Your City, Town, Country and People
 

I would like to understand the members better, by learning what their cities or countries are like, and the people who live there.

WeatheredWoman told alot about her country in the post Gays In Religion, and I am moving this subject to this thread, to make others happy. It was off the subject there.

I'll start. I live in a suburb around the Twin Cities in Minnesota US.A. When I moved here there was a corn field down the street, now it is changing very fast. It makes me rather sad, because I love nature and animals. Trees have been ripped down to make shopping areas, and the deer that I have loved seeing comming to my yard, have been shot by people who thought it would make it easier for them to develop the land with them gone. I did not learn about this until after they had killed them. Development of the land in our country, has some terrible prices.

The people here in my town are varied, but there are mostly families, and there are alot of children. Many homes are being built in the area, and farmland is being sold off for development.

I love the nature in Minnesota. We are called "The Land Of 10,000 Lakes". Although we actually have more than that in our state. It is very green and lush in the Summer, wonderful colors in the Fall with the leaves changing, white with snow in the Winter, and in the Spring we start fresh with new growth.

Laws are different here from what WeatheredWoman described in her country.
Driving is 16 years of age, drinking is 21 years, and marijuana is not legal. Sometimes it seems to me like Minnesota is a bit more reserved than other states, such as California, but I have heard people from other countries and states describe the people here as friendly. There are always exceptions of course. Crime in the suberbs is much less than in some of the larger cities, but we do not leave our doors unlocked, because it is changing.


Please check out WeatheredWomans post in the previous thread it is really interesting. If it can be moved here, that would be great. I'm just not sure how to do that. WeatheredWoman I'll post some feedback on your post later, I would like to see if we can move it here first.


Steve, let me know if this is too long.

Ha i will it was too darn long girl friend !!!!!sorry i couldnt help my self!!! i will reply to this thread later!!!

Ok I will try to tell a little bit... hope I spell everything correct and my grammar isn't sometimes all that!

The Netherlands was in my opinion a very tolerant land and still is in many ways...

According to gay people... Amsterdam is Gay City over here. We've got every year a Gay Parade and a Gay Pride through the waters of Amsterdam. Gay couples can get married over here, that's legal. I have some gay friends too just like some of you.

Prostitution is legalized. So prostitutes do pay taxes as well.
Abortion is legalized.
Marihuana/weed is legal at a certain level, therefore the many "coffeeshops" in Amsterdam... a user may have a little amount of drugs in his possession for own use. You may have a maximum of 5 marihuana plants in your own home. Alcohol is legalized for kids from 16 and up.
But according to driving a car we're allowed to drive a car on the age of 18 and that's 16 in your country.

So far what still is very tolerated in this small country with about 15 a 16 million people.

Most people over here like to compare the Netherlands today with the U.S. of A. 10 years ago. We were never familiar with safety at schools... like gun-control that sounded so crazy to us 2 years ago but now we have it too.

Holland is multi-cultural actually! Especially Amsterdam... we've got Turks, Marocs and people from the Netherland Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) livin' here. But we can feel right now in the community that there are many cultural and religious differences. It was a very relaxed country but by mixing with the people I've mentioned before... the problems began. Marocs and Turks have got some kind of revange-out-of-honor in their culture that gives them a certain right to commit a murder in case of "family-problems".

Now I must speak on behalf of myself mostly, but in my opinion their culture lies about a hundred years behind ours and that can't be mixed. They have so many problems integrating in our country. The men out of these countries are used to very humble women, so they keep their women in their houses and stuff. That's weird in a very emancipated country as Holland.

