Do You Fit In Where You Live?
 

Okay, about 9 years ago, the family and I moved out to suburbia. To say we're different from the other folks around us would be an understatement.

The wife and I are city folk. Southside of Chicago city folk to be exact. We're used to saying hi to our neighbors and stuff, but this suburban living is whack. Between the "Queen" waves (you know, hand stiff, moving side to side) and the sheer number of conceited assholes we live around, it's driving us nuts. I won't even go into the "screw your neighbor" homeowner's association rules.

Do any of the rest of you experience this? Or, are we just lucky? :lol:

I live in a dorm, so I guess I kinda sorta fits in.

Not a perfect fit, but I'm comfortable.

Living in Austin, TX is amazing. I will never go back to the small town I came from. There is soo much diversity here that its mind boggling, and I feel I fit in perfectly.

We're from the south and currently live in the northeast. I don't think we fit in here, things are very different in the south and we miss it. Not that living here is awful, it's just so fast pace and a different life.

I live in NYC :) not everyone can fit in here.... but there's a place for you if you want to try...

I love Austin! I've lived in Dallas/Fort Worth and in Houston, I never felt like I felt in anywhere but here. Where I went to high school in Houston, they had a *dress code*. When I went to high school here in Austin (Crockett) the joke was that the only dress code rule was "no chain saws" heh.

I used to live in SW Michigan, I really fit in there. Always knew how people were going to react to stuff, everyone was really laid back, it was great. Now I live in Salt Lake City, and people are nuts. You're either a mormon or a mormon-hater, there's no inbetween. I wish they'd all just shut up about it.

Where in Chicago were you? I lived in a condo near Shedd Aquarium for a while.

Oh Hell no...If you want Details, Read my Journal...It's all in there.:)

Edited

i live in sUburbia. i know how it feels to want to get the hell out. i think i could adapt well in the city. it feels like my second home since i'm there all of the time and do my errands in the city :P

I grew up in the suburbs outside of DC. I hated living there and I disliked most of the people. When I go back to visit my parents I can't stop thinking of the wife in American Beauty.....she pretty much sums up most of thos people.

I now live in Boone North Carolina, and I love it. People are honestly friendsly and hospitable. I can walk down the street and wave to strangers, they will smile and wave back. I can even walk up and start a conversation with random people, and most likely they will become new friends.

People don't really have to have their 'guard' up around here, and they aren't super stressed out type A personalities who moved to the suburbs so they will be close to the place where they work 80 hours a week.

I love it.

I live in a dorm, and really don't feel like I fit in at all. All my neighbors are loud, and a little annoying. shit...

I grew up in Seattle but moved to Oregon 11 years ago. Last year I lived in a very small town in California. I did not fit in to the small town nor in to California. Give me Oregon any day -- with a mid-size city and lots of rain.

I live in L.A...hard not to fit in because all types of people live here. But I'm kinda near the Hollywood/Beverly Hills area, where people can be so phony it hurts me to be within a 50-foot radius of them.

I am so NOT into the whole 'hollywood/glamour/I am so important' thing that many people here seem to embrace with all their being.

But not everybody around here's like that, of course. Just lots. :p Still, I think a south bay beach community (still L.A. area) would be much more my thing. Maybe I'll move sometime soon. :)

My Mother, sister and I live in the middle of the 'burbs as well. A punk rock family that listens to loud music drives vintage cars, scooter, and motorcycle does not fit in with a bunch of old people and soccer moms. Which is why we don't know anyone around us and no one ever says Hi. We sleep at home and eat at home... other then that we are in the city.

I forgot to mention that when they drive by, they don't even look at us when they give us the "Queen" wave. Like they're so much better than us that we don't even deserve eye contact.

No. It's too conservative. And it's not next the ocean. To major strikes against it.

i live in a largely conservative neighbourhood.
but that stench of grey poupon isn´t terribly overpowering.

do i fit in?
well, i guess.
since i didn´t go to a local high school, i don´t have too many friends in my neighbourhood, but i have enough.

I'm in a building that's a hybrid between a dorm and an apartment. There's a good enough mix of people, so I don't feel like its populated by any one "type." My dorm last year, however...I think I'd fit in better at a retirement home.

I literally don't fit in. I live in a suburban town that was built by people who really never thought that a 6'8" guy would be living here. And they wonder why I slouch.

I think I def fit in with where I live, and that would be Long Island, NY. I was born and raised here... a few years ago however my parents decided to move us to AZ, but we only stayed there for about 8 months until we realized that there's no place like L. I. and we missed being here. I don't think we fit in too well in AZ anyways... and the heat down there is crazzzyy

I depends on what mood you catch me in.

