Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Suburb Snob

Don't forget I'm having a giveaway!
You can comment on yesterday's post and today's post for two entries.
Post about it on your own blog for an extra three entries.


* * *

My name is Rhea, and I'm ashamed to say that I used to be a suburb snob.

What do I mean by this term?
I mean that I thought people who lived in the suburbs were inferior
with their brand new homes, lack of originality and appreciation for aged homes.
I thought they were cookie cutter people, all the same.




I had conveniently forgotten that I used to have this totally tacky attitude until
I was reminded recently while reading a post over at the Mama Bird Diaries.

I know there are more of you out there like this,
quaking in fear you'll turn vanilla and white bread in the burbs.

I used to be this way until I had kids,
and discovered how expensive housing was in the city,
and found out my children had more room to grow in the suburbs.

I now live in the suburbs, and I love it.
It's so family-oriented.
My children have a fenced backyard to play in,
rooms of their own,
a dog,
a neighborhood with sidewalks,
and not too much traffic.

Better yet, we can afford to live here much better than in older homes in the city.
I get it now.

It's more important to me for my children to have room to grow than to care about stupid things like that anymore, you know?

I don't know why I held this opinion. I'm really not a snob in any other way.
I was led astray.


What are/were you a snob about? Are you ashamed of your snobbery?



39 comments:

lynette355 said...

Think I am a food snob.
Have a horrible time when people are not willing to try new foods. And since I am not a country girl living in this lil town I just don't fit. I like sushi not venison, shopping at Whole Foods not Brookshires. Having Etheopian food not Bar-B-Que.
I have not gotten over this bad habit and sad to say not ashamed. Just hungry now.

Lauren W said...

You know, thinking about this question right off, my immediate answer is that I'm not really a snob about anything, but I know that that's not totally true. I'm kinda a beer snob (although that's partly the hubby's fault). I won't drink beer out of a can, and I tend to avoid American beer unless it's a small brewery.
Anyway... I don't think you need to worry about being vanilla or white bread. I don't think that's really you at all ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm a movie and tv snob:-) I get defensive when people say they haven't seen the new Battlestar Galactica, even though I know I'm in a minority of tv watchers. IT IS THE BEST TV SHOW EVER! I am NOT ashamed! Family Guy is genius tv, if you don't know that there must be something wrong with you! You don't watch Lost? I wont' say it but I'm thinking it really loud...'really?! One of the most innovative shows on tv (besides Battlestar of course..) and you're watching yet another Law&Order or CSI series?!'
yeah that's me...

Heather said...

I used to be the same way, thinking I'd rather live out on some land in the country than in a, *gasp*, subdivision.

Then I had kids. And you are so right. My kids have best friends that live two minutes away. I have best friends and my in laws two minutes away. We can take great walks, get a neighborhood football/baseball game going in a quick minute, and get to the local YMCA in five minutes.

Someday I'd still like to own a bit of land. When the kids are grown. But for now, this suits me just fine.

As far as being a snob, I am a bit of a snob about scrapbooking and card-making. I've been doing it for ten years, and am very particular about my creations. When I see crappy homemade cards, I'm all like, I could do way better than that... I try not to be that way, but it's a struggle.

Kori said...

I don't think I've ever been snobby. I have always had friends of all walks of life. Maybe someone else thinks I've been snobby about something but I don't think so. Hmmmm... now I'm wondering.

Lula! said...

OK, I'm running to Starbuckbitch's site now, because she just spoke the truest words ever. BSG is THE show. Whether you like Sci-Fi or not.

Wait, what did you ask? Oh, about my snobbishness?

Sheets. High thread count sheets. Like 500+, baby. Do they have those in Ida-Ho? It's a deal breaker if not.

TerriRainer said...

OMG! Reading your comments made me feel my age! I couldn't watch the new BSG because it wasn't close enough to the original, so I guess that makes me a remake snob (in my defense, while in 5th grade, we PLAYED BSG almost 24/7)!

I'm also a book/movie snob. It annoys me when they take a book and go all Hollywood with it.

