What advice can you give to someone who'll visit America for the first time. Particularly the midwest. How do i interact with the people? What are social norms that I need to be aware of? etc.
>>2830950What country are you from?
>>2830950>How do I interact with the people?You don't. You travel solo, pay at the gas pump and self checkout, and never talk to a single person.
>>2830956Uk
>>2830950Just act normal and maybe check out the juggalos if you are visiting Detroit on Halloween.
Do not come
Americans love British people and you will probably have an easier time than at home talking to random people. Dive bars are the de-facto gathering spots in small towns. Go up to the bar, order whatever is on draft and just start talking to people(don't order specialty drinks even if a "full-bar" is advertised). It's a lot less strange than in your home country. The locals will gravitate towards you and the English accent. Midwestern's are outgoing and social to a fault. You will not have problems meeting and talking to people in the bars. Don't expect any hot women though. The good ones are taken and married by age 25 and you're probably not gonna want to fuck any of the bar bunnies, they are rough around those parts. Rural mid-west types are an absolute joy to drink with and talk with. Just don't take any strong political stances or try to refute them when they say some retarded shit(which they inevitably will).I married into a midwest family.
Hoosier expat living in Japan who moved away after 38 years. The Midwest blows. It is the worst place to live in America. >b-but the quiet rural towns and suburbs and best place to raise a famil--It's all a crock of shit. Even if the last part is remotely true, it's not the best place to grow up as a kid or to have any semblance of an actual life. Your kids will grow up hating you for making them live in bumfucknowheresville with absolutely fucking NOTHING to do on the weekends (and this goes double now that we are living in the digital age, not the 90s anymore). It's not like all the teens and young adults are going down to the local pool halls to meet up and chat anymore. Basically, in regards to meeting people, Midwesterners are insular, closed-off, and highly, HIGHLY suspicious. Everyone assumes the worst of each other in the absolute worst possible way. Everyone is miserable, customer service SUCKS because of it, and you'd sooner find more genuine smiles off of pitbulls than you will from your neighbors. Barring that, the winters are cold and unforgiving, the summers are hot, and Autumns and Springs may as well not exist. There are are basically just two seasons in the Midwest. Cold as a witch's tit and hot as the devil's anus. No in between. And if you're coming from the UK, you can kiss the classy pubs and restaurants with any sense of camaraderie or community goodbye. Best you can hope for are endless fast food joints and trashy bars.Let me end with a hypothetical: Let's say you're driving on the road and you get a flat tire.Americans from the East Coast:>rude as fuck and will constantly insult you, asking you how dumb could you possibly be to get a flat while actually replacing the tire themselves in no time at allAmericans from the West Coast:>will drive by and offer their condolences/sympathies, but will not stop to offer help. Midwesterners:>Will neither offer sympathies nor their help
>>2830950I'm not the OP but another Brit with a question; where can I find cozy tight-knit towns in the vein of Twin Peaks (preferably without the murder and so on) in the USA?
>>2831577>tight-knit townsIn the 1900s unc
>>2831577Any hill town in AppalachiaCentral Pennsylvania(Kane, PA is very nice). Pennsylvania has many cozy small towns with old fashioned looking downtowns. Definitely just browse and see what looks interestingAnywhere you look on google earth and see mountains and forest is a good place to start looking this anon >>2831420 has good advice for socializing. They WILL say some retarded political shit. Just nod and change the topic as soon as is prudent
>midwestSo basically:>its conservative conformist npc land>everyone is required to be exactly the same or be ostracized>obviously everyone is not exactly the same>everyone spends their entire lifetime repressing whoever they actually areWhich results in:>no one has any idea who they are>no one actually directly communicates anythingConsider that over the long timescale:>everyone has been doing this for generations>it turns out surpassingly, this isnt healthy and you shouldnt do this>everyone is walking around with generations worth of repressed traumaThe end result:>energetically emotionally constipated>vibe in the air that things are always off, but because of the first 4 points, everyone is pretending like everything is fine and great>How do i interact with the people?thats the neat part, you dontthe result of the above is that everyone and everything is basically always totally fake and superficial You wont have a single meaningful interaction while your thereProbably shouldnt waste your money unless your travel is for workSo at this point youre wondering "Huh, thats really weird, why would a place be like that?"Its just one way of of making a giant agrarian society of mindless farm animal humanoids, and make it be stable/sustainableIm pretty sure the human ego in the overwhelming majority of cases could never accept that this is one's existence. So im fairly certain after living here and being among these people long enough that they have little to no self-awareness that theyre like this, and what i wrote in this post is just passed off as normal, and any questioning or deviations are subject to>everyone is required to be exactly the same or be ostracizedSo you'll watch a bunch of these NPCs come out of the woodwork, lash out at me, ad hominem, and play whatever mental gymnastics they need to, allthewhile not saying anything of any substance (because remember, theyre mindless farm animals that never learn to think or communicate).
