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#31
01-24-2012, 04:05 PM
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This is quite different to Australia. I think here, people tend to be reasonably similar no matter which city/state you are in. Country folk may be a little more friendly etc but generally people are very similar. Also, the vast majority of our population live within an hour or two of the ocean. So while there are differences in recereation between geographic regions, I think these are largely due to climate. And even some of the more southerly parts of our country (eg Melbourne, Adelaide) can get temperatures into the 30's in the summertime (celcius, that is). Probably the difference is how cold they get in the winter! So the beach can be a pretty big part of most Australian's summer, should they choose it. It reminds me that there was a recent article in one of our papers saying that New Yorkers (at least in NYC) were a pretty unfriendly and hurried lot. But I am hearing that people can be quite the opposite in other parts of the country. I don't know if that article was a fair representation of NYC - these things are often ill-informed. 
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#32
01-24-2012, 04:12 PM
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In Australia (especially Sydney) it is seen that we have a really high cost of living. And certainly comparisons have shown that it is one of the more expensive cities to live in. However as to how much more expensive than other places - it is difficult to directly compare because you need to adjust for wages, taxes, prices, etc. For example, our basic wage for 20 year olds and over is about $15.51. At 18 it is $10.50 or thereabouts. It is less for apprentices. But basic wage alone isn't enough to compare. I mean, it is meaningless if no one is getting the basic wage in one country, and in another almost everyone is on basic wage. Here, I think the average income is around $70K per year, but the median income is below $60K per year. So half the population earns less than $60K per year. This is just for adult full time workers - it doesn't include the unemployed etc.
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#33
01-24-2012, 05:47 PM
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A lot of how I feel about the US politically has already been said by Wicker and Fortunato... I consider myself very liberal (with the occasional financially conservative leanings, though my bleeding heart typically wins out on those inner battles), and I feel a bit lost and non-represented in this representative democracy. I'm fortunate enough to live in Massachusetts, which is a very liberal state and will always vote Democratic in the national conventions, but at the same time I find that being tied to this bi-partisan system of government ultimately disenfranchises the individual.
Take the election of 2000, as an example. I was 18, so this was the first election that I could vote in, so naturally I was really excited. I was a freshman in college and definitely breathing in the political vigor of my campus. I was also extremely passionate about gay rights, which seemed to be an up-and-coming hot button topic (which, honestly, boggled my mind because I just didn't understand how the Right could take their religion to argue that a person couldn't marry the person that they loved)... And I remember sitting there and watching the debate between George W. and Gore... And to my utter shock and disappointment - Gore outwardly said that he opposed gay marriage. I was pissed. This was THE Democrat that I wanted to vote for... Yet he was opposed to basic human liberties? My heart essentially sunk as I realized that He did not represent ME... But as a slave to this bi-partisan system, I HAD to vote for him, lest the Greater of two Evils win (of course there was Nader, but there's simply no room for another party - let's be honest... and he diluted the Democratic vote). It's how I continue to feel - I think that the Republicans are greedy money-grubbing Big Business twats who twist and turn and slant and spin words and news and have absolutely no connection to the 99%... They're absolute brilliant Sultans of Spin - I actually marvel at how much they control and poison the so-called "liberal" media... ... But at the same time, I think that the Democrats (Obama included) are gutless. I understand that they are trying to strike a compromise, but it's like trying to shake hands with a brick wall filled witch cobras... To be honest, I feel as though we need to use some of the aggressive predatory tactics that the Republicans use just to fight back... WHY IS GAY MARRIAGE EVEN AN ISSUE ANYMORE?! PEOPLE ARE FUCKING STARVING AND JOBLESS IN THIS COUNTRY BUT YET NOT ALLOWING A MAN TO MARRY ANOTHER MAN IS SOMEHOW AN IMPORTANT CAUSE TO TAKE UP?! REALLY?! THAT'S A FUCKING PRODUCTIVE WAY TO USE YOU AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS' TIME?! ... *ahem* ... In short: I'm tired at how conservative this nation is. It doesn't represent me or my beliefs. And even the liberal voices don't represent me. I'm not represented at all. No joke, I don't even see the point of voting since my state will always go Democratic anyway... And those Democrats simply do not represent me.
