Do you feel a cultural link to the geographical region you live in?

[dukrin]

The "how patriotic are you" thread made me think about how connected I feel to my country's culture. And from this, how much connected do I feel to the culture of the wider geographical region I live in. By this I mean things like Europe, the Nordic countries... now I don't really identify as a "Nordic" person that much myself, just Finnish and European, but I also don't really feel any deeper connection with other European countries.

How much do you identify with some wider geographical region you live in? Not necessarily about notions of pride, but rather about some level of social connectedness.

[Jiggity]

Vancouver BC....my highschool was 80% Chinese. I'm a product of my environment. Canada to me is asian, I still have family in Europe I'm in contact with...but I've lived in Asia....done business in Asia....and this is a result of living in Vancouver.

[Revi]

When I go to Sweden and Denmark I definitely see a lot of resemblance. Lots of difference too, of course, but it's more familiar than say, Egypt or Spain. Never been to Finland, but from the Finns I've met and what I've heard, you seem to share a lot of social characteristics with Norwegians, which is like.. The opposite of Spain/Italy.

Also feel connected in the sense that Scandinavian countries are on very close terms, and seem to have the state-equivalent of a sibling relationship. Keep track of what the others are doing, care about each other well being, pop by to say hello once in a while, and tease each other relentlessly.

[Grimbold21]

I find it that the differences are related more to peoples' behaviour than cultural, at least in a european context. I was in Valencia Spain for 6 months and didnt feel all that much different.

Then again im portuguese so maybe thats not a fair comparison. But while there i interacted with people fro.other countries. For example, there was this.group of german girls who were considerably more reserved or rigid than the rest of us. To day that all germans are like that is a bland generalization and not much of a cultural assesement

[Deleted]

Well, I live in Romania and... I don't really feel all that connected with Romanians. I mean, no offense, but many of Romanians here are lazy, trying to work as less as possible, and they drag the team down and the entire productivity and I hate that. I do like to work for my money, not enough to drop dead, but at least enough to say I wasn't slacking, yet when I end up having 3-4 times more work done then the rest... yea. Romanians also like football, I hate football. They like beer and many like manele, I hate both. I really don't identify much at all with regular Romanians.
As you see with my location, I consider myself european first, because in a way it's easier to identify with Europe since there's so many cultures.
In a way I feel like I identify with countries like Denmark, Iceland or the Czech Republic. I work, like mead, I like sustainable energy, nature, am kind of quiet and like the dark, their architecture (this for the first 2 I listed) and I like the Czech Republic because I've always found it odd. The fact that they tried so hard to resist in the face of WW2 and they were abandoned by their friends, the fact that at the end of the war they were again abandoned by their friends and considering that now they're one of the few voices in the EU that seems to go with my view in some important issues makes me like them more.

[Deleted]

I identify as a Yorkshireman before English.

[Spectral]

I feel a strong connection to the area that I came from, because I have many shared experiences with people that are important to me there. This manifests as an attachment to a couple sports teams that is, on its surface, pretty silly. I don't really care about the silliness though - I enjoy it and it seems like it's pretty harmless.

I also feel a tie to the city I now live in. I love it here, I like the people, I got an opportunity here that I'd been waiting for, got engaged here, and so on. I will always have fond memories of this city.

[Moralgy]

Nope, I have zero southern pride like a lot where I live seem to have.

[Mehrunes]

Cultural? Yes, it's the culture I grew up in, obviously if left it's mark. I don't really like the culture or my countrymen though. Conservative and outdated as hell for the most part. Any more, and we'd be ruled by Catholic ayatollahs. And I don't feel any pride or other emotional attachments.

[Mihalik]

I'm Hungarian-Greek (speak neither langues well), born in Austria, raised mostly in the UK, educated in the US, worked in 11 countries in 4 years after college, now I live in Spain, I'm fluent in Spanish (almost a native level). I lived here for a 4 year period, I believed I was fed up, went back to London for a year, and at the end of that I moved back to Spain. I can say with a large degree of certainty that I developed a degree of cultural affinity with the region, after all I moved back for a reason.

[Faenskap]

Well... I'm from Norway, but I live in Bulgaria.


I don't feel so connected to Norway, and never have. Vikings and runes are cool, scenery can be breathtaking, but other than that, I feel closer to Bulgaria than Norway

[Mihalik]

Well... I'm from Norway, but I live in Bulgaria.


I don't feel so connected to Norway, and never have. Vikings and runes are cool, scenery can be breathtaking, but other than that, I feel closer to Bulgaria than Norway

How the hell did a Norwegian end up in Bulgaria? There has to be a story to that.

[Deleted]

My ancestors have lived in Finland for at least as long as there are records of the population, so yeah.

However, I've moved around so many times (I've lived in the US as well) that individual locations like cities hold less interest to me. I feel at home where I live now, but I could be living in any other similar city without difficulties. But I'm definitely a city dweller; living in the countryside far away from everything would kill me with boredom or drive me nuts. My maternal ancestors have been peasants and farmers up to my grandparenst - who were both teachers and did farming only as a kind of hobby - but I just don't have that mindset; their children, my mother included, all got a good education as well. My paternal family line has more city dwellers, craftsmen and academic people.

Both of my grandfathers went to war to defend this country, and the brave fighting of them and other men against the massive hordes of Stalin's Soviet Union ensured that their offspring could grow up and live in a country free of tyranny. I kind of feel like I owe them a lot.

[Pendulous]

Nope, I have zero southern pride like a lot where I live seem to have.

Ditto, and according to dating sites, all the people I connect with live in Seattle and Illinois. Most of the thinking here is beyond backwards, and the only thing I can connect with people here is football, and even then, nobody pays attention to the NFL, just college.

[Exception]

As a Qatari I do feel a connection to the rest of the Arab World for sure. As Arabs, we all love and hate each other at the same time. An even closer connection I feel to other neighboring Khaleeji i.e. Gulf countries such as the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman. When it comes to Saudi Arabia, while they are politically part of the Gulf Cooperation Council and geographically have some coastline in the Gulf too, it is still debatable whether they are culturally Khaleeji and I certainly don't feel as connected to them as with other Gulf countries. The closest connection I feel with the UAE, it is almost like my second country. We initially had to be part of it too.

[Acidbaron]

I grew up between so many different cultures it's hard to really identify myself with just one. East west and south we're all rather well represented were i grew up.

[Grimbold21]

Pax Romana couldn't handle the Gallic people.

You know they were conquered right?

[Gamdwelf]

I feel like the larger geographical region I live in is my state and yes I'm very much in the culture of my state. Runzas for life bitches.

[Grimbold21]

z

Not in our patriotic altered history books. That's the point of cultural affiliation after all, your own version of the truth.

Thats all nice, but the archaological evidence says otherwise. Yes im aware that youre being sarcastic

[Independent voter]

Well, in the US it's pretty easy to move to another state and fit right in. You might go from a snow state to a no snow state where people don't shovel snow. Or you might have an accent when you get there, but the difference between places in America is very small. I can say the same for Canada.

Now Mexico is very different, but not so different to keep thousands of people from retiring there every year.