What are the biggest Myths about your city/state?

[MrSmith]

For Minneapolis the Myths are:

Myth 1: We are cold all year long. We actually have had 25 days above 90 degrees this summer. We almost never have days below 75 in the Summer.

Myth 2: The winters are unbearable. Yes we have some extremely cold days, but we have no snow on the ground at Christmas 25% of the time.

Myth 3: Our landscape is dry and brown. We are actually very, very green. The dry brown myth was started by the Little House on the Prarie TV show which was actually filmed in California.

Myth 4: We are a"Countyry/Western" city. Actually, no one here really wears cowboy hats or boots nor did they ever -- ranching is not part of our history.

[Recchia]

A lot of stupid people think Rhode Island is actually an island. No, people, I don't take a ferry to get to Massachusetts. There is a "Rhode" Island though, also known as Aquidneck Island, and its where Newport is.

Also a lot of people think New England is all covered bridges and nice churches and rolling countryside. There are cities here, and in fact southern New England is one of the most densley populated areas in the country.

[TheGerbil]

A lot of people think Pittsburgh is still full of smoking steel mills and pollution. The truth is there are no more steel mills within city limits, and it's no more polluted than any major city. In fact, the Bassmaster Classic was just held here, and we have more trees per capita than any other city in the US.

[bobliocatt]

Florida -

1. Nothing but retirees move to the state.

2. There's no business or industry here.

[Brickell]

South Florida - No Habla Inglis (partially true)

[TheBostonian]

Massachusetts:

Myth: Our state is extremely and monolithically liberal.

Fact: Though our state is more liberal than most other states, and of course metro Boston is as liberal as other major cities, 37% of MA voters chose Bush over the home state Democrat. There is also more to the political climate than meets the outsider's eye. There is a great diversity of political thinking here that goes beyond liberal and conservative, such as the Free State Project upstairs in NH and the complicated and very specific political labels people use these days (e.g. Eco-Feminists, Anarcho-Capitalists).

Myth: Boston is classy.

Fact: Many parts of metro Boston are NOT classy.

Myth: Boston is nothing more than a college town.

Fact: Boston is also a banking, legal, healthcare and biotech center, along with a mix of everything else, such as tourism, architecture, media (WGBH produces a significant amount of nationally broadcast PBS programming) and everything else you might find in a major city and regional capital.

Myth: The Big Dig is one huge mess.

Fact: Ok. This one is quite true, considering cost overruns, years of disrupted traffic, less than expected easing of teaffic and the resulting leaky tunnels.

Myth: Boston is a very expensive place to live:

Fact: Dammit, this one is true too. Though not as bad as SF of NY, Boston's housing costs are rediculously inflated.

Myth: Boston has a great public transit system upon which many people rely.

Fact: People still drive. It seems that even in neighborhoods where cars are totally unnecessary, the majority of people still have cars. Not me though.

[95-Souf]

People accually think South Beach is a city in Florida.

[satalac]

nashville:

myth- country music rules all in the city. while this is the reason most people know nasvhille, it's not what nashville is about. the music in nashville is a lot more diverse than people realize. rock and christian music are really big here too. nashville even has a decent rap scene. nashville also is a big publishing and healthcare city. there are a ton of colleges and universities also.

[jmanhsv]

It's funny when people, after realizing that I'm from Alabama, ask me this: "Where's your accent?" The truth is, many people in Alabama don't have a southern accent.

[theSuburbs]

Detroit:

If you enter city limits, youre gonna get shot.

eerrrg, that bothers me soo much

[CSP]

Detroit:

If you enter city limits, youre gonna get shot.

eerrrg, that bothers me soo much

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

To tell the truth that is mostly what I hear about from Detroit is how dangerous it is, and others claim it isn't really that bad.

[MJLO]

the myth spreaders about detroit have almost perpetually never been there. Their are homes within the city limits worth tens of millions of dollars. And although the city is still suffering from some blight, there is almost no crime in the CBD. Aside from that, the famous Detroit burbs are among the wealthiest in the country.

[Spades]

Texas myths

The entire state is dry and desert like( the biggest one by far)

Houston and Dallas are conservative cities

The entire landscape is flat

Everybody rides horses here or has ride one.

