Characterizing America

The beginning of my travel theme is a discussion of the character of different regions of America. I've been to every state in the union, except Alaska, Idaho, and Vermont. I've met and worked with people from the remaining 47 states, or I might suggest 48 if one considers DC.

First I should make clear that these are general impressions and observations based on personal experiences. This post should not be taken as an indictment of everyone in a given region, nor a blanket hug to everyone in another. There are always exceptions, and many times I've encountered some of those exceptions to the general characterization I've assigned to various parts of the country.

Now where should I start? I'll begin with the places I find most hospitable and friendly.

Although I choose to live in Indiana and it has been my home for the vast majority of my life, unfortunately it doesn't make the cut for hospitality and friendliness.

The place I've found most friendly? Texas.

Texans are terrific hosts, very friendly, and overall wonderful folks at work. When in Texas, I've been invited to social events and parties and even to family homes for dinner after work. That happens pretty much nowhere else.

Texans seem sincerely interested in getting to know me and making me comfortable while visiting their communities to a degree I've found nowhere else in my travels. At work, they tend to be rather laid back, in many ways like most of the folks in the South. But unlike folks in the southeast, Texans are focused on getting the job done on time - they just choose not to get stressed over meeting those deadlines.

The rest of the "Old South", that is all the states east of Texas and below the Mason-Dixon line, also are friendly and laid back. In hospitality terms, they may not measure up to Texas' standards, but definitely come in second.

Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas are filled with polite and pleasant folks. They're taught civility and respect, and still refer to each other with "sir" or "ma'am". I don't hear much course language in those states, and they're also more likely than other regions of the country to be considerate and hospitable to out-of-state visitors like my, even though I am a "yankee".

I actually believe I can pick out the various southern dialects. Naturally I can easily differentiate a Texan from a Carolinian or Georgian. I also believe I can pick out the Cajun drawl from the Louisiana bayous over their southern neighbors.

Oklahoma is sort of like Texas, and Arkansas seems to straddle the line between the OK/TX personality and LA/MS.

Florida doesn't really fit with the rest of the southeast. So many in Florida are transplants that I can't characterize the sunshine state as a whole. The panhandle is more Alabama, the interior seems sort of midwestern, Miami is Cuban, and Palm Beach to Lauderdale are sort of like New York City South.

The southwest, Arizona and New Mexico, I group into a separate category from the hospitable Old South. Phoenix is full of transplants from everywhere else, therefore I can't really assign it a specific character. I've encountered folks from California and Utah, the midwest, Mexico, and miscellaneous other places who've settled in Phoenix, although the proportion of hispanic immigrants seems to have exploded in recent years. Perhaps part of the reason for the recent immigration controversies there.

I've enjoyed my time in New Mexico, where I've worked with many native folks, or American Indians to be more descriptive. They're generally friendly enough I suppose, but seem a bit wary of outsiders.

Working my way up the West Coast, I have to start with California. Southern California is to me like visiting a different country. Their economy, overcrowding, smog, and "diversity" sets southern California apart from everywhere else in America. I wouldn't consider Southern California a hospitable place, having few experiences where folks were anything more than focused on the business at hand.

Once in Los Angeles, I received this unsolicited statement from one of the managers of the company I was consulting with:

"We (hispanics) have taken control of Los Angeles. This city belongs to us."

I hadn't made any statements or asked any questions to prompt her statement, but apparently she had a message she felt she needed to share with the white guy from out of state.

Northern California is very different from Southern California. Getting away from San Francisco, I feel like I could be back home in the midwest, albeit with mountains and better weather.

I can't characterize San Fransisco any differently than this: "strange". Not everyone is strange there, of course, but I have to say I've met more folks in San Fran than anywhere else that leave me a bit dumbfounded. They're so different from me in nearly every respect that it's easy to suspect they may have dropped into SFO via some other planet.

Oregon, and to a somewhat lesser degree Washington, are places I would describe as Yuppie Paradise. They're full of trendy folks who look like second-generation hippies. People in Oregon especially seem very much into the latest fads, gave birth to exotic designer coffees via Starbucks, eat strange vegan stuff, and are rabid environmentalists.

Otherwise I find them a bit aloof and elitist.

Let's move onto the midwest. There are certainly differences between Chicago and Detroit, between Indianapolis and Kansas City, between St Louis and Columbus (Ohio). It could take a book to go into those finer points, but I still will generally lump the midwest together.

The midwest is still largely farm country, and I may be most comfortable with the farmers. They plant and harvest crops, raise livestock, love meat and potatoes, and are common-sense, no-nonsense folks.

Midwesterners tend to be taciturn and not very gregarious. They're focused on the job at hand, and don't really spend much time thinking about being hospitable to their out-of-town visitors. They're not inhospitable necessarily, just very practical.

I'll wrap up with my least favorite part of the country - the NorthEast. The one place I will only go if there isn't work anywhere else is New York City.

The people that have given me the most grief over my years consulting? New Yorkers.

New Yorkers are rude, use foul language, and have made a sport out of figuring out ways to cheat. The ones I've worked with in the past are most likely to dispute an invoice, making up reasons that range from irrelevant to completely false.

Where people in most of the rest of the country are essentially fair and will back up their word or honestly do business on a handshake, those characteristics do not apply in New York. I have learned to never deliver anything to a New Yorker that hasn't been specifically contracted in writing ahead of time, even if he "gives his word" that he'll honor the verbal agreement. When the bill comes, he'll deny ever having the conversation.

Not all the Northeast is as bad as NYC. I generally like the folks in Upstate New York, places like Buffalo and Niagara Falls. There are some folks in New Jersey that are pretty good to work with as well, once you get away from the greater New York area. I've enjoyed Maine and New Hampshire, but would prefer to avoid Boston. Cape Cod is a place I always enjoyed visiting.

I haven't dealth with Virginia (which I like) or DC (which is a mixed bag). There's lots more I could get into about the regions of the country, like the differences and rivalries between the Wisconsin cheeseheads and Chicagoans. But I've been typing on this post too long already.

Right now, I'd just like an assignment somewhere warm to get away from this awful winter weather!