Does where you live in the USA/Canada impact lifestyle completely

[colcorazon]

Well my idea is to have a semi-latin lifestyle. I kinda like going dancing SOMETIMES and doing the latin social thing(s).

But honestlty it seems the farther north in north america you go the harder it might be.

im not sure how many guys on here want that lifestyle but i think there is generally a "north american life style" and a "latin lifestyle".

The latin lifestyle (not all inclusive but) consists of dancing, partying to latin music, maybe the beach all with a social "aura" i cant explain but if anyone has been around latin people when they party youll get it.

Regular america/canadian lifestyle is more proper (not assuming super young kids here). You work, go for coffee on weekends (like whitey mentioned). but we tend not to be too wild in general. Even tho i think from his posts Woody is adventurous...he doesnt seem wild and actually seems properish in his thinking (wants educated woman for conversation etc).

So i guess it might matter where you live in the states/canada that may affect how latin a life style you can have.


This may affect how the ladies react/feel as well some states may be better than other for comfort zone.

[fathertime]

hey colorazon...the latin lifestyle seems sorta hippy'ish to me as long as the 'peace and love' part is discarded...that would have been great for me 20 or more years ago...but now it just wouldn't fly...knowing what i know now, if i were 20 again i'd probably join in 4-square.

whitey seems very well-mannered... which sounds like it works for him and his lady...

i think age has a lot to do with this lifestyle aura you are describing...i've found that as i continue to age, my socialization has changed as well...maybe for latins in colombia it also happens or maybe in a different way, it is an interesting subject.
Fathertime!

[Woody]

Even tho i think from his posts Woody is adventurous...he doesnt seem wild and actually seems properish in his thinking (wants educated woman for conversation etc).

You are correct. Wild is not a term I would use to describe myself. I fall more in the category of explorer/adventurer. My idea of a great weekend involves adrenaline and good discourse. I go for months without touching alcohol.

You can find latin culture all over the US, but most heavily in the coastal and souther border regions. Go some place like Missouri and you have a bit more difficulty.

From what I have heard, you could always more to Hialeah and not know you were even living in the states!

[Researcher]

   Hey Col, I never realized how many latin people were in this little Podunk town I live in until my wife came here. There is one thing about Hispanics, they tend to find each other. If you bring a Latina here and she takes English classes she will meet latin people.My wife met three Colombian couples, a Brazilian couple, and several Mexican couples.They all get together and have cookouts, birthday parties, etc....So if that's the kind of lifestyle you want I don't think you will have much choice unless you just don't socialize.I don't know about what you said about the northern US. The bigger cities have alot of Hispanics.


      Researcher

[utopiacowboy]

It's like my wife says after she comes back from a gringo party, "That wasn't a party, that was a meeting." No music and no dancing.

[CeeTeeEnn]

I feel I must add my tu'penneth.

Yes, I guess there is a difference between the archetypal Latino and North American lifestyle, though not being North American i can't really comment. There certainly IS a difference between the archetypal Latin lifestyle (partying, dancing, going to the beaches etc. etc.) and the typical Brit or North European lifestyle. But i feel i must remind readers that not ALL latinos subscribe to the lifestyles caricatured thus far. I have been lucky enough to meet Latinas with next to no interest in dancing to tropical music, or excessive partying, or the beach life etc. and have had very few problems adjusting to colder climates, learning English and/or other languages, appreciating Western music and culture, and generally fitting into gringo life as happily and best they can. True, they may not be the types of girls you would normally meet on a weekend vacation in BQ, but they do exist and deserve to be counted.

If therefore you happen not to live in Florida or SoCal and worry about bring over a Latina who won't be happy (todo aqui es tan frioooo!!! buuu!) don't despair. Just bear in mind that certain Latinas are interested in moving to the colder and less hispanicised parts North America, including Canada, and doing so for all the right reasons without any wish to "latinise" you or socialising only with their own kind. Such Latinas no doubt constitute a minority, and you will probably have more chances of meeting them at colleges and gringo cultural events than in Salsotecas. They may even be considered the Latin equivalent of "coconuts", or "wannabee gringas" by some. But then ask yourselves honestly - who would make you a better long term partner, a woman like this, or a hard-core latina whose only reason for moving north is because you happen to live there and (regrettably) she seems unable to meet an eligible guy back home?

[utopiacowboy]

I know a woman from Medellin who lives in Montreal. She envies my wife big time but it's where her family is so that's where the heart is.

[whitey]

whitey seems very well-mannered... which sounds like it works for him and his lady...