About two weeks ago a teacher was shot through the head by a turkish boy, marocs and turks stabbing people, shootings, slaughtering of goats, sheeps on their balcony or in their backyard etc.... Dutch people were not familiar with that sort of violence. So now we're dealing with these kind of problems... and I can feel that people are gettin' a certain hatred against those people. But that is a feeling that grows slowly but resistant. That's because our government has denied these problems at first and now it's getting a huge problem. They are actually breeding racism that way... I'm a bit concerned 'bout the future in that particular case. The people are beginning to refer to "future" city-names like Amsterdam is going to be Islamsterdam, Amersfoort is going to be named Imamersfoort... ok they're makin' fun about it right now but it's a serious problem.

We are gettin' also ghetto's over here... never had! The difference between poor and rich is getting bigger and bigger.

Further on Dutch people are very down to earth, not over-dramaticly... when someone acts a bit over the top we like to say : hey don't be so american LOL!! I think we're called greedy too... But hey this is all generalization! Every person is unique.

According to acceptance it's mostly in the big(ger) cities where everyone will be accepted the way he/she is... in the smaller cities it's lesser. But in my opinion that's equal in America or wherever you may go...

And we're living in a relative small country with so many people. The lesser space people get the more aggresive they get... things will get on your nerves much easier.

The acceptance is growing low, going downhill.

I hope that this answer your question a little bit whitebird. (I've copied it from the other thread and paste it over here)
__________________

Real name: Sebastian
Nicknames: The Lithium, Lith, Sebbe, Sebb, Basse
Picture: Here you go
Live in: Stockholm, Sweden
People living in Sweden: Almost 9 million. Sure, Sweden is a big country, but very few live here
People living in Stockholm: 1 million. Not a big city, but it's the biggest in the north and scandenavia
Age: 15
Instrument: I sing but I play drums and guitar as well. I also act very much
Influesed by: CREED, Metallica, Nickelback, Jennifer Garner Submersed, Fuel, etc
Favorit film: Moulin Rouge and Daredevil
Favorit actress: Jennifer Garner
Favorit album: Weathered
Favorit band: Creed, what did you expect?
Favorit member: Hard to say... Don't actually have one. It's always diffrent, but I'm a writer and singer, so I'm looking up very much to Stapp, but Mark and Flip is just as cool anyway, right?
Work: School right now, but I wanna be a rockstar and I also wanna act. Like Stapp ;)
Family: I live with my mom (44), dad(44), a younger brother (12) and my dog (6 mouth).
Anything else: Pleace ask me or pm me if you wanna know something else or some more.

Peace

I've been in the Netherlands once, when I toured there. Belive be, the only thing they eat is bread and drugs!! (Almost ture)

LMAO!!!!! :roll: :roll: :roll:

:note: "Can you take me higher...." :note:


Well you know you have been in Sweden too long, when.... :

- you get offended if, at a dinner party, someone fails to look you in the eyes after raising their glass for a toast.

- an outside temperature of 0 degrees Celsius in winter is mild.

- you associate Friday afternoon with a trip to "system bolaget" :drunk:

- you have your own "innebandy-stick"

- "candles" are a permanent fixture on your weekly shoppinglist

- the first thing you do on entering a bank/post office/pharmacy etc. is look for the queue number machine and you accept that you will have to queue to take a queue number :roll:

- you eat every thursday a meal of pancakes with soup :eek:


:D Tell us all about it Lith!! We're curious :D

WeatheredWoman, thanks for moving your thread. I'm still impressed with all the information you gave us. I had to laugh when you said that when people are a little over the top, they are compared to Americans. I think that perhaps the movie industry in the U.S. has a little influence on the world, that shows us that way. Many lead very quiet lives, no guns, cowboys, wild lives or drugs. Although we do have all those things in our society, just not how movies would make it seem.

I was interested in the laws in your country, that are so different than ours. I have known that other countries were more relaxed than the U..S.A. regarding alcohol, but I didn't know about weed/pot. There are mixed feelings here about that, and some people want to use it for medical purposes. The Republicans in office now would never change that law. Our president is also proposing to change the U.S. constitution, so that gay marriages would never be legal. You of course know my views on that subject, and I am for gay marriage, but many in our country are very against it.

