2 minutes ago, BigDipper 80 said:

I was reading the comments on a NY Times article about Amazon's HQ2, and I couldn't believe the vitriol being spewed by people against the "heartland". Really nasty stuff about the entire Midwest being third world, totally boring and ugly with no "action". It's as if the entirety of the Midwest is shitty regardless of the policies and lifestyles of the cities within the region, whereas being a coastal city exampts you from the backwards policies of, say, interior Washington or coal-country Pennsylvania. 

Yeah I've seen the same from New Urbanist Memes for Transit Oriented Teens the facebook group I was talking about - there were people there who thought that because they were LGBT or some other minority they would be instantly shot by bubbah and his shotgun if they even set foot outside of their bubble ?

45 minutes ago, jam40jeff said:

I would say, however, that the suburbs of Cincinnati have a bit more of a "backwards" feel than those of Cleveland and Columbus.

 

 

Uh, what? What suburbs are you talking about? The diverse northern burbs (with Ohio's most diverse city, Springdale), the monied eastern burbs of Kenwood, Indian Hill, Mariemont, Montgomery, the new money northeast exurbs like Mason, the affordable and somewhat struggling inner suburbs like Silverton and Cheviot? 

2 minutes ago, edale said:

 

Uh, what? What suburbs are you talking about? The diverse northern burbs (with Ohio's most diverse city, Springdale), the monied eastern burbs of Kenwood, Indian Hill, Mariemont, Montgomery, the new money northeast exurbs like Mason, the affordable and somewhat struggling inner suburbs like Silverton and Cheviot? 

 

I was in Blue Ash.  So yeah it was a diverse northern burb.

4 minutes ago, edale said:

 

Uh, what? What suburbs are you talking about? The diverse northern burbs (with Ohio's most diverse city, Springdale), the monied eastern burbs of Kenwood, Indian Hill, Mariemont, Montgomery, the new money northeast exurbs like Mason, the affordable and somewhat struggling inner suburbs like Silverton and Cheviot? 

 

Most of the time I've spent in the Cincinnati suburbs has been in Northern Kentucky, so I admittedly may have a skewed perspective.

1 hour ago, neilworms said:

 

First off people from NYC are the absolute worst when it comes to being provincial about their place and viewing anywhere that isn't east or west coast as worthless.   Secondly I love trolling coastal people with photos of the sleeping bear dunes as it defies all expectations of the kind of lack of natural beauty people expect out of the midwest.

 

I'm a transplant to Chicago and I'll admit that yes Ohio is backwards in a lot of ways* and culture is harder to come by, but I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that media is so hyper concentrated in a handful of "cool cities" who tend to reinforce that idea creating a vicious cycle - perhaps if these regions who hog cultural capital wouldn't be so darn smug about their area being the only areas having value maybe it would help level the playing field a bit.

 

A favorite thing of mine to do is call New Yorkers out on a national urbanist facebook group about their BS and they are just oozing with it, its one of the ugliest forms of provincialism I've seen.

 

*A good example IMO is over thanksgiving I went to a suburban brewery in Cincy and saw people unironically enjoying a smashmouth cover band even to the point of singing along with it (the band was also unironically playing the song).  A week later a coworker of mine who lives in suburban Chicago said in an unrelated conversation "no one takes Smashmouth seriously anymore" and I started laughing and said, well I've got a story for you...  (of course there are more political examples I could give but I figured a cultural one would be a good illustration - like local radio stations in Cincinnati still play the same playlists they did back in the late 1990s, its insane - local radio up here isn't great but at least they've moved on and play different terrible or overplayed music though all radio is controlled by companies at the national level so ?).

 

Let's be honest here, Chicago people are little better. They feel scorned and shut out of the cool East/West Coast club, so they look down on the rest of the midwest as being seriously less than. New Yorkers absolutely can be obnoxious and condescending to people not from there. Look at any article from the NYT about LA, and you'll see this condescension is not limited to the Midwest or small/medium size cities. Many of them truly think NYC is the center of the world, and anything outside of it is trash. But I think Chicago is even worse in this regard, because it's full of people from all over the Midwest who now think they are superior because they live in an urban neighborhood and go to Soul Cycle. Chicagoans have always seemed extremely insecure about their city, imo. Like they need to feel constantly validated that they live in a cool place and even though it's in the heart of the midwest, you know it's not really the midwest...that type of thing.

