Attitude about your state

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NovakOmaha
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Attitude about your state

Post by NovakOmaha »

I've now lived in Michigan for over 9 years after having lived in Nebraska for about 50 years. There's something I've noticed (actually you can't help but notice it if you're not from here). People who are from or live in Michigan have an attitude that actually impresses me while at the same time is annoying. People from Michigan have the idea that the sun rises and sets over Michigan. Let me explain. Michigan made or grown products are inherently superior to those not made or grown here. Right down to potato chips. Michigan cherries, Michigan fudge, Michigan apples, and on and on. Better Made Potato Chips. Pretty much anything. When I asked some people about Washington Apples they respond by saying that they weren't as good. There is just a "Michigan is best" attitude.

I didn't have the same feeling living in Nebraska. To be sure there are people who live in Nebraska who like Nebraska produce or products but it in no way comes close to the attitude I get from Michigan. Imagine if people from Nebraska went out of their way to support Nebraska products. To a very slightly less degree I find that Iowa people have an Iowa first attitude. Des Moines is amazing in their attitude that there isn't anything that Des Moines doesn't deserve. It's served them very well over the years. Even the failed Access Air was an amazing feat. "Other cities are hubs for airlines, why not Des Moines?" It doesn't matter that it failed. Someone had the balls to try.

This "Our state is superior. Our products are superior. Why not us?" attitude just doesn't exist in Nebraska. Yes, we love our Runzas, our Caniglia's, our Dorothy Lynch, our (to an extent) Nebraska City apples, but I never felt or heard such a Nebraska-centric attitude. If a product comes from another state that is equal to one from Nebraska we didn't care. I still see the "Omaha bad" attitude from those Nebraskans who don't live in Omaha. Not everyone, to be sure, but it's there.

I don't know how to change it. I'm not sure it exists in every state but boy it sure does in Michigan. Buy the Big O was supposed to bring a 5% increase in purchases within Omaha. Along the way it morphed into, well, I don't know. A networking event maybe? Meet someone from Wells Fargo? Ok, but Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco. How about First National or another Omaha-based bank? It isn't a crime to support your own state. I don't remember ever hearing that someone even went out of their way a little bit to give business to a Nebraska or Omaha business. Cheapest price, that's it. Here, it's Better Made over Lays, simply because Better Made is made in Detroit and has been for something like 100 years. Good for them but I don't notice any difference. And yet people from here only buy Better Made. Seriously.

Maybe it comes from the University of Michigan's tag line. "The Leaders and the Best". I kid you not. Nebraska? Fairest and Squarest. Kind of pales in comparison.
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TitosBuritoBarn
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

You Michiganders certainly bring your Michigan-first attitude to Chicago when you all move here for several years after college (Is that like a state mandate?). You're slightly less annoying than Ohioans.

I find that most Nebraskans are kinda meh on state pride. Especially transplants here in Chicago. Many transplants are also mildly anti-husker. They see Nebraska as "fine" or "a nice place to grow up" but aren't very passionate about it otherwise. Which is better than bashing on the state I suppose.

Many Chicagoans have a neutral opinion of Nebraska as most know nothing about it. The huskers barely even register as Chicago is very pro sports oriented.

Illinois pride definitely isn't a thing. No one in this state is proud to be illinoisan. The politics are a |expletive| show. It's the second flattest state after Florida. The down-staters hate that Chicago basically runs the state and the Chicagoans hate that downstate runs a fair defense on their big city political game.

Chicago pride though is a huge thing. Especially if you live in the city (you're a softy if you live in the suburbs). People (myself included) wear t-shirts with the city's flag on them. The city flag is much more common on buildings than the state flag. And it's hard to argue that the pride is unwarranted. The city has practically everything you could ever want or need. It even pioneered a few things. There is at least two of almost everything, including baseball teams, zoos, airports, Ferrari dealerships, and IKEAs. The chamber of commerce never has to tout something as "world class" because they figure it's assumed. Sure it has its problems, but many would agree they are far outweighed by the advantages. And Chicagoans won't be bothered by who has better apples or corn on the cob. To them those are small peanuts when there are entire neighborhoods filled with exquisite international cuisine.
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bigredmed1
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by bigredmed1 »

Most of us, especially those over 45, have lived a long time being mocked by others. We learn quickly to be self deprecating. As for the husker sentiment, being anti husker at a mild level is just a left over of the sports bombing we get regarding husker sports. In Omaha, we get the huskers all fall and the Jay's all winter. We get sick of both. Especially sick of the TV and newspaper slavish jocksniffing Homer coverage of both. You would think nothing else happens.
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by buildomaha »

