Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl
I think Cappy makes several valid points. I think too that we are starting instant friendships with strangers thinking that age will negate a lot of other differences. That isn't true.
I think that our geographic origins and the way we were taught to expect or do certain things in certain situations plays a big role.
We easily begin new friendships here or expect friendly behavior from those we've just met and are "put off" by their "strange" responses. One new neighbor on the golf course said I was "fresh". (I had a dickens of a time finding out what "fresh" meant. It isn't a term used in Ohio. Someone bristled over my "Boy Howdy" which simply means "well, I'll be darned" to me and I thought everybody spoke Ohioese.
Midwesterners expect certain things that cause those from the coasts to think we are a little strange. People from certain area's use silence as soft disapproval where other areas HAVE TO HAVE the last word.
On top of this are the internet bullies, the newly affluent, the sick, the tired, the fiesty, the arrogant and the truly kind....all who have been that way for awhile or are trying out new personas.
There are a lot of "fresh starts" here and some invent their pasts to present to others.
In other words, we are older Americans most of us and we are thrown together in a new experience that really is making history on this planet.
I like that about this place and I hate that about this place. Sometimes I long for the way people acted pretty much the same back home.
But considering all that do I love it? You bet your sweet bippy I do.
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Wow, that's such an interesting perspective. I like it a lot and kinda wish I could relate to it more. Atlanta has long been a melting pot. In my suburban neighborhood, I can count on one hand the number of adults even from the south. (The number from Atlanta is zero). In this sense, TV feels much like home to me. That aspect of TV though is better than in Atlanta, because nearly all of families in TV chose to live there. In Atlanta, many were transferred here or came due to a job offer.
Is TV all I expected? Youbetcha. In the 2 1/2 years we have been snowflakes in TV, I continue to be amazed and delighted for the wonderful friendships, the beauty, the fullness of our social and activity calendar when we are there, how much we use and enjoy the amenities, the golf cart rides and the delight in seeing all the carts tooling around the community.
Although we weren't there for snowbird season, it makes all the sense in the world that this year's was the most crowded. With LSL area virtually built out for the first year, Brownwood-area amenities and Town Square not yet in place and several Brownwood Villages developed and spilling into LSL without yet a corresponding migration down to Brownwood area amenities, of course it was more crowded than ever.
When 446a, 44 and Brownwood amenities catch up, things may even back out to some extent. But TV is always going to experience Florida's annual snowbird season-- for which I'm grateful.