2 minutes ago, jam40jeff said:

 

Most of the time I've spent in the Cincinnati suburbs has been in Northern Kentucky, so I admittedly may have a skewed perspective.

 

lol well yeah, there you go.

5 minutes ago, neilworms said:

 

I was in Blue Ash.  So yeah it was a diverse northern burb.

 

I quoted and was responding to @jam40jeff Your Smashmouth anecdote was not interesting to me. Who cares about the music some suburban parents are listening to at a micro brewery in Blue Ash...?

Quote

Chicagoans have always seemed extremely insecure about their city

 

A lot of that insecurity IMO comes from the constant barrage of attacks from the GOP about crime in Chicago which while a problem doesn't top per capita lists....

 

These attacks btw are really more about Obama and delegitimizing him.

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by neilworms

7 minutes ago, edale said:

 

I quoted and was responding to @jam40jeff Your Smashmouth anecdote was not interesting to me. Who cares about the music some suburban parents are listening to at a micro brewery in Blue Ash...?

 

Additionally, I would be surprised to hear that such things weren't going on in the suburbs of other cities. Frankly, go to a mall in Long Island/NJ and it's exactly like Ohio but with more visible diversity. I won't even say ethnic diversity because is it really so different if you're shopping at a mall and eating at BW3s if you're of Indian descent vs European? Other than people looking different, I didn't feel like the suburbs of NY are all that different than the ones in OH, and I mean that in the best way possible. Outside of a relative handful of zip codes most places in the US aren't hugely different from one another and that's what frustrates me about OH's reputation. 

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by GrassIsGreener

3 minutes ago, GrassIsGreener said:

 

Additionally, I would be surprised to hear that such things weren't going on in the suburbs of other cities. Frankly, go to a mall in Long Island/NJ and it's exactly like Ohio but with more visible diversity. I won't even say ethnic diversity because is it really so different if you're shopping at a mall and eating at BW3s if you're of Indian descent vs European? Other than people looking different, I didn't feel like the suburbs of NY are all that different than the ones in OH, and I mean that in the best way possible. Outside of a relative handful of zip codes most places in the US aren't hugely different from one another and that's what frustrates me about OH's reputation. 

 

I'd argue that the diversity leads to a huge amount of difference at least on a cultural level also having towns arranged around a commuter rail system that oftentimes are mini cities in their own right changes things.  Though its not as sharp a difference as that between urban and suburban culture in general.

5 minutes ago, neilworms said:

 

I'd argue that the diversity leads to a huge amount of difference at least on a cultural level also having towns arranged around a commuter rail system that oftentimes are mini cities in their own right changes things.  Though its not as sharp a difference as that between urban and suburban culture in general.

 

I'm frankly not convinced. Like, viscerally, sure, but not as much as one might imagine. And this is based on years of living there. You're welcome to have your own opinion, but my own lived experience is that it just wasn't that different at the end of the day. Restaurant menus and use of public transportation aside, those conversations in Spanish/Creole going on around me were about pretty similar stuff as the ones in English and by the second generation there really wasn't much of a difference at all. The brown kids and the white kids on the trains all talked about the same shit. 

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by GrassIsGreener

I think what all this comes down to for me is a sort of "essentialism." As if moving to NYC/LA/Nashville/wherever somehow makes you essentially different from other people or the person you considered yourself to be before you got there. Or where your parents/grandparents came from is determinate in deciding what you like or think. Like, I'm not saying that cultural differences don't exist, but in order to feel a part of something people often exaggerate what makes them different in a way that goes beyond what's truly there. So, again, not that everyone is the same, but that the contours are less extreme than people want to believe they are for whatever purpose that may be. 

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by GrassIsGreener

11 minutes ago, GrassIsGreener said:

 

I'm frankly not convinced. Like, viscerally, sure, but not as much as one might imagine. And this is based on years of living there. You're welcome to have your own opinion, but my own lived experience is that it just wasn't that different at the end of the day. Restaurant menus and use of public transportation aside, those conversations in Spanish/Creole going on around me were about pretty similar stuff as the ones in English and by the second generation there really wasn't much of a difference at all. The brown kids and the white kids on the trains all talked about the same shit. 

