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Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,549,562 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by murksiderock
And I don't know if you've lived in a closet or something your whole life, but it is not a secret at all that NYS, save for the major cities of the state, are extremely light on ethnic and religious diversity. Sure, pretty much anywhere you go there will be a fair representation of different European descendants--but start looking for non-Caucasians, and the well is either very light or in some areas of the state (like Schoharie County, Schuyler County, etc) non-existent. Where have you been? This is one of the main reasons why Ithaca stands out in this state. It isn't one of the major cities of the state, but offers far more amenities than similarly-sized and larger cities (Glens Falls, Elmira, Rome, etc), and largely has the ethnic and religious--and other forms of--diversity that the larger cities have, or even moreso in some respects. Save for Ithaca and the a couple of those Hudson Valley cities (which aren't really upstate, more downstate), which are closer economically, geographically, and culturally to NYC anyway, a majority of NYS fits exactly the description in which you said you wouldn't enjoy in the South. Where are you from again?
I wanted to throw my two cents in on that emboldened portion.
You are right. I remember when blacks started moving into Watkins Glen from places like Elmira or Rochester. People smiled at them and kept their distance, and behind their backs it was "ni**er this" and "ni**er that". Racism in upstate NY is unfortunately strong, especially in the rural southern tier. Northerners are just sneakier about it than southerners.
I knew what you were talking about. A lot of times either way, it comes from people not familiar with the region.
I will say that in the South, you get highly White or Black areas as well. Like I told you, my father's hometown is 95% Black and the high school that they go to is like 99-100% Black. There are areas of Appalachia in the South that are similar but White. So, even that can go both ways. Heck, some areas in the South have separate Black and White proms for the same school. You won't find that for any schools with diversity here.
Also, Ithaca is a college town and the thing about major college towns is that they offer amenities above their weight due to the college presence, which also helps to provide diversity of culture and people. So, it makes sense in comparison to similarly sized cities up here.
Just to put you on to other smaller cities, Geneva is about 13% for Blacks and Hispanics each. Dunkirk is 20% Hispanic and about 6% Black. Amsterdam is about 20% Hispanic and about 3-4% Black. Watertown has Fort Drum close by and has some diversity due to its presence. Lockport is about 10% Black and has a small but notable Hispanic community. Jamestown is about 5% Black and probably close to 10% Hispanic. Oneonta has a few Blacks and Hispanics each(former Washington Redskin Mark May is from there). While the volume may not be the same, the presence is still there. Another way to illustrate this is through school demographics. Here are examples of schools in those and similar communities: North Street Elementary School - Public School
It is similar with certain small towns and suburbs and many of these small cities have things like churches and organizations within these communities that are geared towards the communities of color.
I wanted to throw my two cents in on that emboldened portion.
You are right. I remember when blacks started moving into Watkins Glen from places like Elmira or Rochester. People smiled at them and kept their distance, and behind their backs it was "ni**er this" and "ni**er that". Racism in upstate NY is unfortunately strong, especially in the rural southern tier. Northerners are just sneakier about it than southerners.
I dare say that it is sneaky everywhere now, but people catch on, can tell or people play themselves. Even the blatant stuff is sneaky like my mentioning of segregated proms in some Southern high schools. This is really an entirely different thread though.
I think Cobleskill in Schoharie County may have some people of color due to the college there.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-26-2013 at 11:16 AM..
"People always say, 'I couldn't live in California cause I love seasons too much.' Yeah I do, too, that's why I live in a place that skips all the ****ty ones." - Daniel Tosh
So, why don't you wax poetical about the glories of South Carolina on the South Carolina forum, rory? It seems to me that that's where you'd want to be ... finding out about all the wonderful stuff in your new home state ... like the high rents/low wages/crime rates in and around Myrtle Beach or the aroma of Georgetown's paper mill.
The civil war was a mix of being about slavery, states rights, and maintaining/reestablishing the Union. Anyone who tries to exclude any of those factors is misguided. To say that confederate states didn't secede in order to keep their slaves is outright false. There were certainly other factors, but based on the fact that the majority of the economy in those states was dependent on slavery at that time; one would have to be pretty dense to think that slavery wasn't a key factor. Again, not the ONLY factor, but a major one.
New movie coming out next week is about Upstate NY during the Civil War. It's called Copperhead and looks very good.
Been on a mission to find out which Upstate NY town Cooperhead is set in and not having much luck.
So I shall assume that since the guy that wrote it is from Utica its prolly one of the Valley towns.
According to Wiki - yeah I know it's reliable as a flat tire - it's set in Upstate NY.....yup that narrows it down.
It was filmed at King's Landing historical Settlement in Canada..... couldn't find anything old in all of Upstate NY? Sigh
I've looked several places and everything just says either Upstate NY or a small community in Upstate NY. Wonder if is just set Upstate or if it's supposed to be an actual town.
1. Too much in debt because of irresponsible budgeting.
2. Loss of job and can't get another one.
3. Can't make any friends because of a jagged personality.
4. Taking care of sick/dying close family members.
If anyone ever tells you any differently, they are lying.
/thread
Wrong on all accounts! None of the above applied to my family and why we moved back to NY.
1. We had a very nice savings and lived comfortably in SC.
2. Both of us still have our jobs. I've had the same one for 6 years. The other half worked for the same company for 16 years and was recruited by a NY company after we moved back so he changed jobs. Less travel, better pay, fewer hours all bonuses!
3. Had plenty of friends. Speak to them frequently still. In fact, a whole family is coming up to visit us soon.
4. No sick or dying family to take care of. We're still 3 hours away from our families.
There were several reasons we moved back to NY (3 hours away from where we're originally from):
-missed the seasons
- the heat and bugs were dreadful
- lack of water (Being in a constant drought for 10 years gets old. The entire state isn't located on the ocean.)
-being called a Yankee on a daily basis got old VERY quickly
-being told to take I95 and go back where I came from also got very old....even more so since I95 doesn't go anywhere near Albany.
-lack of farms, farmer's markets, road stands, good grocery stores
There are more reasons, but this gives you an idea. There are plenty more and I could write a book on how dreadful my experience was.
Wrong on all accounts! None of the above applied to my family and why we moved back to NY.
1. We had a very nice savings and lived comfortably in SC.
2. Both of us still have our jobs. I've had the same one for 6 years. The other half worked for the same company for 16 years and was recruited by a NY company after we moved back so he changed jobs. Less travel, better pay, fewer hours all bonuses!
3. Had plenty of friends. Speak to them frequently still. In fact, a whole family is coming up to visit us soon.
4. No sick or dying family to take care of. We're still 3 hours away from our families.
There were several reasons we moved back to NY (3 hours away from where we're originally from):
-missed the seasons
- the heat and bugs were dreadful
- lack of water (Being in a constant drought for 10 years gets old. The entire state isn't located on the ocean.)
-being called a Yankee on a daily basis got old VERY quickly
-being told to take I95 and go back where I came from also got very old....even more so since I95 doesn't go anywhere near Albany.
-lack of farms, farmer's markets, road stands, good grocery stores
There are more reasons, but this gives you an idea. There are plenty more and I could write a book on how dreadful my experience was.
Sounds like you meet the criteria for #3. People don't just tell you to go back North for no reason. Thanks for playing, though.
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