Why Are Southerners So Fat?

[Vendetta]

So you're saying when the economy tanks and everyone moves to where the jobs are - except you - that's why it's okay for you to become religious and fat? Everyone else followed the economy; why not you? Parochialism? Stubbornness? Fear?

Poverty. America has shit population mobility, it's really difficult to move to find work if you're not already earning, because inter-city transport's expensive, making it harder to look for a place to live, look for a place to work in the place you move to, pay deposits on new rented or purchased property, etc.

People in that kind of state are rich pickings for ideological predators, religious or political demagogues flourish, which is why they all go to church and listen to Rush Limbaugh.

[Stark]

I dimly remember in social studies people talking about places like the US, where once you drop below a certain level it's basically impossible to get out, as an object lesson why paying more tax for social security is a good idea.

[LadyTevar]

So you're saying when the economy tanks and everyone moves to where the jobs are - except you - that's why it's okay for you to become religious and fat? Everyone else followed the economy; why not you? Parochialism? Stubbornness? Fear?

Poverty. America has shit population mobility, it's really difficult to move to find work if you're not already earning, because inter-city transport's expensive, making it harder to look for a place to live, look for a place to work in the place you move to, pay deposits on new rented or purchased property, etc.

People in that kind of state are rich pickings for ideological predators, religious or political demagogues flourish, which is why they all go to church and listen to Rush Limbaugh.

"inner City transport"?
*starts laughing*

I know of only 3 cities in the ENTIRE STATE of WV that have Public Transportation. Charleston (the Capitol), Huntington (Marshall University), and Morgantown (WVU). In Charleston, it costs $1 to go from one side of the city to the other. Exchanges are .25. There's roughly 30-45min between buses. Miss one when you've a bag-full of frozen goods, and you're shit-outta-luck. Some routes are closed on Weekends.

Yeah, public transport's expensive because it doesn't exist in WV. After all, this is a state where School Consolidation means that kintergartners are on the bus for nearly 2 hours to get to school.

[Boyish-Tigerlilly]

He said inter-city transport. I think he meant travel to and from different cities. I don't think he meant intra-city. Maybe he mistyped, I am not sure.

[The Dark]

I dimly remember in social studies people talking about places like the US, where once you drop below a certain level it's basically impossible to get out, as an object lesson why paying more tax for social security is a good idea.

Labor mobility's really not that great - it's costly to move unless you know there's a job waiting for you. The people without jobs are the ones least likely to have access to information (i.e. the Internet), particularly since the public libraries now charge for internet access due to their budgets being slashed due to the recession. Additionally, most of the jobs that I've noticed being created are coming up in areas with higher costs of living than where the jobs were lost, meaning that even if the unemployed get a job making the same amount of money, they're worse off because common goods cost more.

I know of only 3 cities in the ENTIRE STATE of WV that have Public Transportation. Charleston (the Capitol), Huntington (Marshall University), and Morgantown (WVU). In Charleston, it costs $1 to go from one side of the city to the other. Exchanges are .25. There's roughly 30-45min between buses. Miss one when you've a bag-full of frozen goods, and you're shit-outta-luck. Some routes are closed on Weekends.

Yeah, public transport's expensive because it doesn't exist in WV. After all, this is a state where School Consolidation means that kintergartners are on the bus for nearly 2 hours to get to school.

Orlando's really no better, even though we have (theoretically) two systems. The I-Ride Trolley is a tourist schtick - it's a streetcar that goes up and down International Drive, which is a tourist area. It's listed as public transportation, but it doesn't go anywhere near any residential areas. The Lynx system offers free transfers, but a one-way trip is $2.00. And, despite living less than a mile from the fifth-largest university in the country, I would have to walk 12.55 miles to catch a bus to work.

Lakeland (where I went to college) just raised their fares to $1.25 for a one-way trip, with free transfers. When I was there, it was $1.00 one-way, and took about 45 minutes to get across town if you caught the buses just right.

[Darth Wong]

I dimly remember in social studies people talking about places like the US, where once you drop below a certain level it's basically impossible to get out, as an object lesson why paying more tax for social security is a good idea.

It really helps to have a far-flung family. They can help you look for work outside your own locale, and many will also help you look for lodgings or even put you up for a while until you can find your own. The worst-case scenario is to have a family where everyone pretty much lives in one place, and that place is going to shit.

Some things never really change, and one of those things is the rule that "Blood is thicker than water".

[Thanas]

I know of only 3 cities in the ENTIRE STATE of WV that have Public Transportation. Charleston (the Capitol), Huntington (Marshall University), and Morgantown (WVU). In Charleston, it costs $1 to go from one side of the city to the other. Exchanges are .25. There's roughly 30-45min between buses. Miss one when you've a bag-full of frozen goods, and you're shit-outta-luck. Some routes are closed on Weekends.

That is freaking cheap. In every german city, it will cost you at least 1.25 Euros, with tickets ranging up to 7.50.

[Straha]

Is Berlin special then Thanas? Because when I was living there I just had one card that was good for everywhere in the city whether on the U-Bahn or the bus. And because I got a month pass it was really cheap too. The Berlin system was fantastic, better than almost every other transport system I've been on, and literally came damn close to saving my life. I have very very fond memories of that system, though the ticket collection system was downright odd.



As for American transit systems, it's very different all over the country. I know a couple systems in boonies that are, apparently, fantastic. I know a couple systems that are cheap as heck and let students ride free. I also know systems in urban areas that are absolute crap. It's very hard to offer generalizations because (as with all things American) you just can't do it properly.


On the subject of labor mobility, does anyone have figures on this? Because I always heard that one of the U.S.'s economic strengths was the mobility of skilled labor across the country from economically disadvantaged areas to other areas, and I'd really like to see the actual figures on this.