 

Some of us like being able to eat food from all over the world and not be stuck in a culture that overly venerates TGIF Friday's and their ilk or states that x fast food restaurant in y town is the best fast food restaurant.   I think that's a big difference between suburbs in Ohio vs the ones in Chicago the food options are significantly greater.    Biggest difference culturally though is what's considered racist and culturally acceptable behavior around race due to the diversity of these places.  (at least compared to SW Ohio, mileage may vary for people from Columbus or Cleveland).  The later is part of the reason why republican leaning Chicago suburbs broke hard for Hilary when comparable places outside of Cincinnati still supported Trump.

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by neilworms

But again, you see that everywhere. Los Angeles worships In-N-Out Burger the same way any other suburb loves Olive Garden or whatever. And that attitude by and large has been changing - my parents are quintessential suburbanites, but they almost never eat at chains any more because every sh!tsplat of a town has good food these days. 

Just now, neilworms said:

 

Some of us like being able to eat food from all over the world and not be stuck in a culture that overly venerates TGIF Friday's and their ilk or states that x fast food restaurant in y town is the best fast food restaurant. 

 

I know, I'm one of those people. So are a lot of others, including in Ohio. And maybe some of those people singing a song they remember from high school in Blue Ash were too. Did you ever consider that? That you didn't actually know any of those people and were making assumptions about them that were more about proving that you were more cultured than they are? Additionally, you know that there Olive Gardens and TGI Fridays in the city, right? Or how about Dallas BBQ in NYC? Walk in to one some time and look around. It ain't all rubes from the suburbs, it's actually mostly Latinos that live in the city. Go the to a Cheesecake Factory in NJ and see what the people sitting in the booths look like. 

 

My point is that eating at a Vietnamese restaurant a couple of times a month doesn't make you any more cultured than having nostalgia for your past makes you uncultured. Or that being in an urban neighborhood means that you're not around racists. Ask a group of black or latino kids how they feel about kids that aren't of their background. Their answers may sound familiar to what you would hear in Vinton County. 

 

 

I guess if anything this conversation sort of proves the point. That behavior that exists in many places is somehow less acceptable in some areas than others. There are a lot of people in big name cities that don't give a shit about culture or whatever. They have their lives and what they're into and are fine with that being that. Does having your address in Brooklyn or the Bronx or a trendy city like Nashville really make that more acceptable than if you lived in Fairfield, OH all because you live around more people that don't look or sound like you?

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by GrassIsGreener

The bottom line is that life in most of the United States is culturally pretty similar -- or at least certain cultural things exist in enough volume so as to exist everywhere -- and so people fetishize those typically insignificant characteristics of an area that are unusual that they like and make a sweeping dismissal of an entire area because there is a somewhat higher amount of some unlikeable characteristic.   

 

Quote

 guess if anything this conversation sort of proves the point. That behavior that exists in many places is somehow less acceptable in some areas than others. There are a lot of people in big name cities that don't give a shit about culture or whatever. They have their lives and what they're into and are fine with that being that. Does having your address in Brooklyn or the Bronx or a trendy city like Nashville really make that more acceptable than if you lived in Fairfield, OH all because you live around more people that don't look or sound like you?

 

Yeah I know lots of people exist like that out there, which is why I find it frustrating sometimes about the knee jerk reaction people in "cool cities" have against "uncool places".   For a lot of people living in Ohio is fine, and they don't have to worry about paying as much rent either but the culture of the place they are in makes it seem like its a subhuman place (its not).

 

LGBT and other minorities have more of a point here as culture can be more hostile to them in these regions, but IMO their reaction is overblown in this case, its not instant death.

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by neilworms

3 minutes ago, neilworms said:

Yeah I know lots of people exist like that out there, which is why I find it frustrating sometimes about the knee jerk reaction people in "cool cities" have against uncool places.   For a lot of people living in Ohio is fine, and they don't have to worry about paying as much rent either but the culture of the place they are in makes it seem like its a subhuman place (its not).

 

I agree with you there and think our positions are far closer than not. And moving out of Ohio is part of what it took to make me realize that. Hence why I made the comment about assumptions because I was totally that guy and realized I was helping to propagate that by feeling like it was ok for me to judge people back home in a way that I would never be comfortable judging people that weren't "like me", so to speak. 

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by GrassIsGreener

^-I found a really great circle of friends and feeling of community here in Chicago that I never had elsewhere so I'm not leaving and its not so expensive here that I cannot live (we are a relative bargin for the amenities you get here), but everyone's experiences is different.    I like a world where change moves faster and people aren't afraid to try new things or meet new people.

