Cities with a large 'local' culture. (fit in, home, live)

[MN55]

What are the hardest cities for outsiders to make friends in/fit in at? Where have locals and their families lived for generations and have large ammounts of city-pride and aren't as open to others?

I'd have to say St. Louis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Seattle are the ones that come to mind for me, but I am curious as to what others have to say.

[noid_1985]

The city of Charlotte doesn't seem too inviting

[WestbankNOLA]

An outsider sticks out like a sore thumb in New Orleans, but I don't think we are that hard to make friends with. We'll welcome you in, but it will always be obvious that you aren't from here most of the time. It seems to be hard for a good number of New Orleanians to fit in anywhere else though.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by MN55

What are the hardest cities for outsiders to make friends in/fit in at? Where have locals and their families lived for generations and have large ammounts of city-pride and aren't as open to others?

Definitely sounds like Hawaii to me.

[atlantagreg30127]

Charleston, WV (my home town). It's actually a pretty nice town (although the economy has been somewhat dead for quite a while), and many people who visit there like it and come away saying it was more than they expected. However, many of the locals there are born and raised there, and not a ton of people relocate there from other areas. So unlike Atlanta where I am now where, "everyone is from somewhere else", the majority of people you meet in Charleston WV will be FROM there.

There are a scattering of people from other areas that go there, as well as a handful of foreigners who move there (for some reason East Indians love the place), but they do tend to get the, "you can live here but ACT LIKE US", bit from the locals. I wouldn't say the locals are "rude" to outsiders - but it's definitely a place where you DO NOT want to say, "Well, back home we do it like this....." if you don't like something, because they'll help you pack your bags to go back home if you do.

[rgb123]

I think it is hard for northerners to move south in general. STL and MPLS seem inviting by comparison, but then Im from Chicago so it is easier.

I had an opporunity to move to OKC and it scared the bejeezus out of me. Nice people there, but I figured it would be hard to find friends as everyong would already have their life the way that they like it....don't know though.

I don't get the impression STL is that hard to make new friends in, atleast not compared to some other places in the south or great plains.

But I will listen eagerly to what othes might have to say!

I would say, actually, that Wisconsin is worse than both Minnesota and STL.

[mdp_az]

All the cities along the Wasatch in Utah - Ogden, SLC, Provo, etc... If you're LDS and move there, you're fine, but if you're not LDS, you're pretty much an outsider. Exceptions to this would be Park City and some select areas of SLC which are more heavily populated by the non-LDS crowd.

[Boston14]

Hawaii