Regional Differences

[indimom]

Everybody sees it differently, and I agree that getting married young -- like teens or early twenties -- will leave the individual without a certain set/type of experiences that being single and living on your own provides.

Traveling the world, though, or hiking through Europe (or South America or Africa or China or...) is something that most people have never done and will never do. Lots of reasons, one being time, one being money, one being uneasiness in strange situations. I'm glad you got what sounds like a gap year -- I envy that. I had to go straight from high school to college or enjoy the charms of Viet Nam while carrying an M-16. (Remember the draft?) I had to go to work directly out of college because I wasn't at all fond of starving or living under a bridge. (I am NOT a troll, despite what I've been called on a forum or two!) Those were my options. You have been very fortunate, to have the opportunities you've had.

I'm pretty sure you're stating honest opinions, but they are coming across as elitist.

I agree. This sounds more like an economic difference than a regional difference. I know plenty of people who have traveled the globe later in life (after marriage and children), but none who took a year off to travel between college and career. Everyone I know, went straight into the workforce, generally because they didn't have thousands to throw at travel yet.

 

[Michelle67]

I've been thinking this for two days, and I just have to say it...

Around here, "cover your plate" means someone is about to sneeze. Or that my best friend's mother is about to go off on one of her coughing fits. (Okay just kidding, Washingtonians do know how to cover their mouths...but honestly I've never heard that term in reference to wedding gifts before this board)

I have a pet peeve with this regional difference.

I get really irked when people say "in Long Island" and not "ON Long Island". I love ON LI, not in it.

Also, you can make a right on a red light unless it there is a sign saying you can't.

Yeah, someone already told me that (I'm the one that mentioned my LI hubby not doing it). There's a ton of pages here, so I'm not surprised you missed it though. I'm still waiting to see if anybody can/will tell me if he picked that habit up in MD or DC, then, or if he's just skipped a groove in his old age. Haha. Either way, it drives me and the people behind him bananas.

I called mine Mom/Mother/Ma and Dad, Granny, Grandma, Gramps, and Grampa, but I grew up in Michigan.

Here in Kentucky it's often Mother, Daddy, Memaw, and Pepaw (long e's) or Mamaw and Papaw (short first a's).

I've never, ever heard these before.

My grandmother is MeeMaw. She lives in OKC, but she was born in Alabama, so we may have come by that word because it was what she had called her grandmother, and what my father and uncle had called her mother...etc. It may be something my family "gets" from Alabama, not Oklahoma. I have another friend in Tulsa, OK whose grandmother is also MeeMaw, though. Grandpa was just Grandpa (but he passed away 30 years ago).

 

[tlbwriter]

It just seems alien to us the people get married so young - without traveling the world, hiking through Europe - you know - expanding your mind.

And yes I also find it strange/different for someone to have never lived on their own - it is just a difference from my region to possibly yours.

I do feel sorry for people who do not expand their horizons and do new things - but heck if they are happy - good for them!

Then I guess I feel sorry for people who feel they have to stop expanding their horizons and doing new things after they get married.

 

[Michelle67]

Then I guess I feel sorry for people who feel they have to stop expanding their horizons and doing new things after they get married.

 

[indimom]

Then I guess I feel sorry for people who feel they have to stop expanding their horizons and doing new things after they get married.

Yep, those poor saps. All they get is a year or two or ten to expand their horizons before they settle down and stagnate. I get to expand my mind every year until I die!

 

[U2_rocks!]

Age of marrying is all over the place here - some people get married young, some much later. It is quite dependent on when you meet "the one". It's a small island I live on, so many people meet their SO when they go away to school. Some marry the boyfriend they had through high school. Some people just don't find the right person here, and it takes "new blood" arriving on the island or them going away to live or on a work contract to find them. Some people, like 2 of my best friends, still haven't found the right guy, and they are 43!

