Love the map. My sister has lived in the Hub; Leafy Liberal & Loaded [as a tenant]; Commies; Townies and Immigrants; and Witches, Fishermen and Quaint-ass towns. My brother and his wife went to school in Hippie Students, and lived for a short while in the Hub. My sister-in-law is from There be Dragons There; I have been to some Christmases at her parents' place in Dragonland. Both my brother and sister, though they no longer live in Massachusetts, have in-laws living there. I recently connected with some childhood friends who now live in White Florida and Dragonland.
Like it or not, I have some familiarity with the Bay State.
I think that's part of it. If you see that the area which includes (mill city but multiple college town) Worcester abuts it without cultural comment, you can trace an outline of a rural/small-town New England core extending from a corner of RI, that "Pretty New Englandy" section of Connecticut, up into the "anarchist" section of NH, which is also rural/small-town. It is more like the New England of a hundred years ago. Note that major highways and tourist areas are absent from this area, and you see that this is the Central New England equivalent of "flyover country." People from the other regions don't go there, except perhaps to drive through them on their way to another New England area.
The "anarchist" designation is founded on old New England but given recent increase by the movement of Free Staters to that area. That's a libertarian group that chose to all move to a single state to influence local politics. The back-up choice was Nevada. Their presence is noticeable but not overwhelming. That area of NH and across the border in MA has plenty of people from the adjoining areas. Diners, small dirt-track raceways, all-white populace both Congregationalist and Unitarian, places that died when the railroads stopped shipping.
As someone who has lived with Townies and Immigrants, the Hub, the Commies, and currently lives on the border of the Irish Riviera and Gillette Stadium, I can explain the dragons.
That's the area where no one knows what it is. Seriously. That's it. The commuter rail doesn't go that far, and you will never meet someone working in the city who lives there. Sometimes they'll have lists of "cheapest home prices in Mass" and when towns from there come up, everyone gets confused and says "wait, where's that?"
Further out there's landmarks, as the map says, but that stretch has low population, lowish income, not a lot of exits off the Pike, and probably 90% of Massachusetts couldn't name a town in that region from glancing at it. It's notable for having NOTHING notable about it.
bs king That's the area where no one [inside 495] knows what it is...That's the area where no one knows what it is
A step-granddaughter of my sister attended a boarding school near Ware. Which brought up the eternal question: Where? Coincidentally,a childhood friend I recently connected with lives in Ware. Where?
Anyhow, Dragonland is much like the rural NE that I grew up in.
Love it! I was born in the Hub of the Universe (altho I love to tell snotty acquaintances that I come from South Boston--I was a Navy brat, born in the Chelsea Naval Hospital). I went to Moscow on the Charles so the Commies label made me laugh.
The Milltowns and Methadone describes many towns near where we plan to retire. White kids with tattoes, backwards baseball caps and pants below the butt crack and so miserable you don't have the heart to snark at how they look (or at how they would have the @#$% beaten out of them for cultural appropriation if they walked down the street near our current den in the land annexed from the Evil Empire....)
I agree with the "Hell" designation and will never understand BD's fondness for that place where normal people can't afford theater tickets or an apartment bigger than 80 square feet or an hour away from work, and where the East Side millionaires have to avoid six foot high mounds of trash on their sidewalks while the scavengers forage thru them for things to sell...not to mention the financial pirates and other lowlifes who are the popular kids...
Replace Congregationalists and Unitarians with German Catholics and Lutherans, and Dragonland sounds like the area in rural north Iowa/south Minnesota I grew up in.
Meant to say, most of those areas should have shown a sprinkling everywhere in the countryside of "GO AWAY"s or "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE". New England WASPs like large friendly dogs bounding around the property to disguise the fact that we really don't like socializing with strangers very much....
Replace Congregationalists and Unitarians with German Catholics and Lutherans, and Dragonland sounds like the area in rural north Iowa/south Minnesota I grew up in.
Retriever New England WASPs like large friendly dogs bounding around the property to disguise the fact that we really don't like socializing with strangers very much....
'Twarn't for nothing that Robert Frost wrote "good fences make good neighbors." [Ignoring any highfalutin' poetic messages, Frost's descriptions of the countryside throughout the year ring true with my memories of traipsing around during my childhood.]
While I was born and raised in New England, my parents were from away, in flyover country. They both remarked how, in their hometowns, neighbors dropped in on each other much more than in New England. The other side of the coin is that with that distancing comes a greater tolerance for eccentricity, as with that distancing you don't get as much direct exposure to the eccentricities of others.
Update: Fun expansion in the comments.