Hahaha ... well, you know us Canadians ... polite and boring ... 

In my city, London Ontario, we have a significant Colombian and latin population which is unusual for Canada.  In the summer, there are several latin oriented festivals in the local parks, one of them celebrating Colombian Independence Day.  There are at least 3 clubs I know of in town that have salsa nights.

And like Researcher says, even in a place that doesn't have many latinos (or any ethnic group for that matter), they somehow find a way to meet each other and form friendships.

So, you can have the best of both worlds ...

I just wish we could bring some of that Colombian weather up here!

[CalifSur]

Interesting topic. I have dated a wide variety of Latinas ranging from very Americanized U.S. born Latinas to "Fresh Off the Boat" (FOB) types from a variety of countries, though NEVER a Colombiana.

A number of years ago I dated a Brazilian girl who was born in Brazil but raised in the U.S.  She was very Americanized but ALSO very proud of her Brazilian background/heritage. Not any different than an Irish-American in Boston, I guess.

On the other hand, the F.O.B. types, in my experience, can run the gamut from very assimilated (learned the language quickly, etc) to those that live within the immigrant subculture and are not as fast to pick up the language.  Of course, I am speaking from the experience of a large metro area (L.A.) that is approx. 50% Latino.

That said, I have ZERO experience bringing a wife/novia home to the U.S. from another country. It seems to me in that situation you are BOTH signing up for a learning experience and should BOTH embrace one another's culture/heritage. Of course, if she is coming to live in the U.S. she should learn English. That is the only way to advance in this country. But I LIKE speaking Spanish and would embrace the notion of having bilingual kids.  

That seems like a fringe benefit to marrying one of these ladies. You've got a Spanish tutor living with you to help any kids you have together learn. If you are really lucky, you'll have a kid proficient in two languages by the time he/she hits high school. At the point, I'd tell my kid to enroll in a THIRD language.

[utopiacowboy]

Hahaha ... well, you know us Canadians ... polite and boring ... 

In my city, London Ontario, we have a significant Colombian and latin population which is unusual for Canada.  In the summer, there are several latin oriented festivals in the local parks, one of them celebrating Colombian Independence Day.  There are at least 3 clubs I know of in town that have salsa nights.

And like Researcher says, even in a place that doesn't have many latinos (or any ethnic group for that matter), they somehow find a way to meet each other and form friendships.

So, you can have the best of both worlds ...

I just wish we could bring some of that Colombian weather up here!

And to think when I knew it way back when, it was a staid conservative insurance town.

[flash]

Hmmm......Interesting topic. I don't party much at all, but i consider myself fun. I wonder if my lifestyle will be an impediment to having a relationship with a Latina?

[whitey]

And to think when I knew it way back when, it was a staid conservative insurance town.

It still is ... the only bit of colour are the latinos!

[utopiacowboy]

It still is ... the only bit of colour are the latinos!

And here you are adding to it!

My uncle was a civil engineer for the Canadian government and lived in London, Ontario for quite a while. I always liked it.

[CalifSur]

It still is ... the only bit of colour are the latinos!

Whitey: And your gal with her beautiful smile and radiant cafe skin is going to up the ante in your town quite a bit more!

[piglett]

It's like my wife says after she comes back from a gringo party, "That wasn't a party, that was a meeting." No music and no dancing.

the gringos don't play music & dance with the ladies
& i thought i was the only one that couldn't dance.
it's not really my fault though.......my red boots get in the way

[Dave H]

From what I have heard, you could always more to Hialeah and not know you were even living in the states!

Now you know where I am coming from...literally!  I'm an ol' Hialeah boy...from the land of chongas! I know what you're thinking...no, I wasn't a member of the "salsa club" in high school.   According to the 2000 Census (low figures now) Hialeah was 90.3% Hispanic, 72.1% foreign born, and 92.6% speak Spanish at home (I've got news for them..that's in public as well).

I can still remember years and years ago when airboats, swamp and cypress buggies were found on every block in Hialeah. The oldtimers and rednecks there who used to call Miami, "Mi-ama," were replaced by the juajiros who call it "Me-amee." The pickup trucks are still there, but totally pimped out. The aluminum john boats were replaced by the huge "go-fast" boats that take up most of the yard. The "fisherman" switched from bass fishing in the Everglades to "square grouper" in the Atlantic and spend their off time literally flying close to shore along the beach, trying to impress the "schicks."

Dave H (Hialeah)

This video, while funny, is very accurate! If you look hard, you may even see me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knvUE5OOqYY

"I Made It To The Ju-S-A"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDr7riJc6ig&feature=related