| Mayberry | NY Metro | |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery cashiers | Check my eggs every time. Upon finding a broken one, cheerfully call for someone in the dairy department to bring a replacement carton to the register. When thanked, respond brightly, “Just doing my job!” These are 16-year-old boys, not some middle-aged person who’s decided to make a career out of working the register at PikNSave (motto: “We’re picky, you save”). | Act as if they are doing me a huge favor by ringing up my order and taking my money. When encountering a jar of artichoke hearts, make disgusted face and exclaim, “Ewwwww! Those are really hearts?!” |
| Leaving the car running while you dash into a store | Commonplace (when it’s sub-zero and you’ve warmed up the car, you don’t want to have to start over again a few minutes later) | Not recommended |
| Rush hour | Happens from about 7 to 7:30 a.m. and 4 to 4:30 p.m.; barely discernible from so-called “traffic” occurring at other times of day | Lasts for 3-4 hours every morning and evening; trips of a few miles take an hour or longer; causes rampant gray hairs and cursing |
| Manicures, pedicures, and waxes | Expensive indulgence | Affordable necessity |
| Dinner time | 5:30 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. |
| Starbucks penetration | Spotty. I think there’s one out by the mall. | Total. Can always find one within a 2-block radius. |
| Real estate. Have $250,000 to spend? | A lovely home with 3 to 4 bedrooms, at least 2500 square feet, and plenty of outdoor space. | If you’re very lucky, a studio apartment in the city ... with 250 square feet. In the burbs, a teensy ranch on the wrong side of the tracks. |
| Medical care | All about the bedside manner. I’ve bumped into our friendly family practice doc at restaurants, the pool, the Y, and the grocery store. | The technology may be the latest, but my doctors didn’t recognize me or my kid unless we were within sneezing distance of our charts. |
| Wildlife | Aside from the usual squirrels, chipmunks, robins, sparrows, etc., lots of rabbits, ducks, geese, and the occasional fox (seriously—a block from my house). And the best news: no pigeons. Damn things used to hang out in the airshaft outside my bedroom window chrrrr-chrrrrr-chrrrring right in my ear. | Rats (winged and sewer-sized); waterbugs |
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Compare and contrast
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6 comments:
Wow - you know the HTML tags needed to create charts! I'm so impressed. Love the contrasts between NYC and Mayberry. Much the same dynamic pertains to the Toronto vs. my-town distinction. I'm stubbornly sticking it out here, despite the lack of employment opportunities, because I'm just so resistent to getting caught up on the big-city treadmill, working 70-hour weeks at a high-paying job in order to commute an hour each way to costly suburban dwelling...not for me.
NY metro - you are spot on. Especially regarding the real estate and wildlife.
I'm in the midwest- not only do I leave my car running in subzero weather- my purse is usually sitting open in the passenger seat.. its brilliant!~
B&P--I'm very proud of my chart, but you know you can find everything on the internet!! Your reason for staying is exactly our reason for moving here.
Love it! I looked into working in big cities, but am glad to be where I am. How bad am I? I still listen to Dallas radio in the mornings and laugh at the traffic reports. The only thing I slow down for is school zones.
exactly why i tell my brothers and sisters ...i would never want to raise my kids anywhere else. it's a little boring sometimes, but i laugh at them when they come to visit and lock their cars in my driveway...i have yet to take the keys out of my car.
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