People like what they know - regional pride

Posted on: April 20, 2021 at 16:32:03 CT

I used to travel a lot for work as a utility consultant. One thing I learned is people do not like it when you bad mouth the area they grew up in. People like what they know and the know the area they grew up in. We had a large client in Jackson Mississippi. I spent a lot of time there and thought it was a place I would never want to live. The local utility employees didn't like even the mildest criticism of Jackson.

Back in the 1980s I did some consulting involving American Electric Power (one of the biggest utility holding companies in US). They relocated their headquarters from New York City to Columbus Ohio. Many of the AEP people refused to relocate. Many claimed New York was the greatest area to live and Columbus was the sticks. This was in the 1980s when people in Missouri viewed New York City as a bankrupt warzone.

Another recent example that I wasn't involved with, was the relocation of USDA offices from Washington DC to Kansas City. The majority of the professional employees apparently refused to make the move and quit their jobs. Go figure.

Edited by Knucklehead at 16:33:53 on 04/20/21