You all need to move to OK! People in the midwest are SO NICE [Archive]

Jo..

01-24-2012, 04:35 PM

When I moved here 5 years ago my next-door neighbors invited us over for Christmas dinner. We had known them for four days. We have been BEST friends ever since, and I have thought (at least daily) about how lucky we are to have such wonderful neighbors. It was a big part of our decision to demolish and re-build vs selling and buying elsewhere.

Sooo...We moved into a small rental house two weeks ago. A much poorer but still safe area. Mostly renters or the elderly.

I just got a knock on my door and opened it to a neighbor (Bonnie) who made us a CAKE!

Seriously, in NYC, if someone rang your doorbell and you weren't expecting them, you would kick them in the groin and call the police.

I love the Midwest.

MissyAg94

01-24-2012, 04:38 PM

I feel the same way about Texas. I miss it so much. :crying:

AnnieW625

01-24-2012, 04:39 PM

We were pretty close to moving to Lawton because DH was being telephone interviewed for a defense job at Ft. Sill, but the govt. yanked the funding for it. I tend to think Lawton was much more working class compared to the more metropolitan Tulsa and OKC, but overall I think we could have been happy there.

cvanbrunt

01-24-2012, 04:39 PM

I just moved to Boston from the mid-west. I am crazy homesick. We are a friendly lot, aren't we?

twowhat?

01-24-2012, 04:41 PM

It really is nice. Of course this depends on whether you're in a relatively safe area of town but it's fabulous to feel totally OK running out into a parking lot and grabbing a stranger to help jump a dead car battery after the sun's gone down (I'm in Texas).

People are genuinely nice and want to help.

edurnemk

01-24-2012, 04:43 PM

buddyleebaby

01-24-2012, 04:48 PM

Hey. I'm a New Yorker and I'm awesome. **** you, you weirdo!

(;):rotflmao:)

crayonblue

01-24-2012, 04:52 PM

I agree! The northeast needs to take a lesson from the south and the mid-west instead of making fun of them. Californians are nice too, at least in the San Diego area. I can't speak for the rest of the state as I haven't made it north yet. :)

I love my in-laws to death but they are here with us for 3 months and there is a stark difference between the laid back nice Californians and my in-a-hurry, can't stop and don't want you to get in their way New York in-laws! I keep telling them to relax and be nice!!!!

crl

01-24-2012, 04:57 PM

Hey. I'm a New Yorker and I'm awesome. **** you, you weirdo!

(;):rotflmao:)

:hysterical: I'm from the mid-west and dh is always slightly amazed and slight weirded out by how nice people are when we visit my parents.

Catherine

SkyrMommy

01-24-2012, 04:59 PM

Or far north NY (you know - nearly to Canada, eh!)... we're all ok and likely to stop and pull your car out of a ditch rather than bury you in it. :hysterical:

JBaxter

01-24-2012, 05:00 PM

*jumps ups and down* Pick me Jo I'll move to OK with you.

then you have to bake me a cake... scratch that.. fry me taco shells!

Jo..

01-24-2012, 05:00 PM

Hey. I'm a New Yorker and I'm awesome. **** you, you weirdo!

(;):rotflmao:)

Did you just freaking TALK TO ME? Do I KNOW YOU??? Do I FREAKING know you????

SLAP! :ROTFLMAO:

twowhat?

01-24-2012, 05:02 PM

I agree. I had the best neighbors EVER in IL, so sweet and friendly and helpful. And everyone smiles and cashiers make small talk...Oh, and I never had to carry the stroller off the Metra myself, someone would always run to help, or hold a door open at stores or whatever. Then I moved to another region and cashiers would be weirded out if I try to be nice and talk to them, and nobody says hi.

Hmmm. Does Chicago count? Cuz I had someone curse me out on the El for not getting out of my seat fast enough when the train stopped....it quite literally ruined my day, I was so shook up by it! LOL!

Jo..

01-24-2012, 05:03 PM

Did you just freaking TALK TO ME? Do I KNOW YOU??? Do I FREAKING know you????

