Don’t These People Read Bert Sperling?
The Midwest may consistently be among the places that people would least like to live, but that’s just because “confused coastals” aren’t aware of its amazing opportunities, according to this Chicago Tribune story (reg. req.) For example, there’s this little town called Ann Arbor.
Architect Doug Kelbaugh grew up on the East Coast and spent 13 years in Seattle before relocating to Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1998.
“My wife and I were worried that we would be bored, especially because we were moving to a smaller city,” says Kelbaugh, dean of the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. “We assumed there was less going on culturally. It turns out that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Ann Arbor is hotbed of cultural activities. And because the cost of living here is less and access is easier than in Seattle or New York, we can take greater advantage of them.”
Kelbaugh moved here in 1998???
How dare he think that A2 doesn’t suck.
He hasn’t lived here long enough.
He’ll think A2 is overrated in about three years.
posted by mucho gusto on June 16th, 2004 at 9:32 pm“Access is easier than in Seattle and New York.”
Access to what?
posted by frank on June 17th, 2004 at 12:51 amWhen they talk about people not wanting to move to the Midwest, it gave me to thought. Are people meaner int eh Midwest than in other places? I can remember more incident of =in-your-face nastiness from living in the Midwest than I can from other region of the country, (I am thinking specifically of Ohio-Michigan-Indiana when I say midwest.) But this may jsut be me.
posted by Lucky Jackson on June 17th, 2004 at 7:20 amYou may be onto something, Lucky. Between the nastiness and the high prevalence of poor social skills I’m not sure why I was told the Midwest was so friendly. It definitely doesn’t have anything on the South, and I would even say I had an easier time making friends in LA than in Michigan. I have an impression (and I’m perfectly willing to admit I’m wrong if AA is the exception and not the rule) that Midwesterners prefer tightly-knit communities which often have the downside of being exclusionary and unwelcoming to outsiders.
posted by Nick on June 17th, 2004 at 8:37 amAre you the one who hates Ann Arbor because he can’t get a date here, or was that someone else?
Why is it that people who have trouble making friends feel the need to blame it on OTHER people’s alleged poor social skills?
posted by c-loh on June 17th, 2004 at 9:24 amMust’ve been someone else. By the way, thanks for demonstrating what I’m talking about.
posted by Nick on June 17th, 2004 at 10:24 amHeh, AA trolls leading by example.
“Friendliness” by region is very complicated. I’ve lived all over and seen some very unfriendly attitudes here, but people don’t hold grudges long.
To Southerners, the Midwest has no reputation for being friendly or cultured. Which is one of the few areas where AA is not overrated. Lower Expectations give Ann Arbor a pass.
posted by Leighton on June 17th, 2004 at 11:06 amI never found the people to be as much unfriendly as I found many to be at least one, usually two, of: pretentious, boring, downright weird (yes, it is possible to be BOTH weird and boring).
posted by Anna on June 17th, 2004 at 11:50 amAnn Arbor (and everywhere we’ve lived in the Midwest over the past 5 years) is a MUCH friendlier place than Boston (and Massachussetts in general). Although not as friendly as parts of the South.
posted by Elizabeth on June 17th, 2004 at 12:28 pmI found Boston to be a lot friendlier. I lived in a neighborhood with mostly families, and I never felt they resented my presence. There’s such a sense of community when you ride the T and walk through Central Square at midnight that you just don’t get here with the almost nonexistent public transportation and streets that empty out by 9 or 10.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on June 17th, 2004 at 1:22 pmI must be an idiot, I’ve never really felt a general sense of unfriendliness anywhere in the country that I’ve been, outside of neighborhoods that were clearly unfriendly due to my low social class. But Boston, NY, SF, LA, Chicago, Dexter, Wyandotte, or the hill country of Texas, I’ve never felt out of place anywhere a cold beer was valued. But hey, I get asked for directions everywhere I go too, so maybe I’m just non-threatening.
posted by js on June 17th, 2004 at 3:52 pmWell, I can definitely say I’m less friendly here than I am anywhere else. Probably because few here understand the difference between “I’m being polite/friendly/just happy” and “I want to sleep with you.”
Also, people in the midwest aren’t used to talking to strangers at all, so they freak out if you so much as smile. Ann Arbor is actually better than the rest of the midwest in this respect, I think.
posted by snickerdoodle on June 17th, 2004 at 4:52 pmMy neighbors in Ypsi Twp. are quite friendly and nice people, hospitable and generous. And much more relaxed in general than various A2 neighbors when I lived in A2 for a decade or so. In general.
posted by Laura on June 17th, 2004 at 7:00 pmDid Snickerdoodle just say BETTER than the rest of the Midwest????!!!?!?!?!
Wow, frightening.
posted by temporary annarburbite on June 17th, 2004 at 7:01 pmAA is NOT the midwest. It is nothing like a real midwestern community. It should just change its name to West Manhattan and be done with it.
posted by Dan on June 17th, 2004 at 10:21 pmMore like West Toronto…
posted by 971TheDriveFan on June 17th, 2004 at 10:32 pmIt is actually West Bloomfield Hills.
posted by Blmpy on June 18th, 2004 at 9:16 amOk, Nick, I deserved that.
posted by c-loh on June 18th, 2004 at 9:26 amBut there WAS someone whose entire reason for hating Ann Arbor was that he couldn’t get a date here. To me, that destroyed all his credibility.
Clearly, though, it wasn’t you.
Seems to me that only people who haven’t lived outside of the midwest would ever claim that that AA is 1)not midwestern and 2)anything like Manhattan. Unless they mean Manhattan, Kansas, which is also midwestern in which case, yeah, it’s probably exactly like Manhattan.
posted by Alex on June 18th, 2004 at 11:26 amWell, I’ve had too many experiences where I’m the only non-white person in the county, so yes, I’d say there are other places that are far worse. Let’s just say nothing good comes from my visiting a place where the inhabitants’ only exposure to Asian women is from watching pornography.
posted by snickerdoodle on June 18th, 2004 at 2:11 pmWest Cambridge, or more accurately, West Harvard Square.
posted by Anonymous on June 21st, 2004 at 5:25 pmIn general southeast michigan is filled with trendy liberals and counter culture types sprinkled with regular folks who ignore them so as not to be branded as intolerant. People from this area are also generally dismisive of anyone who lives north of Flint or west of Lansing. In closing A2 is simply not a friendly or particularly nice place to live i much prefer Traverse City or Grand rapids and I think most would agree
posted by dimbulb771 on July 11th, 2004 at 8:20 pmFrank,
That was a good question. Access to what?
The funny thing about access is that it you can have so much and so little at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting New York and all it has to offer, but try rolling out of a diminuative $2000 per month aparment in Chelsea and finding a free tennis court. Not a problem when I lived in Ann Arbor. (walking distance) Not a problem where I live outside of Chicago (Oak Park - 8 miles due west of the Loop).
To me the achilles heel of big cities is access. It can all be there, but you are going to have to work to get there. My friends with doctorates in psychology always bring up the “12 minute rule.” As I understand it, this “rule” means that you won’t regularly visit a location if it is more than 12 minutes (using whatever form of transportation is available) away from where you actually live.
Another thought . . . The irony of it is that someone living in the Chicago suburbs and paying 1/3 the rent of my friend in New York actually has the money to find a cheap flight and enjoy the culture in Manhattan! Who actually has better access to Broadway?
posted by Dave V on July 28th, 2004 at 1:59 am