I got married at 22 straight out of university because I had found the guy I wanted by then and we didn't want to just live together. We also couldn't bear to live apart. We did our traveling after marriage and before kids - we didn't have our first child until over 9 years after getting married. But I went to university in Canada, thousands of miles away from home and in another country to boot, and I didn't meet DH until the summer after my second year (I was home for the summer, working) so he wasn't even there with me. I visited many parts of Canada on my own and with friends - I learned plenty of independence before marriage.

 

[kbeverina]

Well I didn't say the bolded part, so I can't really address it exactly. I don't live in NJ so I have a feeling mjkacmom's town situation is different. I can tell you about here though.

We don't really have "towns" the way other areas seem to. I mean of course we have towns and cities. But we tend to have stuff everywhere, not broken up into different towns. All the towns sort of run into each other. With all kinds of different housing is mixed in. Single family homes and low income housing may be be a few miles apart. There are certainly parts of our major suburban cities where someone who worked at McDonalds wouldn't be able to afford to live. There are parts where none of us could afford to live unless we were millionaires.

I guess I don't see the big deal because most people here don't live in the same town where they work. People just work where they find work, and live where they can afford to live.

I also don't know anyone who spends their entire life as a cashier or in a similar position. I'm not sure how you would support a family, unless you married someone who made more money. The cost of living is so high.

This is a really good description. It's probably changing as more people stay here after growing up here, but when I was younger, most people's parents worked for the government. And they weren't from here (the parents). People moved here to work for the government and we lived in suburbs that didn't exist just a few years before.

My mom is from Ohio, my dad from PA. My husband's mom is from WV, his dad from Vermont. They all moved here before meeting to work for the government. This was very typical of most people I knew growing up. Very few people had local grandparents and other extended family members. I think it's also the reason you can't always pinpoint "the way we do things here" or "what we call things here", etc. There's a lot of everything thrown all together. We grew up with regional differences.

I didn't really realize this until I lived in southwestern VA for a few years after graduating college. My closest friend there, her family lived there for generations. Her dad, his two brothers and her grandmother all lived on the same plot of land. Her entire extended family lived in town. When we went to the mall, she knew most people (this is just not going to happen at Tyson's Corner, the mall I went to growing up).

 

[indimom]

Back to regional differences, what about games/activities that are popular in your area?

I'd have to go with:
Corn Hole
Euchre
Bingo

I don't play any of them (well, euchre on occasion), but these are probably the top three around here. There are tournaments and fundraisers revolving around all three, and Bingo is a huge fundraiser for the local catholic churches.

 

[U2_rocks!]

Back to regional differences, what about games/activities that are popular in your area?

I'd have to go with:
Corn Hole
Euchre
Bingo

I don't play any of them (well, euchre on occasion), but these are probably the top three around here. There are tournaments and fundraisers revolving around all three, and Bingo is a huge fundraiser for the local catholic churches.

Bridge, Canasta and Mah-Jong - more popular with the women
Bingo as a fundraiser
Dominoes - mostly amoung men while drinking (yes, it's not just a kids' matching game )

Some others:

Beach cricket
Road tennis
Darts

 

[U2_rocks!]

How many of you still have Drive-in theatres? We still have one (used to have 2 when I was a kid). It's open year-round because it's always warm here.

 

[indimom]

How many of you still have Drive-in theatres? We still have one (used to have 2 when I was a kid). It's open year-round because it's always warm here.

We've got one left about 40 minutes from here. Seasonal though.

 

[SaraJayne]

How many of you still have Drive-in theatres? We still have one (used to have 2 when I was a kid). It's open year-round because it's always warm here.

A brand new one just opened last week about 15 mins away.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

A brand new one just opened last week about 15 mins away.

You are so lucky! I think the only one I know of is in WI Dells. I'd like to take the kids there to experience it.

 

[SaraJayne]

You are so lucky! I think the only one I know of is in WI Dells. I'd like to take the kids there to experience it.

I think there's one in Door County, too.