I think it’s intriguing the difference in state pride. I think omaha coupd be a heck of a city if people here had even the attitude of Lincoln. It seems like people in Omaha don’t expect anything because “it’s just omaha” and I am included in that. I completely agree that Des Moines has down great by expecting a lot. Omaha would be smart to start having some higher standards in every single thing this city and it’s people do. If we could start showing some initiative on things like renewable energy implementation or more aesthetically pleasing public construction it would make people realize how great and beautiful this city and state could be.
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bigredmed1
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by bigredmed1 »

buildomaha wrote:I think it’s intriguing the difference in state pride. I think omaha coupd be a heck of a city if people here had even the attitude of Lincoln. It seems like people in Omaha don’t expect anything because “it’s just omaha” and I am included in that. I completely agree that Des Moines has down great by expecting a lot. Omaha would be smart to start having some higher standards in every single thing this city and it’s people do. If we could start showing some initiative on things like renewable energy implementation or more aesthetically pleasing public construction it would make people realize how great and beautiful this city and state could be.
I think it is a better city than Lincoln due to our lack of ego. Ever go to Lincoln and try to find a nice non-chain restaurant on the North, West, East or South sides of the city? They accept that crappy chain restaurants are OK because they hang husker |expletive| and they are in Lincoln. We have a broader range of places because we don't just accept that. Omaha is organic to the needs of the people who live there. That is the sole strength of the city and why it is a better place to live than many other places that are wealthier and more populous. It chafes at the urban planner types, but this city has been ignored by the rest of the nation and demonized by the rest of Nebraska leaving it alone to develop itself. The people here don't want big public works boondoggles as they see other places get jobbed and we simply say no.
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by Ryan j »

Novak, going back to your original post. I have not been to Michigan very much, but I have no doubt that you are correct. I am going to take a stab at explaining why there is such a difference in attitudes between the states.

Michigan is a large state and one of the most populous in the nation and also very diverse in its economy. Its a state with agriculture, manufacturing, research, large universities etc. Its a state that is close to being self sustaining. I think the 'buy Michigan' attitude is driven in part by that fact. Nebraska on the other hand, has to rely on other states for much more of our economy.

I also agree that Iowa has a little more of that buy Iowa attitude than Nebraska does; again, Iowa would be a little more self sufficient than Nebraska. 3.1 million people vs 1.9 million people, larger producer of corn, soybeans, more manufacturing etc.

Which state in the union would you say has the most "state pride"? How about Texas, you know the 'don't mess with Texas' mantra is not just about littering. Why?, they are the largest state in the union and probably feel to some degree that they could sustain themselves if needed. In fact, I would predict for the most part that the larger the state's population, the more 'buy pride' you might see. (Just a theory, even if true, it's bound to have some exceptions)

On the macro scale, look at countries. The USA is more self sufficient than most any other country in the world. Hence the 'buy American', 'American made', 'America First' attitude. I imagine that attitude does not exist as much in say Kazakhstan, or Moldova. In fact, a bunch of smaller population European countries were willing to sign on to the 'European Union'. Giving up some of their sovereignty in exchange for being part of a larger group. Something the USA would never do (in part because its not in our DNA); but again, these small, even medium sized European countries probably have less nationalism feelings because they are not large enough to feel self sustaining, they rely on neighboring countries for large parts of their economy.

The second reason I have for the difference between the state attitudes is this - Every state has state pride, Michigan's state pride is focused more toward 'buy Michigan' again for some of the reasons stated above. Nebraska's state pride energy is more focused toward our sports teams, specifically the Huskers. Lots of reasons there including, historical success, tradition, one state-one football team, etc.
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Garrett
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by Garrett »

From a few years ago, but definitely some interesting findings here;

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... a/8140879/
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NovakOmaha
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by NovakOmaha »

I honestly don't know where the state pride comes from. I think Nebraska and specifically Omaha have not so much an inferiority complex as much as a go with the flow one. Enron leaves & we deal with it & move on, ConAgra leaves and we hold the door open & wish them well, sort of. In Enron's case it was all Ken Lay's design. Mike Boyle met with Lay in Houston & asked what Omaha could do to keep them. Ken Lay pointed out the window at a cylindrical tower & said "Nothing". As for ConAgra it appears to be all the kid they hired to run it. He's a Chicago boy. Nuff said. Like Mike Harper & ConAgra's headquarters. That's what he wanted & that's what he got.

Something that strikes me is the number of companies started in Omaha that got bought out or simply moved. FDR started in Omaha & got big enough for, I think, American Express to buy them out, sell them & then they got sold again. Sitel is another one. There are others that grew up in Omaha & sold out or moved. Anyway, for some reason there is no gravity that holds companies in Omaha. Yes, companies move from other cities but my frame of reference is Omaha. When Berkshire bought Midamerican Energy a stipulation was that the headquarters stay in Des Moines. No kidding. To my knowledge that never happened to an Omaha company.