 

But yeah we are in agreement that's not for everyone and there are people here that yes would be just fine living in Ohio and maybe even happier for it.

Also, it's funny, but having ColDayMan like one of my posts makes me feel like I've "made it" on this site haha. I have been on here for ages (2003) and am on my like 3rd screen name (each time the server crashes or after a long break and can't remember my login). ?

Hey, I love people speakin' the truth so you deserve it!

6 minutes ago, neilworms said:

 people aren't afraid to try new things or meet new people.

 

Now we're like 99% in agreement, but I just have to pedantically add that this is a big part of my point. It's not so much that these people may be afraid of change/new things, but more that they don't care or find newness or novelty important, and that there are plenty of people in other areas and of other backgrounds that are like that. Agree with you that that isn't for everyone (that's the reason I also no longer live in my own hometown). 

38 minutes ago, BigDipper 80 said:

But again, you see that everywhere. Los Angeles worships In-N-Out Burger the same way any other suburb loves Olive Garden or whatever. And that attitude by and large has been changing - my parents are quintessential suburbanites, but they almost never eat at chains any more because every sh!tsplat of a town has good food these days. 

 

I think even this doesn't give enough credit to Ohioans.  I rag on the tastes of suburbanites as much as anyone here, but they like plenty of things more interesting than Olive Garden, just as I'm sure plenty of people in the suburbs of Chicago/NYC/LA love Olive Garden.  Cleveland has Mitchell's and Melt, Akron has Swenson's, Cincinnati has Graeter's, Columbus has Jeni's and Bibibop (and countless others), etc.  Those aren't culturally unique or anything, but they're just as interesting as LA's obsession with In-N-Out or the east coast's obsession with Shake Shack.

One final thing I'll add that if people are in say the entertainment or fashion industries they have no choice but to move to a handful of cities if they want to get a high paying  job in their field.   Anti Trust laws probably should be a thing invoked to keep that from happening and it would do a lot to make our country a lot less of winner and loser regions kind of place.

25 minutes ago, neilworms said:

LGBT and other minorities have more of a point here as culture can be more hostile to them in these regions, but IMO their reaction is overblown in this case, its not instant death.

 

Agree. Am gay and agree that while there are places with more open and welcoming gay life, I was guilty of making assumptions about people that weren't fair as well. 

47 minutes ago, neilworms said:

 

Some of us like being able to eat food from all over the world and not be stuck in a culture that overly venerates TGIF Friday's and their ilk or states that x fast food restaurant in y town is the best fast food restaurant.

 

I don't know enough about Cincinnati to be able to say whether your perception of the suburbs there is wrong or if they are in fact quite different to what I am used to in Cleveland and Columbus, but there are plenty of ethnic food options in the suburbs of both cities.  Besides, why are we talking solely about suburbs?  It's not like the suburbs ANYWHERE are known fro their culture.  When people say there's less culture in Ohio, they're thinking of the cities as a whole.

^^This is very true and actually Nashville is one of those hot areas in terms of health IT. I was considering moving there as a matter of fact when I was looking to leave NYC, but just wasn't that impressed with what I saw and figured without a crazy offer I would bypass. Pittsburgh made me a better offer and now I'm here! ? But you're right, there are some industries, especially entertainment and some niche tech areas, where culture may not be the main reason someone moves to a place. 

1 hour ago, edale said:

 

I quoted and was responding to @jam40jeff Your Smashmouth anecdote was not interesting to me. Who cares about the music some suburban parents are listening to at a micro brewery in Blue Ash...?

Ironic, since the brewery  being discussed was founded in part to encourage open mike, new bands and has video and audio music creation spaces for use.

7 minutes ago, jam40jeff said:

 

I don't know enough about Cincinnati to be able to say whether your perception of the suburbs there is wrong or if they are in fact quite different to what I am used to in Cleveland and Columbus, but there are plenty of ethnic food options in the suburbs of both cities.  Besides, why are we talking solely about suburbs?  It's not like the suburbs ANYWHERE are known fro their culture.  When people say there's less culture in Ohio, they're thinking of the cities as a whole.

 

Cincinnati is quite a bit less diverse than either Cleveland or esp Columbus.  IMO the food scene in Columbus is a lot closer to Chicago's than Cincy's is.  I can't vouch for Cleveland as I've not been there as much.