Love the map. My sister has lived in the Hub; Leafy Liberal & Loaded [as a tenant]; Commies; Townies and Immigrants; and Witches, Fishermen and Quaint-ass towns. My brother and his wife went to school in Hippie Students, and lived for a short while in the Hub. My sister-in-law is from There be Dragons There; I have been to some Christmases at her parents' place in Dragonland. Both my brother and sister, though they no longer live in Massachusetts, have in-laws living there. I recently connected with some childhood friends who now live in White Florida and Dragonland.
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, I have some familiarity with the Bay State.
Dragonland? Huh? Explanation?
ReplyDeleteDragonland? Huh? Explanation?
ReplyDeletePerhaps because the 2012 Election Results show that a fair number of towns there went Republican.
I think that's part of it. If you see that the area which includes (mill city but multiple college town) Worcester abuts it without cultural comment, you can trace an outline of a rural/small-town New England core extending from a corner of RI, that "Pretty New Englandy" section of Connecticut, up into the "anarchist" section of NH, which is also rural/small-town. It is more like the New England of a hundred years ago. Note that major highways and tourist areas are absent from this area, and you see that this is the Central New England equivalent of "flyover country." People from the other regions don't go there, except perhaps to drive through them on their way to another New England area.
ReplyDeleteThe "anarchist" designation is founded on old New England but given recent increase by the movement of Free Staters to that area. That's a libertarian group that chose to all move to a single state to influence local politics. The back-up choice was Nevada. Their presence is noticeable but not overwhelming. That area of NH and across the border in MA has plenty of people from the adjoining areas. Diners, small dirt-track raceways, all-white populace both Congregationalist and Unitarian, places that died when the railroads stopped shipping.
My old stomping grounds. Looks like it hasn't changed much in 60 years.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has lived with Townies and Immigrants, the Hub, the Commies, and currently lives on the border of the Irish Riviera and Gillette Stadium, I can explain the dragons.
ReplyDeleteThat's the area where no one knows what it is. Seriously. That's it. The commuter rail doesn't go that far, and you will never meet someone working in the city who lives there. Sometimes they'll have lists of "cheapest home prices in Mass" and when towns from there come up, everyone gets confused and says "wait, where's that?"
Further out there's landmarks, as the map says, but that stretch has low population, lowish income, not a lot of exits off the Pike, and probably 90% of Massachusetts couldn't name a town in that region from glancing at it. It's notable for having NOTHING notable about it.
bs king
ReplyDeleteThat's the area where no one [inside 495] knows what it is...That's the area where no one knows what it is
A step-granddaughter of my sister attended a boarding school near Ware. Which brought up the eternal question: Where? Coincidentally,a childhood friend I recently connected with lives in Ware. Where?
Anyhow, Dragonland is much like the rural NE that I grew up in.
Love it! I was born in the Hub of the Universe (altho I love to tell snotty acquaintances that I come from South Boston--I was a Navy brat, born in the Chelsea Naval Hospital). I went to Moscow on the Charles so the Commies label made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteThe Milltowns and Methadone describes many towns near where we plan to retire. White kids with tattoes, backwards baseball caps and pants below the butt crack and so miserable you don't have the heart to snark at how they look (or at how they would have the @#$% beaten out of them for cultural appropriation if they walked down the street near our current den in the land annexed from the Evil Empire....)
I agree with the "Hell" designation and will never understand BD's fondness for that place where normal people can't afford theater tickets or an apartment bigger than 80 square feet or an hour away from work, and where the East Side millionaires have to avoid six foot high mounds of trash on their sidewalks while the scavengers forage thru them for things to sell...not to mention the financial pirates and other lowlifes who are the popular kids...
Replace Congregationalists and Unitarians with German Catholics and Lutherans, and Dragonland sounds like the area in rural north Iowa/south Minnesota I grew up in.
ReplyDeleteMeant to say, most of those areas should have shown a sprinkling everywhere in the countryside of "GO AWAY"s or "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE". New England WASPs like large friendly dogs bounding around the property to disguise the fact that we really don't like socializing with strangers very much....
ReplyDeleteReplace Congregationalists and Unitarians with German Catholics and Lutherans, and Dragonland sounds like the area in rural north Iowa/south Minnesota I grew up in.
ReplyDeleteRetriever
ReplyDeleteNew England WASPs like large friendly dogs bounding around the property to disguise the fact that we really don't like socializing with strangers very much....
'Twarn't for nothing that Robert Frost wrote "good fences make good neighbors." [Ignoring any highfalutin' poetic messages, Frost's descriptions of the countryside throughout the year ring true with my memories of traipsing around during my childhood.]
While I was born and raised in New England, my parents were from away, in flyover country. They both remarked how, in their hometowns, neighbors dropped in on each other much more than in New England.
The other side of the coin is that with that distancing comes a greater tolerance for eccentricity, as with that distancing you don't get as much direct exposure to the eccentricities of others.
I see. Dragonland is that part of the state map that is Terra Incognito and therefore labelled "Here Be Dragons".
ReplyDelete