As for Chicago and Detroit they are two different animals. Yes, Chicago loves to say it's world class. In many ways it is. The food scene is amazing, there is a huge arts scene, traffic is horrible, housing near the lakefront is expensive and totally worth it, there are five pro sports teams so lot's going on. On the other hand, I see absolutely zero reason for ConAgra to move there other than the kid who is the boss. And yes, young people move there after college but many move on and out. Detroit, on the other hand, is just now becoming a draw for young adults. Downtown is exploding and I mean that in a good way. It's mainly due to Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans and his other companies. He is responsible for thousands, yes thousands of jobs returning & moving to downtown. Detroit has all four pro sports & the teams play or are going to play in amazing venues. The food scene is not as good as Chicago but it's very, very good. The arts scene is also very good. Detroit Metro Airport has hundreds of flights and lots of international ones.
After all that, I still can't explain the deal with Michigan centric pride. It's not just a function of population, industry, etc. It's ingrained in the psyche of the locals. I do like living here but neither I nor my kids have it. My wife does to a degree but she's from here. Others who have moved here after us also notice it.

Let's get something straight. I love living here & love what there is here. However, I am and always will be a Nebraskan. I follow the Huskers & read the owh daily. I haven't been back since 2015 & even then it was only for a weekend. I probably wouldn't recognize a lot of places. I'd be willing to bet that most folks here don't and haven't ever given Nebraska a second thought unless the Huskers were playing Michigan or Michigan State. They have no idea of the Omaha Zoo, Boys Town, Offutt, etc. They just don't care. Same with Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire or anywhere else. They hate Ohio, mainly because of the rivalry with Ohio State, but the saying is "Worst. State. Ever." They have tshirts printed with that in an outline of Ohio. Personally I don't think Ohio is that bad. I've been there quite a bit.

Omaha has made a lot of strides in the past years. Eppley is finally getting some love from the airlines. Downtown has a lot more to go. Don't get me started on Crossroads.

Go Huskers!
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damonhynes
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by damonhynes »

I remember a tourism slogan from back in the mid-70s, when I moved here: "Its a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit here."
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Ingersoll1978
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by Ingersoll1978 »

Our Des Moines/Iowa pride was greatly amplified in the mid-2000s with the arrival of our own snarky retailer...Raygun. It has grown to four stores...Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Kansas City.

https://www.raygunsite.com/

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NovakOmaha
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by NovakOmaha »

Around here it's this:

http://detroitvseverybody.com/

But seriously Ingersol, it's more than that. There is a real difference between DM & OMA. In DSM there is an attitude that "So what if we aren't as big as other cities? We can do anything and we should have whatever we want to do. There are business leaders that have skin in the game and a passion for their city. Zoning and land use in DSM appears to be more thought out that in Omaha. At least when I lived in Omaha there was no incentive to do more than the minimum as far as building materials, parking, setbacks, landscaping, etc. Even here in Detroit in many cases parking lots are behind buildings and landscaping is more complete. Streetside exteriors have better materials. That kind of thing. It seems that in Omaha it's a point of pride to either surround or at least feature acres of parking right in front. Maybe that's changed since I left Omaha.
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Omababe
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by Omababe »

People (myself included) wear t-shirts with the city's flag on them. The city flag is much more common on buildings than the state flag.
Oh, you mean that black and white "W" flag? :) :) :) :)
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by choke »

NovakOmaha wrote: I'd be willing to bet that most folks here don't and haven't ever given Nebraska a second thought unless the Huskers were playing Michigan or Michigan State. They just don't care.
And vice versa. Why should I think about Detroit or Chicago? I don't; I have other things to do. I occasionally go to the east and west coast for job training. They are nice places to visit but it is always great to come back home to Omaha.

As far as Des Moines goes, the Omaha-based company that I work for has an office there and I was talking to a coworker who works out of DSM and he said it's not all that of an exciting place to live. I'm not saying that Omaha is off-the-chart excitement but I think there is a little too much romanticizing going an about DSM having more attitude than Omaha. In fact, I go to DSM now and then and I think OMA and DSM are pretty similar; mid-size cities with similar attractions and modest population growth.

I'm an adult. I could pack up and leave for another city anytime I want but I don't because I love where I live: Omaha, NE.
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by Omaha Cowboy »

choke wrote:
NovakOmaha wrote: I'd be willing to bet that most folks here don't and haven't ever given Nebraska a second thought unless the Huskers were playing Michigan or Michigan State. They just don't care.
And vice versa. Why should I think about Detroit or Chicago? I don't; I have other things to do. I occasionally go to the east and west coast for job training. They are nice places to visit but it is always great to come back home to Omaha.

