<p>And why the fib tag?
On the subject of aloof, Maine’s got that rap as bad or worse than anywhere in New England. But I chat everyone up. DH waves and greets. I joke it’s the secret trick- act as if you belong and they assume you do. That was off subject, i know. But if you’re willing, you can settle all sorts of places and leave when you’ve gotten the experience.</p>
<p>That explains a lot</p>
<p>Just so you know, from my perspective it seems like blind men describing and arguing about an elephant.</p>
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<p>My point is to get those who blithely advise those to relocate to acknowledge and understand why some racial or ethnic minorities may be reluctant to relocate to certain regions of the country. </p>
<p>I may not have those fears, but unlike some on this thread, I understand them enough to know it cannot be laughed off or swept aside by those who had milder/no such experiences. IMO…the proper attitude is to extend empathy and support…not to berate them for not “sucking it up” or worse…saying they’re imagining it as I’ve seen with some idiotic people…including some oblivious cocooned well-off suburban relatives.</p>
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<p>Wrong province.</p>
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<p>Hah! I said just that back in the 700s on this thread, Novi. You catch on quick! You’ll fit right in. Heck, you even know what the Putnum is, which is new for me this year.</p>
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<p>That’s why I asked.</p>
<p>If only you’d give us a breather from the friends and family 
I find your own experiences interesting and don’t have any sense of who these others are. </p>
<p>Each person, of course, makes his own best decisions; well informed, we hope.</p>
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<p>Where I live, “fib” is a geographical slur. I am sure Pizzagirl knows what it means…maybe LoremIpsum, too?</p>
<p>It is globalized. Most of China speaks English these days.</p>
<p>Yeah surprisingly I actually know a couple people on that list. (Putnam). College roommate competed. She might have been on one of the winning teams but was not a named fellow.</p>
<p>^Ooh, learned a new one. Thanks, Sally. Will be careful not to blithely use the expression “fibbers”. </p>
<p>And cobrat: Maybe a scorecard of where you’ve lived and what you’ve done would help. Seems youve been in business, law, oh heavens I’ve forgotten, but it sounds like a game of Where’s waldo.</p>
<p>As for minorities living in places where they are, well , minorities, sorry but many of us have BTDT, and gotten the T-shirt.</p>
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<p>Surely there must be a Starbucks closer to home that is hiring? ;)</p>
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<p>Urban college educated folks, definitely. </p>
<p>More rural areas outside the cities, it may not always be the case and having someone who can speak Mandarin and/or the local/regional dialects is necessary.</p>
<p>Cobrat- I think it’s possible you might be reading some posts too literally?</p>
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<p>You have caves in Houston, texaspg? Cool! We’ve got nothing but cornfields from horizon to horizon here in Chicago. Had to pull out the machete every morning to get my son to school. ;)</p>
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<p>Common stereotypes I’ve heard about Chicago tend to be more along the lines that everyone dresses like Al Capone and carries a tommygun, office of mayor is a family franchise, lots of speakeasies where blues is played, police will ticket/arrest/beat up anyone who they don’t like…including reporters, good Polish/Eastern European cuisine, and instead of creme pies…deep dish pizzas are the weapon of choice of those seeking to pie others in the face. </p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>Come on LI, we have Prarie, too. And roads.</p>
<p>LI - Rural Houston is now mountainous. :D</p>
<p>The one thing I will say about houston, from when I visited my mother who was living there, is that the mosquitoes are the size of prehistoric birds there in July. But, one heckuva fourth of July parade, if you can stand the heat.</p>
<p>My mother used to joke that you planted the tomatoes in the morning and went out to pick them right before dinner when they’d be ripe, that day. She was only half joking.</p>
<p>I’ve traveled across the US quite a few times over the decades; somehow I missed Idaho, but have stopped in every other state. I haven’t seen all that much difference from place to place. Life has a different pace in different places, but folks are pretty much friendly wherever you go – as long as you don’t go in with preconceived notions of what is the one right way to do everything.</p>
<p>I’ve also been to 69 countries and the variance from place to place can be much greater. Yet folks everywhere are inclined to help a stranger lost or in need.</p>
<p>It seems to me that we should be making our children comfortable with the idea of living anywhere, be it Boston or Bangkok, Charlotte or Cape Town. Times change, opportunities change and, for now, it’s a global economy, so the best opportunities may be far from home. But no worries – practically any major city has an expat community ready to help you feel at home and willing to teach you the local ropes.</p>
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<p>Cobrat, I was so happy when “Chicago bang bang” was replaced by “Chicago oh! Michael Jordan” when I traveled abroad!</p>
<p>The oddest comment I ever got was in Rio where I was told, in all seriousness, “You lie! There are no white people in Chicago.”</p>