Apr 24, 2008 11:41 PM GMT
Two Questions: 1. Were you born in a small (possibly redneck) town??? 2. If so, how long before you moved out and do you go back???
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Apr 24, 2008 11:49 PM GMTI grew up in a tiny little town that was probably pretty redneck, but I can think of worse places. I left when I was 18 and have been back there only two or three times since.
(P.S. please edit to fix the HTML problem) -
Apr 24, 2008 11:49 PM GMTI was born in a small town called Oneida, located in the geographic center of New York. It's a nice place to be from, because it's a nice place to leave.
It's not like I ended up miles away - I'm only 45 minutes away. But it's far enough and close enough at the same time. -
Apr 25, 2008 12:01 AM GMTNot all small towns are hostile to diversity. Yes you do not advertise yourself out in public but why make a spectacle of yourself in the first place. If you don't impose yourself onto other people in a small, rural town you will not encounter any problems. Sometimes I wish that I could reside in a small rural town because there are days when I feel that the city is closing in on me and the surrounding suburbs are no damn better. Keep in mind that there are a lot of redneck, intolerant neighborhoods in cities and suburbs alike. There are ignorant, hateful people everywhere not just in small town and rural America. -
Apr 25, 2008 12:12 AM GMTI came from Canton just outside Boston so can not say But have summer home in Naples the Un Offical Lesbian Capital of Maine. 90% of the Locals love them they saved soem of the older Victorian mansions and they look sharp now Where from maine are you ? -
Apr 25, 2008 12:15 AM GMTTo answer one of your good questions, yes I grew up in a small town. I grew up in Sanborn, New York which is located on NY Route 31 in Niagara County about twenty miles north of Buffalo. It was a beautiful, quiet place with numerous apple orchards and dairy farms. Now it has unfortunately been gobbled up by the hideous suburban sprawl that has taken a large part of southern Niagara County. Sanborn has forever lost its country small town feel. -
Apr 25, 2008 12:16 AM GMTI was born in the small, rural town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. My maw gave birth to me in the back of the turnip truck as she and paw were heading to market. She bit off my umbilical cord with her teeth and was back plowing the fields the next day. We come from hardy stock. -
Apr 25, 2008 12:16 AM GMTI still live here LOL. Rednecks love gays haha. -
Apr 25, 2008 12:34 AM GMTI grew up in a little town outside of Wichita.... and I still live here, but its now a sprawling suburb.. and different than it was.. but to be honest, it was much different (bigger) when I was growing up than years ago when it was just a little tiny place. The process of evalution.... -
Apr 25, 2008 12:38 AM GMTroadbikeRob saidTo answer one of your good questions, yes I grew up in a small town. I grew up in Sanborn, New York which is located on NY Route 31 in Niagara County about twenty miles north of Buffalo. It was a beautiful, quiet place with numerous apple orchards and dairy farms. Now it has unfortunately been gobbled up by the hideous suburban sprawl that has taken a large part of southern Niagara County. Sanborn has forever lost its country small town feel.
Interesting.... The small town I was raised in wasn't so open, from my perspective. I don't know a lot about other small towns. It's good to know that some are more open than mine. Although, I do have some good friends from that town. All straight. They, too, have moved away. The ones that I didn't do well with, mostly are still living there. I dread the thought of running into them. Not out of fear any longer, but out of annoyance. If that makes any sense? -
Apr 25, 2008 12:40 AM GMTwell I think it's safe to say I grew up in a small redneck town. I was forced to leave at 18 to go to college. Now I'm stuck in the city and not really enjoying it. I can't wait to graduate and get the hell out of this god awful place, and back to the fresh manure stained air of the country.
To answer your second question, yes I went back a few times when my parents were still living there, but after 18 years there, my mom finally had enough and convinced my dad that they WERE moving to the city. Would I go back to my particular town for the rest of my life? Who knows, but probably not, just because it is starting to succumb to city slickers and developers. But if in 5 years I stop by and see that not much has changed, I know the perfect little house and acreage to buy!! -
Apr 25, 2008 12:43 AM GMTjprichva saidI was born in the small, rural town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. My maw gave birth to me in the back of the turnip truck as she and paw were heading to market. She bit off my umbilical cord with her teeth and was back plowing the fields the next day. We come from hardy stock.
LOL! "Hardy" doesn't begin to describe! I don't mean to laugh if this is real.... OMG! It was too visual!!!! -
Apr 25, 2008 12:52 AM GMTYes. Small town in PA with population of 3000.
I haven't been back in 3 years...more because of parent reaction to me being gay, not because of the small, redneck town.
I worked on a farm, milked and fed cows, planted and harvested, ect, ect..... -
Apr 25, 2008 12:53 AM GMTjprichva saidI was born in the small, rural town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. My maw gave birth to me in the back of the turnip truck as she and paw were heading to market. She bit off my umbilical cord with her teeth and was back plowing the fields the next day. We come from hardy stock.
Ann Arbor hardly seems like a small, rural town. I'm from a town in Michigan without a stop light. Census says population was approx 570. It was fun.
When I was growing up I often felt like there was so much lacking from my small town. Now I see that there was a lot. I think there were great social values running through my town. Anyway, I look at it now as a place of great potiential. I would move back in a heart beat provide there was a close job opportunity for me and my boy! -
Apr 25, 2008 1:15 AM GMTI grew up in Arley, AL. Population as of 2005, a whopping 321. I went off to college when I was 20 but I went to Auburn...still a small town that just happens to have a big university in it. I go home occasionally for my family but there's just nothing to do or anyone for me to relate to there anymore. -
Apr 25, 2008 1:18 AM GMTUm I'm still here
Small town called Bolton, under 5000 people. Not that I mind really. Were still half way from Boston and NYC so its not that isolated.
