Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
What’s the Biggest Misconception about Your State?
Though no one seemed to notice, I didn’t blog once last week. My cruel taskmasters at Ricochet Global Headquarters allowed me out of my padlocked cubicle for a brief vacation. (Troy Senik made me wear an ankle bracelet; the last staffer granted time off vanished for a few months before reappearing at The Federalist.) After taking my family to a cabin in the cool pines, I posted the following image for my adoring fans on Twitter:
People tried to guess where I was. Colorado? Montana? Some off-the-grid shanty so I could confuse the homing device? No, we were a few miles outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s, and enough cool streams and mountain trails to make us forget about our hellish summer in Phoenix.
People were incredulous, especially many on the east coast. “I thought Arizona was all desert!” “Where’s the sand and cactus?” “Are you sure you aren’t in Colorado?”
Arizona has a lot of desert, but also offers alpine cabins, ski resorts, and the largest stand of ponderosa pine on the continent. Adjacent to Flagstaff is a mountain that tops 12,500 feet in elevation, so there’s plenty of chilly weather to be found in this very southwestern state.
Every region has a stereotype and most are easily debunked with a visit. Every Texan doesn’t have an oil well in their backyard, plenty of Iowans have never lived on a farm, and Oregon isn’t all rugged coastline. So I open it up to the Ricochetti scattered hither and yon: What is the biggest misconception about your state (or city or country) and why is it a bunch of baloney?
P.S. Private message me if you have any tips on losing an ankle bracelet.
Published in General
Me:
5th Washingtonian, though I now live in the UK. Biggest misconception about Washington state, even to Americans that I run into over here, is that “no NOT Washington DC, Washington STATE, WEST COAST, you know Seattle” (which really bugs me cus’ I grew up on the East side of the mountains which is beautiful and very conservative and very dry.
Wow. That was awful. And Philadelphians get a bad rap for booing Santa Claus!
I’ve noticed that it doesn’t smell as bad as it did there though – right around Elizabeth, I think it was?
Kentucky is not just Owsley or Harlan County. We’re not just mountains and out-of-work coalminers. Yes, that describes the worst-off part of the state. The Western part of the state is rolling hills, giant rivers, enormous lakes, forests, and all the great stuff for those who want to get away from civilization for a while, or just live the “small town” life. I used to drive across Kentucky and up to KC to go home because there were more cities along the way than driving across Illinois and Indiana combined. (Did add 3 hours to the drive, but I’d just stop and visit friends in southern Missouri on the way to justify it).
Most of the population of the state lives in the area cornered by Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington (called the Golden Triangle) and that part of the country look pretty much like the rest of the country. Fairly urbanized, diversified economy -we have education, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, services, publishing, transportation, pretty much anything you could want -the schools are good. Central and Western Kentucky are wonderful places to live.
Even Eastern Kentucky is a nice place to live except the terrain is so rough you can’t build anything out there, so it’s basically subsistence farmers, coal miners, and welfare recipients.
What, no Richettoi from my native state, Florida? Actually, I was born there, but haven’t lived there since I was three months old. It is flat, like southern New Jersey where I now live. I love to visit and it is much less crowded than where I live. New Smyrna Beach, not far from Daytona, is a not-very-crowded gem of a beach and town.
I grew up in the Bronx and Staten Island, at a time when the latter was much less crowded than it is today, with the beach a mile and a half away.
The biggest misconception about North Carolina is we have 4 seasons, friendly people and great scenery. If you live in the central part, you are only 2 hours from the beach or the mountains. It is none of these things! The summers are hot, the winters can get cold with no snow, and some people are just unbearable so all you Yankees can quit moving here! ;)
Seriously, I’m not sure we have any misconceptions about our state. I could most likely find whatever stereotype you want here. There are little Mayberry-like towns here but doesn’t every state have one?
Typical – there’s been 5 Washingtonians posting before the first Oregonian (me) chimes in.
If you’d asked this question 10 years ago, I would have said the biggest thing would be Portland is NOT in Washington. Second biggest thing would be that the state’s name is NOT pronouced OREEGONE. There is no E on the end of it. It has not gone anywhere. Fortunately (and I credit the success of my favorite college football team) much of the rest of the nation has learned the correct pronunciation.
Over the past 10 years, however, Portland has become quite “buzzworthy”. The craft brewery movement (which began here, folks) has spawned a foodie culture and a massive influx of hipsters. Portland has become cool – at least in the liberal mindset. I still stay out in the burbs whenever possible. But at least the place has an identity now.
Perhaps in a topic for another stream, however, I’d like to bring up the Big Sister to the North. I’ve developed a theory that the success of the Seahawks has stripped Seattle’s identity away – that it is now nothing more than Seahawkville. You can’t go into any kind of shop up there without being confronted with Seahawks merchandise. It seems that everything revolves around that franchise. I just find it curious.
Immigrant Idahoan here.
Biggest outsider misconception: It’s all about spuds. Yes there are plenty of taters and sugar beets also, but there’s lots more mountains, rivers and desert (lots of desert). Local lifestyle is defined by your modes of recreation.
Biggest insider misconception: We’ve got to increase the average salary in Idaho. No, that just puts more of the economy into the hands of government. Instead, we’ve got to keep down the costs of living and doing business by continuing to keep government out of the way.
Understandably, Florida is known by its population centers, especially on the coasts. Most people don’t realize how vastly rural most of Florida is. Get away from the coasts, or the “I-4 Corridor” and you will experience mile after mile of prairie, rolling hills, cattle ranches, and grove/row crop agriculture. The rivers are wonderful and mostly bucolic, though what counts as a river in Florida would be called a creek in most of the country.
