Why Doesn't SF Smile? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: school, shop, bus)

[guy1]

I've come to the conclusion that SF or any big city is too big and diverse to generalize about in one sentence. Nonetheless, there are general tendencies and patterns which are more or less unmistakeable despite the diversity of each big city.

I LOVE the beautiful women, fine dining, the parks, the recreation, the stadiums, arenas, the culture and myriad other things about the city.

On the flipside, there is massive congestion, overcrowding, parking is a nightmare, lots of aggressive panhandlers, and the hills, which add charm and flavor, take a nasty toll on your car as well.

In order to benefit fully, you have to match the pace and energy of the city, and sometimes that just wears me out.

Oh, and I hope I haven't offended anybody with this post.

If I did, it was completely unintentional! Did I mention how much I love the city? lol

[NorCal Dude]

I probably would not be smiling if I had to live in ratty apartment for the price of a house note

[charbo]

I've got a few theories as to the unfriendliness aka lack of smiles:

1) It's stressful living here for many people. Working hard just to make ends meet. Not able to obtain the QOL one can get elsewhere (in terms of material possessions, that is)

2) A preponderance of ADD or introverted people. People with their guards up. Self-centered people evaluating whether you're worth getting to know...can you help them get somewhere in life?

3) Way too many non-native Americans who speak English as a second language. Social assimilation is pretty bad out here and I find most non-European foreigners sticking with their own ethnicities.

[J1ndo]

Originally Posted by guy1

Even when I see couples out, young couples, they are not smiling. This is very odd. Multitudes of attractive well-heeled twenty somethings living in one of the most exciting cities out on the town not smiling? For shame!

You wouldn't be smiling either, if you were super tired of your partner's face, but couldn't afford to break up, because he/she pays half the rent.

Seriously, though, I'm sure there's probably a direct correlation between population density and sociability towards strangers. Who the heck wants to spend all day smiling at people? If people enjoyed that, we'd all be trampling each other for the greeter job at Wal-Mart.

[itsallthesametome]

I moved to the bay area from the central valley and I too noticed that not many people in San Francisco smile, let alone be helpful, such as give directions to somewhere. People always seem to be put off when they have to give directions here. I was like, oh, I'm sorry I didn't know I needed to be an expert on the city so you could be selfish as usual. I don't really give two sh*#s if you think I'm bashing the bay area. I'm only here because of my job, which if that were in the Central Valley, dollars to donuts I would stay there. It's definitely not worth the QOL or the COL to be here. So I guess in retrospect I shouldn't expect smiles from people here who seem to be so stressed out from being house poor while at the same time trying to stay on top of the next latest thing and at the same time as that (and as the creators of South Park put it) staying absolutely smug about everything.

[ubringliten]

You guys keep on comparing small town to big city. It's ridiculous. Why don't you compare SF to LA or NYC or Washington DC?

I lived in South Beach now, and people smile all the time in my building. And I work in South San Francisco, and they smile way more than I was when I worked in La Jolla. Strange, huh?

[mercikaleb]

I noticed this about San Fran too.
So much less friendly than Los Angeles.

As far as new york city, I've met sooo many nice friendly people there.

They're just more outspoken.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by mercikaleb

I noticed this about San Fran too.
So much less friendly than Los Angeles.

And my experience with LA has been just the opposite. Funny how generalizations work, huh?

[ttocs99]

Originally Posted by Oakland City

I take it you've never been back east. I.E New York City

Funny you say that. I moved from NYC to San Francisco in 1999, and was so freaked out when complete strangers smiled at me, or some even said hello when I made eye contact (which you shouldn't do in NYC). It felt so weird, I thought my zipper was open or that I was going to get mugged, lol. I guess things have changed since 1999.

[ccm123]

Same here, I find folks in LA to be less communicative and afraid to strike up conversations with strangers.

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

And my experience with LA has been just the opposite. Funny how generalizations work, huh?