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In Oklahoma, we are extremely friendly and outgoing. It is normal for strangers to talk, such as while waiting in line. Men open doors for women and the elderly. We stop to help at car wrecks, things like that.
Visitors are astounded at how friendly we are. They don't understand it.
I think it goes back to our extreme and unpredictable weather, because people do have to help one another out.
I recently moved to North Carolina from southern Virginia. It was a country side town where I lived & people were so friendly. You hardly came across someone who didn't smile at you or said hello. Since North Carolina is south of Virginia, I expected people here to be more friendly but I was very disappointed. They rarely make eye contact or say hello. Even the people you run into on a daily basis are unfriendly, cold & distant. I still managed to make a few friends though but it took a lot of effort. I discussed this with some other people who migrated here from other states & they told me they felt people here were less friendly as well, so its not just me. This is a mid-size town & not too busy. I heard there a lot of people here who moved from the north & perhaps that's why they are cold & distant. Even in close spaces like the elevator people never make eye contact. I have traveled to towns that are an hour away from here & I see a huge shift in attitudes. These are smaller towns where people are very friendly & affectionate. So I guess it depends a lot on the size of the town rather than the state. If its a small town, then people are friendly. That's what I understood from my experience.
I live in NH so I travel all over New England, sometimes via train.
New Englanders in general (not all of course) are not very friendly. Everyone keeps to themselves absorbed in their own world.
Now in Colorado, it was different, people seemed more friendlier, approachable; same for Florida and certain parts of Cali.
Washington state, same as new England.
What is your experience with your locals?
I find WA to be very friendly. I live in UT now and whenever I go home I am on cloud nine because people are much nicer and not fake/awkward like the majority seems to be in Utah. I find the WA to northeast comparison to be ridiculous, but I am quite biased .
fwiw eastern WA and Seattle metro are basically different states. WA is known as a "blue state" if there is such a thing, but look at eastern WA and the education level is cut in half and it becomes a red state. It's funny how everyone assumes I'm left wing because I'm from WA, but the area I grew up in is heavily conservative and is at least a 3 hour drive from the edge of the nearest left-leaning district in any state.
Politics don't dictate friendliness, but that's just to paint a picture of how different Seattle is from the rest of WA and the NW in general.
I've loved Colorado when I've been there, which isn't surprising as people from CO brag more about their state than anyone with CA being a close second. They back it up, Colorado is awesome.
I've visited family in IL several times and people seem nice there. This includes central IL up to Chicago.
Everywhere else I've been didn't come off as friendly or not friendly, just average.
I recently moved to North Carolina from southern Virginia. It was a country side town where I lived & people were so friendly. You hardly came across someone who didn't smile at you or said hello. Since North Carolina is south of Virginia, I expected people here to be more friendly but I was very disappointed. They rarely make eye contact or say hello. Even the people you run into on a daily basis are unfriendly, cold & distant.
I've heard that the region that encloses the big colleges: Duke, UNC, State..... is very snooty. The folks there view themselves as the South's Ivy League, but the rest of the state is down-to-earth.
Dating was the same thing in the new England area. Granted I lived closer to Boston and many of the women were with their own 'clicks' and very much thought very highly of themselves (in a snobby way).
Not much mingling at bars, restaurants, again where most of them (even guys) were all about themselves and their group.
I remember living in Colorado and first time in a nice restaurant/bar in Colorado Springs and boom the amount of people who talked to me in a genuine way, even the girls.
I guess it depends on the person as a whole but it was easier to approach a girl with her group in Colorado then up here. However I do love my New England.
In Oklahoma, we are extremely friendly and outgoing. It is normal for strangers to talk, such as while waiting in line. Men open doors for women and the elderly. We stop to help at car wrecks, things like that.
Visitors are astounded at how friendly we are. They don't understand it.
I think it goes back to our extreme and unpredictable weather, because people do have to help one another out.
I remember being at Tinker AFB in OK and you're right the locals were very friendly.
I recently moved to North Carolina from southern Virginia. It was a country side town where I lived & people were so friendly. You hardly came across someone who didn't smile at you or said hello. Since North Carolina is south of Virginia, I expected people here to be more friendly but I was very disappointed. They rarely make eye contact or say hello. Even the people you run into on a daily basis are unfriendly, cold & distant. I still managed to make a few friends though but it took a lot of effort. I discussed this with some other people who migrated here from other states & they told me they felt people here were less friendly as well, so its not just me. This is a mid-size town & not too busy. I heard there a lot of people here who moved from the north & perhaps that's why they are cold & distant. Even in close spaces like the elevator people never make eye contact. I have traveled to towns that are an hour away from here & I see a huge shift in attitudes. These are smaller towns where people are very friendly & affectionate. So I guess it depends a lot on the size of the town rather than the state. If its a small town, then people are friendly. That's what I understood from my experience.
I agree that the level of 'friendliness' might depend on city vs rural. I've lived in the central plains states, the pacific northwest, and Georgia. If I compare all of the larger towns/cities I've lived in, Savanna Georgia & Wichita Kansas would probably get the nod for the most friendly, while Eugene Or., Lawton Ok., Oklahoma City & Tulsa Ok. not so much. I currently live in a small town in Kansas (8,000 pop.) and everyone here is quite friendly and helpful when you need it. Overall and generally speaking I think people in larger cities tend to be less outgoing and keep to themselves more than in smaller towns. Perhaps certain regions of the country are more prone to this than others.
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