I'm an adult. I could pack up and leave for another city anytime I want but I don't because I love where I live: Omaha, NE.
That just about sums up my feelings as well. I agree 100% :thumb: ...

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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by lisanstan »

I grew up in Los Angeles and have lived all over the country and the world. We moved to Omaha 12 years ago. I love it here. I'd prefer we not become a hot new place to live. That brings a lot of stuff I don't want. Just look at Nashville. My husband considers Nashville his hometown and I've been visiting there since we married almost 30 years ago. We went back to visit in January and it's miserable with traffic and never ending construction and tearing down of old homes to make way for overpriced boxes. In general, other than an NFL team, you can get the same stuff here with less hassle. If I wanted all the stuff available in a much larger city, I would move to a much larger city.

As far as attitude, I'll take midwest humble. Just keep on overlooking us, we'll quietly keep on keeping on without all the |expletive| that comes with a big city. I don't think Des Moines is anything to crow about. I find it sterile in the extreme. I like some grit in my city core.
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by bigredmed1 »

lisanstan wrote:I grew up in Los Angeles and have lived all over the country and the world. We moved to Omaha 12 years ago. I love it here. I'd prefer we not become a hot new place to live. That brings a lot of stuff I don't want. Just look at Nashville. My husband considers Nashville his hometown and I've been visiting there since we married almost 30 years ago. We went back to visit in January and it's miserable with traffic and never ending construction and tearing down of old homes to make way for overpriced boxes. In general, other than an NFL team, you can get the same stuff here with less hassle. If I wanted all the stuff available in a much larger city, I would move to a much larger city.

As far as attitude, I'll take midwest humble. Just keep on overlooking us, we'll quietly keep on keeping on without all the |expletive| that comes with a big city. I don't think Des Moines is anything to crow about. I find it sterile in the extreme. I like some grit in my city core.
Having lived in Jacksonville Fla, I have to say that this is my feeling as well. Omaha is a cool place to live because it is organic to the needs of the people who live there. We don't have to support the NFL, so those who are into it can put on a jersey and go hit a sports bar. Those who are not, can do something else and it means nothing to them. In Jax, you support whether you like it or not in higher taxes and more crowds. Des Moines is boring and sterile in the center of the city. The edges just seem like they opened a box of instant suburb and poured out generic all over the space.
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by Louie »

bigredmed1 wrote:
lisanstan wrote:I grew up in Los Angeles and have lived all over the country and the world. We moved to Omaha 12 years ago. I love it here. I'd prefer we not become a hot new place to live. That brings a lot of stuff I don't want. Just look at Nashville. My husband considers Nashville his hometown and I've been visiting there since we married almost 30 years ago. We went back to visit in January and it's miserable with traffic and never ending construction and tearing down of old homes to make way for overpriced boxes. In general, other than an NFL team, you can get the same stuff here with less hassle. If I wanted all the stuff available in a much larger city, I would move to a much larger city.

As far as attitude, I'll take midwest humble. Just keep on overlooking us, we'll quietly keep on keeping on without all the |expletive| that comes with a big city. I don't think Des Moines is anything to crow about. I find it sterile in the extreme. I like some grit in my city core.
Having lived in Jacksonville Fla, I have to say that this is my feeling as well. Omaha is a cool place to live because it is organic to the needs of the people who live there. We don't have to support the NFL, so those who are into it can put on a jersey and go hit a sports bar. Those who are not, can do something else and it means nothing to them. In Jax, you support whether you like it or not in higher taxes and more crowds. Des Moines is boring and sterile in the center of the city. The edges just seem like they opened a box of instant suburb and poured out generic all over the space.
I love that grit comment, Omaha has character for sure and sterile is not a way to get it.
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Re: Attitude about your state

Post by NovakOmaha »

Ok, first it was never my intention to start a put down contest with Des Moines. I like both Des Moines & Omaha and both cities have plenty to be proud of.

Second, I would have echoed the feelings about Omaha if I still lived there. It happens that in moving to Detroit my eyes were opened to living in a large metro area. There are certainly advantages to living where there are pro sports, albeit Detroit pro sports. Still, we love going to pro games. Also, living here we have many more choices when it comes to recreation, entertainment, shopping, food, etc. That's just the nature of the beast. Having an airport with hundreds of flights a day is also good. I could just live without the constant reminders that Michigan is where the sun rises and sets.

Having grown up in Omaha and Nebraska I think it was just part of the psyche that we feel that we can live with whatever happens, be it losing out on casinos(though some would say that is a plus), auto factories, ConAgra leaving, other businesses moving out, Cabella's selling out, and the whole "For a city our size", "Nebraska doesn't have mountains or oceans, so let's live with it", "Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago and Denver are close, so we have the best of both worlds" attitude.
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