Mostly I would say yes.
But they wouldn't be able to handle the wild side.

I'm here 'cuz it's a good place to raise a family. I am not a stereotypical suburban mom though--and we have at lot 'em here. They are lacquered and tanned year round, have expensive cars & homes, clothes and manicures. They sneer when they see me, and I just smile. I enjoy being a freak.
I love the city--the suburbs are stale in comparison.
My ideal would be to live in Chicago, if it were moved next to an ocean.

Double D, I feel your pain. I like the description you gave, lacquered and tanned. Don't forget plastic! Last couple of years, it's been let's upgrade our boobies.

I like torturing them too. Listening to loud heavy metal music and taking my shirt off when I cut the lawn. There's nothing like the shocked look of a pretentious, anal retentive suburbanite when I'm getting some sun on my big, fat, and very white belly. :crazy: I get the look that says, "Hey fatboy, put your shirt back on, you're driving down our property values!"

Hey, Chicago is near an ocean, sort of. Lake Michigan is like the ocean, in a big lake sort of way.

I live in a college town where the only thing to do on weekends is drink. I don't drink whatsoever and have no plans to ever start. You can figure out the rest...

I live in a flat in the suburbs close to the city. I get along well with my flatmates, and don't really know the neighbours, except for an old lady next door who I chat to from time to time. She's pretty cool.

I was born and raised in L.A. and now live in Alabama so no.

I moved from a city in Michigan to a town of around 130 people in South Dakota a couple years ago. Whoa, talk about culture shock, my family didnt fit in at all. Had to go to a school where there were 25 kids in my whole grade and the only person that liked me was the girl everyone made fun of. Thank goodness I moved again.

I'm accepted, but not sure I fit in. I live 2 miles outside of my home town of 6000 people. Rural southwest Oklahoma, buckle of the bible belt. I was considered odd going to school here and am now probably considered eccentric.

I am considered to be "tainted" from living in California for a couple of years. One of them damn hippies and a biker to boot.

When I came back from the Navy in 76 I brought one of the first Japanese pick ups any one in town owned. I took a lot of flack for that pickup until the first time there was a gas shortage. Then I got offers for the damn thing. The local Chevy dealer wouldn't get me parts or work on it because he didn't sell the "damn Jap things".

Lots of farmers around here, Menonites live to the East of me. The men still wear hats and the women wear bonnets.

I don't go to church, I don't shave, all three of my girls were raised to think that they are as good as any man.

We also have the "lacquered and tanned" set. I really get on their nerves, it's a hobby. Gimme a break, lacquered and tanned hicks? Many of them have never been out of the state and are about as cosmopoliton as Granny Clampett. Some of them still wear the really big hairdos with tons of hair spray.

Sorry, kind of turned into a rant didn't it? If I lived in Oklahoma City I would probably be just another citizen.

I live in a neighbourhood that's 1/2 middle class retired people and 1/2 government subsidized housing. I don't fit in with the old folks and I sure as hell don't fit in with the roving packs of gangstas. A private school just got built at the end of my street too, so twice a day my street is choked with idling SUVs with Soccer moms all reading the same Danielle Steele novel while waiting for their kids to finish school. My old neighbourhood was so much better, 10 mins away from a university, tons of 20-ish kids and close enough to downtown without being right in the thick of it.

hmmm...no i don't fit in orlando too well...i don't love the "mouse" or the beach...i enjoy cultural activites...which we have none of. the only good thing we have found is our car club family...my husband and i love old skool american muscle, and there is a great group of people here who are the same. i generally have to much fashion sense and am too intelligent for the general masses...it may sound conceited , but if anyone has ever been here, you will understand...it's all shorts and tee shirts...and 50% of the population didn't make it past the 10th grade

I'm a progressive liberal in the capital of Nebraska...

'nuf said. I don't know that if most of us did fit in where we lived if we would have as much time to post here as we do.

A family of liberals in probably one of the most conservative towns in America. I'd say no. And all of the trailer trash and whathave you that we live around. My dad always tells me I would've fit in with him and his hippy friends back a couple decades ago. Oh well, at least I've made friends here that listen to loud music and are pretty liberal as well.

No. As a (very)young professional living in a small town, we hang out with 40 year olds. I'll spare you comparing ourselves to the stereotypes of no teeth, etc..., but most people our age here have several kids already. We live next door to a retired pentacostal minister and a retired insurance guy. They're both in their 70's and both play golf, literally all day, every day. My wife, after her monthly "Bunko" game, said, "You know, they all drive BMW's and have big rings, but they still drink Boones Strawberry Hill."
I recently got together with some of my old classmates, all a year out, and those of us in small towns had about the same experience.

