Regional Differences

[Robinrs]

I have found that the concept of urgency varies greatly from region to region. I'm from Jersey, things must get done now. Recently I have been dealing with a lot of people from the south and midwest on a professional level... things don't happen so quickly with them

I found that out when I moved South, too. REALLY learned what a New York Minute meant!

It's not what I learned on the DIS, though. What I learned from moving from the North to the South could be a sitcom!

 

[hambirg]

That people apparently eat dinner at 5pm some places and now, from reading this thread....,



WHAT?!?!

Whaaaa??? What time do you eat dinner?

Here's another one. . .someplaces they call lunch "dinner" and dinner "supper."

 

[Missy1961]

That people call spaghetti sauce gravy

That people have wine at Thanksgiving and antipasti and pasta

(Don't get me wrong- it all sounds great to me- I just don't see it here in GA)

The spaghetti sauce/gravy thing is supposed to be a NY thing--but I have been a NYer all my life & I have never called it that! It's always been sauce in my house, and my Italian grandma's house too. But I do say "on line" instead of "in line", like a lot of NYers.

And I think the "cover your plate" wedding cash doesn't happen as much nowadays. I haven't been to a wedding in a long time, but I know I couldn't afford to give a bride & groom what my single plate would cost these days. Even when things were cheaper, I gave a set amount--what I could afford.

The regional thing I learned here re weddings: that I should invite every child of the adults I am inviting. I certainly would have invited my nieces and nephews, but the children of my cousins? I have 15 cousins on one side (most married with kids) and about 25 on the other. I have no idea any more how many kids they all have. But there would have been no way I could have afforded to have all of them if I had ever gotten married. Most of these kids I have only seen in pictures, and some I have never even seen a picture. And if that meant their parents didn't come to the wedding, so be it.

 

[Missy1961]

Another thing I learned here: that many have 7 fishes on Christmas Eve. (again, supposed to be a NY Italian thing). I have never heard of that, and when I asked my dad he hadn't either.

 

[cornflake]

Whaaaa??? What time do you eat dinner?

Here's another one. . .someplaces they call lunch "dinner" and dinner "supper."

I mean dinner, like the theoretical third meal of the day, heh. And to me, dinner time is someplace between 7-9, on the early side of the window if there are small kids involved. Such has been for me and most everyone I've known my whole life. If someone asks if I want to meet them for dinner, it's assumed we mean around 7:30-8:30 unless someone specifies otherwise.

Heck, that's when reservations are tough at restaurants too, so it's not just my family or anything. If you're going to dinner before a show, meaning at 6:30 or so, that's early, pre-show seating, that doesn't interfere with the dinner crowd because you're gone by 7:30.

If someone invited me to eat at 5pm I'd think they were having a really late lunch.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

The notion of this intrigues me.

It's one of the things I love about the CB - so many from different places with different viewpoints and practices, etc. I've learned a lot here.

Name some things you've been surprised to read about parts of the country different from your own. (Other countries feel free to join in.)

1 - That people hold "showers" for weddings and babies

2 - That fastfood places and supermarkets don't sell alchool

3 - How many people home school - more or less unheard of here - you'd have to be a teacher and then pay for other teachers so it would be private tutoring

4 - That some schools still have corporal punishment

5 - The whole wedding differences be it presents, food, ceremony etc etc

6 - That people work huge, huge amounts of hours. I knew that you have little holiday time but had no idea of the length of the working day/week

7 -That people get paid really high wages - but I still don't know if those amounts are gross or net and how your taxes work - sort of explained by point 6

and there's loads more

It's all interesting and sometimes very educational on the Dis

 

[Conservative Hippie]

That people call spaghetti sauce gravy

That people have wine at Thanksgiving and antipasti and pasta

(Don't get me wrong- it all sounds great to me- I just don't see it here in GA)

Gravy - so weird! Even though I know now that some people call spaghetti sauce gravy, I still picture brown gravy poured over noodles.

 

[clarabelle]

I thought people generally have wine with a formal dinner.

Punkin
this might not be regional. It may be socio-economic or religious. But I have NEVER had wine at a family gathering.
Southern Baptist tend not to do that. (or at least they didn't when I was growing up) I am not around so many Baptists these days -maybe things have changed
Also we had large family potlucks -so they weren't very formal

Again -not criticizing -just noticing the differences

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Whaaaa??? What time do you eat dinner?

Here's another one. . .someplaces they call lunch "dinner" and dinner "supper."

Where I grew up what you eat around noon is dinner and what you eat around 5.30 pm is tea.

Supper you might have around 9.30 pm

Where I live now from noon to 2.00pm it's lunch and what you eat at 8.00pm see 9.00pm is dinner

 

[Mandychelle79]

That people do not have cookie tables at weddings

That people actually live in areas where they are told what they can and cannot have in their driveway, yard, etc.

That some feel you have to cover your cost of plate at a wedding

That 30 people seems like a huge party

That people have to supply the whole class with supplies, and given a list of what to buy, including types of crayons and color of folders.