>>2831453>Basically, in regards to meeting people, Midwesterners are insular, closed-off, and highly, HIGHLY suspicious. Everyone assumes the worst of each other in the absolute worst possible way. Everyone is miserable, customer service SUCKS because of it, and you'd sooner find more genuine smiles off of pitbulls than you will from your neighbors.this anon gets it
>>2831593>its conservative conformist npc landthe south is worse>no one actually directly communicates anythingthe west coast is worse>everything is basically always totally fake and superficialthis is pretty much all USA besides the coastal areas>t. midwesterner who thought like you before living in other parts of the country
>>2831211They love British whites in middle America. Just be polite.
>>2831709>this is pretty much all USA besides the coastal areasAs if some vapid techbro or trophy wife whore in LA or NYC aren't totally fake and superficial?
>>2831709Difference is, there is actual shit to do on the west/east coast. So, while you're still repressing your true self in other parts of the country, you're at least not so bored out of your fucking mind to the point where you're always five seconds away from going into a self-induced coma.
>>2831453This anon was a social outcast, which is why they think everyone else was unfriendly, and yet they had to leave the country completely instead of just moving to a different region.
>>2830950Anon, just go to NY, DC, SF, Chi or Hawaii if you insist on America, and skip the rest of this dumpster fire country. I urge you, it's just an awful place.You would have a better time in some 3rd world latam, sea country than here and people are at least friendly.
>>2831453There's a whole lot more to the Midwest than Indiana and Ohio. States with surly farmers, polluted creeks, angry young guys revving their pickups, rampant drug usage, everyone from age 5 to 65 glaring at a solo male vagabond like he's a fent dealer or pedo kidnapper. No public land either, apart from a few meagre scraps.Northern Michigan has some of the most pleasant summers anywhere in America, for instance. 70s all through July and August. Yeah, the restaurant scene is lacking, but the farm stands and markets are really good. Public spaces are beautified in the European style, with flowerbeds everywhere and plentiful pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure as well. People are socially well-adjusted and casually friendly to outsiders. The women tend to be pale and pudgy, but they bake pretty well. I still remember stopping in Hastings, Michigan after a week in Ohio and feeling a huge sense of relief. In Ohio I always felt on edge, because everyone seemed so mentally unstable and hateful. In Hastings, everyone was out enjoying the beautiful evening with a placid satisfied expression on their face. Some people said hello in passing just out of friendliness. I felt at ease being myself, a stoned vagabond wandering around town for a day or two before moving on.
>>2831715>>2831769Coastal elites are the biggest hypocrites. Snooty better-than-you assholes. Midwesterners tend to be more genuine, even if that means being negative and rude on their bad days. When I went from Michigan to Colorado and stopped at the lakefront walk in Evergreen, I could definitely feel the social freeze effect of the Front Range. People completely ignored everyone around them in public. That's not the norm in the Midwest.
