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Ahhhhh, only a New Englander would ask this question! Having grown up in Connecticut and then moved to the Chicago area in the early 90's, I can say that the cultural shift was actually refreshing. Now you can't take the New England out of girl. I am who I am--serious, briskly paced, to the point and reserved (which comes off as suspicious, snobby or reclusive at times).
I have a friend from Chicago who recently moved to DC. After living there for several months, he announced that he finally "gets me."
I can't speak for Michigan specifically, but in the Chicago area, the culture is more friendly and open than the east coast. I've found that its easier to fall in with people and make new friends. The pace of life is also complimentary to what I was used to in Connecticut. So far as I can tell, the "I hate Yankee's" thing is really reserved for anything south of Indianapolis. You will also not have issues with speaking too fast to be understood, since there is no southern drawl this far north.
Last edited by TheWayISeeThings; 09-22-2012 at 07:23 AM..
A few years ago we had a guy from New York City transfer to our location in Michigan and he had a heavy east coast accent. Everyone wanted to talk to him about NYC and the eastern states, and he found people here to be almost intrusive. By our standards it was genuine friendliness and curiosity, but he took it as just too much. I guess people in the east are not as talkative to strangers and in general you dont just strike up a conversation with people you dont know. Alot of people I think went out of thier way to make him feel welcome here but he thought that was strange. For these reasons, and his view that this state is just too remote and rural he went back home ASAP. Im not suggesting that you will feel this way, especially after living in the south. As I said in my previous post the people here are quite reserved compared to those in the south. We are straight forward though in general, people usually mean what they say, although there are a few phoneys everywhere. One thing though I think youll find the accent here considerably different than NY or PA. Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota have thier own accent, much different from the NE states. I think it comes from talking and shivering at the same time lol.
That's an interesting observation and I had not thought of it from that angle. In Chicago, I've never felt anyone was intrusive, but I've also never had anyone pump me for information before. New Englander's in general are "reserved." Now there are plenty of negative and positive connotations attached to this label, and of course generalizations are sometimes not a good thing. Not everyone in New England is reserved, and some are more so than others. In general, being reserved means that a person will be more comfortable getting to know others slowly over time, will be more likely to have a close-knit circle of friends and family, and will not feel the need to open up or socialize extensively beyond that circle.
So I can see where a person who was on the more reserved end of the spectrum would be unsettled at a work place where people asked all sorts of questions and prodded for information--especially if that person isn't very well acquainted with their inquisitor(s).
Last edited by TheWayISeeThings; 09-22-2012 at 07:25 AM..
I'm also thinking that the Midwest, especially Michigan, is fairly easy to acclimate to. We don't have anything too unusual or different about us. We also blend very well into almost anywhere in the U.S.
There are large numbers of us that go West, that go South, that go to FLorida and Texas, and I'm sure that go East as well. However, I've never heard anyone talk about 'those damn midwesterners'...we are included in as a 'Yankee Northerner' to Southerners, but it seems like NY/NY/N.E. takes the brunt of the verbal abuse. We generally fly under the radar.
I think we're also kind of generic America...so probably easy to adjust to us....unless a person has a strong need for certain amenities that only their previous region can provide. But, if it's something like organic food or whatnot, we'd certainly have our Whole Food stores and such in places as well.
Michigan is pretty large and the culture varies from the East and West Sides of the state. I'm from Maine and moved to GR two years ago.
Here in GR no one really cares that I'm from New England. The mid-west has its quirks.... and west michigan is known for being a very openly religious and conservative place (which isn't the case with new england as you know...)
Michigan is pretty large and the culture varies from the East and West Sides of the state. I'm from Maine and moved to GR two years ago.
Here in GR no one really cares that I'm from New England. The mid-west has its quirks.... and west michigan is known for being a very openly religious and conservative place (which isn't the case with new england as you know...)
Agreed about MI being large with a lot of variation. I've regularly heard that about GR as well, but having never lived, I have no idea.
But everything that is around Detroit and expanding in about 2 hours (including Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Port Huron)....I've never had religion being openly expressed at all. I've also noticed that around that area, that side of the state, you have a ton more Catholics - Irish, Polish, etc.
Whereas, what little I know of the western side of the state - Grand Rapids area, it was settled by Dutch and some Dutch Reformed or something...something I really know absolutely nothing about.
Than if people were go up to Northern Michigan, way up there especially the Upper Peninula...you have a ton of Finnish-Americans...who knows what denomination they believe in, and if they'd push it in someone's face or not. I never heard of it being like that up there, so probably not.
But, as most things around Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, and that side of the state have the heavy Irish, Polish...basically Catholicism. I'd assume that it would therefore have much more in common with New England's approach to religion.
Last edited by Tiger Beer; 09-22-2012 at 07:09 PM..
I live in Western Michigan near Kalamazoo and we have a lot of people from other areas of the country that have relocated for jobs around here. Most work at Stryker, Pfizer, WMU, the Fort Custer industrial park near Battle Creek, etc. It never seems to be a problem for them and most I've come in contact with seem to like the area and stay.
I've had two experences with so called southern hospitality. Once while in the Navy in the mid-60s my buddies car broke down in South Carolina and we had to hitch hike back to Norfolk. This was on a Sunday Afternoon and after several short rides we got picked up by an old lady with no teeth and her husband who I don't think had a bath in at least a month. They ask where we were from and my buddy told them he was from Atlanta and I said from Michigan. They both turned around and glared at me and said "We don't like Yankees". I just sat there and watched the road go by through the rust holes in the floor of their car and never said another word. They did drop us off near the bus station in Greensboro and we caught a bus back to Norfolk just making muster on Monday morning.
