Well, let's see, it's a very tech savvy and active place. I grew up in NYC, which is really an exciting place. It's a moderately wealthy area due to being on the shore, so living conditions on average are pretty good in this area. The town I live in is sub-urban, close to NYC, but is a mid-size town with lots of greenery and it's really comfortable. Everyone here is familiar with computers, and the population is pretty dense. I'd need to know where you live/what it's like a little, before I can figure out what you'd find interesting. People here are just regular people though. I can't imagine this entire region being less lazy than yours, but we're ahead of a lot of the country in a lot of things, due to location, so I can see how that might be perceived. It's extremely diverse here (I'm of African American decent myself), and pretty democratic. Obama is pretty supported in this region. Teaneck is about 25% African American, 55% Caucasian, 10% Hispanic/Latino, and 10% Asian/Other. There is a large Jewish population in this town, but we all get along for the most part. Some people would say that the orthadox jews here isolate themselves a bit, but most of us interact, and it's really pleasant. There are also an abundance of religions represented here, and it's not unusual to overhear many different languages. I really wish all of America was like this, but then I wouldn't really know. I've never been off the East Coast in my whole life. The farthest I've ever been was Florida
I do know that we are very competative. Getting an education is super important, and heavily emphasised. Most students at my high-school graduate and proceed to college. Since many kids here go to private schools, the High-School has a larger Black population on average (possibly about half). There are a couple of catholic schools nearby, and quite a few private schools for Jews, so many of the wealthier families send there kids there. Regardless, the town is relatively wealthy (the oncoming depression obviously dampering that though) and my high-school is pretty good.