SLAP! :ROTFLMAO:

Oh wait. I do know her.:hysterical:

cuca_

01-24-2012, 05:11 PM

I agree!! We moved to the midwest from outside of NYC five months ago and we all love it!! Everyone is so friendly and welcoming!! When we first came to visit my 8 year old was astounded that people at the airport/drugstore/supermarket wanted to chat with her. My 6 year old came back from her first day of school and she could not stop talking about how nice everyone was. It is such a refreshing change!!

arivecchi

01-24-2012, 05:31 PM

Hmmm. Does Chicago count? Cuz I had someone curse me out on the El for not getting out of my seat fast enough when the train stopped....it quite literally ruined my day, I was so shook up by it! LOL! There are definitely weirdos here but I remember the culture shock when I moved to Chicago from NYC. I was so used to minding my own business that I was surprised when people would talk to me in elevators! I went to NYC recently and people there are as charming as I remembered them to be. ;)

Chicago aside, people are unbelievably kind and friendly in all other areas of the Midwest I've been to.

twowhat?

01-24-2012, 05:35 PM

Hmmm. Does Chicago count? Cuz I had someone curse me out on the El for not getting out of my seat fast enough when the train stopped....it quite literally ruined my day, I was so shook up by it! LOL!

Yikes, that should be "shaken up", right? :bag :bag

There are definitely weirdos here but I remember the culture shock when I moved to Chicago from NYC. I was so used to minding my own business that I was surprised when people would talk to me in elevators! I went to NYC recently and people there are as charming as I remembered them to be. ;)

Chicago aside, people are unbelievably kind and friendly in all other areas of the Midwest I've been to.

Now that I'm remembering, it was on the El to a ballgame...so sporting tension might have contributed...

BabbyO

01-24-2012, 05:40 PM

Our neighbors (3 of them) routinely snow blow our driveway before DH gets done with work even though they know he's in the basement working...they want to have it done before I get home.

They also will stop over at a moment's notice to watch the kids if I need to run to the store. One of our neighbors even gave an insurance adjuster a hard time because he didn't know why a stranger was poking around the house while DH and I were gone.

DH and I have helped shovel & rake leaves and I make Christmas cookies for them every year.

I love my street and town and totally feel safe and a part of the community. I'd miss that if I lived somewhere else.

Twoboos

01-24-2012, 05:45 PM

I just moved to Boston from the mid-west. I am crazy homesick. We are a friendly lot, aren't we?

Hey, we are friendly here!

Occasionally. Well, maybe like one day a year. :bouncy:

Hey. I'm a New Yorker and I'm awesome. **** you, you weirdo!

(;):rotflmao:)

:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:

edurnemk

01-24-2012, 05:58 PM

Hmmm. Does Chicago count? Cuz I had someone curse me out on the El for not getting out of my seat fast enough when the train stopped....it quite literally ruined my day, I was so shook up by it! LOL!

Well I lived in a Chicago suburb (Evanston), and frequently went downtown and always ran into nice people, but you're right maybe the sport tension had something to do with it. There's weirdos everywhere.

lcarlson90

01-24-2012, 06:16 PM

I am jealous. I don't think I know one person on our street and we have lived in the same house for 6 years.

bcafe

01-24-2012, 06:33 PM

I have lived in the midwest my whole life. Is OK considered the midwest?? :bag

kellij

01-24-2012, 06:42 PM

I've lived in OK my whole life and it's great. I went to NYC for school for a year and I was constantly offended. At first. I couldn't get over how rude and pushy people where. By the end of the year it didn't phase me, I knew it was time to move back!

Binkandabee

01-24-2012, 06:53 PM

I've lived in OK my whole life as well and am astonished when I read posts about strangers not giving their seats up for other who need it more, hogging parking spots, not holding doors open, and the like. My Dad had a girlfriend once who lived on Long Island and we talked at length about this very issue. She told me that she once got into a screaming match (including cussing) with a cashier on Christmas Eve! If that happened here, it would make the news and I'm sure someone would call the police. She says that kind of thing happens all the time there and nobody so much as blinks an eye.

We're so kind here, that even the stores that have parking spaces reserved for "Employee of the Month" are not taken lol.

I've told DH numerous times, Oklahoma is as far North as I go. If we ever move, it's only further South!

wencit

01-24-2012, 06:59 PM

Hey, we are friendly here!

Occasionally. Well, maybe like one day a year. :bouncy: Hey, don't sell New England short! I was worried when I moved here a couple years ago after I heard that the people in this region can be as cold as their winters. Oh my goodness, that could not be further from the truth! Almost everyone I have met has truly been warm, friendly, and welcoming. The people here are wonderful.

Mopey

01-24-2012, 07:23 PM

Hey. I'm a New Yorker and I'm awesome. **** you, you weirdo!

(;):rotflmao:)

:yeahthat:

And there are some NYCers that are friendly and nice! I am always offered a spot on public transport cuz of the belly, doors held and plenty of smiles and helpfulness.

