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Goon from Illinois here, I grew up in a suburb about 30 minutes from the heart of Chicago, but have lived in Chicago for the past 6ish years. Like others have said, there's a very small town/rural vs urban culture thing. People from the city (and closer suburbs) view people from the rest of the state as hillbilly scum (ok maybe nicer than that but you get it). Chicago is liberal, with the good and bad that comes along with that, and the rest of the state is conservative. Being a major hub in the center of the country has given us an interesting culture, it feels like everyone in the US has at some point lived here. Great food of all kinds, something that I will definitely miss if I move elsewhere (obviously larger cities like New York would be similar). People on the street do not say hi and such, much like other major US cities, but people are (typically) not outright rude, more thoughtless than anything. Our public transit is pretty loving good, the "L" (elevated rail system) runs throughout the city and is pretty decent considering the state of a lot of other public trans systems, and the bus system covers what the L doesn't. I still hate that how expensive it is, especially when I could rent the same apartment 20 minutes away for 400-600 less a month, but it is what it is. Racism has been brought up a few times, Chicago is an interesting place regarding this topic and I figure I'll touch on it from my perspective. I come from an upper middle-class white family and am engaged to the love of my life who happens to be half black, half native-american, and a quarter crazy  . Racism is still very prevalent even in, perhaps especially in, a place like Chicago. I grew up around a lot of casual and not-so-casual racism, my father is a farm boy from Pennsylvania and had/has a mentality as such, though he has gotten a bit better with age, and I'm sure the fact that my SO is black has helped. Growing up around it made me desensitized to it until I hit college and started dating my now fiancee and I really started paying attention to and noticing it. It's just ingrained in people and they don't even realize they do it most of the time, but often casual conversation can really become infuriating with people because of how nonchalantly they will drop racist as gently caress poo poo. There is definitely a large divide, police will target black communities/people much harder, as will the justice system. I know my fiancee has lost out on job opportunities or been looked down on because of her race and it's disgusting, she has a loving masters degree and I never finished college, but people have never* looked at me funny. I've stopped speaking to people (sometimes walking away mid-conversation) more times than I'd care to count because of all of this and honestly I have no problem doing it because gently caress Them.I work in IT, after dropping out of college (drugs, sex, rock and roll, and not really liking school) I worked for my father who had purchased a construction company. The company did not do well, I had always been a hobbyist with computers, so I figured why not turn something I like into a job? Stupid. loving. Move. This is probably the career where I will make the most money considering my lack of a degree, but god drat I should not have turned my hobby into a job. I also run into people from Chicago LITERALLY EVERYWHERE. Every time I've been to a foreign country I've ended up talking to people from Chicago. Also, apparently everyone can point out a Chicagoan as soon as we start talking, my "accent" isn't even very heavy but I always get called out. --Are there really guns like loving everywhere? People walk around with handguns and poo poo? That can't be real. Yes and no? A lot of people are gun owners, illinois just passed a conceal carry law so people can legally carry handguns (provided they get the license obviously). I've been around guns all my life, as I said, my father was a farm boy, so I've been shooting since I was ~8 years old. There is nothing wrong with guns, I love going out and target/clay shooting and even have done a little local competitive shooting. I do NOT want to ever use a gun against someone. Always treat a gun as if it were loaded and never point a gun at something unless you want it to die. If someone ever pulled a gun on me, I would beat them to death with it if they didn't kill me first. quote:What states have open carry gun laws? --How does having no healthcare as a national service reconcile with being a 'great country' or whatever the gently caress? This is a tough question, most people can get health insurance through their work or get social assistance. My fiancee was on government health insurance before obama care, but it was state run. I feel like our bureaucracy is too hosed to really have a stable functioning NHS, but do I dream of a day where everyone can just walk into a hospital, get helped immediately no matter what they look like and never have to worry about paying? Yes, but you can (kindof) do that already. Get admitted to the ER and then don't pay the bill, all hospitals have it built into their budget that some people just won't be able to pay and the reality is you can't get water from a rock. Healthcare in the US is really hosed and it depresses the gently caress out of me that people are suffering right now because of it. The government needs to step in to do something, but I'm not sure they would do it right nor am I sure of the massive scope of everything that needs to be done. --Do you cringe when people stand up and say poo poo like 'the greatest country on earth!!'? Do you find it unbearably arrogant and self-absorbed? Sort of, it's good to have pride, but other countries are great too. I've been fortunate and had the ability to travel because both of my parents worked for airlines so flying was (essentially) free until I was 24, so I realize that the rest of the world is not some hellish landscape. Even places that are can also be nice. --How do you perceive the rest of the world sees you? I hope that other countries realize that not everyone here is the same and, just like we shouldn't stereotype you, you shouldn't stereotype us. As far as political type stuff? I'm sure everyone is loving sick of us and with good reason. --Where else have you been in the world? (this is a direct question to whoever answers my questions) Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Japan, China, Canada, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Mexico, England, Romania (holy poo poo Romanian women!), and Germany. Most places I've visited we have hit multiple