[RedImperator]

From what I recall, there's plenty of labor mobility for skilled workers, but if you're a coal miner and the local mine closes, you're shit out of luck unless you have some kind of support system in another town. That's one of the reasons the ghettoes have persisted for generations: the people stuck in them can't afford to get out, and their extended-family support networks all generally live in the ghetto, too (often on the same block, which is a blessing in many ways, but no good if you're looking for a place to stay in a new town).

[Thanas]

Is Berlin special then Thanas? Because when I was living there I just had one card that was good for everywhere in the city whether on the U-Bahn or the bus. And because I got a month pass it was really cheap too. The Berlin system was fantastic, better than almost every other transport system I've been on, and literally came damn close to saving my life. I have very very fond memories of that system, though the ticket collection system was downright odd.

Yes, Berlin is very, very special. For around 2.50 EUR you get access to all transport for one zone (the area is divided into zones) for a period of time. However, in Bremen for example 2.50 won't even get you to one end of the city. If I have to travel into the suburbs, I am charged 5.70 for just one trip, with no return. I love the Berlin system - when I was in Berlin, I almost always took the bahn. Surprisingly, Berlin is also very nice to walk.

Berlin can afford it due to the public aid and the high volume of commuters.

In other cities in the Ruhr Valley you can pay a ticket for a day, that will cost you somewhere from 3.70-15 EUR depending on the methods of transportation, destination etc.

[Elfdart]

I can't help but think that the whole area would look just like "Deliverance".

They filmed parts of that movie just a few miles from where my paternal grandparents lived.

I dimly remember in social studies people talking about places like the US, where once you drop below a certain level it's basically impossible to get out, as an object lesson why paying more tax for social security is a good idea.

It really helps to have a far-flung family. They can help you look for work outside your own locale, and many will also help you look for lodgings or even put you up for a while until you can find your own. The worst-case scenario is to have a family where everyone pretty much lives in one place, and that place is going to shit.

Some things never really change, and one of those things is the rule that "Blood is thicker than water".

Another way to get out of there is to join the armed forces. My father and his brothers had a choice: Serve in Korea and/or Vietnam, or spend the rest of their lives in the backwoods of Georgia. Out of six brothers, five decided to take their chances against the North Koreans or the Vietcong. The reason rednecks are overrepresented in the service isn't just because hicks enjoy fighting.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

So you're saying when the economy tanks and everyone moves to where the jobs are - except you - that's why it's okay for you to become religious and fat? Everyone else followed the economy; why not you? Parochialism? Stubbornness? Fear?

Poverty. America has shit population mobility, it's really difficult to move to find work if you're not already earning, because inter-city transport's expensive, making it harder to look for a place to live, look for a place to work in the place you move to, pay deposits on new rented or purchased property, etc.

People in that kind of state are rich pickings for ideological predators, religious or political demagogues flourish, which is why they all go to church and listen to Rush Limbaugh.

"inner City transport"?
*starts laughing*

I know of only 3 cities in the ENTIRE STATE of WV that have Public Transportation. Charleston (the Capitol), Huntington (Marshall University), and Morgantown (WVU). In Charleston, it costs $1 to go from one side of the city to the other. Exchanges are .25. There's roughly 30-45min between buses. Miss one when you've a bag-full of frozen goods, and you're shit-outta-luck. Some routes are closed on Weekends.

Yeah, public transport's expensive because it doesn't exist in WV. After all, this is a state where School Consolidation means that kintergartners are on the bus for nearly 2 hours to get to school.

I still find the horrible public transportation in the midwest and mountain states stupefying; in Washington the buses are more frequent than that even in rural areas, and you can travel 60 miles by bus to a town of about 6,000, from a town of 15,000, which itself is another hour and a half of interconnecting bus rides and an hour's ferry sailing from Seattle, meaning you can continuously ride on public transit over distances of more than a hundred mile, and it was very alien to learn about places where that's not the case.

[salm]

In other cities in the Ruhr Valley you can pay a ticket for a day, that will cost you somewhere from 3.70-15 EUR depending on the methods of transportation, destination etc.

Yeah, but surely you can get tickets valid for a month or a year even in Bremen?

[Thanas]

In other cities in the Ruhr Valley you can pay a ticket for a day, that will cost you somewhere from 3.70-15 EUR depending on the methods of transportation, destination etc.

Yeah, but surely you can get tickets valid for a month or a year even in Bremen?

Yes, these cost about 45-60 EUR a month and don't cover rides into the speckgürtel.

[Edward Yee]

Not sure if this will be any help for anyone else, but right now fares on the NYC subways and MTA buses are $2.25, with free subway-bus and bus-different-bus-line transfers within two hours. For example, use my MetroCard on the B49 at noon, I have until 2 pm for a free transfer with any NYC subway or any other MTA bus but the B49.

To be blunt, the Perfect Storms described here sound fucking horrific. Admittedly my cardio and strength are horrible due to a lack of exercise( think the stereotypical basement-dwelling nerd but without even a neckbeard to show for it, and living above ground level ) but I recognize now that I'm actually kinda fortunate in terms of where I live; I have to walk for about five minutes to get to the subway station, I work close enough to walk home in the daytime (the subway's mainly for getting to work or getting home at night), and there's a gym that's perhaps two minutes from my house. (If only I worked up the mental gumption to renew my expired membership... not even this study in "how bad could lack of exercise be" is enough. )

Reading other boards' threads on health woes (particularly Appalachian), along with LadyTevar's post regarding the mindset, makes it sound like there's really no good options for one born into a sufficiently depressed area, unless one has the will left to seriously want (enough) better in this lifetime enough to do something about it, even if that's just to stay clean and get out.