I do always go out of my way to try and be charming to tourists who ask directions, etc because I don't want them to feel unwelcome here :)

anamika

01-24-2012, 07:27 PM

Hey, don't sell New England short! I was worried when I moved here a couple years ago after I heard that the people in this region can be as cold as their winters. Oh my goodness, that could not be further from the truth! Almost everyone I have met has truly been warm, friendly, and welcoming. The people here are wonderful.

Yes, yes, yes! I have lived in TX, CA, upstate NY and MA and hands down New England is the most welcoming - especially (or more so) for immigrants. And most of my immigrant friends agree with me.

Twoboos

01-24-2012, 07:41 PM

mypa

01-24-2012, 07:55 PM

There are definitely weirdos here but I remember the culture shock when I moved to Chicago from NYC. I was so used to minding my own business that I was surprised when people would talk to me in elevators! I went to NYC recently and people there are as charming as I remembered them to be. ;)

Chicago aside, people are unbelievably kind and friendly in all other areas of the Midwest I've been to.

This was my experience when I moved from Los Angeles to Orange County, the counties are next to each other but the cultures are totally different.

vludmilla

01-24-2012, 08:16 PM

I've never been to Oklahoma so I can't compare but I think people are pretty friendly where I live just outside of NYC. Any time that my car has had trouble, I have had several people stop and offer to help. Most people go out of their way to hold the door, say hi, etcetera. I think that people in NYC can be aloof but I don't think that characterizes most of the NY area.

Jo..

01-24-2012, 08:19 PM

I have lived in the midwest my whole life. Is OK considered the midwest?? :bag

I thought it was! Maybe Southern Midwest?

People were very nice in WV too, very polite and kind. But not as "neighborly" and welcoming as they are here. In WV I lived on a private road with five other houses. I think it took over a year before we talked to our next-door neighbors, and even after several years, we weren't as close as we were with my neighbors here after just a few days.

artvandalay

01-24-2012, 08:24 PM

I have lived in the midwest my whole life. Is OK considered the midwest?? :bag

I never thought OK was a part of the Midwest, either

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States

*shrugs*

I agree, though, I find people here very friendly..Although I do want to move out of here!

Jo..

01-24-2012, 09:05 PM

We are in NE OK. Everyone here says we are in the midwest.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/oklahoma/1081195-should-oklahoma-midwest-state-southern-state.html

Indianamom2

01-24-2012, 09:49 PM

We Midwesterners ARE nice! :loveeyes:

I'm a former East Coaster and now I've lived in the midwest just about as long as the East Coast and I have to totally agree. People are just nicer here.

Our neighbors routinely snowblow our driveway (heck someone even shoveled us out once). I try to shovel so they don't have to, but sometimes they beat me to it.

Our neighbor got a new edger last summer and just decided to edge our large lawn for us...for free.

Another neighbor offered to cut down an old rusty basketball pole because he likes to play with his tools (I mean toys!).

People here are nice. Really!

mom3boys

01-24-2012, 11:11 PM

I just moved to Boston from the mid-west. I am crazy homesick. We are a friendly lot, aren't we?

Just pretend you like the Red Sox and remember Gloucester is pronounced "Glawster". You'll be fine.

DH is from the midwest and we live outside of NYC (I am from New England). It used to bother me that he would talk to cab drivers all the time. Like, just engage them in conversation to be nice. I was like "What are you doing?"

However, I do try to be nice and accommodating, especially when people ask for directions, etc. which they do all the time. And the men at the homeless shelter I walk by on my way to work are always very nice. They are always asking if I want a boyfriend!

In all seriousness, we live just outside NYC. The day after we moved in a neighbor came by with homemade cookies. We know almost all our near neighbors and watch out for each other. DH routinely shovels the sidewalk of our elderly neighbor and our other neighbor who is not in his home often. So NYC is not always so bad, but the sheer volume of people and the general misery of commuting (eg, absolutely pressed against complete strangers on a daily basis) may have something to do with people being so unfriendly. Although I suppose that happens in Chicago too . . . Yeah, may be we're just rude after all!

kellij

01-24-2012, 11:13 PM

DH is from the midwest and we live outside of NYC (I am from New England). It used to bother me that he would talk to cab drivers all the time. Like, just engage them in conversation to be nice. I was like "What are you doing?"

So you're saying some people DON'T talk to the cab drivers?! Huh.

Jo..