>>2831798>everyone from age 5 to 65 glaring at a solo male vagabond like he's a fent dealer or pedo kidnapperBRO WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS ONE????????? ARE YOU ME???? srsly havent felt so related to in such a long time
>>2831801>Midwesterners tend to be more genuineabsolutely fucking delusional babble
>>2830950>How do i interact with the people? What are social norms that I need to be aware of? etc.N/A. Just say thank you, you're welcome and excuse me when appropriate. Otherwise everyone has already formed their core friend group by age 14 and has no interest in meeting new people.
>>2831286don't put him in contact with a bunch of skeevy meth heads
>>2831768Nah, go fuck yourself with that false supposition. You are one among a multitude of Americans who are precisely the reason why I left. You don't know my story, bruh. You don't know what I went through. If you did, you wouldn't be saying shit like that.
>>2831836Indeed. Midwesterners are the most two-faced. People on the West Coast are disingenuous as fuck, but you can easily see through them. Midwesterners are the type of social sharks who will blindside you without you even realizing it. Their sociopathy will have you bleeding out before you even know what's going on.
>>2831715>As if some vapid techbro or trophy wife whore in LA or NYC aren't totally fake and superficial?No, that's not what I meant. They obviously are. My point was that in some of the bigger or more notable cities there seems to be some semblance of local identity and culture besides just Walmart and Mcdonalds. I'm mostly thinking of NYC, New Orleans, and to a lesser extent SF and Seattle (though in the past couple decades the techbros etc. have really shit them up)
>>2830950theres only 2 places worth visiting in the united statesnew orleans, louisiananew york city, new yorkalso they might deport you to africa if the government spots you so dont bother coming here for your own safety>>2830980so like an american?
>>2831453Which region is nice while helping? The north like the Dakotas and Minnesota?
>>2831926>helping? The north like the Dakotas and Minnesota?no. not at all. especially if you aren't from those places. This guy answers your question:>>2831453>Let me end with a hypothetical: Let's say you're driving on the road and you get a flat tire.>Americans from the East Coast:>>rude as fuck and will constantly insult you, asking you how dumb could you possibly be to get a flat while actually replacing the tire themselves in no time at all>Americans from the West Coast:>>will drive by and offer their condolences/sympathies, but will not stop to offer help.>Midwesterners:>>Will neither offer sympathies nor their help
Are any of the southwestern states worth visiting? Ive always wanted to try Texas BBQ and maybe just do a road trip through states like Utah and Arizona.
>>2832046>Utah and Arizonasome of the best national parks in the country, if youre into that kind of thing. especially Utah.
>>2831913Very true, In fact, Minnesotans are the worst in the midwest. They will act like your best friend and all genuine and friendly to your face, but then talk absolute shit behind your back. You think they are being genuine, until you realize they hate you. Minnesota nice is like wearing a social mask at all times.
>>2831453Spot on assessment. But this forgets to mention that the Midwest is a region that fully embraces mediocrity, and that element permeates through every aspect of life. From the shit food, shit entertainment, and as previously stated the shit customer service. And this vast chasm of mediocrity stretches from Eastern Ohio to the Pacific Northwest.
>>2831453>Hoosier expaSame. Moved from New Washington to Bloomington to Scotland. Absolutely terrible state, awful people.
>>2831453well said
>>2832311>>2832335Amen
>>2830950There's a bunch of antisocial misanthropes replying to you, don't let them discourage you.
>>2832524>t. narrowminded retarded midwest cattle lacking any self-awareness or sense of individual identity
I just nigga'd this thread with my BBC. nothing personalle
>>2831420>you're probably not gonna want to fuck any of the bar bunnies, they are rough around those parts>doubt
Mid west americans are literally the generic default of white and black people.No accent, no traditions. You kinda just exist, which is nice. >midwesterner
>>2832746it's a very midwestern thing to think that somehow the only place on earth that has only 'default' traditions and 'no accent' happens to be the place in which you were born
>>2832750You guys are just making shit up, no really places like ohio have nothing going on and is filled witb the most generic dude possible Is that controversial? It seems like it would be a no brainer.Like half of this thread is random seethe that everyone in Minnesota is actually a secret devil like lol don’t give us to much credit.The reason you think we seem two face is because we just follow generic social norms ofBe nice to other people in public
>>2832764Like i wish i had a crazy accent, that would be fun. I pull up some youtube video of crazy things on Michiganers do And its like “When you want to leave but don’t seem rude you make an excuse to leave”Uh i think everyone does that? Is that a midwestern tradition because no? LolReally scraping the barrel to stand out
Why did this thread get botted so hard
>>2832746>No accent>no traditions ?????????
