I don’t know if it’s property so much as just being around and having to live around so many different people. Like, if I take the bus, I’ll probably pass a hundred different folks to and from work, and only two are going to annoy me.

But, it’s a lot easier to be insular if I live in a small town with 300 people, and can easily assume all my problems are someone else’s fault. I’ll see three new people a week when the tourists stop at the gas station.

The cities are liberal, but there’s a lot of rural communities that have never had to deal with people before.

The northeast is known for being kind but not nice. Four New Yorkers will carry your luggage down the subway stairs and never look at you once. The south is known for being nice, but not kind. That’s where the poisoned sweet tea comes from. The west is known for neither, if you have car trouble, the best you can hope for in Portland is being ignored. The Midwest is known for being both nice and kind, where neighbors will shovel you out and wish you a nice day before going on to the next car.