01-24-2012, 11:27 PM

When I lived in NYC, DH took me on a trip to Jamaica. I had just quit smoking and I was huffy (the trip was my reward for quitting).

The cab driver talked non-stop, and I almost jumped the seat and stabbed him in the eye with a pencil. I would NEVER do that as a midwesterner. :ROTFLMAO:

mom3boys

01-25-2012, 12:43 AM

So you're saying some people DON'T talk to the cab drivers?! Huh.

I will talk to them if they talk to me. I should say, DH is a much more outgoing person then me in all scenarios. He always befriends bartenders too, I never do that. But as for the cab, honestly, 90% of the time these days the cab driver is talking in West African French on a headset for the entire cab ride. I don't know when I would get a word in, anyway!

Roleysmom

01-25-2012, 12:52 AM

Hey! I think we are nice in Chicago! Well, behavior on the el and buses can be pretty bad (does your purse really need its own seat when the bus is packed to the gills?) When I was pregnant it was uniformly older women and heavier-set women with lots of bags who would offer to give me their seat while the able bodied looked above my head as if I wasn't there.

I had a brief 10-month stint in NYC after college and man, I'm just not cut out for it. That's a tough crowd. Most of DH's family is from the metro NYC area and I love them, but they need to be turned down a notch. The honking the second after a light turns green is too much for me.

I describe us Midwesterners as reticent -which can come off as a little clique-ish - but pretty kind and generous once you scratch the surface.

Count me as another one who doesn't think of OK as the midwest, but based on what you describe Jo, glad to have you included.

Jo..

01-25-2012, 08:42 AM

Apparently even the people who make maps are confused. OK is Southwest to some and Midwest to others.
http://www.filminamerica.com/Regions/usa-map-regions.jpg

Jo..

01-25-2012, 08:48 AM

and this!

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CU001.html

Northeastern and north-central Oklahoma are part of the vernacular Middle West, that is, residents view the region as midwestern. Most scholars also include northern Oklahoma in the cultural Middle West.

hellokitty

01-25-2012, 08:56 AM

and this!

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CU001.html

Lol, and this is probably why ppl argue with me that Ohio is part of the, "East Coast." East Coasters would be mortified to be clumped in with Ohio. Of course, most Americans, esp from California (I'm not saying all, but it's disturbing how many Californians IRL I've encountered who think this way), don't even know where Ohio is, they think Ohio, Iowa and Idaho are the same thing, even though OH isn't even close to the other two states. I do agree though that compared to the East Coast, Midwesterners are generally a lot friendlier and much more willing to help someone out.

mom3boys

01-25-2012, 02:09 PM

Lol, and this is probably why ppl argue with me that Ohio is part of the, "East Coast." East Coasters would be mortified to be clumped in with Ohio. Of course, most Americans, esp from California (I'm not saying all, but it's disturbing how many Californians IRL I've encountered who think this way), don't even know where Ohio is, they think Ohio, Iowa and Idaho are the same thing, even though OH isn't even close to the other two states. I do agree though that compared to the East Coast, Midwesterners are generally a lot friendlier and much more willing to help someone out.

I'm from New Hampshire and went to college in upstate New York, with a lot of New Yorkers (NYC and elsewhere). I was shocked at how many New Yorkers confused Vermont and NH. I mean, I could see why people in other geographic areas would be confused, they do look similar and are next to each other, but Vermont BORDERS New York state. Shouldn't you know the states that are next to your own state?

Of course, Idaho is a lot closer to California than to Ohio, so who am I to know how people think!

Kindra178

01-25-2012, 02:37 PM

NY'ers are so insular. They (we) know nothing about geography in the US. I mean nothing. I, too, couldn't believe that people from Ohio thought they were East Coasters when I first went to college. Indeed, when NY area born and bred family came to visit me in Chicago, they all marvelled at how awesome the city was. One of them even referred to Chicago as a "big secret." My Chicago raised bf (now dh) was so pissed.

roseyloxs

01-25-2012, 02:52 PM

I have lived in the midwest my whole life. Is OK considered the midwest?? :bag

Yes! I am from the Chicago suburbs originally and always considered OK to be the south until I moved there from the Florida panhandle. No offense to any southerners here but living in the south was not my cup of tea. Southern hospitality might exist between southerners but its definitely not something they extend to us northerners. The day we drove into OK I took a deep breath and felt at ease. It immediately felt like the midwest. I know OK folks like to think they are from the South but they are definitely more midwestern.

The pacific northwest and Germany have provided us with great neighbors too.