cities. Weird fact: When we were in England, some nice chap squeezed in enough so we (my family) could get on the Underground, thank goodness he did, because the next train was bombed (supposedly) by the IRA. --What is great about being American? This is a weird question and I don't really know how to answer it. The American Dream is not dead, but I don't think the overall idea of the American Dream is strictly American. Everyone wants Freedom, and by that I mean, freedom to not have to worry about where the next meal comes from, freedom to not have to work 80 hour weeks just to provide, freedom of speech etc etc. --What was the last meal you had? In detail please We had to order food because our stove is broken and we have no grill  It was a steak burrito, taco and Real coke. Aka "Mexican" coke which uses real sugar instead of the garbage syrup and tastes way better. Not sure if it is actually made in Mexico or not because I don't care where it's from it tastes way better. What would we have eaten had the stove not been broken? It was fiancee's night to cook but I believe we had planned some type of baked chicken, rice and vegetables. I had muffins for breakfast this morning because I was late, I do not consider that a decent meal. Sorry the original portions got a little rambly. Also I'm a a Socialist in ideology so I'm basically the devil in 'Murica! MF_James fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Feb 3, 2017 |
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Feb 3, 2017 01:25
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Tony Montana posted:Yeah but also don't forget I'm in Melbourne, Australia. Population is over 4 million. That's little old Australia and that's not even our capital. There's racists in Australia too! I know there's a portion of the population that hates the aborigines. I might have spell that wrong... I know you didn't say there weren't, but to the people that call us racist and bigoted and blah there are racists elsewhere in the world as well.
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Feb 3, 2017 02:55
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Most of the issues arise from peoples varying accents and various levels of mushmouth, otherwise American English is American English. Some words are more in use in a certain region versus another, and you occasionally run into places where they created a few of their own words (or different meaning of the same word), but I could hold a conversation with someone from anywhere in the US provided I can actually understand the words that are coming out of their mouths. I could be wrong, but I've been to 10 or so different states and other than local accents, it's pretty much the same poo poo.
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Feb 8, 2017 02:02
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Tony Montana posted:A weird consistent thing seems to be Americans have trouble understanding pretty much anyone that isn't an American. It's not hard to get healthcare, you just need a job (typically jobs will provide healthcare) or to apply for financial assistance, but what do I know, I only live here and my fiancee was on government healthcare before obamacare came around (she's not a vet or disabled in any way). I have never seen subtitles under any English production other than Snatch when Brad Pitt is speaking as a gypsy because gently caress, no one understands him. I don't know where you get the subtitles under everything because hurr durr murica can't understand yeeouuuu, but I'm sure you know more about these things than I do.
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Feb 8, 2017 03:22
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LMDTFY (Let Me Dictionary That For You) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion
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Feb 10, 2017 02:57
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System Metternich posted:Lots of good words Oh hey, someone that can intelligently argue the subject, unlike literally everyone else. You have put forth good words sir and for that I salute you. I still like having my guns for target practice/clay shooting because it's fun . Also yeah, if for some reason I have to hunt for food, I'd like to have a gun and not a bow and arrow; I'm terrible with a bow. *edit* Also, the picture you linked amuses me. We play a little game when we see headlines like those it's called: Texas, Florida or California. Typically stupid gun poo poo and pickup truck stuff happens in Texas, weird drug poo poo happens in Florida and other dumb poo poo happens in California. MF_James fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Feb 16, 2017 |
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Feb 16, 2017 23:18
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MightyJoe36 posted:So is this a cultural thing? I grew up in the northeastern US, then lived all over the world for 20 years before settling in the midwest, and outside of asians, I've only ever met one other person (an american with a european immigrant wife) who insisted I remove my shoes before entering his home. He did have some beautiful hardwood floors so maybe he just didn't want them to get scuffed. Cleanliness; tracking dirt/mud/whatever in from outside and yeah scuff marks.
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Feb 20, 2017 01:41
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Dr. Platypus posted:Yeah, I take mine off if I'm just hanging around my own home, but don't ask guests to. Actually sometimes when I have a lot of people over I'll put shoes on because it feels weird being the only one in socks. This.
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Feb 21, 2017 23:30
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married but discreet posted:Oh another Austin question: I'm required to get renter's insurance and my landlord recommended a person from a legit looking insurance company. I emailed him for a quote etc., but now to set up the insurance he is asking for my credit card number, expiry date etc over email. I'm extremely hesitant to do that, is this normal? Do you have car insurance? Most (all?) car insurance companies will also do renter's insurance and it will be cheaper typically since you're getting all the insurance through them, I'd look into doing that if possible. Also, that poo poo sounds shady as gently caress, I would definitely not work with people that want you to email CC numbers, SSN, or anything important.
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Aug 1, 2017 20:44
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