No desire to move yet, probably only going to head to yet another small town somewhere. I like silent evenings, no traffic, stores where everyone knows you, and morning runs never seeing another person. -
Apr 25, 2008 1:20 AM GMTYes I am from a very small town in West Texas! It was pretty redneck!
Well, I moved away from it when I was really young for about three years, but returned till high school graduation. The day after I graduated I ended leaving to California and then New York, and then Finally off to college out of state.
Would I ever go back? I have gone back very few times, I do miss my friends. I have not seen most of my friends since the night of graduation. I've only seen about 5 people from my high school class, if that.
I do miss going out to the ranch, riding horses, doing yard work, waking up in the middle of the night during a freeze and checking on the animals, breaking the ice on the water troughs, hunting... and just living the country life style.
It was hard work, but I absolutely loved it, but I always wanted to move away and be a city slicker, but I'll always be a country boy at heart! One day though I plan to have a house out there. -
Apr 25, 2008 1:33 AM GMTI was born and raised in the hills of Kentucky, very rural but it isn't too long a drive north to Covington and Cincinnati or South to Lexington. I go back for family reunions, an occasional Reds game and when a family member needs my help. I wouldn't mind living there again.
The Cincinnati Reds are the only reds I like.
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Apr 25, 2008 1:51 AM GMTI grew up in an unincorporated farming community in Ohio. There were no blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, or any other of the better-known minorities but there was a big Amish community nearby - that was our "diversity". Homosexuality as a concept was mocked openly but in truth there were a number of people in the community who were quietly gay - everyone knew it, but nobody hassled them about it. When the quarterback of my high school football team was caught in bed with the captain of the basketball team, a few people giggled and passed around the story but that was about it.
I left when I was 18 to go to college; by time I was out the door I already knew I wouldn't be going back. It's a pleasant enough place I guess but just not enough going on for me - when I was growing up there we didn't even have a MacDonald's. I visit at Christmastime every year for three or four days but I really only see my family and one or two old friends. -
Apr 25, 2008 2:21 AM GMTJohn43620 said
The Cincinnati Reds are the only reds I like.
Oh, come on John, you love red states. -
Apr 25, 2008 2:34 AM GMTExactly the opposite for me. Born and raised in a major metropolitan area and found myself in a small rural town (pop. 2,600) for the first time at the age of 40. To put things in perspective for city folks now I just point out that the closest McDonalds is over 100 miledss away. Within a few months I realized, to my horror, that I'd been misusing the word "Yahoo" my entire adult life, for now I surely knew the very quintessence of this word.
Now I love it here, though I think I'm the only one in town who doesn't think my life is fascinating (trust me, it's not) That just goes with living in a small town and it is a resort town which differs a lot from an agricultural community i suspect.
So, yeah, last time I was back in Minneapolis i turned to a business associate and mused out loud that "The only reason you all live here is because you don't know any better". Of course, I had the opportunity to get the city out of my system in my twenties and thirties. Pretty sure I wouldn't have done it any differently.
To answer question #2, I would never set foot in that city again if I don't have to. -
Apr 25, 2008 2:52 AM GMTBryan - Im very familiar with Coos Bay!- I grew-up in Madras, Oregon - we had a population of 810, no stop-lights, no McDonalds and I remember cattle drives though the middle of town. I'm proud to say that I couldn't have grown-up in a better place! My Parents still live there and my Partner and I go back every once in a while. The great thing is that everyone knows that I'm gay and they accept it without question. -
Apr 25, 2008 3:10 AM GMTI was actually born on my grandparents small rural farm in the Adirondack mountains of upstate NY; the village population is still 102 (I now own the farm).
My father was in the Army however, so I was raised mostly on large Army bases in the south or overseas.
Until my grandparents died, we frequently went back for holidays, vacations, and summer breaks.
I definately identify as a redneck though - definately a small town good ol' boy out seeing the world.
I still use the place as a getaway, and I love the area and the people. Sometimes it is nice to be someplace where everyone knows everyone else on a first name basis; where you don't have to lock your doors; where you can leave your keys in the ignition, and where people are genuinely friendly and helpful.
Once upon a time, I had thought I might retire there someday.
Like everyone else and their dog, I thought I might like to run a small General Store in my retirement. -
Apr 25, 2008 3:26 AM GMTWell, not actually in town, but the nearest one had a population of 200. Left to go to college, grad schools, corporate jobs. Can't live in the flat lands... it's just... creepy. Can't live in the city... went years without really sleeping.
Came home.
Oh, and BTW... in HS, Madras was the closest other school in our sports league... only a hundred miles! Gas was cheap. -
Apr 25, 2008 5:26 AM GMTmindgarden saidWell, not actually in town, but the nearest one had a population of 200. Left to go to college, grad schools, corporate jobs. Can't live in the flat lands... it's just... creepy. Can't live in the city... went years without really sleeping.
Came home.
Oh, and BTW... in HS, Madras was the closest other school in our sports league... only a hundred miles! Gas was cheap.
Gawd - Mind do tell - where were you from? Burns? Hmm - you also used the term "flatlands" which is close to the Central Oregon "Flatlander"....