Many people are immigrating to the U.S.A. too, we just have more areas and land still available than your country has, and I can understand how is stressful to have very different cultures living closley together, when their ways and customs do not blend well. Time will hopefully help.

Being a woman in both our countries seems very much alike, as we have freedom that some countries do not have. I can understand what you mentioned about people killing family members in their own culture as now becoming a problem in your country. I am surprised that your country didn't take this very seriously right from the start. We probably have that too, I just haven't heard anything.

Lith, you sound like you have a really interesting life. Lots of interests, and a very interesting future. What are the people in Sweden like compared to our two posts so far? And do you travel alot? You mentioned that you visited the Netherlands.

Were I Live
 

Well theres nothing Exciting Here Football Is God Like!! dear hunting which im against is big only on halloween do i fit in here!!! But we got a lot of vistors Here From all over the world To vist The shrine the most blessed sachrement!!! People come there for healing Of sickness!!] And thats about it!!}

Creedsister What shrine?

the shrine of the most blessed Sachrament

Creedsister, I checked it out briefly on the internet, I like that they said "All Are Welcome"

Lith. is such a cutie !! :) :) :cool: :cool: ;)

yes everbody is welcome there its such a holy place!!! And that dont turn nobody away!! its pretty cool

LOL!! Yes I have to agree with you that we've got all that Hollywood kinda stuff on tv... gossip-magazines etc. ... plastic surgery... (teens are gettin' nose-jobs for their 16th or 18th birthday??!!!! :yikes: ) all that what we call "fake" stuff! Our showbusiness is very much down to earth! Just act normal, than you act silly enough -->> that's a Dutch saying, LOL!


Well I guess that's what Holland is famous for... drugs! I'm not very proud of that but alcohol is drugs too! But that's more common and tolerated... in fact alcohol does even do more damage when you're addicted to it!
When you know how to use any kind of drugs in a safe way... it's ok! Ancient tribes use/used it too. Anything that stands for "too much" or "addiction" or "an escape out of reality" isn't right! Right now they are trying to get some kind of marihuana in Health Care... to become prescripted drugs. (grammar??)



Hey! Let them get married! They have the right to suffer from marriage as much as we (heterosexuals) do too!! LOL!!! j/k ;)
Yes they have every right!! Definately!



It all started back in the early 70s when there was too much (dirty) work and too little (Dutch) people to clean that "dirty" work. Our government decided to "import" at first italians and then turks and marocs to our country because they were very cheap employees. They're coming ever since way back when, when it all started. The children of those people and their children are raised in a 2-cultured way... what leaves them very insecure,because of the very big differences between the cultures! All those people have got 2 passports (??) and 2 residences (living-places)...that's sooo weird! Just like they're all schizophrenic :eek: I hope for sure that time will heal this but I'm affraid it will get worse and worse!

Thnx for giving your vision on all of this whitebird! :hugs:
This is a great thread!!!

I live in Ferguson Missouri, its about a 20 minute drive from the city of st louis. Some of the people here are very self centered and crude sometimes, but there are also a lot of nice people here as well! This place is starting to really grow on me for some reason. Although some days I feel like packing my bags and splittin, there are also days that if I had to leave I'd miss it! I have made some very good friends here :)

If your "Too long in Sweden" stories was ment as jokes I did not laugh, not because I'm angry, but because that's just the way it is... So?? I really think it's better that you have system bolaget instead of Coffee shops! Eat that!

heh, heh. It was already said. I wish I could move cuz it's too cold here and there is gettin' to be too many ppl and not enough rural land...need rural and need freedom from ppl...

Jokes?? No they weren't meant as jokes Lith... I thought they were some nice facts of your country! Did you joked about that "bread and drugs"-thing earlier??