:) Terri

***Here's a bit of BSG trivia...in the movie (before EITHER series), Apollo had a little brother named Zach who died in the first 10-15 mins. Anybody know who played him?




Rick Springfield!

Mama Dawg said...

I'm sort of a snob about food. Mostly because where I live, it's pretty much only chicken fried steak, gravy over biscuits, bacon, bacon, bacon, etc, etc, etc.....


I love to eat exotic foods and try new one.

Other than that, I'm not too much of a snob about anything. It is what it is, ya know?

Mama Dawg said...

Hey, I'm actually up on the comment list! I've never been there before! Awesome!

koopermom said...

I'm a food snob, and an American Eagle snob. ( I have an obsession. I love their clothes more than any other.) and I still want to win your giveaway!!

All Things BD said...

I'm kind of a parenting snob. I think my way of raising my kids is the best way, and that other moms are just doing it wrong.

What an idiot I can be. Like I've got perfect kids and never yell and bake cookies every day. I don't know where the judgy-ness comes from, but there it is. You asked. :)

Jennifer said...

i always wanted to live in the burbs, have sidewalks and neighbors closer by, but i have lived in the woods for all my life... and now that i have kids i'm happy here too... at one point in my life i wanted to be a city girl and live in the big city... which for me would have been NYC!! :) but i'm comfy where i am now and happy that my children are happy fresh-air raised little country brats!! :)

i'm off to link your other post about your give away!! :)

tootles!!
xoxoxoxox

Captain Dumbass said...

I'm a Mac snob, I try not to be, but it just comes out.

Amy @ Living Locurto said...

I'm so a MAC snob too! Can't even look at the other stuff:-) I will admit that though.

I used to be the same way you are about the burbs. (I might even live near you:-)

I have friends still living in downtown Dallas that can't get over the fact that we have a playroom in our grocery store! The burbs rock for families, especially those of us with little ones.

Unknown said...

daily vampire entry number 2 :)

and yes, I want suburb w/ out cookie cutter, but at this rate I'll be lucky to get a house at all in this economy... so now I guess that makes me an apartment snob... sob...

TerriRainer said...

Okay, I linked to your giveaway here : http://terrirainer.blogspot.com/2008/11/beware-pirates.html .

:) Terri

Indy said...

I used to feel the same way about the burbs. We bought an old house and I thought that was the way to go. Well, it was a POS and we ended up in a typical suburb. We love it too! My kids can run down the street to play. We have a great fenced backyard. And it feels safe. So, more about the family and less about my identity. I am converted.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm what am I snob about--maybe friends--that's probably why I have like one friend! haha That's kind of jerky thing to say. Oh well! And I love the burbs--I can't imagine life any other way!

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

I have so many friends that live in town. And I call them all snobs. Because my house is twenty minutes from them - it's too far! They are spoiled. And are snobs :-)

I am sorta snobby when it comes to somethings. Like I would much rather throw money at something if it makes it easier for me. Like I never thrift shop. I don't have the time, energy, or vision for the hunt. I just want, what I want, where I expect to find it.

I am snobby about comfort too. I like my comfortable bed. And my high thread count sheets.

KimmyJ said...

I'm a manners snob - I can't tolerate rudeness or treating others ugly - or a bad hostess. That's about it for me.

Kally said...

I admit it....I am a beer snob. I just can't do those kind of beers like Natural (Nasty) Lite, Coors, Miller, the list goes on...

I Love a really good Belgium beer. Yum! Always in a bottle never a can.

Not ashamed of this it just doesn't come up much. :)

EmmaP said...

too funny! when i first moved in all of the women in the "hood" seemed picture perfect - like in like in that movie (of which the title totally escapes me now). But then I conformed, and joined their card stamping night, binko night, and recipe swap night. and i realize we all have our dirty little secrets - more like "desperate housewives".

Susie said...

I am a wine snob. I am sorry but...you don't chill red wine and you don't put ice in white wine to cool it off. You just don't.

Live.Love.Eat said...

