can be interesting.
I've run into a few of them that adapted very easily and I have run into some that try to make everyone else conform to what they left behind. One of them actually became a trapper in Alaska and did well at it, living in the bush. I remember when he came to Kodiak. He was a quiet sort and started off groveling in the canneries and also went fishing briefly. I paid little attention to him and later heard he actually went trapping on Afognak Island. I only saw him occasionally when he and his partner came into town for supplies. Once or twice I had a drink with him and he said "I'm from New York City and I ain't never going back there. I love it here!"
But for every one of him, there were several loudmouths that I have come across that had the attitude "I'm from New York City and you can't tell me $hit!" These guys generally got eaten alive.
It didn't take long for them to realize they were completely in over their head and many of them left shortly thereafter. Most of them had a damned hard time realizing two things. One is that their NYC street skills were not in demand here and the second is that people and life is different in other places. They were the odd man out. They are also surprised to find out that the entire world does not revolve around New York City.
Another thing is that a lot of them never realized where their very food comes from. I suppose a lot of them have some vague idea of the existence of farms and ranches. It would not surprise me to find out that some New Yorkers think that meat is made in the back room of supermarkets out of petrochemicals.
It was funny when I went through basic training with a number of them at Fort Dix. There were these two NYC Puerto Ricans that had a hard go during basic because they just didn't seem to get it. It surprised me because they had enlisted for the same MOS I had, Artillery Surveyor. You had to be reasonably bright to get that MOS in your contract.
Anyway, near the end of basic they got their orders to Ft. Sill for MOS school and balked. They were not going to Oklahoma because their contract had specified Hawaii (or some damned place). Both of them sounded terrified about going to Oklahoma. God only knows what the recruiter promised them.
They couldn't seem to realize that they were not going straight to Hawaii after basic and the two of them refused to budge. They were not on the plane to Lawton with me and I didn't see them at Ft Sill. I have no idea what happened to them but it was sure odd. I seriously doubt they got an entry level separation because in those days they needed warm bodies. It's entirely possible they got sent to wherever it was they contracted for as 'duty soldiers' and spent their hitch doing dirty jobs. Who knows?
Actually the big problem a lot of New Yorkers seem to have is their entire world is the city and think the whole country is like that. It's kind of like being a country bumpkin only in reverse.
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