friendly people??? (Austin, San Marcos, Wimberley: transplants, renting, university)

[Dave27]

From reading a lot of posts, I read that people are very friendly in Texas, but my question is this.....are people just being nice / polite / friendly on a superficial level or are people truly friendly....actually want to get to know you, be friends, meet up, etc (more so then in New England).

[Rose Red]

I grew up in New England, lived in the state of MA to be exact for 22 almost 23 years. I find people in New England are very reserved and it takes time to break the ice with them. But once your friends, your friends forever.

When I moved to CA in the 1990's it was wierd for me to have people smiling and saying hi all the time. In CA I found the friendliness to be more superficial, forced almost.

I've lived in TX two years this Oct and I find that the native Texans that I've met are genuinely friendly. Will call you over when they are having a BBQ or bring over some extra cake. Seriously. That's been my experience.

I would pick TX over CA and MA any day.

[Jennibc]

I've lived in Southern California, New England, Seattle, Eastern Washington, and Austin, TX. I will tell you that the people in Austin are the friendliest people I've ever met. And the friendliness is an earnest, honest friendliness. But it has been seven and half years since we lived there. I would hope that seven years of growth wouldn't make that much of a difference and that people that have moved in, if from out of state, have embraced the Texas friendly culture.

[traceyr13]

I totally agree with the pp. I'm a native New Englander, living in RI and MA for 32 years before moving here 2 years ago. I anticipated that it would be a "fake friendliness"...but that has not been my experience. I have made much better friendships here in 2 years than a lifetime in New England...maybe I was meant to be a Texan?

[fitguru]

For almost every Texan I have ever known, and I grew up in the state, we are all genuine in our friendliness. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we love where we are from (great weather, great food, great attitudes) and our parents taught us that kindness and smiling goes a long way in making people happy! (I can just hear my momma say " you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar darlin") Believe it or not, that is mostly true.
P.S. I have family in New England and I have lived all over this country, except the West Coast.

[Alatex]

I'll also add that a lot of people move to a place they perceive to be "friendly, welcoming, and relaxed" precisely because that's the lifestyle they want, and they move in and become part of that culture themselves.

Some of the very nicest, most genuine people I've met in central Texas are long-time native Texans, but just as many are transplants from all over, including from New England.

[fitguru]

Couldn't agree more. Rubs off....

[CaseyRyan]

I am from Northeast Kansas and I can honestly say that I've met more "smarmy" people in the last month in Austin than I encountered in 22 years in NE Kansas...especially while driving. It feels like a death race out there on Austin streets. But really, people just seem to pass by and either glare or ignore you completely. Maybe I'm just going to all of the wrong places.

This isn't to say that everyone I've met has been a jerk, I've met SEVERAL nice people! I must say that my mother's family has lived here in Austin, San Marcos and Wimberley since the early 1970s and my mom actually got her BA from SWTSU (now TSU). I will say though, that I don't know if my observances are of Texans, or of people from a big city. the biggest city I've lived in before Austin was Lawrence, KS (pop. 80,098 plus University Students)... We'll see how I feel when I've been here for a while...I have a feeling I'll get used to it.

[stanfordgrad]

When I lived in Boston it seemed like the conversation was more on a superficial level like you described. That being said, it never felt cold and people did engage in small talk-in public places-but that's all it was and it ended there. It never felt unfriendly in the least when I lived there. I worked a few different places where the majority of the employees were my age (mid to late 20's), and it seemed really easy to make friends with the people you worked with. I'm sure it would be similar here in Austin. In my opinion, people in Austin are more inclined than Boston to strike up a conversation with you and it seems genuine. Although there are going to be people who are just talking to be polite no matter where you are.

You'd get a better sense of everything if you came to visit- it wouldn't take more than a couple of days to figure out the vibe and whether it's for you or not.

[twange]

Originally Posted by fitguru

For almost every Texan I have ever known, and I grew up in the state, we are all genuine in our friendliness. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we love where we are from (great weather, great food, great attitudes) and our parents taught us that kindness and smiling goes a long way in making people happy! (I can just hear my momma say " you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar darlin") Believe it or not, that is mostly true.

Hmm...peculiar.

My parents taught me the same things in Ohio(even though they're originally from P.A.). But of course we hated where we were from, had crappy weather(that's true), terrible food, and sh*tty attitudes. They must have learned that tip from a "Texas Parenting" book

Seriously. The folks here are nice and all but come on, there are nice people everywhere. And Texas certainly has its share of a-holes, you can be assured of that...