Hah! As I sit here drinking my wine with an ice cube in it (I do agree with susie but I had no choice and NEEDED my wine) that's a great post Rhea. You have a knack to make people open up. I am a snob about parents smoking around their kids. I am also a soda snob. My son is 5 years old and he has NEVER even tasted soda. what's the point really. It's an addictive thing so I am delaying as long as possible. I am sure there are other things. I'll let you know :)

Linda said...

I'm a snob about eating real, honest food. I like to make the effort to buy local produce, meat and raw milk. And I cringe at packaged, processed food. Doesn't mean I won't turn down an Oreo, but I like to think I at least know better.

Jen said...

I am the worst kind of snob. A snob that does not want to admit she is a snob. Is there a 12 step program for that?

Swirl Girl said...

I am a wine snob, go figure. No 2 buck chuck for me (for those who shop at Trader Joes, its' Charles Shaw wine). I don't need to spend major bucks - but for $15, you can get a great wine that won't give you a headache the next day. And, Suzie - you can chill a light bodied red for about an hour just to take the edge off. We drink our reds too hot and our whites too cold here in this country. Room temperature (ave. 72 degrees) is too hot for wine.

I am a cork dork. Sorry.

I was also a suburb snob - and even though I live in the burbs, in a P.U.D. (planned urban development) which I used to call a Poltergeist neighborhood...I do like having neighbors, and cul de sacs so kids can safely play.

Valarie Lea said...

Hotels!!! If it look even the slightest bit run down, I do not want to stay there. I have had a couple of bad experiences. I would like pillow top mattress lots of pillows, and duvet covers on the bed. Turn down service would be nice also. ;)

Kristy said...

i can't seem to think of one, if i figure it out though ill let ya know :)

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, good question. You're making me think dammit! Ohhh my brain hurts...maybe I'm a non-thinking snob?

AdriansCrazyLife said...

I've tried learning not to say "I will never...." because every darn time I say it, I end up doing it.

I think the area I'm a snob the most are "good" neighborhoods vs. "bad" neighborhoods. I've lived in some *very* bad neighborhoods in my early years and I find myself being very uncomfortable and depressed when I'm even driving through neighborhoods like that.

Momma Trish said...

The burbs are wonderful. For me, it was about cost more than anything. We were on a tight budget, and we just found that we got a lot more house and yard for the same price if we moved into the burbs. Also, you pay less if you're willing to move into an area that's still being developed. You can cut a lot of expense if you're willing to live with a lot of inconvenience for awhile.

Katie said...

I used to have major Minivan bias until my husband talked me into getting one. I get it now too. Although I still secretly crave a convertible.

Kelly said...

Before I had kids I was a complete snob about daycare! I was one of those moms "i don't want someone else to raise my child!" Fast forward 2 years my opinion has completely changed! Yay for daycare. It has saved me literally. I love that my child gets to socialize with all types of kids, and I get a break when I am at work so I can be a more attentive mom when i am with Tay.

Cristin said...

I grew up in the burbs, then moved out to the country... I prefer the country... What am I a snob about?? I'll have to think about that.... is being a bitch the same as being a snob??

Britt said...

Um, I'm not sure .. I'm sure that I am a snob about something. Surely, right? No one is totally innocent of snobbery ..

and now I'm confused because I'm wondering, like Cristin, is being a b-witch, the same as being a snob? Because I KNOW I can be one of those every now and then .. but I usually keep most of that in my head. Which would work out great, except that I have one of those faces that betrays most of what is in my head...

Claremont First Ward said...

I'm totally ashamed of my snobbery. I try to never outwardly act on it though. I a designer jean snob. There. I said it. I don't care if others wear them, but I won't wear anything but them. And that makes me a snob.

Debbie said...

First thing. I love the suburbs for all the reasons you listed. Plus, I have only ever lived in the suburbs...Cities scare me. I am snob about yards. We keep ours very nice and I don't like shabby yards. Is that bad?

Justine said...

I don't give a crap about being a snob. Me wants the books! LOL

Justine :o )