Reply to Do you think kids who grew up in the tristate are wiser?

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[quote=Anonymous]Born and raised in Manhattan. Obviously the answer can vary greatly depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, socioeconomic backgrounds, race, religion, education, and family. For children who are raised in very wealthy homes and attend expensive and (generally) good schools, the answer would be different than it would be for children raised in the projects. The question also does not define “wise” which can be interpreted quite broadly. Some might interpret it to mean intelligent, some street smart, some cultured, and some sophisticated. I grew up in a part of Manhattan that was primarily comprised of ordinary, middle class families. Most of the parents of the children I went to school with were teachers, police officers, nurses, city government workers peppered with some doctors and lawyers. Most everyone was white, Irish, and Catholic. Most were also narrow-minded, racist, and uninterested in any culture outside of their own. These people could’ve lived the same life anywhere. They never once took advantage of all that NYC has to offer rather stayed in their little enclave surrounded by people who looked and sounded just like them. That said, there were a few families, mine included, who recognized that NYC had a lot to offer. Those families took their children to Lincoln center, museums, and libraries. From my experience, it’s those kids who became “wiser.” But that’s not so much a factor of growing up in NYC but rather a factor of having exposure and a sense of curiosity cultivated from a young age. The thing that I would say that I’ve noticed is different about a lot of kids from NYC, and this may be regardless of socioeconomic class although I couldn’t say for sure, is there’s an awareness and a confidence, which I suspect comes from constant exposure. A lot of kids from NYC are exposed to a lot all the time. They see a lot of different nationalities, hear a lot of different languages, see vast wealth and also poverty, great art and street art… They also, generally, have a lot of freedom from a fairly young age. Looking back, I’m surprised at how young I was when I started walking to school by myself. And I think all that exposure gives one confidence. Perhaps I’m generalizing here, but speaking for myself and some good friends (not those I described earlier), we are all pretty confident, independent, well-spoken people. I think most of us aren’t intimidated by great wealth or crowds but also don’t possess that suburban quality of constant comparison and one-upmanship. None of us would ever think to discuss our neighbor’s new car and which edition it is. Nor would we ever compare weddings or houses. There’s just a general lack of interest in that sort of thing. But, to be fair, we are all also terrible snobs and would discuss someone’s bad dye job or tacky bag![/quote]

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