Austin vibe vs. Seattle vibe - compare, contrast (Houston, Dallas: transplants, movers)

[Jennibc]

Ok, so on another thread someone asked me why I thought some people that lived in Seattle and moved to Austin didn't like Seattle so much. I don't have time to enumerate everything, but the primary difference is the people. People in Austin are just more down to earth, welcoming and friendly. Now there are exceptions to that generalization. I mean, afterall, I live in Seattle right now and I am all of the above Seriously though, we have many friends here, but the overall feel of the local personality is that Seattle is "cooperative and process oriented. That translates into don't make waves, don't challenge the prevailing orthodoxy, and WHATEVER you do, don't point out areas for improvement. By improvement, I don't mean improving the city, I mean improving processes at work, things in the school district, how our organization can bring in more money etc.

If you are gregarious and dynamic, forget it, people treat you like you are pathological.

As an example, in Austin, you go to the County line and sit out on the patio and sit there shooting the sh*t with someone you have never met before, may never meet again, enjoying the sunshine and your reasonably priced margarita. You are living in the moment. Here, don't even look at someone you've not been introduced to. They will feel really threatened. And even if you have been introduced, you won't make it past initial pleasantries (unless of course you dealing with other recent transplants). And keep your head down here, don't stand out, and for heaven's sake don't be a little unusual.

When I was down in Austin a few weeks back running around town with a realtor, she used a term that I have NEVER heard used in this city, "Movers and Shakers." Now, that is a pretty common term and when I lived in other parts of the country I heard it used to describe people often. It occurred to me that the reason I have never heard it used in Seattle is because it has a positive connotation. In Seattle, people don't move and they don't shake (BTW, Bill Gates and Paul Allan started Microsoft in ARIZONA and then moved it up to Redmond later) Instead I constantly hear about "not wanting to step on people's toes" Frankly, if your feet are in the way, move 'em!

[Topaz]

You'll find a TON of people discussing these same topics in the Seattle Freeze thread and in a previous thread comparing Austin and Seattle. Both topics created an enormous amount of energy and went on and on and on...

See Seattle Freeze

and Texas vs. Seattle

I've lived in both cities and I think your observations are accurate, except a lot of people would say "cooperative and process oriented" puts too positive a spin on the passive aggressiveness prevalent in Seattle.

And yes, if you are "gregarious and dynamic" in Seattle, they think you are WAY out there interpersonally. Even if you are mildly conversational, you look like a raging extravert there.

[AustinGuy]

I don't know about the downsides of living in Seattle, but as an Austinite, I found Seattle to be a fantastic place to visit.

It is a beautiful city (much more so than Austin), with a great downtown and surrounding neighborhoods that are very walkable. I can see how the rain and cloudiness could get old if you lived there.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

I don't know about the downsides of living in Seattle, but as an Austinite, I found Seattle to be a fantastic place to visit.

It is a beautiful city (much more so than Austin), with a great downtown and surrounding neighborhoods that are very walkable. I can see how the rain and cloudiness could get old if you lived there.

Totally agreed! But living here is another story altogether. I suppose I should keep my mouth shut because we will be trying to sell our house one of those very walkable neighborhoods pretty soon.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

Totally agreed! But living here is another story altogether. I suppose I should keep my mouth shut because we will be trying to sell our house one of those very walkable neighborhoods pretty soon.

Austin isn't that scenic, though a nice hill just north of 6th, around san jacinto st.......fun to bike down, whn it isn't barricaded on week-ends.....
actually ugly, unless you compare it with Houston......wow, they have trees...as if that was a novel thing! LOL!

[texdav]

I thnik teh climate and culture are completely different fronm my being in both places. The climate is mostly dry and warm in austin. Seattle is colder and wet. That just make activities and lifestyle completely different.Ten the is the different influence as to cultures that settled in both areas.Many places in california and arizona are much closer to austin.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

Ok, so on another thread someone asked me why I thought some people that lived in Seattle and moved to Austin didn't like Seattle so much. I don't have time to enumerate everything, but the primary difference is the people. People in Austin are just more down to earth, welcoming and friendly. Now there are exceptions to that generalization. I mean, afterall, I live in Seattle right now and I am all of the above Seriously though, we have many friends here, but the overall feel of the local personality is that Seattle is "cooperative and process oriented. That translates into don't make waves, don't challenge the prevailing orthodoxy, and WHATEVER you do, don't point out areas for improvement. By improvement, I don't mean improving the city, I mean improving processes at work, things in the school district, how our organization can bring in more money etc.

