Do you think we are all becoming the same? Do you think we are losing our regionalism?

[fuzzybuddy]

Years ago, in the US, there were regional differences- accents, and customs like New England, The South, The Coasts, the Plains, etc. Today, you could get plopped down in a city, and it could be anywhere in the US. Name a city that doesn't have a row of big box stores with a row of fast food joints. Online, you can't tell if a home is in the US, OZ, Brazil, UK, or Germany. It's all so the same. Do you think we've lost our regionalism? Either way, do you thing that was a good or bad thing?

 

[hollydolly]

LOL..I can tell you that we Brits have all retained our accents.. you can go just 10 miles in any direction to hear a different dialect... houses can be very different even in the next road.. much less the next town.. but yes I agree with your thoughts about stores being the same in whatever town we're in..

Once upon a time, the fun of taking a little road trip to another part of this sceptered Isle was to discover among other things, stores and goods we couldn't buy at home.. now, everything is the same !!

 

[NorthernLight]

Good or bad, I don't know.

I lived in an island paradise. Most evenings there were campfires and quiet companionship on the beach. A beauty spot with unique features.

Then the gentry decided we needed a dock. Trees were cut down, and the beach was built up into a parking lot, with planted flowers and a picnic table. Just another waterfront parkette, it could have been in New York or Tokyo. Such a shame.

 

[oldaunt]

Out here in nowhere country, we don't "modern up" so fast, so it still holds on to some "unique"

 

[hearlady]

I think relocating is more commonplace. Some days I'm not sure I'm in the south because everyone has a New York accent.

 

[Lewkat]

Lord knows, this woke generation is attempting to drive us into becoming nothing at all.

 

[seadoug]

In larger cities, absolutely. When we moved to Dallas 17 years ago, it was a big city but still had lots of Southern charm. I liked that. People were polite, they were courteous in traffic and I always felt welcome. With the influx of people from other states, at least in our area that has become gentrified, the population has pretty much become homogenized.

 

[HoneyNut]

Do you think we've lost our regionalism? Either way, do you thing that was a good or bad thing?

I think people who live in different places lose a lot of their regionalism, I don't know if it is homogenization or just more tolerance of differences (more worldly?). I had one manager while I was living in Nebraska and she had never lived anywhere else, not even in Iowa, and she was so insular it was kind of creepy, as if people who lived 4 hours away were 'others'. I think it is good for people to travel and decrease their fear of strangeness.
I remember in High School I had an Italian (Italian-American) boyfriend, and his family must have been extremely insular because we were at a grocery store and I didn't know what Italian bread was (obviously my family was also insular, tho I did at least know what French bread was), and my boyfriend got all upset and angry that I didn't know Italian bread and how superior it was to all the other breads. His friend had to talk to him and calm him down.

 

[Feelslikefar]

The part of Nashville I live in has seen an influx of out of state homeowners.
Lots of California, Oregon and other west coast plates on cars in the driveways.
This is new to me, as the normal plates were from Northeastern states, with people escaping the cold winters.

Doesn't bother me too much as I have always beeen a 'new' resident everywhere I've lived.

One thing, the food available is getting better with places catering to these new people.

 

[Jules]

Watching the local folks on House Hunters, I notice lots of regional accents.

Most TV shows and the newscasts are made with no accents. They’re meant to be neutral.

 

[Lavinia]

One of the main reasons why I voted to leave the EU was because I deplore the idea of us all being the same. One of the joys of travelling is being able to experience different cultures and languages. Each European country was settled by a different tribe...each has its own identity. The same is true of Great Britain. Different people settled in different areas and the effect is still obvious. It shows in place-names and dialect. The Yorkshire accent still shows signs of the Viking language.
People who are trying to destroy those differences and make everything standard must be very boring! They are Philistines, unable to savour the variety of cultures and legacies.

 

[George1959]

One of the main reasons why I voted to leave the EU was because I deplore the idea of us all being the same. One of the joys of travelling is being able to experience different cultures and languages. Each European country was settled by a different tribe...each has its own identity...
People who are trying to destroy those differences and make everything standard must be very boring! They are Philistines, unable to savour the variety of cultures and legacies.

In my opinion the EU is highly antidemocratic. Von der Leyen was never elected but installed by the Bilderberg Meeting. The EU Circus (aka European Parliament) wastes a lot of money with moving from Brussels to Strasbourg and back at regular intervals, not to mention the impact on the environment.

 

[CinnamonSugar]

In my opinion the EU is highly antidemocratic. Von der Leyen was never elected but installed by the Bilderberg Meeting. The EU Circus (aka European Parliament) wastes a lot of money with moving from Brussels to Strasbourg and back at regular intervals, not to mention the impact on the environment.

Just A gentle reminder, @George1959 no politics plz. Thanks

 

[Chet]

We are a bunch of small towns and I don't think we have changed very much. It seems any newcomers first settle in the cities, and eventually they spread out and bring their newness with them, but it doesn't seem to have happened very much yet.

 

[MarkD]

As a former navy brat, regionalism has no charm for me. It seems like such an arbitrary sort of conformity.

However I don’t welcome the corporatization, economies of scale and market driven choices which are flattening cityscapes everywhere into a more far reaching conformity.

 

[Timewise 60+]

No, I do not see everyone changing. We are an independent nation and we do not adapt to other's ways easily!

 

[Myrtle]

It looks like we still see things differently.

Some don't see the changes and some, like me, can barely see America within this country anymore. I wonder if that has to do with age. Do older seniors see this differently than the younger ones?

 

[ArnoldC]

Years ago, in the US, there were regional differences- accents, and customs like New England, The South, The Coasts, the Plains, etc. Today, you could get plopped down in a city, and it could be anywhere in the US. Name a city that doesn't have a row of big box stores with a row of fast food joints. Online, you can't tell if a home is in the US, OZ, Brazil, UK, or Germany. It's all so the same. Do you think we've lost our regionalism? Either way, do you thing that was a good or bad thing?

Yeah, I think we've reached a saturation point regarding population influx and are all part of the melting pot our country so proudly touts. To the point we are almost too diverse now with no real touchstone identity-be it local, regional or national.