There are no beaches here(yes i heard this before)

Everybody dresses up like Cowboys here

Everybody wears stetsons

Fort Worth is a suburb of Dallas

Galveston is a suburb of Houston

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Charlotte's only business is banking.

[hudkina]

Detroit:

There are no middle-class or wealthy neighborhoods in the city.

[MrSmith]

Detroit:

There are no middle-class or wealthy neighborhoods in the city.

Good to know. I have to admit that here in Minneapolis you often see Detroit presented as the example of the city we don't want to become -- so it is good toknow that it is just a stereotype.

[alon504]

That we are poor and uneducated. Our stats are skewered due to large concentrations of urban blight.

[MR-2]

NC

-Every typical southern state label that would be used on its neighbors.

Basically untrue overall.

[rusthebuss]

That Va is just farm land and mountains and just plain country and that everyone says y'all. Not true

[citizensf]

Having grown up in Hawaii, the myths I most often remember *some* "mainlanders" thinking:

1) That everyone in Hawaii surfs.

2) That the islands are connected by bridges. Admittedly most educated folk don't believe this, but I have had people ask me this in the past (no joke)

3) That poi tastes like glue or wall-paper paste (????).

4) That Oahu is not beautiful. I cringe when people say this, because if you go to the North or Windward side of Oahu, it's as beautiful as any of the other islands. Admittedly Kauai is my favorite, but Oahu is far from the ugly duckling people sometimes make it out to be.

As for Honolulu (the city where I grew up), I don't think many people realize how built up the city is. there are many high-rises dotting city's skyline. And while there are caps on building heights, I'm always struck by how many residential towers there are between Diamond Head and Downtown Honolulu whenever I return to visit.

[flamingomonkey]

Chicago myths-

We're still the city of Al Capone (in other words, you'll still see guys in fedoras carrying tommy guns down the street).

Lake Michigan isn't a big deal, if you've seen one lake, you've seen them all. (Here's a hint, you can't see to the other side.)

The only reason to go to Chicago is for a convention. (Nobody ever told them about the world class museums, 5 star dining, some of the nation's greatest theater, opera, and symphony, very upscale shopping, etc., etc., etc.)

Chicago is even more dangerous than Detroit now. (Unfortunately, that one has a lot of truth, especially outside of downtown, but we're working on it.)

To quote Carl Sandburg, Chicago is

"HOG Butcher for the World,

Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;

Stormy, husky, brawling"

The City of the Big Shoulders, the City that Works. (This is one myth we're actually proud of, at least the hardworking part. And there are still a lot of gritty industrial areas here, but you'll only see those on your way to and from the airport.) B)

[urbanvb]

That Va is just farm land and mountains and just plain country and that everyone says y'all. Not true

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL. I don't yall used nearly as much as I did back in NC.

[GvilleSC]

Greenville, SC- That everyone is extremely conservative and a Bob Jones "freak".

Although, it's kind of funny, not true...

[Deezus]

Portland, Oregon..

-It rains here all the time all year round.

While it can (and does) rain alot in the winter and spring, it's usually a light drizzle. All summer, the temperture can get up in the 90s and the weather is usually sunny and nice through September, sometimes all the way into mid-October.

-Everyone is a hippie

Allthough, there are a lot of hippies and Portland is one of the most liberal-leaning cities in America, you'll probably see more hipsters and yuppies in the trendy central areas these days. Once you get out into the outer edges of Portland it gets more conservative, and once you get into the outer edges of the metro area it can get very conservative(Lots of Evangelical Christian churches and Mormons).

-It's all white people

Portland isn't very ethnically diverse compared to most large cities, but this is slowly changing. There's been a longstanding African-American community in North and Northeast Portland(even while that area changes through gentrification). On the Eastside of Portland there is alot of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants and the Mexican population is increasing everywhere in the metro area.

-People hate Californians

This might be more true in outer areas of Portland, but the truth is you'll meet a lot of people who are originally from California or the East Coast in Portland. In general, Oregonians are far too mild-mannered and polite to really show hate for anyone.

[LItoCT]

Detroit:

If you enter city limits, youre gonna get shot.

eerrrg, that bothers me soo much

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ditto Hartford.