If you are gregarious and dynamic, forget it, people treat you like you are pathological.

As an example, in Austin, you go to the County line and sit out on the patio and sit there shooting the sh*t with someone you have never met before, may never meet again, enjoying the sunshine and your reasonably priced margarita. You are living in the moment. Here, don't even look at someone you've not been introduced to. They will feel really threatened. And even if you have been introduced, you won't make it past initial pleasantries (unless of course you dealing with other recent transplants). And keep your head down here, don't stand out, and for heaven's sake don't be a little unusual.

When I was down in Austin a few weeks back running around town with a realtor, she used a term that I have NEVER heard used in this city, "Movers and Shakers." Now, that is a pretty common term and when I lived in other parts of the country I heard it used to describe people often. It occurred to me that the reason I have never heard it used in Seattle is because it has a positive connotation. In Seattle, people don't move and they don't shake (BTW, Bill Gates and Paul Allan started Microsoft in ARIZONA and then moved it up to Redmond later) Instead I constantly hear about "not wanting to step on people's toes" Frankly, if your feet are in the way, move 'em!

Seattle was to a large extent by Scandinavians and other people of northern European origin, that would explain a lot of the difference in culture, etc.

Combine the Scandinavian influence with the Asian influence, (both very reserved), and you get a more reserved population.

If you have ever been to Scandinavia or Asia you would be able to see the similarities in culture.

I worked on a temporary assignment in Austin long enough to know that it is not a place where I would want to live, I enjoyed the time I spent there...it was just not my kind of city, and that is echoed by several people I know here in Seattle that moved to Austin and found it was not to their liking. So,it works both ways.

Oh, and BTW, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in New Mexico, not Arizona...

[Mckellyb]

To address the 'gregariousness' of Austin, and most of Texas in general, I'm a naitive Dallasite, and when I was in Portland, OR, a few years back, my boss had the nerve to tell me I was "too friendly".

?!?!?!?

It wasn't like I was inviting tech support customers over for drinks while solving their problem, or anything like this.

I didn't stay with that company much longer, and it wasn't like I was new there. This came after about 3.5 years, and I'd not changed. Part of me thinks he was more than a little miffed he had to return to the company after he'd been let go a couple of years, beforehand, 'cause he couldn't find a replacement job.

I've found the whole Pac NW to be quite passive-aggressive, and if you point out someone is doing something which is either stupid or the like, they'll go off. Like stopping on a red light (!) to let people turn left in front of them, from the opposite direction.

I kid you not. I thought this was a one-off thing the first time, but the third time, I positively laid on the four-horn 'you're an idiot' announcement system in the '85 Fleetwood Brougham I had at the time. I received much arm waving...it made me chuckle, honestly.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by seattlerain

Oh, and BTW, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in New Mexico, not Arizona...

My point is the same, Microsoft started in Southwest and not PNW. The reason I bring that up is because people in other parts of the country always think Seattle is this incredible entrepreneurial place ala Microsoft. They also cite Starbucks. (whose original founders used to be involved with Peets in San Francisco) Despite Seattle's most current visible "homegrown" brands (Boeing did move Chicago seven or eight years ago), this city is remarkably non entrepreneurial.

And the people here are REALLY uptight. See the Seattle City-Data page, where if a person wants to makes any observation about how cold the people in Seattle are, they have several people chastise them about how they are supposed to be posting in the "Seattle Freeze" thread and NOWHERE else about the topic. It is unreal. In fact, when one poor guy lamented that he thought the Freeze was real, Seattle Rain wrote his posting was inappropriate and that he was going to ask the moderator to close the thread - Ooooh, I don't like what other people are writing so I am going to ask the moderator to close the thread! I could NOT believe it. It confirmed once again that our decision to leave this "paradise" is definitely the right one for us

[xsloane]

I love Seattle, don't get me wrong. The scenery is one of the most beautiful I have seen anywhere in the world. But we love our TX now. It is beautiful here in its own way. I love the sun, although I hate the heat sometimes. But as far as people go... I don't know, I remember this is what I thought and expressed to my husband once "I think that people in Seattle are fake. They think that being a liberal is shopping at Whole Foods and dressing in REI... Oh! Yes, they are very tolerant, just don't bring anything too different to town. They just like to say they are tolerant" But then again, I met wonderful people, who I love dearly in Seattle and I still miss them.