Alcohol are drugs too Lith! Just for your information! I've lost 2 very good friends of mine on booze!! Never one on drugs though! Alcohol is so underrated!! So about that coffeeshop comment... you can better smoke one joint than drink yourself into a delirium on a friday and/or saturday! (what supposed to be normal in your country) Ask a doctor the difference!! Leaves me another question... how well are you informed on drugs?? What kind of drugs??

Now eat that!!! ;)

What is a bolaget?

Torn Signs, I need rural land too. I could never be happy in a large city. If I couldn't walk barefoot in the grass, and see nature, I really believe it would be harmful to me.

There really isn't much to tell about my town. I live in North Little Rock, AR. It's about 20 minutes away from Little Rock, the capital. I live in an Apartment Complex about 5 minutes from the mall, shopping, etc. I work in Jacksonville, it's about 20 minutes away, the other direction, towards North East Arkansas. Daniel manages a Papa Johns 5 minutes away. He has been there around 10 years. The kids are in a Headstart program through the school district. They go to school from 7:35 to 2:25, she didn't turn 5 until after the kindergarten cut off so she will start school next year. They love it and are learning tons. Most people here are really nice, there are a lot of really southern people who are totally set in their ways. No one here can drive, that is something that drives me crazy. It's like they thinking turning signals are optional. Not really too much to say. I really like it here.

hotforscott, it sounds nice, kind of peaceful. I know what you mean about southern drivers though, when I was down south visiting Florida a couple of years ago, it drove me crazy. I though it was "The Snowbirds" visiting from Minnesota though. (Snowbirds are retired people who leave the cold north, and go south for the winter, for those that don't understand our weird phrases. Many do not drive well.)

It sounds like you may not be from the south originally?

My father is a Col. in the Air Force and we moved around TONS. I had been in 10 schools by the time I graduated. I think it did a lot of good, I am very outgoing. I got to see a lot of places. We lived on Guam and one of our Plane changes coming back to the states for visits, was in Hawaii so I was like the only 7 year old that had been to Hawaii 6 times.....lol. One of the things I am determined is to have my children in the same school district throughout their education. That is one thing that I am totally set on. Lauren is 5 and Tyler will be 4 in June, so I am really trying to get things in order so I can buy a house, and get them where they are gonna be. I want them to grow up in the same house, because even though I wouldn't change anything about my life as a child, it means a lot to me, to be able to give them what I didn't have.

Listen... We have system bolaget and it's the only shop that is allowed to sell alchol in Sweden, except bars. And no one is ever allowed to sell drugs. If the cops see you with drugs you go in jail. And if you take drugs is just the same. We're doing our best. And you are not. When I was in the Netherlands people were smoking EVERYWHERE in EVERY age. (Not joints, but they were smoking). Sweden is so much better on this. Everybody knows that it's no good to smoke or drink. So why allow it?

Hey, Carrie when Steve was in the Navy he was stationed in Guam. I had never even heard of it until he was sent there. He loved it there said it was beautiful.



Anyways, I live in Manahawkin, New Jersey. I'm about 30 minutes from Atlantic City. It's really nice here. I live in a very family oriented community. The school system is awesome. My daughter Amanda will have gone through 6 different schools by the time she gets to College but only because we are well populated here and they try and keep the classrooms down to no more than 25 kids. The hospital is right around the corner from house. Cops are kind of crooked in my part of town but I think that's a given in most places. People are generally nice around here. The only problem I have is that I live about 10 minutes from the ocean . There is a major tourist attraction here so the summertime is horrible as far as traffic and people coming from all over. Unfortunately, where I am is the only major vein to get there. It sucks but other than that I Love it here. My family is all very close too. I have a Aunt and cousin who live in the same development with me and my parents live about 5 minutes down the road.

I live in Mays Landing, NJ. Very very quiet little town, but very much like the old home towns you read about. We have fireworks by the lake in the summer, we have a Halloween parade and a Christmas parade down Main Street every year with firemen throwing candy off the trucks. We have a town square where we do a Christmas tree lighting every year. We have a lake that is a hot spot for locals to go swimming and gather for gossip. We, too, are located off a busy route to the shore, Rt. 40. It is a back road to get from Atlantic City to the Delaware Memorial Bridge so every summer it's bumper to bumper with the shoobies headed to the beach.

