another question

[phisigprincess]

can you tell it's finals and i'm immersed in papers and projects? Anyway, I'm writing a microstudy on cultures and comparing life in the city to life in a small town. Have you lived ONLY in a city or ONLY in a small town all of your life? What types of stereotypes have you heard about people from the "other" regions. OR if you've moved from one to the other, what kind of differences have you noticed between the two? I'm trying to include more people's opinions other than my own and what better place to do that than the DIS?? Thanks for you help in advance (again!!)

 

[FreshTressa]

I've lived in both.

In GENERAL, I think city people are more open minded and accepting of differences.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>I've lived in Los Angeles just about all my life, but I've spent a few summers in a small town.

These are my own observations, of course

Big Cities
People are more in a rush
People are more open minded
People are exposed to more ideas
People do not get so involved with their neighbors
People tend to concentrate on destination rather than journey
People tend to be a bit more independent
People may not even know neighbors

Small Towns
Slower
People take time to greet one another
Neighbors know each others' business (sometimes good - sometimes not)
More social
Not so much focus on destination
Not so exposed to new ideas, more close minded
Friendlier

 

[KathyFP]

I have lived in both. I agree with previous post. To add to the list

In the country you are more likely to have your drivers license and own a car than if you live in the city because of limited public transporation.

In the country, police officers are friendlier and more community minded, I believe because thereis less crime and less stress and pressure. (I know that this is a generalization, but I think that is what you were asking for)


People in the country walk a lot more

 

[Pop Daddy]

only lived in the city, I suppose people from the country are mre friendly but wear out of style cloth

 

[browneyes]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
only lived in the city, I suppose people from the country are mre friendly but wear out of style cloth

Gee thanks.

I've only lived in small towns. Usually less than 500 people in my small town. I've heard people in cities are hurried and not very friendly. That's definately a WRONG stereotype. I've also heard yankees are rude, but I've met more than my fair share of rude southerners as opposed to rude yankees.

 

[tkd lisa]

I've lived in both.

Lived in Indianapolis most of my life (over 1 million). Now live in rural Maryland.

Having moved from city to country, I've noticed that the people in the small towns expect their kids to entertain themselves more. The parents are much less into chauffering their kids to structured activities. It's more like "go outside and play". And they do! It's just like when we were kids!

And I firmly agree with the comment on driving and public transportation. In the small town, if you can't drive, you are really stuck! You can only live in a limited area, because there isn't much within walking distance, and no public transportation to be had.

People are friendlier at a surface level in the small towns (ie. smile and wave at people even when they don't know them). But I think it's harder to make real friends when you move into a small town. I've had people here say that they'd like to make new friends, but they have family that they don't have time to see!

 

[Evil Princess]

Originally posted by KathyFP

People in the country walk a lot more

I don't know about that...I live in Boston now and I walk SO MUCH MORE than I ever did when I lived in the suburbs. Not that my town was small by any means, but I would literally drive to a friend's house around the corner. Here I walk almost everywhere, unless it's raining.

 

[RUDisney]

A couple good example of people from smaller towns knowing everyone are:

1. The mayor of Scranton's wife said that she met someone who was so upset because her DD was moving away. When asked to where is she moving, the mother replied, "Archbald." (Archbald is a 15 minute drive from Scranton.) I think this shows how family oriented people are in smaller towns.

2. I was on a cruise a few years ago and met someone in the pool. We started talking about PA... he was from NJ. I mentioned where I was from and he said his cousin was from here. Not only did I know his cousin... he graduated with my DH and worked for my DH for awhile. Shows that everyone knows everyone else's business in a small town.

People are definitely more closed minded in small towns. Prejudice is alive and well in the older community.

I think people in larger cities tend to be better educated per capita and overall tend to smoke less. A friend of mine noted this when she lived in Boston. She said no one smoked... at least publicly. When she moved to central PA, to a smaller town, she said she was in the minority by not smoking.

These are generalizations and observations. I'm not trying to incite any anger or demean anyone with these statements.