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by neilworms

16 minutes ago, jam40jeff said:

 

I think even this doesn't give enough credit to Ohioans.  I rag on the tastes of suburbanites as much as anyone here, but they like plenty of things more interesting than Olive Garden, just as I'm sure plenty of people in the suburbs of Chicago/NYC/LA love Olive Garden.  Cleveland has Mitchell's and Melt, Akron has Swenson's, Cincinnati has Graeter's, Columbus has Jeni's and Bibibop (and countless others), etc.  Those aren't culturally unique or anything, but they're just as interesting as LA's obsession with In-N-Out or the east coast's obsession with Shake Shack.

There's a Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills, for crying out loud. People are boring literally everywhere, just like every city has interesting pockets if you bother to look for it and not dismiss it as dumb.

^Agree. And sometimes people also just want to un-ironically enjoy a 1300 calorie piece of cheesecake with a group of their friends and not worry how "on message" their life is, regardless of whether it's in OH or not. 

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by GrassIsGreener

1 minute ago, GrassIsGreener said:

^Agree. And sometimes people also just want to un-ironically enjoy a 1300 calorie piece of cheesecake with a group of their friends and not worry how "on message" their life is, regardless of whether it's in OH or not. 

 

And people do that everywhere.  Otherwise, Cheesecake Factory wouldn't be located everywhere.  The difference, and I think neil's posts are highlighting this, is that for some reason if you do that in Ohio it's because you're culturally backwards.  It's a double standard.

10 minutes ago, OldBearcat said:

Ironic, since the brewery  being discussed was founded in part to encourage open mike, new bands and has video and audio music creation spaces for use.

 

The fact is that there is a limit to how many decent bands exist in any city.  Every live music venue has to book lousy bands to keep their calendar full. 

 

Speaking of microbreweries and Smash Mouth, Smash Mouth itself is playing Urban Artifact on Valentine's Day:

https://www.cincyticket.com/ordertickets.asp?p=7335

1 hour ago, jmecklenborg said:

The bottom line is that life in most of the United States is culturally pretty similar -- or at least certain cultural things exist in enough volume so as to exist everywhere -- and so people fetishize those typically insignificant characteristics of an area that are unusual that they like and make a sweeping dismissal of an entire area because there is a somewhat higher amount of some unlikeable characteristic.   

 

 

Columbus has TOO MANY Wendy's!

Speaking of microbreweries and Smash Mouth, Smash Mouth itself is playing Urban Artifact on Valentine's Day:

https://www.cincyticket.com/ordertickets.asp?p=7335

 

Very romantic choice lol.

I don’t think these Nashville pictures have been that bad, certainly not all of them. They need sidewalks and curb drainage where that is lacking of course. 

 

One thing that strikes me is how much better a house can look if the garage is not placed out front and center. Houses with the garage detached behind the house have a classic look to them no matter what style they are, but that setup seems to have mostly fallen out of favor.

Edited January 9, 20196 yr by thebillshark

^Parts of towns that have a bunch of snout houses are the 'hoods of the near future.

14 hours ago, jam40jeff said:

 

And people do that everywhere.  Otherwise, Cheesecake Factory wouldn't be located everywhere.  The difference, and I think neil's posts are highlighting this, is that for some reason if you do that in Ohio it's because you're culturally backwards.  It's a double standard.

Toledo doesn't have a lowly Cheesecake Factory...we're clearly better than the rest of America. 

 

More to the point, I get tired of people in Toledo, and most Midwestern cities (hell, maybe all of the US), bellyaching about "getting a ____" - I had to search to make sure there's not a Cheesecake Factory out in some exurban shopperia (there isn't), but I came across posts wailing "eeeeh, when are we going to get a Cheesecake Factory??? Eeeh, when are we getting a Shake Shack??" For some reason, people think that getting the same thing as everyone else is validation that a place is worth something. One of the great things about Toledo, IMHO, is that it doesn't have a lot of national chains. Maybe the demographics make some chains avoid the city, but the locals fill in better than chains would. The last time I was in downtown Chicago - the Loop - it was full of chains. It looked like a mall. Boring. I havent been to the Loop in at least five years. No reason; I can go to all the same stores in suburban Toledo, and a lot cheaper. 

Edited January 10, 20196 yr by westerninterloper

3 hours ago, westerninterloper said:

Toledo doesn't have a lowly Cheesecake Factory...we're clearly better than the rest of America. 