The development I live in is a very tight-knit group of families, and in the summer we all hang out together and barbecue, kids play in the pools or in each others' backyards. The kids are all around the same age, so we all usually carpool to sporting events, like soccer games every Saturday in the fall, baseball a few nights a week in the spring. We do the beach together as groups, have parties at each others' houses. It really is very nice here. This past Christmas, we all did polyannas for the kids and on the 23rd of December, we had a party at one of the houses and had Santa come on the firetruck for all the kids. We had wrapped little gifts and left them in a bag for Santa to bring in and give to each kid. It was a great time. I really enjoy living here in this area.

Lithium, I used to have a friend that had moved to the U.S.A. from Sweden. She told me that when a couple has a child in Sweden, the father also receives maternity leave (time off after the baby is born) to help at home. Is this still true? If it is, perhaps your society is more considerate of family life than ours. I'm not even sure that some men in our country would do that, although, I'm sure that my husband would have if given the chance.


hotforscott, I have a friend that was raised as a child in the military. She has chosen to do the same thing that you are doing, raising her children in the same area and schools for many years. They like the stability.


SCOTTSMYMAN, 10 min. from the ocean? I'm sure like you I wouldn't like the crowds, but comming from a land locked person in Minnesota, who rarely gets to see an ocean, it sounds great. I always wanted to go scuba diving.

TeriB19, I've seen movies that have scenes like you discribed. Sounds wonderful. What a great place to raise kids.

WeatheredWoman, I have friends who's son just had a nose job. I have known this young man most of his life. It isn't something the parents really wanted to do, but people were so cruel to him, they couldn't stand the thought of their son having to live with the treatment he received from others. Yes, our society is more and more vain, and cruel to those who look different bacause of genetics, or injury. It's not something I'm proud of here in America.

OK, there are many wonderful things about Minnesota, but there are also some very sad things that we have here in our society. Many people living here don't even realize they are happening.

We have homeless here in Minnesota, many are in the large cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis (The Twin Cities). In the winter when is is so very bitter cold, they seek out the homeless shelters and churches where people can stay the night. However there are not enough shelters, and way too many homeless, and they have to choose numbers to see who will be able to stay in the warmth and safety, and who will have to return to the danger of the cold, and the streets.

Minnesota is one of the biggest offenders of what are called puppy mills. Large dog breeding businesses, where somethimes hundreds of dogs are kept in shameless, dirty, and cruel conditions. These dogs are bred as much as possible for the puppies, and often killed when they are no longer able to have puppies. I have seen undercover movies of these places, that would break your heart. Little or nothing has been done to stop them, even when the police and proper authorities have been notified. Often the laws are set up to protect these businesses. They supply many of the puppies to large pet shops.

Shelters where women and children flee to seek help from abusive situations are often full. They leave often with no clothes, no food, and no money. There are wonderful places that help women and children, but simply not enough room or funding.

Large corporate farms are taking over the smaller farms, who just can't compete with the larger businesses. The corporate farms have such huge productions, that the runoff from the animals waste is polluting our rivers and streams. The use of chemicals from these farms is also hurting our environment. Government has set aside assistance for the farming industry, but the largest share of the money has sadly gone to the large and wealthy businesses, and the smaller family owned farms are going bankrupt.

Sex offenders, men who have raped women, and sexually abused children, are being let out of prison, even though it is known they will commit other crimes of this kind. We have a family here in Minnesota now, who is still looking for the body of their daughter, who was kidnaped and presumed killed by one of these men. The police have him in custody, but he has not admitted where she is. Hopes have been lost by the family that she may still be alive. They are searching rivers and rural areas for her body.