I used to live with my paretns in this ritchy class area .... now i live with 3 other men in kalamazoo Mi which is your typical working class collage town.. and i fit in better hear then i ever did in Grosse pointe. But it all depends on your personality and how well u can cope/adjust to new nabors or seroundings

I fit in so well it gets me laid. WK would get laid here too. Alternative college girls are dumb.

Sometimes I feel that I fit in great in the city here, and other times I feel like a total outsider.

Its all how you wake up, really....

I think I'm actually a SLC Non-mormon who doesn't hate the dominant religion here. They do stuff that annoys me, but I mostly get over it.
As far as fitting in where I live, I am right next to the University. so its almost like living in a party town. The best part is the people I live with, I have known them all for 6+ years.
Having said that, I don't think I am going to be in Utah much longer, 24 years is enough, I want to explore.

My neighborhood is nothing but elderly folks. With the exception of the house next door where a younger family moved in after the elderly couple passed away (:() a few years back, there is no one on my block under 60. I really only socialize with a few of them, but I guess I do fit in... kinda scary actually. I've always gotten along better with people older than myself, probably through some deluded self image of maturity :rolleyes:

That's why I moved back to Oklahoma City. I can fit in anywhere, but there are always things about a community that it takes years to figure out. OKC is that place for me.

I've lived in the same state for 26 years and in the same town for 18 or so of those years. I guess I fit in here as well as anywhere else I've seen. My town is a Northwoods town of pop 10,000. I remember when we got our first department store "Walmart"

If I ever moved to the city I'd need to find me a buddy to learn the ropes with. lol I've never even ridden in a taxi let alone flagged one down. Been to Chicago twice and got tension migranes both times.

I've never felt like I quite fit anywhere. My ideas aren't exactly Mainstream. Being raised very religiously and then becoming swingers - there aren't too many people around with that kind of thinking. Also being a teacher, mom, breatfeeder (still at 3 yrs old), self employed... I don't have too many around with the same type of value structure. I just do my own thing and don't worry about it anymore. My lack of "fitting in" was why I got in fights in school. It's how I make the world work for me now.

mooved from portland to LA to denver to arizona baCK TO PORTLAND thean to longbeach and back to portland now im in st.hellins and i dont fitin at all

I feel your pain. Believe me...I feel your pain.

Now...try adding to that...not being a Cornhusker fan. I think that you can see my situation here.

I somewhat do. I have a close nitted relationship of friends, but other people I generally dislike since their all buisness like and don't wanna have fun. I just don't get it, they want to succeed in life but they don't have to be so serious about it.

I guess I sorta fit in, but I'm more of a sci-fi geek at heart and there aren't any of those anywhere in sight. It saddens me to think that I may never meet someone else who shares my interests.

Moved from Europe close to Austin, TX. I don't really feel like I fit in...a lot of things, cultural especially, are so different.

Re: Do You Fit In Where You Live?
 

which one? i'm still on the north side, been in the city for 12 years. we have 2 kids & every now & then start thinking about a move to the burbs.

your tales of misery have strengthened my resolve to stay put....thanks!

ps. keep fighting 'em.........don't turn into a pod!

No way and I never want to.

Grew up just outside Baltimore and spent a lot of time heading into the city. Parents moved us to small-town Pennsylvania when I was in high school.

That's culture shock. Still living in small-town PA with the wife and kids. My wife grew-up here. We can't go anywhere without her seeing someone she knows. She never really got a long with these people and they hold grudges forever. Its like they never left school.

We plan on moving to Florida, somewhere along the east coast. Need to get out of this area. Also want the kids to grow up near the beach.

Re: Re: Do You Fit In Where You Live?
 

It's the well known, "kid friendliest place on earth" in the far western suburbs. :D

I keep vigilant. No sleep. They'll never turn me into a pod! No Stepford wife either for the mrs.! :lol:

suburbia beats the hell out of the city in my opinion. If you dont like your neighbors then who cares if you fit in with them. Tell your neighborhood association to get fucked!

Letters, we get lots and lots of letters
 

Got a letter from my homeowner's association yesterday, telling me to remove some items that were on my property OR ELSE!

The items in question were tucked in next to my house and could not be seen easily from the street. One of my "wonderful" neighbors turned me in to the Gestapo. It's too bad I can't find out who did this to me. If I had the money, I'd take it to court to see if I could get the name revealed, but, I know it's a losing cause. Like terrorist hot lines and other such anonymous tattling, they're protected.