 

More to the point, I get tired of people in Toledo, and most Midwestern cities (hell, maybe all of the US), bellyaching about "getting a ____" - I had to search to make sure there's not a Cheesecake Factory out in some exurban shopperia (there isn't), but I came across posts wailing "eeeeh, when are we going to get a Cheesecake Factory??? Eeeh, when are we getting a Shake Shack??" For some reason, people think that getting the same thing as everyone else is validation that a place is worth something. One of the great things about Toledo, IMHO, is that it doesn't have a lot of national chains. Maybe the demographics make some chains avoid the city, but the locals fill in better than chains would. The last time I was in downtown Chicago - the Loop - it was full of chains. It looked like a mall. Boring. I havent been to the Loop in at least five years. No reason; I can go to all the same stores in suburban Toledo, and a lot cheaper. 

The loop is boring, good stuff is in the neighborhoods...   too many touirsts don't venture out of it.

30 minutes ago, neilworms said:

The loop is boring, good stuff is in the neighborhoods...   too many touirsts don't venture out of it.

 

I agree, but I find the white parts of cities like Chicago that are highly segregated by income (and thus race) to be too precious. The northside is nice, but it's filled with restaurants that try too hard. Like they have to have a "story" for every ingredient. "This sandwich is a journey." Ann Arbor is similar to me...people living in a bubble with sticks up their fannies about how great it is. Well, your housing prices are ridiculous and nobody who lives there is really from there. Columbus and Indy are getting there too in their "cool sections" like the Short North and Mass Ave. Nashville is already over the top.

 

Maybe I have similarly ridiculous tastes about what I find to be "cool", but I'd much rather frequent Burmese restaurants in Fort Wayne, or Ram's 24 Hour kitchens in Detroit; In Toledo, Schmucker's greasy spoon on the old western bypass, or Kengo's sushi makes their own soy sauce, or Packo's drive through for Hungarian-American food, or PIzza Cat in the old gas station, or Marco's Pizza in every little neighborhood baking solid pies for the masses, or that amazing from-scratch Pho restaurant on Upton that also serves soul food, or that place in Perrysburg with the amazing central Chinese cuisine that the owner bitches about having to make because its on the special menu and she only has one burner but then loves it when a white dude like me scarfs it down. "You're not supposed to like this!!" Those are places that don't fall over themselves trying to manufacture an ambience or construct some cultural capitalizing narrative, they just make their food and make it well. 

Edited January 10, 20196 yr by westerninterloper

I'd love to get a European take on this whole discussion.  For all the feelings of superiority that someone living on the coasts or in Chicago may have, I wonder if the typical European sees any difference in the level of "culture" between Grove City and Chicago.  

 

(Which is not to pick on Grove City; it seems like a pretty typical suburb when I drive through it.)  

 

 

Edited January 10, 20196 yr by jdm00

9 hours ago, westerninterloper said:

 

I agree, but I find the white parts of cities like Chicago that are highly segregated by income (and thus race) to be too precious. The northside is nice, but it's filled with restaurants that try too hard. Like they have to have a "story" for every ingredient. "This sandwich is a journey." Ann Arbor is similar to me...people living in a bubble with sticks up their fannies about how great it is. Well, your housing prices are ridiculous and nobody who lives there is really from there. Columbus and Indy are getting there too in their "cool sections" like the Short North and Mass Ave. Nashville is already over the top.

 

Maybe I have similarly ridiculous tastes about what I find to be "cool", but I'd much rather frequent Burmese restaurants in Fort Wayne, or Ram's 24 Hour kitchens in Detroit; In Toledo, Schmucker's greasy spoon on the old western bypass, or Kengo's sushi makes their own soy sauce, or Packo's drive through for Hungarian-American food, or PIzza Cat in the old gas station, or Marco's Pizza in every little neighborhood baking solid pies for the masses, or that amazing from-scratch Pho restaurant on Upton that also serves soul food, or that place in Perrysburg with the amazing central Chinese cuisine that the owner bitches about having to make because its on the special menu and she only has one burner but then loves it when a white dude like me scarfs it down. "You're not supposed to like this!!" Those are places that don't fall over themselves trying to manufacture an ambience or construct some cultural capitalizing narrative, they just make their food and make it well. 