These are only some of the sad realities that we also have in our society. Wonderfully we also have many people who care, and are trying to change these shameful things. But it very difficult to have change, when people will look away, and pretend that these things do not exist.

My real name is Albert, i like to go as Al but you all know me as Mulletman. If you are curious to see what i look like, you can click here. I live here in Houston Texas, the biggest city that you've never heard of. Its a great city, ive been here like my entire life and i love it. Houston is the fourth largest in the US, it eight times bigger than Rhode Island, slightly smaller than Massachusetts but larger than New Jersey. Houston has a unique feature to it that no other Texas city has. Unlike Dallas/Ft Worth, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso... Houston is not land locked. Also those city i mentioned revolve around the big school there. We have 17 different colleges and universities so there is not the same kind of atmosphere here as in other Texas cities. I attend the University of Houston. If any of you all remember the super bowl half time show, our school marching band opened the half time show with Jessica Simpson and our drum corp did the Janet Jackson show (no nipple). Our summers average in the 100+ degrees with 100% humidity. Tornado season runs 24/7/365. In my opinion this city is at its greatest during the winter. the temp is down low, the nights are longer, the people seem to always be kinder, displaying that Texas Hospitality... it just seems really beautiful during this time. Unlike Minnesota, we dont have many lakes, but we do have a lot of bayous. so the city spends a lot of time cleaning them up so they look nice all the time. they are still not safe for people to swin in but durring the summers you usually find manitees and other sea animals that like to swim up the bayous into the city.

although ive lived my entire life here in houston, i was actually born in Mexico. i was born into big upper class, political family... which explains my 'godfather' complex. my fathers side was the political side, my mothers side was more artistic. her father was a big musician in mexico. when many people think about hispanic culture or hispanics in general they usually think of stereotypes and associations from american born hispanics. if anyone has ever had the chance to go to mexico and actually get to know someone there, you will find that the hispanics there are completely different than the ones we've all known and loved here.

the development i live in now is actually largely jewish, which makes christmas time rather interesting. you wont know its a large jewish neigborhood during christmas because somes of the jews do decorate thier homes, but they do it for the contests. theres really nothing else that needs to be said or that hasnt been said. we dont really socialize like terri's community, but then again this development is huge and no one really knows anyone past thier own neighbors.

i know theres more i wanted to share but it escapes me at the moment. i have been to minnesota, white bear lake to be exact. i used to enjoy going there. i do love MN's parks tho, the fact that ever park has a lake was just wonderful to me.

Wow, this is a really cool thread. Thanks, whitebird!

Mulletman...I will be in Houston for a seminar for four days (March 17-21)...Maybe we can hook up for dinner or something :D... Any good concerts coming your way in that time period? I'd love to hit a concert or something...I have nights free :D...

Anyway, on to the topic. I haved lived in Philadelphia, Pa., for almost four years now. This is my first big-city experience, and so far, I like it a lot. I'm on the outskirts of the city in a residential area that is almost burb-like. It still lies within the city limits, though. I believe it's the fifth-largest metro area in the country, with 5 million plus people in the city proper and suburbs combined. I think the city itself has more than a million people. It's very diverse population-wise: Asian, African American, whites, you name it, it's here, which makes things pretty interesting and tense at the same time.

Historically, it's been a Democratic town. In fact, it's been decades since it has had a Republican mayor. It suffers the same big-city problems as many other American cities, such as high crime, poverty, unemployment, drugs. At the paper at which I work, there are daily stories about drive-by shootings, gang shootings, that sort of thing.

On the plus side, it's a cultural gold mine, IMO. There are countless colleges, from the Ivy league to community colleges, to those that specialize in the arts. It is also a big medical research community. There are university hospitals and some of them have been ahead when it comes to research in lung and heart disease. It has one of the top art museums in the country and is home to a thriving music scene, many genres, including Blues, jazz, rock, pop, you name it...It's also a big sports town, at least for the home teams. I find that most sports fans here ignore the playoffs in the four majors once their team is out of it. They are nuts for their Eagles here, though. Basketball and boxing are also huge here. The Blue Horizon has been a boxing mecca for decades, and in boxing's heyday, all the greats boxed here. Philly is also known for its food.

