What do other people think about where you live?

What other people?
I own my own home and don’t worry about what other’s may think since my existence is my own.

@kritiper City, state, country, not your house or apartment.

I love western Canada, and could care less what others think.

I live in an isolated area. Heavily wooded, the word Forest is in the name of my street and village.
We are 25 minutes to a movie theater, a hospital, and any fast food. When it’s that far to a Subway Sandwiches, you are on the outer rim.

I’ll answer my question, although I think most jellies know my answer before I write it.

I live in place that a lot of people think is overrun with Republicans and Trumpers and white people with lots of money who are racist. They think that because the media loves to portray my community that way. Sure there are a few of those people here like any city, but mostly where I live is full of helpful and friendly people who want to have fun every day.

My BIL was just here two weeks ago, and he could not believe what it was like here, his image was so different than the reality. Much larger than he pictured, much prettier, and it just happened that when I took him out to see one of the many bands that play at night in the town square there was a gay couple dancing (arm in arm like ballroom) when we first arrived. It was like on cure. My BIL is gay. There is an LGBT meet-up every week at a restaurant two miles from me, and from what I was told 50–150 people show up each week depending on the time of year.

I know people think I live in a racist, horrible, hateful, full of spoiled people place, because people tell me. Jellies say it, I have had facebook friends (who I do know in real life) say flat out they don’t understand how I can live here. A lot of people also say to me there aren’t any Jewish people (I’m Jewish that’s why they say it to me). That is crazy talk. We just had over 600 people show up for our Menorah Lighting event in the community, and we have a temple here, and 5 or 6 Jewish clubs that each have hundreds of members. Not that I care, I don’t belong to any of those things, but they seem to care. It is a small percentage to the total population, but it doesn’t have to feel that way if that is important to someone.

I don’t care if people have a wrong impression of where I live as long as they don’t have that impression of me. In fact, it’s better that people think it is a horrible place, because we have too many people moving here, it’s growing like crazy, getting too big.

As far as my state, Florida, a lot of people think it is sweltering hot all year long and that it rains every day. Those are people who obviously visit in the summer and think the entire year is like August.

A lot of people think we all smoke weed.
Euthanise our (grand)parents, and (handicapped) babies.
Frequent the Red Light District.
Eat cheese while walking with cloggs on.
Have houses full of tulips.
Go to work on ice-skates.
-
It’s all true.

I don’t know. What do you think of where I live?

People think living on the ocean is idyllic. it is
People think I need to worry about Hurricanes. rarely
People think New Englanders are unfriendly. guarded yes, but very friendly
People think we all have accents. only the natives PAHK YAH CAH AT HAVARD YAD
People think we eat Lobsters everyday. Every other day. Clam chowder otherwise
People think we are horrible drivers. Yes and you are number 1. Get off my road.

Can it be just my neighborhood, because I haven’t met enough people from outside of my city?

The first thing that comes to people’s mind when they think about my neighborhood is “wow, you are in a rich place”. They tell me that the land in my neighborhood cost an insane amount of money, and only people with high social status like war veterans can afford to build a house in such a place. This is something that has never crossed my mind before. I live with mostly ordinary people. I think there is a certain part of the place really costs that much, but I don’t know which one.

The second thing I hear people say about my neighborhood is that it’s really quiet. This is something I agree with. I have never been bothered by noise pollution. People say this is an ideal place for old people to live, and I agree :)

I don’t live in an area that most people would consider desirable and a majority of the people where I live are renting from a housing association. That said I am perfectly happy with my flat, which is on a very quiet street. From my front bedroom I can see the hills to the south of the city and from my back bedroom I can see the hills to the north. I like an open outlook where I can see all the way to the horizon. My neighbours are mixed, most are elderly others are young and raising families and all are friendly without being intrusive.

I like the canal and river walks and the cycle routes that start within a hundred yards of my front door and that there are excellent public transport links to the city centre and out into the countryside. That too is quite important to me as I choose not to own a car.
Everything I need is within easy walking distance, a 24 hour supermarket, a health centre, a library, community centre, swimming pool, restaurants and take away food places.

Tourists from around the world come to our National Park ( Town) and always say to me over the years.

.“Wow it must be Heaven living here all the time”, when in reality most that live here work one

or two and sometimes three jobs to support ourselves unless we are those lucky Business

owners who work there ass off keeping there Business alive and profitable

( most owners do but work almost night and day to keep profits up.)

Otherwise is is still a great place to have all the amenities to Natural resources so close

by…entertainment is mostly in having an active robust lifestyle that keeps one healthy and strong.

But for the retired such as me, its a GodSend! ( except durning shutdown such as the last two years (pandemic).

Caveat is the busy Summer months when thousands of tourists flood the Town and many

work overtime to sustain the influx of crowds coming by Train, Bus, Car,Bikes, Motercycles etc

Summer months in the evenings Bar crowds cause disturbances not welcome in our Town but is handled well by the local R.C.M.P.

