Misconceptions People Have

[scoutie]

What are some misconceptions that people have? It can be about where you live, what you do, your family size...anything! Let's learn about each other!

I'm originally from Iowa, and while the state gets a bad rap, it's not a 100% corn-filled land of desolation and despair. Des Moines is a wonderful city with theater, great restaurants, and wonderful people. Iowa also has one of the highest literacy rates in the country.

My husband is an attorney, and people often think that all attorneys make a lot of money. He's a prosecutor for the state, and his starting salary was $35,000.

What misconceptions do people have about you?

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Well the most common misconception about where I live - New Jersey - is that everybody talks like and acts like Tony Soprano or the people from Jersey Shore and this is nothing but a over populated, congested hell hole.

I pass 7 farms on my way to my kids school. The school is approx 7 miles away and I go through two stop signs and zero stop lights on the way there. In fact my town has no stop lights at all and no sidewalks either.

ETA and I live in Northern NJ and am less than 90 minutes outside of NYC.

 

[loves to dive]

That if you speak with a southern accent you must be dumb. I can't tell you how many times I've had to start over in conversations with vendors over the phone because they think they should talk down to me because I'm from Georgia. Yes, I own shoes (more than I need or should according to DH) no I don't use bad grammar, yes I'm polite, it doesn't mean I'm not smart.

 

[TAX GUY]

*look at avatar*

That because I'm a fan of the Patriots, I/we are the most annoying fans.

Because I live in Massachusetts I must drive like a..... ok, maybe that one is true.

 

[HM]

Here's one that used to happen in school a lot....I'm 5'9" which seems tall for a woman I guess, because people kept asking me if I played Basketball, or tried to get me on their intermural basket ball team. I do not play and would not have been an asset.

 

[SC Minnie]

That if you speak with a southern accent you must be dumb. I can't tell you how many times I've had to start over in conversations with vendors over the phone because they think they should talk down to me because I'm from Georgia. Yes, I own shoes (more than I need or should according to DH) no I don't use bad grammar, yes I'm polite, it doesn't mean I'm not smart.

I agree so much so that I no longer have much of a southern accent anymore. It will come out if I'm talking to friends or someone else with a southern accent otherwise you couldn't tell where I was from.

 

[morgan98]

That because we do not have children, I am clueless about all things related to children. I have several children that I am close to and really do like kids. It just wasn't in the cards for me due to timing of a divorce, remarriage, etc.

 

[tvguy]

On the DIS boards I think the biggest misconception is that things are the same across the nation. scoutie's post is a great example regarding her husbands pay. I had to look it up but that job starts at $91,997.28 here and tops out at $148,707.36 annually after you complete 5 full years employment.
And of course, there was the thread a while back that kind of illustrated it better. Some thought $100,000 salary for an individual was dead center in the middle class, and others thought it was in the upper middle class, and some truly believed it was lower middle class..

 

[scoutie]

I had to look it up but that job starts at $91,997.28 here and tops out at $148,707.36 annually after you complete 5 full years employment.

(Packing up and moving to wherever TVGUY lives). A public prosecutor for the state who starts at $91,000 is unheard of here.

 

[bcla]

That if you speak with a southern accent you must be dumb. I can't tell you how many times I've had to start over in conversations with vendors over the phone because they think they should talk down to me because I'm from Georgia. Yes, I own shoes (more than I need or should according to DH) no I don't use bad grammar, yes I'm polite, it doesn't mean I'm not smart.

Known too many people from the south in my line of work. Not really much different other than an accent. There are exceptions though. One Texan I worked with (exclusively over the phone or by email) was extremely good at what he did, but his way of speaking wasn't always appropriate. I don't know how to describe it other than with loaded words. Maybe like a character out of King of the Hill.

 

[Christine]

I always feel like people in the rest of the country think "Washington, DC" is all museums and politic. No, actually, for many of us, it's home and we are part of the broken down system. I just cringe when I see headlines or TV memes that shout "Let's fix Washington" or "Dysfunction Washington." No, only a small (very powerful) group of people fit that bill, not the rest of us!

