[YAZ]

Y'all know me here by now, so you know that I wouldn't "bash" Michigan in an ignorant way.



There is a sort of....Yankee-ness...especially in SE MI. And folks don't try to be mean....it just appears that way sometimes.

For example, I visited family in GA while I lived in MI.......my debit card wasn't working very famously down there. That 'lil strip on the back was getting pretty worn out. Two cashiers in Atlanta had trouble with my card and had to enter the account number manually in order for it to go through.

Both gals were incredibly apologetic and acted like it was their problem that they had to fix.

I.e., they were genuinely sorry for MY inconvenience.

Got off of the plane in Romulus and drove back home. Had to get some quick groceries on the way......and wouldn't you know it. Had trouble with my card at the capital M store.

"What's wrong with your card? There's something wrong with your card. Don't you have cash?"

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by YAZ

Y'all know me here by now, so you know that I wouldn't "bash" Michigan in an ignorant way.



There is a sort of....Yankee-ness...especially in SE MI. And folks don't try to be mean....it just appears that way sometimes.

For example, I visited family in GA while I lived in MI.......my debit card wasn't working very famously down there. That 'lil strip on the back was getting pretty worn out. Two cashiers in Atlanta had trouble with my card and had to enter the account number manually in order for it to go through.

Both gals were incredibly apologetic and acted like it was their problem that they had to fix.

I.e., they were genuinely sorry for MY inconvenience.

Got off of the plane in Romulus and drove back home. Had to get some quick groceries on the way......and wouldn't you know it. Had trouble with my card at the capital M store.

"What's wrong with your card? There's something wrong with your card. Don't you have cash?"

I think you're right about SE MI. I can't speak for other regions of the state.

When I think of friendly people, I just don't think of Metro Detroit natives. People here are generally reclusive and/or give off the vibe that they want to be left alone. The dating/social scene for a single 20-something without connections is absolutely atrocious here. Just last weekend I tried talking to a girl at a local establishment. I wasn't being too aggressive or anything. Just said hello, my name is Tekkie, and I moved back here a few months ago from CO. She tore into me about saying that I moved back from CO. "Does that line actually work? Do you use that pick up line often?" Her friend was like, "this guy says he's from CO but he's not!" Needless to say, I was taken aback and kind of perturbed. This is not the first time I've been treated poorly by the locals.

And from what I've heard, Detroit proper is even worse. My buddy worked at Enterprise down there and was by and large treated like s**t by the locals. Apparently they are extremely hostile towards non-blacks, especially ones that decline their car rental because of bad credit or lack of proper documentation. Heck, just driving through the neighborhoods with my brother and his buddy attracted a lot of unwarranted stare downs by the locals roaming the streets.

The people on this forum who don't notice this are insulated from it. They have lived here their entire lives and have had no experience trying to start anew in this region. It's absolutely terrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Tekkie

I think you're right about SE MI. I can't speak for other regions of the state.

When I think of friendly people, I just don't think of Metro Detroit natives. People here are generally reclusive and/or give off the vibe that they want to be left alone. The dating/social scene for a single 20-something without connections is absolutely atrocious here. Just last weekend I tried talking to a girl at a local establishment. I wasn't being too aggressive or anything. Just said hello, my name is Tekkie, and I moved back here a few months ago from CO. She tore into me about saying that I moved back from CO. "Does that line actually work? Do you use that pick up line often?" Her friend was like, "this guy says he's from CO but he's not!" Needless to say, I was taken aback and kind of perturbed. This is not the first time I've been treated poorly by the locals.

And from what I've heard, Detroit proper is even worse. My buddy worked at Enterprise down there and was by and large treated like s**t by the locals. Apparently they are extremely hostile towards non-blacks, especially ones that decline their car rental because of bad credit or lack of proper documentation. Heck,y just driving through the neighborhoods with my brother and his buddy attracted a lot of unwarranted stare downs by the locals roaming the streets.

The people on this forum who don't notice this are insulated from it. They have lived here their entire lives and have had no experience trying to start anew in this region. It's absolutely terrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

You seem to forget there IS life outside SE Michigan blue collar towns. Michigan is a big state , don't judge the entire state with some personal encounters you have had.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by darstar

You seem to forget there IS life outside SE Michigan blue collar towns. Michigan is a big state , don't judge the entire state with some personal encounters you have had.