In the Winter months not too bad as Tourists consist of skiers who stay in hotels and go directly to the Ski Hill. mainly a very orderly and civilized bunch.

@JLeslie It still doesn’t matter. Where I live is my business. And I love it here!

I live close to Austin, my hometown. Moved out a way because the cost of living got too high, but it hasn’t changed much from back in the day. “Keep Austin Weird” isn’t just rhetoric. I can say it is completely different in ambience and atmosphere, than any other town in Texas, that I’m aware of. And you never know what can happen. Hell, I slipped away from my job one night a few weeks back, just to grab a cup of coffee at a convenience store, and when I walked out there were a group of young ladies in the parking lot, who accosted me and told me that one of them had never been kissed. WTF? I said I was sorry to hear that and walked on to where my car was parked. The dummies were following me saying, kiss me, no kiss me, no kiss me! I said you ladies have a good night, I got to get back to work. Weird city, full of weird people. LOL. And @JLeslie as long as you are happy where you live, don’t sweat the nay sayers. It’s your life, not theirs. If they don’t like Florida, I doubt anyone has a gun to their head forcing them to live there, they can keep the commentary to themselves. What are they? Freaking Andy Rooney?

I live in an area which used to be a summer vacation spot for residents of NYC. It’s now a full time year round place. City people come here on weekends in autumn for apple picking and pumpkin picking and the local spots hike up their prices during those periods accordingly.
There are a lot of lakes and horse farms, woods, and fields around here, and it’s now an area where affluent people come to learn equestrian skills.

The area is very rural but there’s a city in CT that’s only minutes away and a great mall, so when we need something, we can get to the mall within ten minutes. One of the local routes nearby now has some buildings being built which I find distressing because although it might lower taxes to have more businesses around, it also takes away the rural flavor.

People will desperately look to rent or buy in the town so they can get their kids into the school district. What do people think of the area? It’s sought after.

Most people think that all Georgians are a bunch of right-wing, racist, ignorant hicks.

In some of the state, that’s true. But not everywhere.

SW Missouri, USA.
People have a ton of misconceptions about the Ozarks. From hillbillies to druggies to very low-income and zero culture.
The reality is it’s a nature lovers paradise with more springs and caves than anything. From gorgeous mountains to beautiful river bottoms, ponds, natural cave springs, it’s all just gorgeous.
We have a large professional community in the medical field, university/colleges, Performing Arts and various museums. Astronomer Hubble is from a small town right down the road, Mark Twain, Brad Pitt and other influential folks are from here. It’s quiet, a little boring usually, and a great place to retire. Many come here from the coasts and buy sprawling McMansions along one of our many lakes to retire on, as the cost of living is so much lower here.
Our schools are phenomenal outside the bigger cities, as most of our rural communities always approve taxes for anything regarding the kids. Most family lives revolve around church and school activities, so it’s very friendly, very calm and for the most part, very safe. And because of the schools and sports, it’s very difficult to find any homes or rentals here, they go into bidding wars immediately.

Eastern Colorado is a nice place to live

General impressions of the Bay Area that I hear from those outside it:
-everyone is rich (well, my family is, but not everyone) ;)
-everyone is super liberal (right along the Bay itself, yes, but there’s more variety than you’d think)
-everyone works in tech (you essentially have to work in tech to afford to live here, but no, we have regular jobs here too. You just have to live outside the Bay Area and commute if you work such a job.)
-there’s human feces and needles and homeless encampments everywhere (homeless encampments yes, but the former two are mostly a problem in downtown SF)
-the weather is nice all year long (basically true, but wildfire smoke and drought aren’t “nice”)
-earthquakes are a huge threat and we just think about the possibility of one all the time (no, it really rarely enters my mind)
-it’s diverse (it is, but it’s also pretty segregated)
-there’s great food from various cuisines everywhere (yes; every time I leave the Bay I miss the food more than anything)

That we have the worst accent in the country, and are a breeding ground for Neonazis.
They are not wrong.

Most people I know who’ve expressed an opinion about Boston tend to focus on the sports teams (Patriots and Red Sox mostly), the history (as related to the birth of the US — Tea Party, Battle of Lexington/Concord, Bunker Hill, etc.), or get their information from movies and television like Good Will Hunting or Cheers.

@Demosthenes So I’m just curious since I haven’t been to your area, what kinds of yummy foods are you talking about specifically?

@cookieman Mingya, they are missing out

@KNOWITALL For me personally it’s mostly Mexican food and Asian (Vietnamese, Korean). There are a lot of good authentic (often hole-in-the-wall) places scattered throughout the Bay Area. Where I grew up specifically (Atherton/Menlo Park), there are many small taquerias all within walking distance of each other. It’s something I’ve taken for granted.

