I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal. And, my immediate reaction was- What? Are you for real? But, I thought about it- and realized that it may be true.
What am I talking about? Nanette Tanaka wrote a piece (5 July 2013) “Where the Better Half Lives?” No, I am not claiming to be part of the 1%, but I recognize that I am in certainly in the top 50% of earners in America.
Dr. Brian Meier, a professor of psychology at Gettysburg College, examined where city folks would prefer to live. He found that, when all else is equal, people prefer to live in the northern part of the city. You know, the “good side” of the tracks. (He also published a discourse, in concert with Drs. Schnall, Schwartz, and Bargh, on the subject in Topics in Cognitive Sciences .)
So, as I said, I thought about it. And, then I downloaded a map of Alexandria (VA). And, I live in the upper northern quadrant of the city.
Then, I downloaded a map of Charlottesville, Virginia. Yup- I lived in the upper northern quadrant there, too.
Then, I tried Long Beach (CA). And, there- I first resided in the upper northern quadrant. But, when I moved to the beach- that was definitely the lowest quadrant. But, I can tell you that the beach area would have proved to be the opposite of Dr. Meier’s study- the beach is always a desirable area, and considered to be the place to live. But, I was beginning to feel a little better.
Until I checked the map of Ann Arbor (MI). And, found that I lived in the upper northern quadrant again. The same was true for my residences in Massachusetts and Brooklyn (NY).
Of course, my parent’s home was beach area- so it was not going to be the upper northern quadrant. But, their Forest City home (part of Wantagh)- upper northern quadrant again.
So, I couldn’t discount this research out of hand. And- where is your home?
OH MY GOD. This totally works for every place I’ve ever lived. And that’s a lotta places!
I know- I couldn’t believe it either…
File under “scary, but true”.
This is all very puzzling. I live outside of town, but I’m going to check out where our homes when we lived in town were situated.
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I thought it was, too, Amy. That’s why I yanked out maps for each of those cities in which I resided. And, then, I was amazed how I clearly followed the subliminal rule.
When I grew up in New York City I lived in the Northeast Bronx – which, especially by the time I left in the 1974, was a disadvantaged area. And, sadly, it still is. Where am I now? The Triple Cities of upstate New York are long (east/west) and narrow (north/south) but it is true-the “better” parts of Johnson City are to the North! (but that isn’t where I live, for what it is worth.)
Hmmm. You have not lived on the “other side of the tracks”….
Well, we know there has to be at least 75% of each town with such populations. And, as I mentioned, a lot of the beach front property does not match these rules.
We are considered North Toronto, but we are in the middle as the burbs surrounded us – further from the centre of a city should mean further from industry – makes sense.
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Yes, it could, Carol. But, from what I recall, most of the Toronto industry is to the east, nowadays…
Hi Roy,
You surely went through a great deal and looked up at the map to make out, but it’s good you did because that you knew. I wonder how many of us would have really taken the trouble to do so. Well, I live at the other end of the world, but it’s scary to find a similar thing at my end if I had to!
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice weekend 🙂
Harleena Singh recently posted..Time Spent Helping Others is Never Wasted Time
Thanks for the visit and the comment, Harleena…
I learned a long time ago to examine critically all those “facts” that seem to contravene initial thoughts. And, now, given the plethora of trash political talk out there, i need to verify all those statements about who did what- or who didn’t do what…