 

[Danauk]

1 - That people hold "showers" for weddings and babies

2 - That fastfood places and supermarkets don't sell alchool

3 - How many people home school - more or less unheard of here - you'd have to be a teacher and then pay for other teachers so it would be private tutoring

4 - That some schools still have corporal punishment

5 - The whole wedding differences be it presents, food, ceremony etc etc

6 - That people work huge, huge amounts of hours. I knew that you have little holiday time but had no idea of the length of the working day/week

7 -That people get paid really high wages - but I still don't know if those amounts are gross or net and how your taxes work - sort of explained by point 6

and there's loads more

It's all interesting and sometimes very educational on the Dis

I agree with all the above (except for fast food places selling alcohol, that doesn't happen here, but supermarkets do including a wide variety of spirits). Plus I have learned about the difference in pet ownership between the UK and USA. What is considered normal for cat owners here is vastly different in the USA (probably due to our different natural wildlife I guess.)

 

[Tosie]

I have had a few of those moments, too. Most recently there was a thread talking about a birthday party where pizza would be served. Someone said that they "just had a few pies delivered." And I wondered why we were suddenly talking about dessert... and why dessert was pie instead of cake at a birthday party (although i'd be fine with that myself. I prefer pie.) Then I realized that pie = pizza pie. But nobody calls pizzas "pies" around here.

LOL! When my best friend moved to Georgia from North Jersey she called a pizza place and ordered a "large pie". The girl was very sweet and said "I'm sorry ma'am, we don't serve pie." It took my friend a minute to realize that yes, she HAD called the right place, just used the wrong word!

 

[surfergirl602]

The standing in/on line thing really annoys me. I'm from Maine, we say we stand in line. I don't know why anyone would call it standing on line.... I don't see one drawn there on the ground, so what exactly should I be standing on?

 

[LuLuO]

I found it strange that a guest would be invited to the dance part of a wedding reception but not the dinner part of a wedding reception.

 

[Tosie]

Gravy - so weird! Even though I know now that some people call spaghetti sauce gravy, I still picture brown gravy poured over noodles.

I'm a gravy convert. It was sauce until I met dh (North Jersey Italian family - Newark/Hillside) and now I make a killer gravy!

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm a gravy convert. It was sauce until I met dh (North Jersey Italian family - Newark/Hillside) and now I make a killer gravy!

Most people I know call it sauce if it has no meat, gravy if there is meat, and no one uses the term "spagetti sauce." And I know many people here who do the 7 fishes on Christmas Eve., although I think a lot of people just have many varieties of seafood now, not exactly 7.

 

[sue1013]

The standing in/on line thing really annoys me. I'm from Maine, we say we stand in line. I don't know why anyone would call it standing on line.... I don't see one drawn there on the ground, so what exactly should I be standing on?

Why would it annoy you? I'm very sure there are things done in Maine that those in NJ wouldn't understand. It's just different different is ok.

 

[cornflake]

Why would it annoy you? I'm very sure there are things done in Maine that those in NJ wouldn't understand. It's just different different is ok.

Because it makes no linguistic sense.

Would you say you lived 'on' Pennsylvania or whatever?

That said, idioms are idiomatic.

 

[Minnesota!]

NEVER even heard of a viennese hour....

Me either!

Hmmm. . .really? Maybe the sit down dinner thing is more familial than regional. Admittedly, most of the weddings I have been to have been relatives'. Our family is from the midwest and I think sit down dinners are the norm there. I do think buffets are pretty common here too.

I don't think I have ever been to a plated dinner reception...wait...there was one when I was a young teen. Had to pick my food months in advance. Wasn't a huge fan of it.

The covering your plate thing gets me everytime. Just seems so....selfish?

And presents are still definitely bought for weddings around here! What do you think registries are for?? And if you go to the shower....you still give at the wedding, too.

We eat dinner between 6 and 7...any earlier and it seems weird, and any later and it just gets to be too long of a night.

It's lunch and dinner here...supper just sounds....backwards? I don't know. My BFF's have "dinner" and "supper" and they small town folk...so it sounds a little country/hick to me to call it that.

I have learned a lot on the DIS about regional differences....a lot makes me scratch my head!

Oooooh....the biggie - that people actually leave their shoes on in their/other people's houses. that is a big no no here.


ETA - I don't actually think poorly of people who do the things I find so odd. I just think that around here, it would be seen as rude. Whereas the same stuff that I do would be seen as rude in other places.

Just what you were brought up with/taught.

 

[clarabelle]

I agree with all the above (except for fast food places selling alcohol, that doesn't happen here, but supermarkets do including a wide variety of spirits). Plus I have learned about the difference in pet ownership between the UK and USA. What is considered normal for cat owners here is vastly different in the USA (probably due to our different natural wildlife I guess.)

I think the dis is a cat loving bunch
If there are lots of outdoor cats on my street (if that is what you were referring to)