I HATE MY FUCKING NEIGHBORS. Now, I have to hate them ALL since I don't know who turned me in. Let the hating begin!

I did write a letter to the homeowner's association requesting the name of the person who turned me in and instructions on how to dismantle the association, but, my wife wouldn't let me send it. Bitch! :mad: I also thanked them for reminding to throw out one of the items since I had forgot to do so the past couple of weeks.

No.

I live in suburbia, and it embodies everything I hate about society and societal conditioning. It's an affluent area, full of materialistic rich snobs with no appreciation for anything that isn't priced over a few hundred bucks.

Can't wait to get outta here ;)

Ohio State did one hell of a job picking my roomates, because most of them are exactly like me. The rest of the school seems to be pretty normal too, not to preppy, not too thug-ish, with its fair share of individualism. I absolutely loathed CT though, absolutely nothing to do there and even though I was in suburbia, 99% of the people thought they were Eminem...

If it werent for my racing buddies and the group back at the garage, I'd never want to go back there.

I live in a suburb in Melbourne, Australia. We like visit our immediate neighbors occasionally (the ones that live directly next to us). Occasionally talk for 5-10 minutes to another 2 or 3 of the neighbors, the rest just a wave hello. It works out alright.

i've lived the same place for about fifteen years. so yeah, i a lot of people in school and around town. so yes, i fit in. to a point. [i'm very hyper, so that sometimes gets me in trouble with people because it gets hella annoying.]

NOOO!! I DO NOT FIT IN HERE!

I currently live in Iowa. I grew up in a town of 600 people. I hated it. I got lucky and landed a job in San Jose, CA. I loved it. I loved the city, the activites, the people, the landscape, the ocean, did I mention the people?!?

Now, I've had to move back to Iowa. I live in the capitol city, but it sucks. There is nothing to do here that is any fun. I cannot enjoy my hobbies for 6 months out of the year, which are Motorcycling and racing R/C cars. I am surrounded by simpletons, hicks, and backwoods dumb-truck fucking good 'ol boys. It's awful. Iowa sucks. It's boring. Never move here. Don't even think about it.

I cannot wait to leave. I will never return here. I despise this place with every ounce of my being.

Not really, but I don't really fit in anywhere, and I relish in that. I'm in a hipster area of the north side of chicago, and I tend to stick out a bit in my Nintendo t-shirts and whathaveyou walking down the street, but I love it so I can't complain.

I've never been one to go along with the masses...

P.S. cartmen34: I feel your pain I grew up on the west side of IL near the IA border where it is about as bad as you describe. I hate even going home for a short time to visit patents et al because there is NOTHING there...except cornfields and ex-girlfriends ;)

Not even close!
I don't have any desire to leave, exactly, but I live in an area of Florida where almost the entire population is 60+ or 18 and under. Where are all the 20-30 somethings?
Elderly folks come up to us all the time and tell us how nice it is to see young faces out and about!

No not too well, but then again I am not really trying to.

Fit in? I started my childhood in a suburb of Denver, CO. Don't remember much though cause we moved to the middle of fucking no where KS. Small town, no more than 80 houses if even and a church. School very small, did I fit in. No!!!

College, bigger town (much bigger) fit in my own niche the first year. Now not so much. I hate dorm life and my new floor, let jsut say they are mostly the girls who joined the sororites and I am very different.

The only place I've ever felt really at home, or that I really fit in well was in cities. Manhattan, KS. Great place, not too big. Cheyenne, WY. Love it there, it's where my grandparents are so I go there a lot. Denver, not so much. Fort Collins, yeah I like it well enough. But before I move I have to graduate. : )

I think you fit in where you want to. I may not live in a place where my ideologies match those of the majority, but I find people with whom I can share commonalities. Sometimes that takes more work than you might imagine, but it's not impossible. I'm conservative on some issues but liberal on most and living in Texas, that's not mainstream. I'm in Houston and fortunately, despite its often frontier reputation, it is a very cosmopolitan city. Lots of different cultures, ethnicities, etc. Great exposure on all levels. I have lived other places that were not so, but I still have managed to find people that ground me and let me express myself and learn through them. It's all that "life is what you make it" thing... :)

Im in The Big Easy and I personally think I fit in perfectly. Down here theres tons of nice folks with great hospitality. So even if you don't fit in, the people here will make you feel like you fit in just fine. I guess my cajun accent and southern charm makes me fit in with everyone just fine. When Im out around the United States all I have to do is utter a sentence and people know exactly which state Im from.