Social status in Seattle (friendly, company, place)

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by toughguy

You can find whatever you are looking for on an anonymous message board. It's called confirmation bias, look it up Humans are such predicable, simple creatures.

Your smugness is very off-putting.

[vandygirl]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

And West African culture is as different from East African/African American culture, so same difference.

You keep saying "East African/African American culture." Why do you continue to equate East African culture with African American culture? The vast majority of African Americans are descended from West Africans and have a culture that is more similar to West African cultures. For example, the music has similar rhythms, they shared similar speech patterns with native West African languages (i.e. "Ebonics" and Nigerian Igbo have the same sentence structure), they cook some of the same types of dishes (West African fried chicken and African American fried chicken, West African baked yams and African American candied yams), etc. African American slave women even covered their heads in the same types of wraps as West African women during the time of slavery. African Americans have about as much in common with East Africans as they have in common culturally with Middle Easterners. In other words, they don't have much in common culturally with East Africans.

To put it into perspective, saying "East African/African American culture" is like saying Siberian/Italian culture.

[davemess10]

To stop this lovefest (although it has been a humorous way to spend the last 20 mins.), and actually talk about something substantive:

Earlier there was a lot of debate over being close to neighbors, neighborliness, and knowing neighbors. Do people think this has to do with where you live, as in rental versus owner properties. I think this a big factor that people don't usually consider. I know most of the places I have rented from were in areas where most of the other homes were rentals. I think this kind of environment usually breeds less enthusiastic neighborliness, as most just assume their neighbors will turn over in a years time, so what's the point of getting close to them.

Homeowners, are you less likely to engage a neighbor who you know is renting?

Thoughts?

(and if I need to throw out cred. I lived in Wallingford and Phinney Ridge from '03-'05)

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by davemess10

To stop this lovefest (although it has been a humorous way to spend the last 20 mins.), and actually talk about something substantive:

Earlier there was a lot of debate over being close to neighbors, neighborliness, and knowing neighbors. Do people think this has to do with where you live, as in rental versus owner properties. I think this a big factor that people don't usually consider. I know most of the places I have rented from were in areas where most of the other homes were rentals. I think this kind of environment usually breeds less enthusiastic neighborliness, as most just assume their neighbors will turn over in a years time, so what's the point of getting close to them.

Homeowners, are you less likely to engage a neighbor who you know is renting?

Thoughts?

(and if I need to throw out cred. I lived in Wallingford and Phinney Ridge from '03-'05)

When we lived in Wedgwood, just about everyone on the block owned their home, we had a fairly cohesive group of neighbors. There were some that never bothered to come to the annual block party and kept to themselves but I'd say about 70% were friendly and we had a few that we were genuinely close to. But we lived there for eight years and some of our neighbors were the original owners from the 1940s.

We had friends that lived just eight blocks north of us - mostly homeowners and her experience was nothing like ours. There were people on her block that had lived their over 20 years but haven't bothered to get to know their neighbors.

I've stayed in touch with some of our old neighbors, and they told me that the couple we sold our house to is very "cold."

So the homeownhership aspect may have something to do with it, but I would say that the older neighbors we had in Wedgwood - the seventy, eighty, and even NINETY years olds were absolutely delightful, but some of the younger people moving in, not so much. Maybe it has to do with age. A particular generation coming of age that doesn't see the value of neighborliness. I don't know.

[Seaswan]

Originally Posted by apocalypse0915

Don't know if the thread title is appropriate, but whatever...

I'm so sick of the avaricious and shallow nature of people over here, especially within the black community, which is why I'm leaving this place in two weeks. I'm Nigerian-American, but it just seems like the aforementioned issues are rife in Atlanta.

Case in point...my bro (we're very close) bought some new wheels for his Range Rover yesterday. Yes, he may be able to afford it, but I didn't think he needed it and felt there were more prudent things he could spend his money on. He typically seeks attention and enjoys the stares, but me, I try my best to avoid it...I dunno, maybe it's the whole "keeping up with the Joneses." I'm looking for something more in life than this

I'm just tired of it. Does Seattle suffer from the same issues- whether it be in the black community or Seattle in general? Or am I in the minority when it comes to this and just have to learn to adapt?

