moved from Dallas to Scottsdale

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

You are quite right. Especially in Scottsdale. Getting to know your neighbors outside of the South is a little different in much of the country. I've lived in the South including Texas, unfortunately , and know what you mean by having neighbors knock on the door and "welcoming" you to the neighborhood and such. It is just a different approach in other regions and here in Arizona the approach is much less "forced."

Having parents who were born and raised in Arizona, they were always suspicious of random people knocking on the door bearing gifts and welcoming us to the neighborhood. As time went on we discovered my parents' suspicions were for good reason quite often and whenever we'd move to a new military base in the south we'd avoid the neighbors if we lived outside of the military installation if they would come aknocking. Unfortunately, even though many of these people were probably trying to be nice and genuine, we had too many weird, crazy, and uncomfortable run-ins with the knockers (especially the nosey and gossipy ones who wanted to see what you owned to compare and compete). To meet people in Arizona you have to get out, walk your dog, go to bars/restaurants in your area, social events, neighborhood festivities, etc. and introduce yourself. Find people with similar interests and that is the way it is done in most of the country. Most people outside of the south find it less intrusive. KNOCK, KNOCK!! Welcome to the area! Get out explore and don't shy away from things in your community.

When I first moved into my house, our next door neighbors welcomed us to the neighborhood and will help put my trash can out if I'm on call for 2-3 days at the hospital. But you are right, they are not intrusive and respect my privacy. If I see them I'll wave but we don't invite each other over to barbeque. Also, this only included one of my neighbors, I don't even know who my other neighbors are. In the south it was much different. Neighbors hang out and they want to get to know you on a personal level.

I feel like the people in Arizona are friendly but not annoying. They are friendly to a point but they are not nosy and don't get into your business like they did in the South. I've never been asked what church I attend. I'm not asked "What's your nationality" as I was so often asked in Dallas. People are pretty laid back here but I suppose that laid back nature can be interpreted as apathy. I'm certainly that way. I'm polite but I have no desire to get to know my neighbors on a personal level. If that makes me rude so be it.

Just like you said, i met people as well and they were friendly but it was usually at social events, bars, restaurants etc. In my experience, it's much easier to meet people here than in any other part of the country because most people seemingly moved here at some point and knows what it is like to be the new person. In Dallas, it was tough to penetrate social circles because everyone seemed to attend high school in Dallas or they all went to college in Texas. If they didn't know each other directly, they knew someone who was in someone's frat at one of those colleges. Being a Cal grad, I couldn't relate to any of them. In Phoenix, I had no problem meeting people because so many people went to Cal, USC or UCLA and it was just easier to meet people because our population is so much more geographically diverse with people moving here all over the country. I still laugh at the idea that a person who went to high school here is often given a double take because it's always suprising since most people seemingly moved here from some place else.