 

[bcla]

(Packing up and moving to wherever TVGUY lives). A public prosecutor for the state who starts at $91,000 is unheard of here.

About $80K/year in my county for a Deputy District Attorney. Advanced goes up to $144K. There are other categories like Senior Deputy District Attorney and Assistant that might be almost what a judge makes. The District Attorney is fixed at about $240K/year, but that's an elected office.

 

[BadPinkTink]

On the DIS boards I think the biggest misconception is that things are the same across the nation.

THIS ^^^^
and that what happens in USA or how things are in USA etc are the same in Europe or Australia. The world does not start at New York and end at Hawaii !!

 

[loves to dive]

Thought of another one. Just because my kid is grown I don't know what it's like to have little ones or how hard it is to be a single mother with little ones. Hello, he wasn't born a grown man and I was single from the time he was 10 months old.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

*look at avatar*

That because I'm a fan of the Patriots, I/we are the most annoying fans.

Because I live in Massachusetts I must drive like a..... ok, maybe that one is true.

Everyone knows Cowboys fans are the most annoying.

 

[7165red]

Well the most common misconception about where I live - New Jersey - is that everybody talks like and acts like Tony Soprano or the people from Jersey Shore and this is nothing but a over populated, congested hell hole.

I pass 7 farms on my way to my kids school. The school is approx 7 miles away and I go through two stop signs and zero stop lights on the way there. In fact my town has no stop lights at all and no sidewalks either.

ETA and I live in Northern NJ and am less than 90 minutes outside of NYC.

I lived in NJ and love it, know what you mean.

 

[Squirlz]

We both have very colorful and prominent tattoos. For some reason people without tattoos will ask us if we are tattoo artists. No, we just have a good one. People WITH tattoos ask "Who does your ink"?

 

[AlohaNow]

DH worked for a bunch of years as a funeral director. People thought I was nuts for continuing to work. Why would you need to work? Your husband is a funeral director! Just drive around in his Cadillac and have his babies! Just fill in the amount you want on that blank check he gets every two weeks! Wake up call people: He is merely an hourly employee of a large corporation. All that money you just spent on the funeral, yeah, the guy making the arrangements did not get handed that amount of money. The stereotype of funeral directors making tons of money stems from when funeral homes were family businesses. And just like if you owned a bakery or other business that did well, when you put up all the risk and money, you keep all the reward. Today almost no one wants to keep a funeral home, and there is one large corporation that is more than willing to buy you out when your kids turn up their noses at the thought of taking over the family business. The percentage of funeral homes owned by them is scary. (But legal, per antitrust monopoly laws.) DH recently left the ‘death care industry’ (yes, a term they actually use) and is back in his old career. We are now doing so much better!

Additionally, from having college friends who then went on to medical or pharmacy or law school. Doctors and pharmacists and lawyers make sooooo much money. Um, do you want to see their student loan bills? Or their malpractice insurance bills? Yes, they should eventually reach a point where they are way far ahead of the rest of us, but then again, they put in the time and study to reach that goal.

ETA: That is actually the first time I ever mentioned on the DIS what DH did for a living. Why? I thought people would assume all sorts of things about us if I mentioned what he did. Why is she always on the budget board? Her husband is a funeral director! Yeah, misconceptions.

 

[MrJT]

That because I'm a fan of the Patriots, I/we are the most annoying fans.
Because I live in Massachusetts I must drive like a..... ok, maybe that one is true.

I lived in New England for almost 7 years...the driving thing...maybe a little truth...but then again, bad drivers are every where!
But the fandom issue, Pats fans aren't the worst. It's the Red Sox fans that are the worst. Usually the same people, but different attitudes about their teams.

 

[missnic]

I went to a school famous for their football team. No, I am not a fan of that team. I actually grew to hate it over the 4 years I was there.

I grew up in Iowa. No, I'm not a farmer. I'm not sure I've ever really even been on a farm.

I married young, and have been married for a good while. No, I don't regret marrying young, and no, we are not trying to have children.