There is a ton of really good ethnic eating in this city as well, all kinds. A few weeks ago, I ate in an Afghani restaurant. The food was outstanding! The people on the whole are pretty friendly, though I can't say that I know my neighbors in the apartment complex I live in because I work odd hours and don't see them very often. I'm far enough away from the concrete where there is grass and trees. I couldn't live downtown because it's just not green enough for me, hehe. I need my grass and trees. There is a very cool city park, though, which reminds me a lot of New Hampshire. It's hard to believe it sits in the middle of the concrete jungle. It's great, though.

I have made a lot of nice friends through work and all, and of course, all the Feeders in the area :D, you know who you are. I like the diversity here and the access to other parts of the country this location affords.

I live in Metamora Illinois, a "suburb" of sorts of Peoria, Illinois one of the four largest cities in Illinois. My town is much like what Teri has described minus the ocean and lake ( we do have the Illinois River but we don't do much around it). My neighborhood is really an offshoot of the actual small town, many older homes but also many newer homes and lots of new developments with lots of kids. We are building a new school to accomodate the growth in our area. Many people here are well educated and many work for Caterpillar (big yellow earth moving machinery), whose headquarters is in Peoria. Otherwise, many people have lived here for generations and many have farmland and such. In Metamora proper, it seems like everyone has lived there forever. It is such a cute town with the whole town square, burger and shake shop, mini library and post office, etc. Our area is newer and our schools are some of the best in the area, which explains all the young famililes here. Our area is largely Republican, most families are intact (not divorced) and a good percentage of the women around here are stay at home moms despite being educated (several of my friends have master's degrees and most have bachelors).

Peoria is neat because it is small compared to Chicago and cities like that, but it still has a big city feel. (I was raised in Chicago so I like that I get the best of both worlds.) I can walk downtown and feel like I am in big city then 10 minutes to home and I am defnitely in the country. Peoria has been working for the last several years to develop the Riverfront area and it is really shaping up nicely. It also is home to Bradley University, a private midsized campus so there is a college town feel during the school year.

Creed visited here in 1997(I think) - sadly I didn't know who they were at the time or that they were here - but they played a local building that used to be a very ornate movie theater that has been converted into a multipurpose venue - mostly bands and such. If I had seen Creed there it would have the best show ever, because I love the Madison Theatre, it is so intimate. When I listen to that bootleg I get really sad - if only I had known..

Illinois is OK as far as climate - we have a lot of tornados around here in fall and spring - I don't like that at all - and although snow can be pretty I am not crazy about it for months at a time. When I was in Chicago we had lake effect snow and it was alot lot more than I have ever had since living here in Peoria area. I am ready to go south now, though, I am done with winter. We have beautiful autumns with all the foilage along the river. Summer gets a little too hot in the middle. All in all this is a great place to live and raise a family, but I do aspire to live somewhere else at some point in my life. (Orlando, Miami, Hawaii???? )

Okay well I live in Victoria, Texas. It's a very small community, but now we're slowly expanding. We have a small overpass (woohoo!) a community college and a lot of shopping centers. Soon we are getting a two stroy mall with Foleys in it! Yay! Okay back to the town......the people here are sort of friendly. The adults are mostly friendly, the other girls act like they are too good to talk to you and the guys are self centered jerks all the time. I actually sort of like my town b/c I know where I'm going, but like Julie said, there are some days that I want to leave. Overall it's a good town to start a family in.

Hey! Im going to be transfering to University of Houston at Victoria. Roommates!

hahaha......no......j/k! ;) I can't go to that school yet b/c it's only for those people already about to get their bachelors degree or something. I'll be going to the regular one. :D

yea its junior level up.

