Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do people in states like Nevada, Utah, Montana, New Mexico etc have a lot of the same general personality characteristics associated with people on the coast itself? Things like being chill and laid back, shallow/flaky behavior, passive aggressiveness, being green and into smoking pot, being non-confrontational and shy, etc?
There's plenty of people who aren't like what you describe in Oregon, Washington, and California. That being said, Arizona and Nevada have had Californians moving there in droves since the 70's. The drive back to SoCal is 5 hours, the travel and movement between is constant, the empty desert between them actually serves to bring them together since there is no other metros close, so cultural difference is nil. The political difference people perceive nationally occurred as a result of Californians seeking lower taxes, COL, and state regulation which cemented conservatism in Southern Nevadan and Arizonan politics. Put another way, an influx of Californians turned AZ more red.
The same migration occurs from NorCal to the NW but that's from blue to blue.
The type of person you're describing is present in the Mountain West just as much as the California conservative Ronald Reagan mentality which California has exported to the rest of the West.
Do people in states like Nevada, Utah, Montana, New Mexico etc have a lot of the same general personality characteristics associated with people on the coast itself? Things like being chill and laid back, shallow/flaky behavior, passive aggressiveness, being green and into smoking pot, being non-confrontational and shy, etc?
As a whole, I think yes. People who live on the coast tend to be more snobby though, from what I've met. Just more pretentious. This is extremely prominent in LA, but even shows in SD, just not as much.
I wouldn't say the inland West or the coast is shy. Maybe Seattle/Portland, but that's it. People from Arizona are pretty outgoing, so are people from SoCal, Utah, Colorado, etc. There are introverts everywhere out here, but not enough to give us a stereotype like Seattle. Non-confrontational, I'd be willing to agree with.
The green thing is another issue. It's more extreme on the coast. The conservative West just does not care as much across the board.
I'm not sure how to answer this question for the simple fact that I don't see the West Coast itself as the cultural monolith that some people see it as.
If anything, I do see people in the Western U.S. as being generally very similar in temperament, but there are different degrees of what I might have to call "prudishness" from region to region or city to city, especially with the urban vs rural factor. And then there's Texas, of course...
On one of my California visits, I drove from LA to San Francisco to Reno to Yosemite National Park and back to LA.
What was striking to me was how much more conservative the people were in the inland parts of California compared to the people on the coast. And it was close to 100% white people in many of those remote places. You'd never think you were in one of the most diverse states in the country. It was a STARK difference.
On the other hand, whenever I go to Vegas, I find it to be really diverse and chill just like LA. It feels as though people there would almost prefer there to be an ocean beach nearby. I also stayed in Flagstaff, Arizona for a week and people there were chill and laid-back as well.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,744 posts, read 23,801,634 times
Reputation: 14650
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
I also stayed in Flagstaff, Arizona for a week and people there were chill and laid-back as well.
There are a collection of eclectic towns in the Mountain West like...
Flagstaff, AZ
Tucson, AZ
Santa Fe, NM
Telluride, CO
Boulder, CO
Park City, UT
Missoula, MT
..that do give off some of the West Coast characteristics and vibes in variable degrees as they are liberal, laid back, and tend to be on the more expensive side. I do think the OP could have been better worded as I don't find the West Coast as shallow as the OP conveys.
There are also pockets to the far right and socially conservative like, Gilbert, AZ, Colorado Springs, and Provo, UT just to name a few on that end. And then there sort of an Orange County type conservative mindset in places like Scottsdale, AZ.
There are larger cities that have liberal cores and conservative suburbs like Denver and Salt Lake City, though Denver leans way more liberal overall. Denver and Seattle have some similarities in having an REI type yuppie culture along with being pot friendly.
However overall I'd say there is a lot of moderation in the Mountain West as well that's very live and let live and leans from libertarian to center left and I really like it. They don't make as much hyper liberal noise in the interior West as say Seattle or SF and also there is definitely not as much socially conservative propaganda as the Evangelical thick areas of the Bible Belt and the South. It's a nice balance. This is my perception based on living in New Mexico for 2 years and having travelled all over the mountain states. It's a bit different in the Northern Rockies (ID/WY/MT) where it's more of the self sufficient and a bit more introverted mindset.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 05-11-2014 at 04:05 PM..
Do people in states like Nevada, Utah, Montana, New Mexico etc have a lot of the same general personality characteristics associated with people on the coast itself? Things like being chill and laid back, shallow/flaky behavior, passive aggressiveness, being green and into smoking pot, being non-confrontational and shy, etc?
those are ridiculous stereotypes. Californians do not have stereotypes of being non-confrontational and shy, and Seattle people are not considered shallow or flakey.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