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#34
01-24-2012, 06:26 PM
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Now that my long-winded political rant is waiting to be approved by a moderator, I'll take on this piece (in a hopefully less-ranty-more-honest-y tone):
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I was lucky enough in that my parents could pay for me to go to college at Colby, a small and expensive Liberal Arts school in Maine - Most of the kids in my graduating class went to Umass, the State University, or Fitchburg State College and still had to take out loans. At Colby I had a HUGE culture shock; it was definitely a rich WASP school, far removed from the racial and economic diversity that I experienced in high school. A lot more preppies with popped collars and really expensive cars... It was mostly a sheltered and conservative school, though oddly enough the minoritive groups had the loudest voices (and were incredibly angry - The Gay Kids were angry and accused Colby of being Homophobic... The Black and Hispanic Kids were angry and accused Colby of being Racist) - It was bizarre because for the first time in my life it made me feel self conscious as a white female - Was I racist just for being white?? O, my bleeding heart!! Anyhoo - It was a strange experience and not always a good one - When I think to how universities are portrayed in movies, Colby aligns in that we had the Rich White Preppy Kids, but there was no Greek Life (no fraternities)... Sports were the frats, if you will... It was definitely a Sports school... Despite its high ranking, I was always disappointed in the intellect of my classmates... As for RIGHT NOW in Maynard, Mass, it's a great little place with fantastic restaurants (Thai, Indian, Korean, Bistro) and there are places where you can go hiking just a short drive away (not that I hike enough!)... Boston is close enough so that I can go in to see plays or go out to a nice dinner, but we only do that on special occasions... I'd say that Boston is really a cultural mecca, similar to how Fortunato described Chicago - A great music scene, definitely a lot of fantastic art (the Museum of Fine Art is one of my favorite museums), indie movie places, and incredible restaurants... Boston's a great cultural hub and I would say it's a younger, hipster city, due to the amount of colleges in its midst (Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, MIT, etc.)... I remember thinking of it as a "big college town" in comparison to places like New York, which is another cultural hub, but seemed more corporate-leaning or artsy-leaning, depending where you were. In terms of leisure, the boyfriend and I spend WAAAAY TOO MUCH TIME on our asses watching TV... If we go out, it'll be to dinner, to the movies, or on vacation when we can - We will either drive to a place where we can go camping in the middle of nowhere, or something more extravagant. My preference for camping is in New Hampshire of Maine, which can be a 2 - 6-hour drive, depending on where you're headed. In terms of cost of homes, as it's been mentioned, Massachusetts is a pretty expensive place to live (not as expensive as Long Island, though)... We're currently looking for 3+ bedroom houses under the $250,000 range... The few that we've found range in 1500 - 3000 square feet... Property taxes in the area are about $5,000/year for the homes that we're looking at... This is the first time that I've researched homes and, so, having no frame of reference, this is all expensive to me... Maynard is the "cheaper" town around me; the towns surrounding Maynard are incredibly wealthy. We are very comfortable financially; both of us have well-paying jobs in the high tech industry. I think that I could budget a LOT better than I do (buying a house makes me nervous because I know realistically I'll have to cut out my frivolous spending), but I think that it's definitely doable for us... We're just not going to get involved in a house loan that we can't afford... What's truly abominable is that banks will give you a MASSIVE loan knowing that you can't afford it... It's utterly unethical and definitely something that we need to keep in mind as we start looking at getting pre-approved. That might have been TMI, but, well, there it is. ;)
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#35
01-24-2012, 10:47 PM