OMG I am so glad somebody brought this up. I lived in Huntsville AL for about two years before and they have the same attitude there and it made me so SICK and leave. I totally understand what you said. There are two things about the south: 1. Racial problem (hidden-discrimination, hidden segregation) 2. Worship of money (it's like if you have money, all the women would automatically be interested in you). As someone with an international background and higher education, I refused to "fit in" over there. Please don't "learn to adapt", this is something bad that you DON'T need to learn. Keep your virtue and you will be glad you did one day.

I have been visiting/living in Seattle on and off for about two years as well, not long enough to offer you expert advice. But I would definitely say Seattle doesn't have those two issues. It's very diverse here, you can find neighborhood here where black and white live in the same area. People here are well educated and they make money by their brain, I haven't felt that gold-digging attitude here yet.

Hope it helps and good luck to you!

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by vandygirl

You keep saying "East African/African American culture." Why do you continue to equate East African culture with African American culture? The vast majority of African Americans are descended from West Africans and have a culture that is more similar to West African cultures. For example, the music has similar rhythms, they shared similar speech patterns with native West African languages (i.e. "Ebonics" and Nigerian Igbo have the same sentence structure), they cook some of the same types of dishes (West African fried chicken and African American fried chicken, West African baked yams and African American candied yams), etc. African American slave women even covered their heads in the same types of wraps as West African women during the time of slavery. African Americans have about as much in common with East Africans as they have in common culturally with Middle Easterners. In other words, they don't have much in common culturally with East Africans.

To put it into perspective, saying "East African/African American culture" is like saying Siberian/Italian culture.

Actually, I said it that one time.

None of what you just said has anything to do with anything, so I'm not even going to acknowledge it, other than to show you a picture of what a Siberian looks like:

Hint: they're Asian, and on the Asian continent, not Europe. Maybe "Italian/Polish" would be a better analogy.

[AlohaHuey]

My neighbor is from Siberia and she's young and blonde. Nothing like these people.

[vandygirl]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

My neighbor is from Siberia and she's young and blonde. Nothing like these people.

415 knows even less about the world than I thought. Somalia has an arid climate. West Africa is humid and lush. He's not an African American and he obviously has gaps in his knowledge on the subject, yet he tries to school me on my culture and history. Amazing! Since this guy does not know the difference between a Russian and a Mongolian I won't put much stock in what he's saying.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by vandygirl

415 knows even less about the world than I thought.

No. I know more than you think I do. You think that I'm a blithering idiot, so what does it matter anyway?

Somalia has an arid climate.

I was aware of this. This never came up in conversation, did it? Nigeria has some beautiful coastlines that rival what we in the US think of when we think of the Spanish and French rivieras... quite stunning. I'd love to visit Lagos at some point. Mogadishu and Addis Ababa also have some pretty fascinating Italian deco architecture resulting (for better or worse) from Italian occupation earlier in the 20th century; there's a push to preserve this in Ethiopia right now...

West Africa is humid and lush.

True enough. This didn't come up in conversation, either. Ex's sister's husband was Gabonese, and his town was in the middle of a jungle, from what he told me and the images I'd seen.

He's not an African American

Nope, I'm not. And according to you, it seems like neither are people who are descended from select parts of Africa.

and he obviously has gaps in his knowledge on the subject,

I sure do.

yet he tries to school me on my culture and history.

Possibly because you cop such a snotty attitude and act like your experience is that of every African-American out there, which is a pretty sad way of discounting the experiences of a large group of people.

But since you're the Encyclopedia Africana here, I'll just submit to your superior knowledge.

Amazing!

You sure are! I wonder what it'd be like for me to be able to say that people of Italian or Spanish descent aren't "white" Americans because I'm white, and I don't share their ancestral culture?

Since this guy does not know the difference between a Russian and a Mongolian I won't put much stock in what he's saying.

Fine, don't.

Those are not Mongolians.

[apocalypse0915]

@415...for someone who's repeatedly said that they're done responding publicly on this thread, I sure still see a bunch of your posts.

And btw, I know this is waaaaay off the subject of this thread, but are you freakin kidding me about Nigerian coastlines being comparable to Spanish/French Riviera coastlines?!?!?! That was an extremely laughable comment. Have you seen (not on Google Earth) or set foot on the Nigerian coastline?? Take it from someone who's been on both the Nigerian and Spanish coastlines, the former doesn't "rival" the latter.