I have heard it authoritatively stated that if you have eaten beef, it came from Florida. This is at least a mild overstatement. However, Florida ships calves all over the country, as our mild climate is an ideal nursery. So, if you have eaten beef, most of it probably originated in Florida. Cattle ranching is huge in Florida, economically and geographically. As the sign along the highway says, “Beef, what vegetarians eat, when they cheat.”
Alabama is pretty much what people think. Largely rural, even just outside of cities, culture centered on hunting and fishing and college football.
It’s known as a conservative state but taxes are relatively high, at least compared to reputation. Sales tax is 9.5% in my county, 10% in the neighboring one. Groceries are taxed like everything else. The income tax tops out at 5%. Car registration is not a flat fee but includes an ad valorum tax. I’m told property tax is low, however.
When people think of Florida beaches, they usually think of southern Florida. But the panhandle has some of the nation’s most beautiful beaches with fine white sand and relative seclusion. I’m mystified by pictures of Miami’s crowded shore.
Ironically, the further north the beach, the more likely you are to encounter Southern hospitality and delicious Southern cooking.
On the Florida-Alabama border, Gulf Shores is a lively beach and Perdido Key is a family beach. Take your pick.
Missouri isn’t misery. Only for a few days in August. Like now.
Some years back a client took me sport fishing in Destin. I was so impressed with the area I delayed my departure and stayed an extra 5 days in Sandestin. The beaches are unlike anything we have on the west coast. It felt like Bermuda sand without the pink. Uncrowded and quiet. One of the best ‘secrets’ in America.
Jim,
Huell Howser is a CA treasure. I have been laughed at by friends and family for being a true fan and was really saddened when he passed a few years ago. I don’t do imitations but for Huell (& the occasional DeNiro).
He is/was the best person I know who could make the mundane interesting.
Laugh out loud.
Tennessee, my adopted home, is not all Memphis barbecue or Nashville country music or Great Smoky Mountains. Those three things are located in three separate regions of the state, each with a completely different vibe and each not completely defined by those standout features.
In my home state, Ohio, not everyone is a fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes. My family always rooted for U of M in the big rivalry game.
What are misconception of Canada?
Did New Mexico get mentioned yet? It is enchanting. Even more so with peyote.
One misconception about Montana is that it is Republican. Montana is conservative but the Democrats are very strong in Montana.
I’ve been living in the state of denial since November 2012. It is just as one would imagine.
In my corner of South Carolina we have experienced population growth of 130% in the past ten years. Based on the new developments already approved we will double our current population again in just ten more years. The exurban, lovely, unincorporated community we moved to years ago will likely be the biggest city in the county by 2030.
So, I would say that the biggest misconception people outside of South Carolina seem to have is that they need to move here.
Unless you view Ricochet as a nice– albeit left-leaning– website you really shouldn’t move here.
Please, leftists, you’ll like NORTH Carolina much more.
(Sorry, Eeyore.)
No, they won’t. They can just stay north of Richmond.
Don’t say maybe.
Although I don’t know how she’s slowin’ down, standin’ there in the flatbed.
“New York, New York: The city so nice they named it twice!” Yeah, whatever.
New York City is unique, and I’m glad there is one. I go there often – they have great food and opera.
But I live in what we are constantly forced to refer to as “upstate New York”. Ithaca (home of Cornell U.) is at the foot of a 38-mile-long gorgeous freshwater lake, one of nine which make up the “Finger Lakes”. This is one of the best wine-producing areas of the country, and is spectacular with gorges, waterfalls, forests, and all that jazz. It is crazy beautiful here.
Besides the Finger Lakes region, there is also: The Adirondacks, The Catskills, the awesome Hudson river, the Thousand Islands and the Saint Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, the Erie Canal, the often overlooked beauty and fecundity of Long Island (Ok, not exactly upstate, but mostly not The City), Niagara Falls, Chautauqua Lake, and all the rolling beauty in between. Before we showed up, the Iroquois Nation set up shop here for a reason.
Cornell Alum and other travelers always complain about how cold it gets here, but I suspect that’s because they are comparing it to somewhere warmer where they could be practicing their discipline (Physics, Law, Culinary, etc.) There’s always someplace warmer. But, having lived here for 50-odd years, I would say that the climate is perfect for those who like everything. We get a distinct winter, which can get cold for a bit. (Yay – skiing!) Then we have a spring, which blasts forth with amazing beauty. Then a summer, days which can get over 90 sometimes (ehem – we have a lake), then an autumn of legendary leaf-changing beauty. The fact is that each of these seasons lasts for just long enough to be welcome; just when you’ve totally had enough, it’s on to the next one. The secret of living here is to have a hobby or sport that is best in each of the seasons. “Shoot, too chilly for sailing – hello skiing!”
So when someone says “I’m from New York”, they haven’t really told you much. (Imagine if instead of naming it “California”, they had called it “Los Angeles”.)
My cousin makes cider in the Finger Lakes region. Blackduck Cidery. Tell them Casey sent you.
http://www.blackduckcidery.com/cider/
I once worked with a nice young fellow who great up in that part of northwestern PA where they’re Cleveland Browns fans. When he told me that, all I could think to do was give him a little hug and say, “I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”
He didn’t seem to understand.
I remember my parents and younger siblings and I driving from Minooka, Ill to Sister Bay for a two-week vacation. Three years in a row. Fun times. We loved the Norwegian restaurant with the goats on the roof.
That Georgia’s peaches are the best. If we want fresh peaches, everyone here knows to find a roadside stand in South Carolina. Totally worth the drive. (Edgefield and Trenton have some great peaches, particularly.)