 

 

Your still not looking hard enough at Chicago, there are plenty of ethnic areas esp on the far north side and divey/old school food spots of all types sprinkled all over the city.   You'd probably love Bridgeport or Jefferson Park to cite a few neighborhoods that don't fit what you are describing.

Edited January 10, 20196 yr by neilworms

Nashville earns top spot on list of North America's most romantic cities

Kara Apel

Updated 7 hrs ago | Posted on Jan 10, 2019

 

NASHVILLE (WSMV) - Music City has made another top 10 list just in time for Valentine's Day.

Nashville has earned the top spot on DatingAdvice.com's "North America's 10 Most Romantic Cities" guide.

The article reads: "We think Nashville is the most romantic city in North America because there’s so much to do and see here, and yet couples can also be content doing nothing at all except sitting with a drink and enjoying the friendly Southern atmosphere."

 

https://www.wsmv.com/news/nashville-earns-top-spot-on-list-of-north-america-s/article_4126c6e0-150a-11e9-b4c7-bbe097dab3de.html?fbclid=IwAR3r7KkEgVnB0TZT2ZG1aHoQsFWwnDlSekeuTgPyjFIv4mpmqBP1bQlhpoA

 

Also making the list...Norfolk, VA.  Cuz who knows romance like the Navy?

39 minutes ago, X said:

Also making the list...Norfolk, VA.  Cuz who knows romance like the Navy?

 

 

The Navy seems pretty romantic to me...

 

 

12 hours ago, jdm00 said:

I'd love to get a European take on this whole discussion.  For all the feelings of superiority that someone living on the coasts or in Chicago may have, I wonder if the typical European sees any difference in the level of "culture" between Grove City and Chicago.  

 

(Which is not to pick on Grove City; it seems like a pretty typical suburb when I drive through it.)  

 

 

 

No, do pick on Grove City. It deserves it. People dress like 2003 and it's our most hillbilly major suburb. Some of the smaller ones such as Valleyview and Obetz might be lamer but they're pretty small and insignificant.

6 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

 

No, do pick on Grove City. It deserves it. People dress like 2003 and it's our most hillbilly major suburb. Some of the smaller ones such as Valleyview and Obetz might be lamer but they're pretty small and insignificant.

Now quit hating on the uncool crescent! lol  And I am too old to even know the difference between dressing like 2003 and now..sweatpants/jeans/pullover shirts/tee shirts then, same now....??? (comfort always wins with me).  It did really go for Trump though so.....

Edited January 11, 20196 yr by Toddguy

8 hours ago, X said:

Nashville earns top spot on list of North America's most romantic cities

Kara Apel

Updated 7 hrs ago | Posted on Jan 10, 2019

 

NASHVILLE (WSMV) - Music City has made another top 10 list just in time for Valentine's Day.

Nashville has earned the top spot on DatingAdvice.com's "North America's 10 Most Romantic Cities" guide.

The article reads: "We think Nashville is the most romantic city in North America because there’s so much to do and see here, and yet couples can also be content doing nothing at all except sitting with a drink and enjoying the friendly Southern atmosphere."

 

https://www.wsmv.com/news/nashville-earns-top-spot-on-list-of-north-america-s/article_4126c6e0-150a-11e9-b4c7-bbe097dab3de.html?fbclid=IwAR3r7KkEgVnB0TZT2ZG1aHoQsFWwnDlSekeuTgPyjFIv4mpmqBP1bQlhpoA

 

Also making the list...Norfolk, VA.  Cuz who knows romance like the Navy?

LOL! Brought to us from Datingadvice.com! LMAO! Doesn't this belong in the stupid city ranking/ list thread?

Edited January 11, 20196 yr by Toddguy

4 hours ago, Toddguy said:

Now quit hating on the uncool crescent! lol  And I am too old to even know the difference between dressing like 2003 and now..sweatpants/jeans/pullover shirts/tee shirts then, same now....??? (comfort always wins with me).  It did really go for Trump though so.....

 

Well, dressing like it's 2003 in 2019 certainly isn't as shocking as dressing like 1978 in 1986, that's for sure.

2 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

 

Well, dressing like it's 2003 in 2019 certainly isn't as shocking as dressing like 1978 in 1986, that's for sure.

 

I wouldn't be so sure of that, Frosted tips and nu metal fashion are pretty embarassing.   First half of the early 2000s decade's fashion was as bad as its music.

 

Guy Fieri is my generation's disco stu.

Edited January 11, 20196 yr by neilworms