In 1984 I had to make a delivery trip to Florida. My neighbors down the street were from NC and were real nice folks. She had a brother who lived near Ashville, NC. Well he had never been up here to visit them since they relocated here for a job. She never said why, but I know she felt bad about it. So I have this empty truck and I told them I could stop in Ashville on the way back and pick up a table of hers that her brother had. So she gave me directions and I finally found his place. He was very cool towards me while I was there. Just before I left with the table I said to him, you ought to come up to Michigan sometime and visit your sister. He said in no uncertain terms "I'll never go to Yankee land" I just said Ok, and out the door I went. Otherwise it was a nice trip and I got her table for her.
Agreed about MI being large with a lot of variation. I've regularly heard that about GR as well, but having never lived, I have no idea.
But everything that is around Detroit and expanding in about 2 hours (including Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Port Huron)....I've never had religion being openly expressed at all. I've also noticed that around that area, that side of the state, you have a ton more Catholics - Irish, Polish, etc.
Whereas, what little I know of the western side of the state - Grand Rapids area, it was settled by Dutch and some Dutch Reformed or something...something I really know absolutely nothing about.
Than if people were go up to Northern Michigan, way up there especially the Upper Peninula...you have a ton of Finnish-Americans...who knows what denomination they believe in, and if they'd push it in someone's face or not. I never heard of it being like that up there, so probably not.
But, as most things around Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, and that side of the state have the heavy Irish, Polish...basically Catholicism. I'd assume that it would therefore have much more in common with New England's approach to religion.
Im in a rural Saginaw valley community about 90-100 miles northwest of Detroit and I can say that the demographic make up here is much different than down by Detroit. Your right southeast Mi is heavily catholic and Polish, Irish are both common ethnicities there. North of Flint you find the typical German ancestory that is common throughout central Michigan. In fact German is the most common ancestory in Michigan in most areas outside of the Detroit area. Most towns are religious here and I would say Lutheran, Methodist, and even Baptist are more common here than catholisism is. We also do have some catholics though. I did also live in GR at one time and yes, that area is more Dutch and Christian reformed. Im not sure about Lansing, but I do think they are also different from metro Detroit as far as ethnicity and religious tendencies go. Metro Detroit is different from the rest of the state in many ways, thier demographics and history do not match the rest of the state. Most of Michigan like I said is dominated by German, Dutch and Norwegian ancestory (UP mostly). Metro Detroit is largely made up of people from "the great migration". Both white and black southerners moved north for work in the first half of the 1900s. There were also alot of eastern European, Irish, and more recently Arab immigrants who went there as well seeking work in Michigans largest city. Detroit also had German and Dutch immigrants as well, but their numbers were overwhelmed by those other groups moving in during the 20th century, greatly diminishing thier influence. I believe they do have a slightly different accent than the rest of the state as well. I was once down there for a job fair and was told I had a "northern accent" I live 100 miles away from there, but they noticed a difference in my speech. I have a typical Michigan accent, while they must be something else, probably from all the other influence they have had on their local accent that the rest of the state did not.
I live in Western Michigan near Kalamazoo and we have a lot of people from other areas of the country that have relocated for jobs around here. Most work at Stryker, Pfizer, WMU, the Fort Custer industrial park near Battle Creek, etc. It never seems to be a problem for them and most I've come in contact with seem to like the area and stay.
I've had two experences with so called southern hospitality. Once while in the Navy in the mid-60s my buddies car broke down in South Carolina and we had to hitch hike back to Norfolk. This was on a Sunday Afternoon and after several short rides we got picked up by an old lady with no teeth and her husband who I don't think had a bath in at least a month. They ask where we were from and my buddy told them he was from Atlanta and I said from Michigan. They both turned around and glared at me and said "We don't like Yankees". I just sat there and watched the road go by through the rust holes in the floor of their car and never said another word. They did drop us off near the bus station in Greensboro and we caught a bus back to Norfolk just making muster on Monday morning.
In 1984 I had to make a delivery trip to Florida. My neighbors down the street were from NC and were real nice folks. She had a brother who lived near Ashville, NC. Well he had never been up here to visit them since they relocated here for a job. She never said why, but I know she felt bad about it. So I have this empty truck and I told them I could stop in Ashville on the way back and pick up a table of hers that her brother had. So she gave me directions and I finally found his place. He was very cool towards me while I was there. Just before I left with the table I said to him, you ought to come up to Michigan sometime and visit your sister. He said in no uncertain terms "I'll never go to Yankee land" I just said Ok, and out the door I went. Otherwise it was a nice trip and I got her table for her.
There are some people down there like that, but those experiences you cited did occur in the 1960s and the 1980s. Alot of time has passed since then and some of those views have softened. IN those days many older people down there literaly had grandparents who fought in the civil war or lived in its aftermath, and passed down the ill will from that war. The constant insults dished out toward the south for the past 150 years in the media and entertainment have helped to keep some of that anger alive as well. Im not defending anyone who is holding on to a 150 year old grudge, but I can understand how it has happened.
Not that the OP is Catholic...but if I'd assume the reddest of the red counties of MI would be most similar to New England with their approach to religion.
Generally speaking, Catholics don't convert anyone...it's near impossible to become a Catholic unless you are born into it. Hence, the OP might find some cultural similarities in those parts of MI most with New England....
The east side of MI, as well as the furthest north in MI...seem to be the most Catholic.
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Having grown up in Connecticut and then moved to the Chicago area in the early 90's, I can say that the cultural shift was actually refreshing. Now you can't take the New England out of girl. I am who I am--serious, briskly paced, to the point and reserved (which comes off as suspicious, snobby or reclusive at times).