Hence the first line of my comment: I think you're right about SE MI. I can't speak for other regions of the state.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Tekkie

The people on this forum who don't notice this are insulated from it. They have lived here their entire lives and have had no experience trying to start anew in this region. It's absolutely terrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I am one of those who don't notice the attitude in MI you are talking about. Lived in Texas and Maine for about 1/2 my life and most of my adult life. Moved back home to Michigan in 2004 and was so relieved to get back where everyone was friendly and warm toward each other. I think it is GREAT and would highly recommend it to anyone.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I am one of those who don't notice the attitude in MI you are talking about. Lived in Texas and Maine for about 1/2 my life and most of my adult life. Moved back home to Michigan in 2004 and was so relieved to get back where everyone was friendly and warm toward each other. I think it is GREAT and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I specifically stated in my post that I was referring to SE MI (Metro Detroit). I guess this slipped by some of you. I cannot speak about any other region of the state, because I have only lived in SE MI.

As for the other regions of the state, I can't say specifically. The west side of the state, where it appears you live, might be a much friendlier place. I hear good things about GR and it might be more suitable for a young professional than SE MI appears to be. Then again, it all depends on what you're looking for and what kind of situation you're coming into. Were you married when you moved here? Did you have the excruciating task of basically starting over with friends, romantic relationships, jobs, etc.?

Also, are you saying that people weren't friendly and warm in Texas or Maine? I'm not sure about Maine, but I'm kind of surprised about Texas.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Tekkie

I specifically stated in my post that I was referring to SE MI (Metro Detroit). I guess this slipped by some of you. I cannot speak about any other region of the state, because I have only lived in SE MI.

As for the other regions of the state, I can't say specifically. The west side of the state, where it appears you live, might be a much friendlier place. I hear good things about GR and it might be more suitable for a young professional than SE MI appears to be. Then again, it all depends on what you're looking for and what kind of situation you're coming into. Were you married when you moved here? Did you have the excruciating task of basically starting over with friends, romantic relationships, jobs, etc.?

Also, are you saying that people weren't friendly and warm in Texas or Maine? I'm not sure about Maine, but I'm kind of surprised about Texas.

I don't really care where you were speaking of (and no I didn't miss it in your post) I was speaking of my location. This is the general Michigan portion of the forum after all. You gave your impression of the SE corner, I gave my impression of the West Side (which is also my impression of the NE side, the UP & the middle of the State.)

Don't be too shocked about Texas, most unfriendly place I have ever lived (Lived in the Dallas area, not all of Texas is like that). While in Abilene, TX I found a lot more friendly people than the Dallas area, but still short of the percentage of West Michigan. That is not to say I didn't meet some good people and make some lifelong friends there, just that the overall attitude was fake, cold, and rude. Maine was FAR, FAR more welcoming and friendly than Texas was. Just neither of those places were as friendly as here.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I don't really care where you were speaking of (and no I didn't miss it in your post) I was speaking of my location. This is the general Michigan portion of the forum after all. You gave your impression of the SE corner, I gave my impression of the West Side (which is also my impression of the NE side, the UP & the middle of the State.)

Don't be too shocked about Texas, most unfriendly place I have ever lived (Lived in the Dallas area, not all of Texas is like that). While in Abilene, TX I found a lot more friendly people than the Dallas area, but still short of the percentage of West Michigan. That is not to say I didn't meet some good people and make some lifelong friends there, just that the overall attitude was fake, cold, and rude. Maine was FAR, FAR more welcoming and friendly than Texas was. Just neither of those places were as friendly as here.

There's that warm Michigan attitude we all know and love. You don't have to be a jerk, dude. The tone of your post is pretty telling.

I was specifically referring to SE MI and I stated that in my post. Clearly, we are talking about two different regions of the state. I'm glad you love West MI so much, it sounds like you're very partial to it and I'm sure you have your reasons. I also have mine.

[darstar]

Long ago I lived on Detroit's west side, would have been late 60s. I was transferred there, I lasted one year, then took a cut in pay only to be sent to Omaha. ....I soon quit after that. The new company I went to work for turned around and sent me back to Detroit ! This time I lived in A real nice complex on Ford Lake, Ypisalanti , Mi.....Life was better , I even met people and started a social life. Wouldn't you know , the company gave me the nasty job of closing the terminal forever , I went to Chicago, where for some reason I felt like home, it was where I was ment to be.......

[YAZ]

Took quite a few canoe trips on some of the more popular rivers in MI.

I guarantee all of those beer cans that I saw floating didn't come from the "locals".

Absolutely, we can't let ourselves define the entire state just by the metro Detroit area.

Same thing here.

We can't judge the entire state of Arizona if we never leave the Phoenix metro area. (Called The Valley in these parts.) And it's not even a valley, it's a mesa. But I digress.......

A lot of folks think that AZ is just one big desert. Well, there is a lot of desert here, but I can take ya about 60 miles NE of Feeniks and it's a whole different world.