 

[Mandychelle79]

Exactly. I remember when I was younger and my mother explained "cover your plate" to me as she wants to give the couple a gift. So if they are paying $30 for my dinner, I'll give them $40 so they'll have a little extra to keep for themselves. Also, this guideline is used by the gift giver to determine their gift and not by the couple trying to figure out how much they should receive in gifts. Couples are generally not planning an extravagent wedding with the expectation that they will receive more in gifts then they paid for the wedding. There are always exeptions to that but for the most part, people are not throwing weddings to make money.

Actually, around here most receptions are held at firehalls or the like. There are not too many fancy places. I know my sister's plates were about 11 per plate. So 25 would have covered two people. I had family cater my wedding as a gift. I think my parents ended up spending 3.50 per plate or something like that. It was 1000 for the food and my mom gave them 200 to cook it, though she was going to give more they wouldnt take it.

 

[mhsjax]

It just seems alien to us the people get married so young - without traveling the world, hiking through Europe - you know - expanding your mind.

And yes I also find it strange/different for someone to have never lived on their own - it is just a difference from my region to possibly yours.

I do feel sorry for people who do not expand their horizons and do new things - but heck if they are happy - good for them!

Some of us don't want to go to Europe. I wouldn't go if you gave it to me. No need to feel sorry for me. I guess I will just keep my closed mind.

The problem is saying you(You in general) feel sorry for people for different reasons. That isn't list regional differences. It is a degrading opinion.

FWIW< I know plenty of people that married later, they lived on their own traveled and guess what, they can't stand their spouses and either divorce them or find any excuse to be away from them.

We don't need your pity really, please keep it and put it somewhere where it may do some good.

 

[mhsjax]

Why? Is that considered wrong in your region? Or is it religiously or culturally considered "wrong"?
Just curious, as it seems very common now.

If you want to play house, then get married. Just the way I was raised.

 

[Carrie_Cat]

What does everyone call their parents and grandparents?

When I was a kid they were mummy, daddy, granny, grandad, great-gran and grandpop. As an adult I shortened my parents and grandmother to mum and dad and gran, though I do sometimes refer to my parents as mummy and daddy when I'm talking about them (but not TO them). Oh, and to differentiate between the grandparents I called them granny or grandad "lastname".

Mummy/Daddy became Mum and Dad. Grandma/Grandad last name for all 4 of them and for my fathers mother also Gran

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

Exit ramp= leaving the road
on ramp = driving onto the road

And for me it's highway, interstate for roads that start with I and freeway for major mulit-lane roads that aren't technically Interstate roads

That is true. I have never called it an entrance ramp, but an on or off ramp. I guess exit popped in my head because that is what the sign says, there is not one that says entrance as you get on So does anyone call part of their highway/freeway/interstate the bypass? We do call part of one of our state routes (highway?) that, so I just wondered.You bypass going through the city (which is more of a town) so I guess that is why it is called that.

What does everyone call their parents and grandparents?

Mom/Dad or joking or having fun, Mommy or Daddy lol. I called my Grandparents Grandma/Grandpa Last name, but on one side my cousins called my Grandparents Mamaw and Papaw First Name. My children call their Grandparents Grandma/Grandpa first name, except their Great Grandma, she is Granny to everyone lol.

How many of you still have Drive-in theatres? We still have one (used to have 2 when I was a kid). It's open year-round because it's always warm here.

There are two I think around us. They are kinda far and the movies do not start until what I think is too late for kids 9:00. I know there is one about 45 min away. I am not sure if they are open year round, but I would not think so.

Another difference is Disney has an annual pass, Kings Island has a season pass, because you can only go April- Oct.

 

[Imzadi]

How many of you still have Drive-in theatres? We still have one (used to have 2 when I was a kid). It's open year-round because it's always warm here.

I thought they all went extinct. When ever I see the remnants of an old Drive-in theatre parking lot, it even looks like an old dinosaur grave yard, with the poles and hilly grooves & trench lines in the ground.

Interesting to find they are still around. I still like the concept. No worrying about hearing strangers in the car next to you talking throughout the whole movie. Also, you can bring anything you want to eat. If they turned the events into tailgate parties, like at baseball games, where people get to BBQ & grill foods before the movies start, to would probably catch on again as a real "event" to do.