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You see, we see a lot of the USA on movies and television. But movies and television don't show you what a country is really like. They either show stereotypes, or "exciting" things. It is interesting what you said about your University life. Very different to University in Australia. I went to one of the larger Universities in Australia, and I think it was far more education focussed than you describe. I wasn't into team sports at University, and honestly I could have gone through my whole 6 year degree without even realising that my University played any sports. Sure, there were clubs/teams that you could join, but their activities all pretty much occurred away from the eyes and consciousness of those not involved or interested. Mostly, people tended to involve themselves with their faculties and their friends. There were "groups" but it wasn't like there was a rich kids group, an Asian kids group etc. There were bands that played on campus, a few bars, stuff like that. There isn't any real "fraternity life" in Australian universities. There is on-campus accommodations, but they are just big buildings with lots of individual rooms (probably like dormitories at US universities?) I know what you mean about saving for a house and spending frivilously. I was lucky that I bought a house as soon as I could, and just paying off the mortgage month to month meant that I could build up equity to buy a nicer house later. I know that there would have been no way that I could have had the discipline to save for the deposit for a nice house right away. Way too impulsive for that :) Good luck with it - it is nice to have something that is your own. With regards to your previous post - it is similar here. There seems to be less and less difference between the two major parties. Here, though, we don't have a choice about whether we vote or not - everyone over 18 is forced to vote. If you don't, you get fined.
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#36
01-25-2012, 12:27 AM
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Higher Learning is now on instaque.
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#37
01-25-2012, 02:32 AM
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I was born and raised in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire (although it's a town, it's about the size of a small-to-average city). It used to be a thriving industrial centre for British industry, especially in coal mining (although there was a lot of steel production as well).
In the 1980's, during the Thatcher administration, most of the mines closed down causing mass unemployment and the area still hasn't fully recovered (it's not wise to mention Thatcher to a stranger in Rotherham and certainly not wise to praise her...not that I would.) it's one of the poorest areas of the country and there's still high unemployment and a fairly high crime rate. Politically, the town is very much supportive of the Labour Party, a centre-left party, that traditionally was tied to democratic-socialism although under Tony Blair the party stepped more towards the right, it seems now it's going back to it's pre-Blair ideologies. There's also a strong voter base for the BNP (a highly controversial far-right political party that's been gaining influence, although they seem to be slowly receding in support). There are prejudices within Rotherham. Growing up it wasn't rare to hear homophobic or racist comments, especially towards the large Asian community and it's still a big problem. I didn't grow up in the worst areas. My upbringing was lower middle-class (that is, in the British rather than American sense where middle-class tends to be well-paid professionals such as small businessmen, lawyers, private doctors etc.) so although I wouldn't say I was wealthy growing up, I never went hungry. Up till about six months ago, I lived in Sheffield (the neighbouring big city) as a student and I do prefer it there in some ways. It was also affected badly by the closing of heavy-industry, but it's managed to reinvent itself as a city of arts and culture. It also feel much safer there as it's one of the safest cities in the country and the city's more liberalised and cosmopolitan.
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#38
01-25-2012, 10:14 AM
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If you changed a few words to Detroit and auto industry it would sound like you lived in Michigan.
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#39
01-25-2012, 04:34 PM
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I'm from Indianapolis, IN, much like Bob. A big difference between the midwest and International cities is the need for a car to get around. Indianapolis is so spread out (and our public transportation so poor) that one needs a car in order to function. Having been all over the midwest and lived in Ohio for a time I feel comfortable saying that as a blanket statement for the Midwest.
Also, we're a very divided country- culturally, politically, geographically, etc. Whether it's the East Coast, Midwest, South, Southwest, or West Coast you'll come to find different values in each. We're a nation founded, explored, and colonized by a bunch of guys who fancied themselves rugged individualists and that individuality so it makes sense we'd have distinct individual regions.
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#40
01-26-2012, 02:57 AM
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In Australia, even though it is a large country geographically, people are pretty similar everywhere. Much more so that it would seem in the US.
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