Mulletman, I would not have read your post, as you are the one and only person that I ever put on my ignore list. However, it came thru on my e-mail from CreedFeed. I'm glad that it did. I always want to be open to people and their views, and learning about you on your post, let me know you a little better. Thank you for posting on this thread.

Dogstar, it sounds like you have the best of both worlds in your area. I also like international foods, and diversity. Your welcome, regarding my starting this thread. I am one of those people that look directly into the eyes of the people that I am speaking with, or listening to the inflections of the voice, when speaking on the phone. Sometimes I think it is difficult to e-mail strangers, but this way, I can create a picture in my mind. Thanks for letting me know what you life and city are like. I can really understand each of the posters a little better, knowing how they live, and what they see when they look around themselves.


Julbright, the old and the new in your area being blended together, sound much like my own area. I also saw on a new thread that you are considering a possible move to Switzerland. That sounds like an exciting change, and exposing your daughters to others cultures would be an experience that they would remember through out their lives. My son was just going thru some old pictures of my parents, and there were some old black and whites of Switzerland, and even they looked pretty. If you don't ski now, be sure to learn if you do move. Skiing in those mountains would be incredible.

PaulMcCoygirl, it sounds like you may meet another CreedFeeder. That's really cool.

ok here I go


Real name: Joel
Nicknames: Jester
Live in: SanLeandro, California
People living in SanLeandro: Almost 110,000 it is a small SanFrancisco bay area community
Age: 21
Instrument: I sing and play the radio
Influesed by: U2, CREED, Static-X, Sevendust, EveryDayLife, P.O.D., etc
Favorite film(s): Ususual Suspects, BraveHeart, American History X, American Beauty, Dark City
Favorite actress: none
Favorite actor: Kevin Spacey
Favorite album: War by U2
Favorite band: U2
Work: Stay at home dad until I ship out for basic training for the U.S. Army on april 20th
Family: Me (21) Wife (22) daughter (2)

Ya i know. you're new so you havent really gotten to know me all that well. think of me as an onion, not that pretty to look at not pleasent to be with either... but after you peel away at the layers you see the real me.


i need a better analogy

Jester, Hi! Quite awile ago, there was a post that talked about the movie "Pay It Forward" with Kevin Spacey. Many of the members loved the idea. He really is a great actor. You watched here for awhile, before joining, what made you decide to take the plunge? (Outside the U.S. To Jump In And Join).

I'm very glad that you are able to spend time with your little child now, as a stay at home Dad, you will be going into an unknown soon. Please keep us posted, we all care very much about one another, and now you are a part of our group.

If my little subtitles, or descriptions bother anyone, I'm sorry. I have a friend that spoke almost no English when I met her, and phrases like that drove her crazy. They make no sense outside the U.S.A.


Mulletman, your analogy is perfect. For like an onion you have brought tears to my eyes, yet when I least expect it you sprout new growth.

I am from Havelock NC and Johnson City Tn I have the best of both worlds!!!

Havelock is home of Cherry Point Marine Corps Base...I am a Marine Brat! my Dad was in the Marines for over 33 years and fought in every conflict that the U.S.has been involved in with the exception of Desert Storm...I love it here we are only 15 minutes from the beach...Atlantic Beach NC...and there is just so much history around this area and all seafood you could eat...and for the most part everyone is very nice and they go out of their way to help you.
I was raised half of my life here and when I was 14 after my Dad retired we moved to TN because both my parents are from there...TN is awesome and it really is pretty the mountains are breathtaking the people are awesome but you do have a few rednecks who can be a-holes....Johnson City is very close to Gatlinburg and Piegon Forge and 4 hours from Nashville...so there is always somewhere to go and something to do...And the Bristol Motor Speedway is only a 20 minute drive...so I have the best of both worlds the beach and the mountains.