@Demosthenes Sounds yummy. I wish we could trade restaurants for a week, we have some really good authentic ones here, too, believe it or not. I’d love to taste the differences. The Korean veggie pancakes are pretty much my favorite of all time.

That we’re filled with liberal commie pinkos who are in favor of having kids undergo sex change operations when they’re young. (You would think I am not being serious but in Texas an uber driver pretty much said those things to me).

Everyone gets a GA. Thank you for sharing.

@Nomore_lockout I don’t sweat it for a second. You have seen photos and videos of me having fun.

@KNOWITALL The Ozarks are beautiful. I would venture to say most people along the east coast have no idea, it is not really on our radar. I mean, we learn about them in school, but as adults it isn’t vacation area that is talked about much. I’ve driven through, but because I lived in Memphis and spent some time in Springfield, MO, and then drove South into AR.

@ragingloli Why is your area so Nazi producing, and has that always been the case? It never went away since the 1930’s? I’m guessing the hate was there even before Hitler. Or, is it ramping up in a new and imporved way there in your location? Are they still focused on hating Jews and people with disabilities? Who do they hate?

@Caravanfan That does not surprise me at all. I hear that sort of thing about your area.

I think of 2 step snakes where you live @Mimishu1995.

Tiny town in Kansas. So y’all have to tell me what you think. (Hint. I can seen a grain elevator from my front porch. It’s where the country starts.)

People think this a great place to live and raise kids. Well, it simply it.

@KNOWITALL, I visited SF a few times. The best places to eat are the small, family owned places. There is a Chinese restaurant within the tenderloin a couple of doors down from a YMCA. It is so small you could mistake it for a phone booth. The business is their everything, so they are super sweet, and keep the place clean, and make the best quality they could. The first time I went there, I was obviously pregnant. When a lady came to take my order she put a glass of water and a cup of eggdrop soup in front of me. I was confused, and told her I had not ordered. She pointed to the soup and said, “good for mother, good for baby.” They didn’t charge me for it. It had a great effect on me. I didn’t realize how frazzled I was until the soup began to soothe me. It was not far from there I found a awesome little diner. The whole darn family took turns asking if I needed anything, and was the food pleasing. There are delicious gems like that scattered all about. It was actually the only part of SF I liked.
I hope the shutdowns didn’t wipe them out.

I live in a very tiny city north of Sacramento that nobody ever heard of.

@Patty_Melt That’s so kind. We were blessed to be taught by our Vietnamese ma (mom) how to cook and never looked back. With 6 sons she always had a pot of rice and big stew pot on simmer.
My only issue was leaving the fat on for flavor (shudder.)

@JLeslie
The fall of The Wall promised everyone economic prosperity and freedom under capitalism. What instead happened was the complete collapse of existing East German industry, and widespread poverty and unemployment. The region still has not fully recovered. That naturally drives people into the hand of right wing extremists.
There are also many people who wish that the wall never fell.

People think east Tennessee is nothing but rednecks. That’s true off the beaten path but the cities are flooded with hipsters you would typically associate with places like Boulder Colorado.

@ragingloli Interesting. My sister dated a guy for a few years about 20 years ago from East Germany, so I guess he would be in his 50’s now. He was a brilliant scientist and HATED the Russians. That’s my limited experience with someone who grew up under Russian occupied Germany, or whatever the appropriate name is.

When the wall came down many people I knew in the US worried that would mean another chance for Germany to start a war and try to dominate. They were not exactly celebrating the fall of the wall, even though they celebrate democracy and capitalism. The same people have a current impression that Germany is progressive and ahead of the US in some ways. Almost a total shift in how they perceive Germany, and I personally think they are unaware that this is White Supremacist QAnon type radicalism is still going on there. I think it is a worldwide problem, worse in some countries than others.

So, the people who you say wish the wall never fell, do you mean people from East Germany? I just want to make sure I understand correctly. They prefer communism?

@JLeslie
Yes, people from East Germany.
Back in the GDR, the right to a job was actually enshrined in its constitution.
They had a guaranteed job back then, now everything is up in the air.

@ragingloli It reminds me of one of our Cuban American Black journalists here saying her Black Cuban mother used to say that even though Castro was horrible in so many ways, for Black Cubans he was better than Batista, because they had jobs. Her mom left for the US at the time of Castro coming into power, but I guess it was a common feeling among Black Cubans.

My impression of the wall coming down would allow passage between the two, but I didn’t realize it carved things politically without consent. I mean, I thought political changes came about by desire.

@Patty_Melt I think the majority of the people in East Germany did want the wall to come down. Is that what you meant? That the people didn’t want it?

No. I thought the political changes were agreed upon.
When the wall came down, families split for years could reunite. I was excited for that. People could choose to relocate. I was glad for that. I thought politics being what they were had been addressing changes diplomatically.

These things I took from news which circulated then, and since.
Except for above, I thought things were as people wanted, politically.