Does anyone live somewhere that others have a negative opinion about?

[lecach]

Well I see I am not alone - I guess thats good and bad. For what its worth I dont have a negative opinion of any of the areas you've all mentioned.

 

[clarabelle]

The town I live in now was insulted in a song
by Linda Ronstadt and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

I beg your pardon, mama, what did you say?
My mind was drifting off on Martinique Bay.
It's not that I'm not interested, you see;
Augusta, Georgia is just no place to be.

I think Jamaican in the moonlight.
Sandy beaches, drinking rum every night.
We got no money, mama, but we can go;
We'll split the difference, go to Coconut Grove.

 

[MinnieM3]

That's not fair... I also hear you have good BBQ!!!

Well, yeah, we do have that....down here in the Lowcountry it's mustard based.

It's so easy to just go out in the backyard and slaughter a pig whenever you're in the BBQ mood!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Yes! It's extremely irritating, too We live in Southwest VA, very close to the KY and WV borders. It's the "Heart of Appalachia" (thats pronounced Ap-uh-latch-uh by the way not Ap-a-la-sha like they say on the news.

I love where I was born, raised, and live. Its only others perception of this place and its natives that are negative.

We do have plumbing, electric lights, TV, etc. Heck, I am even educated

 

[goofygirl]

Philadelphia- people think we all talk like Rocky Balboa (well... yo, SOME of us do) and that we all worship Ben Franklin (well... kinda).

I love it here though. I think I'd lose my mind in a small town.

 

[joshsmom]

I live in IL, just east of St. Louis, and people are always like, OMG you live in East St. Louis?! Noooo.... I'm pretty sure if it were bigger it would compete with Detroit, but alas, there are towns in IL east of East St. Louis. Still small, still Midwest, still deserving of most of the typical small-town Mid-west stereotypes... ie- we live for county fairs, we all belong to a 4-H club, Wal-Mart is classy shopping but for a REALLY good deal go to Dollar General... You know.

HI NEIGHBOR~!!!!! I'm not sure *exactly* where you live, but I live in Granite City, IL--which is about 10 miles NORTH of E. St. Louis, IL. Lots of Midwest stereotypes. BUT people in THIS AREA are THE WORST at wondering why anyone would live in Granite City. We have two Steel companies in Granite City and they put out A LOT of emissions--meaning stinky air. Most people around here can't BELIEVE I would live here--but I was born and raised here and I probably will die here (hopefully 100 years from now!!) Granite City is known as the armpit of Madison County. How does that strike you!!!!

 

[beckmrk04]

HAHAHAHA!!!

Joshsmom- I know it's the armpit- I lived in Edwardsville!!!! And yes GC is stinky My aunt works in what used to be granite city steel.. My husband and I moved to Mt. Olive, though, about 1 year ago!

But, we're just a hop skip and a jump. Or, 1/2 hour in the car. Whichever.

 

[lecach]

Philadelphia- people think we all talk like Rocky Balboa (well... yo, SOME of us do) and that we all worship Ben Franklin (well... kinda).

I love it here though. I think I'd lose my mind in a small town.

We love Philly - my aunt and uncle live in Westchester. And my DH is coming up tomorrow for work - he is a newspaper sportswriter and is covering the Duke vs Temple game. I wish I was coming with him.

 

[leighe]

I live in Kentucky and still have my original teeth.

As do I! I love Kentucky. We get all the weather - hot summers, beautiful fall leaves, snow in the winter. The cost of living is reasonable - some of the prices I read on the Dis for houses, wedding gifts make me go . The people are friendly. Plus we have the Cats!

 

[pixiemomma]

I live in an area that people have a negative opinion about as well mostly because they are ignorant, racist idiots. I have to give alot of these .

 

[msdznyduck]

I completely agree with you! Just a few weeks ago I went to NYC to see the christmas tree (1 hour) and went to Atlantic City (1.5 hours away). I'm an hour to the beach as well as an hour to the Poconos. Some parts of NJ are congested and not very nice, but most of NJ is really beautiful. There are lots of jobs and great schools and universities.

 

[GoofyDad869]

I love where I live! I'm a transplanted Yankee (OK, Hoosier...). The negative connotations of East Tennessee are similar to what some of you mention in KY, WV, western VA, western NC, GA & AL.

I think what people imagine of life here is a dilapidated shack or trailer home with many filthy kids, a useless refrigerator on the porch. Out front in the yard there are two rusted-out junkers slowly reverting back to their base elements, in the side are pig pens and backwoods is a moonshine still - the big-ol' satellite dish connected to the house is worth more than everything else around.