>>2832746Midwestern are not the generic of anything. The average American is not a socially inept and humorless malcontent. >>2832764>>2832765You're proving the point that you're all a bunch of dumb cattle with little self-awareness.
>>2831453>Your kids will grow up hating you for making them live in bumfucknowheresville with absolutely fucking NOTHING to do on the weekendsdesu I moved from rural Kansas to urban Denver when I was 14 and my experiences in Denver made me racist. It's really bad to raise your kid in an urban area especially if you have a girl. It exposes them to a lot of unnecessary danger and harassment. I live in Seattle now and there isn't much of anything to do on the weekends either. Cost of living is so expensive to the point that fun venues struggle to stay in business. And if you have a young kid then you'll be hard pressed to find a playground that isn't contaminated with used sharps.My main gripe about the midwest is how religious some people can be. My family did not go to church when I was growing up and we were frequently ostracized by our neighbors for it. Granted none of this shit matters if you're just visiting on vacation. Don't be put off by these things op. There's still plenty of museums to see and great things to eat. ofc I'm not from Indiana so my experience is a bit different than yours.
>>2835337Some of the smaller Midwest cities are quite degraded as well. The human scum washes up in many different places across the map.
>>2831580>Kane, PA is very niceI don't disagree but I never thought I'd see Kane shilled as an international travel destination. Are you from there? I drive through Kane semi-often.
>>2830950American hotels are fucking expensive, and there are no hostels outside a few places. The cheapest options are shitty motels which are dirty and sketchy af.
>>2835447The last $56 motel I stayed at on some soulless suburban boulevard in Aurora, CO was reasonably clean, spacious and well-furnished, but the whole place reeked of weed and the A/C was some ancient, smelly piece of shit. Yes, there were many black guests. Walking across the I-70 interchange was not at all pleasant.
>>2830950>What advice can you give to someone who'll visit America for the first time. Particularly the midwestdon't. there's nothing there. go to mongolia or something if you want to see nothing but flat plainsthere's basically nothing between minneapolis and denver>ow do i interact with the people?normally. you won't have much interaction with people outside of bars or business interactions. they'll most likely be bored and poor. Midwesterners are usually relatively simple people, in the sense that you're probably not going to get invited to some wild party. That area's hurting pretty badly, people are just doing their best.A lot of them are fat and deeply unhappy. >What are social norms that I need to be aware of?people do not want to talk about politics. do not talk about politics with people. americans are not interested in peoples' political opinions, especially foreigners. there's a classic saying in the US: "Do not talk about religion, politics, or money in public"People will be more than happy to recommend you nice places to go, or things that they find interesting. Just be ready for said interesting thing to most likely be a giant rusted metal statue of a horse in the middle of nowhere. >>2832765>Is that a midwestern tradition because no?how to leave in the midwest is to be sitting down, wait for a break in conversation, then slap both knees with both palms and say "WHELP..." everyone will know what's going on.
>>2838037The poverty only shows up in the high plains and mountain basins of the West. The well-watered prairies are lush and prosperous. One time I drove east across the dryline just after a thunderstorm built up and then passed on east. Feeling the air go from arid to muggy in a minute was interesting. The roadside grass shortly turned green as well, and lushness was the norm going farther east. This was in late May BTW. Every day, new powerful storms boiled up. Every time, I started my travel day behind them, and never caught up to them. Every day was cool and sunny and perfect for cruising prairie and Ozark backroads with the windows down.
>>2831211Avoid mentioning that fact outright, as many Americans of Irish and Jewish descent are quite hostile towards Britain. Don't be surprised if Irish-Americans in particular are threatening or violent toward you
