The Flatirons, Boulder
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Skyscrapers in New York City
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On the move
People tend to move quite often in the USA. Some move to find a better or a cheaper home, while teenagers and young adults often move to study or because they are changing jobs. The average American will move about eleven times in their life.
Rob and Tina have lived in various places in the USA. They have both visited a number of other states, as well. Listen to them talking about the differences they have noticed, and what they feel about their home town.
Part 1: Rob
Before you listen
When Rob finished school, he decided to move. Choose the reasons you think he gives for this.
Rob moved because he wanted to
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Lindis: So, tell me Rob, where in the States are you from?Rob: Well, I’m actually from Maryland, but I was born in New York and my family moved to first Connecticut – uh, I was a baby in New York – moved to Connecticut, then Philadelphia, but I grew up in Maryland. Sort of my formative years were spent in Maryland. A place called Potomac, which is a, a river that runs through Maryland, through D.C. and into the Chesapeake.Lindis: And what was it like growing up there?Rob: Uhm, I lived in s-, in I have to say a fairly privileged area. It was a very nice suburb of Washington D.C. And … beautiful place, had great friends, was lucky enough to go to a good school and uhm … Yeah, it was very predictable in a way, and safe. So I went to high school in Maryland and when I was, when I graduated, I decided to go west to school. And I had the, the urge to get pretty far away from where I grew up. For … (laughter) in a way to get away from my parents. And I mean, I uh, of course I respected them and loved them and all, all of that, but … t-, I wanted to get far away. And I, I visited when I was 18. Before I graduated high school, I visited Colorado, uh, Boulder and I just fell in love with the place. And uhm decided to, to go to school there, to college.Lindis: What was it like moving from the east coast to the west coast? Are people very different?Rob: Interesting. Cause I met a lot of people from different parts of the country. So I had friends from, a lot of friends from Boston, and uhm … on, and the west coast, California. But Boulder was a kind of melting pot in a way. But also the Colo-, the Coloradans were different from me in a way. They were sort of more … simple, I guess you could say. Or maybe more attached to the places they come from, smaller places that they came from around the state of Colorado. And since I think I grew up in, like I said, a privileged area, people were a little bit more uhm … I don’t wanna say spoiled but uh … (laughter) that might be the word for it.Lindis: In what way were you spoilt?Rob: Spoiled. I shouldn’t use that word, cause it’s kind of embarrassing but uh … I mean, I had, I had my sister’s car when I was in high school so that was sort of something I think most kids don’t get to, to experience. Uh, my teeth were taken care of. I had, I had braces and uh … I didn’t get everything I wanted, of course, but I think I, I was lucky, in the sense that I got things that maybe other kids didn’t get.Lindis: Would you say that you are … patriotic?Rob: Yes, I think so.Lindis: And are you patriotic about America or the state you er, grew up in?Rob: Uhm, I mean I think both, and I think I’ve travelled quite a bit around the world and I think the more I’ve travelled, the more I p-, the more I can look back and appreciate where I come from and sort of appreciate the diversity, cause I had friends from, with different backgrounds … Korean friend, an Italian friend, a Greek friend… uh, African-American friends. So I think that sort of uhm … melting pot kind of f-, uhm, idea is true. And also just uhm … the, the advantages I’ve, I’ve been given. And uhm … I just feel quite lucky to, and to live in a democracy, that’s not perfect but uh … y’know, I’ve always voted, I’ve always felt sort of political and … engaged, so I think, I think um, yeah … I feel proud to be American.
ABC vis tekst
Now do Part 1: Getting the gist.
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Part 2: Tina
Before you listen
Tina grew up in New York City. Which of these things do you think she noticed when she went to other
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Tina: I was born in Brooklyn and uh, I well, spent most of my childhood in Brooklyn, so up until I was about 13, and it was fun! Uh, we’d play you know on the block and you’d play kickball and football and uh, you know, in the backyard we’d play basketball because we had a basketball net up, uh … We’d play tag, uh, freeze tag, team tag, on skates and running – it was great!Lindis: When you decided to study, uh, did you stay in New York or did you go somewhere else?Tina: For graduate school I stayed in the city. Uhm, but for undergraduate – so for my Bachelor’s, I went upstate New York, so, which is a very different from New York City. So most people don’t think-, when they think of New York, they only think of New York City, they don’t think about uhm … New York State, which is a large state, goes all the way up to Canada. Uhm, and uh … and that’s more, uhm, that’s different. (laughter) Uh …Lindis: How is it different? Are the people different, or …?Tina: People are different. The -, you know the buildings are much lower, it’s uh …, it’s slower, quieter, uhm … less to do.Lindis: Have you been anywhere else in the States?Tina: Oh, yeah, lots of places. I’ve been to Atlanta in Georgia, I’ve been to … different places in Ohio, uh … California, Texas, uh, Florida …Lindis: And what kind of impression did these places make on you, coming from a big city like New York?Tina: Well, one of the things that is uhm … common, I think, in all of the states, in all of the cities, is that everyone is friendly, right. So even in New York people are friendly, people are extremely friendly in New York. Uh, everyone is nice and everyone is friendly, but it’s, it’s you know, it’s different. So up in Ohio my uncle, uh, he doesn’t lock his doors.Lindis Ever?Tina: And so-, no, the doors are unlocked. Maybe at night when they go to sleep they’ll lock the doors. But during the day the doors are never locked so people come in (laughter), go out. Uhm, neighbors pass by and just open the door. “Hey, how are you?” (laughter) Uh … and so that’s, you know, common. And that happens also, uh you know, if you’re in the south. If you’re in Atlanta, uhm, you know people always have food, just in case someone comes by, uh … just to be hospitable, just to welcome people and make people feel comfortable uh when they, when they come over. Uh …Lindis: Would you be given a whole meal or would you just get like a piece of cake?Tina: It depends. You could have – (laughter) You def-, well definitely, you’re always offered something to eat i-, whenever you go to anyone’s house you’re always offered something, something to drink, something, you know, something. You know, in the south they like … food.
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Now do Part 2: Checking details.