In Tennessee there are three very distinct cultural & geographic regions - west Tenn (Memphis area) is flat-land, river country. Middle Tennessee (Nashville area) is foothills. Once you cross the Cumberland Plateau at Crossville into East TN (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Kingsport/Bristol/Johnson City), you're in true Appalachia. I identify E. TN more with Atlanta GA than Memphis TN.

One of the lesser-known facts about East Tennessee is that during the Civil War, E. TN was a strong area of Unionist sympathy. Similar to the history of WV & VA, except WV successfully seceded from VA in 1863... There were also plans for E. TN to secede from the rest of Tennessee in that timeframe. KAMommy has documented ancestors who fought (& died) in small local skirmishes during the Civil War.

No state income tax, good schools (in our county), relatively low standard of living (compared to other parts of the US). We are both professionals (I'm a partner in an architectural firm, KAMommy is a VP in a large regional bank), so we're making good money...

I've lived in Indianapolis IN (9 years), Terre Haute IN (8 years), Beckley WV (1 year), Knoxville TN (13 years), & finally in Maryville TN (directly south-east of Knoxville) for the last 5 years. I've spent considerable amounts of time (1+ weeks) recently (say in the last 5 years) in Orlando FL (duh), Atlanta GA, Asheville NC, Lexington KY, Chicago IL, Indianapolis IN, & Philadelphia PA. I've had many shorter recent visits to Nashville TN, Cincinatti OH, Charleston WV, Charleston SC, Hilton Head SC, & Savannah GA. I've been up into NYC & beyond into New England many, many years ago. We've cruised the Caribbean a couple of times. I've never been farther west of the Mississippi than St. Louis MO.

 

[kmebee]

Well, let's see...
I live in Cleveland - The Mistake on the Lake; The City where the river burns; The city where if you want to root for a losing team - move here.

I lived in Anchorage where everyone thinks there is no daylight and people live in igloos.

And I lived in Omaha where people think there is nothing but corn and cows.

I think those take the cake...

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

This thread is great!

We used to live outside Atlanta. All our friends and family were always worried for our safety. I think they thought everyone were gun-rack-toting rednecks! Shoot first, ask questions later

 

[MickeysGirl]

We live in Durham, NC too! DH's parents (who live in Cary for those of you familiar) tell me that I shouldn't have bought the house and that my children will all be murdered in their beds. Honestly people, just because some places in a city have some crime...it doesn't mean that my neighborhood isn't great, with a lot of friendly people.

 

[rascalmom]

According to recent comments by Charles Barkley, we live in a vast wasteland.

That's okay with me - I enjoy my wasteland. I don't miss the crowds, traffic, noise or high cost of living of other areas. I enjoy being able to take a drive and see open spaces. I like that my mom lives on the complete opposite end of our metro area, but it never takes me more than 30 minutes to get to her house (26 miles away).

I've seen two wonderful theatre productions here in the past three weeks, there are plenty of sports opportunities, wonderful restaurants, museums and beautiful lakes. We might have a shortage of uber-hip nightclubs, but I would be going to those anyway. If I miss Mickey or the beach, I can always take a vacation.

Pretty much where-ever you live - there's no place like home!

 

[we3disneygo]

I live in Peoria,IL .........I have family who live out in the country about 1-2 hrs. away who ask How can I live in the big city????? I have also lived in Chicago, Indy--Pendltion Pike area..........some high school kids from my hometown Canton,IL ( 1hr. from Peoria) went up North to a highschool for a week and the kids up there asked them if they were rednecks, they said yes !!!!

 

[diskids2]

I live 20 minutes north of NYC. I get alot of stares when people ask me where I live and I say NYC because many people don't know Westchester County.

 

[willis37862]

DH's family used to make little sarcastic remarks about me because I am originally from here. Whatever.

I know how that feels. I have lived in TN the last 16 years and my in-laws are from up north and always make redneck-hillbilly jokes about us here. Arrrrrrrrr. That always gets my blood boiling.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

I live in Peoria,IL .........I have family who live out in the country about 1-2 hrs. away who ask How can I live in the big city????? I have also lived in Chicago, Indy--Pendltion Pike area..........some high school kids from my hometown Canton,IL ( 1hr. from Peoria) went up North to a highschool for a week and the kids up there asked them if they were rednecks, they said yes !!!!

well come on, it is Canton. my wife grew up in Farmington, IL and I still call her a hick.