Regional Dating Differences

[dphies00]

Hey everyone - I was talking to friends last night about the engagement rings thread and they chalked up the different attitudes on the thread to being regional differences towards dating and relationships.

I come from Northern Jersey and my family was born and bred in Queens. I went to college in Pittsburgh and some of the attitudes towards men, marriage, and dating were some like I had never even heard before. I had a sorority sister explain to me that she had never thought that she wouldn't be married by the time she was 23. I was shocked to hear that this attitude even still exists - and then, as I spent more time in W. PA I realized that she wasn't the only woman with this belief. People there will get married even if they're just starting out, with very little money. I come home and none of my friends believe they are close to being married. We all view marriage as a 'last step' if you will. You don't get married, then figure out finances and adulthood with your partner - you come to a stable place in your career, get money for a house, a wedding, pay off loans, finish grad school, then you get engaged and get married. If you will, you figure out adulthood on your own, then marry your partner. I have friends from college that are engaged and still in school, and have a long engagement planned, then a marriage before figuring out their careers. My NJ and NY friends who are in long relationships and fully intend to get married, when you ask them if they're going to get engaged soon, they reply, we don't have enough money. We need to start saving and stablize our careers.

And dating in NYC is supposed to be brutal but I love it. Probably because I am not conscientiously looking for a mate but looking for a relationship that will get me to a point emotionally where I will be ready for a mate.

All right, what do you all think??? Crazy NY talk?