Coast norm most times, though once I get talking you can't shut me up! :)

"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."

Its an issue of teaching an old dog new tricks, unfortunately.

I think younger people will have an easier time in that they've been around computers or they're in a position to chose to learn another trade that won't go out of style (like say, plumbing, electrical work, construction). As manufacturing jobs are going away there seems to be a large push (at least in our area) to get younger people interested in the trades. Once the boomers retire there just won't be enough people to fill those jobs (which, though not at the same level as the tech industry, can be quite lucrative). I can see how it would be difficult for an older person who is not just starting out to move into that area, but the skills and knowledge gained working in factories in manufacturing and w/ tools would go a long way with working in people's homes with different tools. I know that if my Dad was in a position to hire anyone he'd want some older guy that just came off a line over a kid out of high school (he's a contractor in construction, and usually works by himself or hires a young relative on a part time as needed basis).

Our economy is always changing, and I wonder, if what's happening in your area now is much different than it was in the 70s (I'm sure it is, I just wonder how)?

I guess my own perceptions of work are skewed given family history. I watched my Dad reinvent himself from a machinist (family business) to an artist (owning a print/typesetting shop) to construction (computer developments made his printing work obsolete) to (hopefully) real estate investing (buying a dump, fixing it up, and selling for a slight profit). As a result I've never had a sense of professional stability.

I think for the most part, we need to keep our eyes and options open in such a changing economy if we're going to keep afloat (particularly one that's so dependent on technology, which seems to change more than other fields).