Social status in Seattle (middle-class, real estate, lease)

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

Cause I can

OK then. Thanks for sharing. Now we can all know we should take your advice with a grain of salt.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

OK then. Thanks for sharing. Now we can all know we should take your advice with a grain of salt.

I never said that I'm the authority on how Seattle is for everyone who sets foot in it. Feel free to not give my comments any gravity whatsoever.

[W & C]

I don't see anything wrong with former residents contributing to the conversation.

Besides, 415 is not a hater or anything; most of the stuff he posts about Seattle is positive.

[movingwiththewind]

Originally Posted by W & C

I don't see anything wrong with former residents contributing to the conversation.

Besides, 415 is not a hater or anything; most of the stuff he posts about Seattle is positive.

I agree. I think, 415 is a very valuable contributor to this forum.

[timtimtimtim]

I have seen more shun stares and attitudes here in Seattle than I ever saw in Chicago.

[timtimtimtim]

Yes I am new here. I have lived here for three months now. I have noticed most of the rich people attitudes here more than I ever have in my life. No time for the poor looking class in this town.

[vandygirl]

Originally Posted by apocalypse0915

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

So coming from Atlanta, it seems like the following kinda pervade the entire city and dominate the culture:

- Pretentiousness
- Materialism
- Job status
- The sycophantics
- Gold-digging women/attention-grabbing men, etc (you get my point)
- etc

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?

I understand exactly what you mean about Atlanta. I have spent quite a lot of time there and I can say that is why I don't live there now. There is a lot of phoniness in Atlanta that you don't see here in the black community. In Atlanta everybody pretends to be wealthy and successful, especially in the entertainment field. Everybody is doing something or about to do something, and they are perpetually "about to" do it. Very few have "done" it. In Seattle, black people don't pretend to be successful. Many of them are and it is treated like no big deal. In general people come to the Northwest when they are serious about making it. They saw an opportunity and decided to seize the day, so the region does not get a lot of pretenders. If anything, northwesterners are a little big crunchy. They don't wear a lot of makeup or put on airs. No one drives around with spinners.

If you have to live somewhere where black people are walking around everywhere you look, Seattle is not for you. It is a very diverse place where black folks are a small minority. That may be a plus because the black people who are here came for jobs and opportunities, leaving the trifling people behind. They care about helping others, unlike a lot of places where people could care less if your house got broken into last night.

You don't really know racism until you live down south. You don't know struggle until you've lived in a ghetto. I know a lot of young black adults who left Washington state and ended up coming back and have never looked back since.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by vandygirl

You don't really know racism until you live down south. You don't know struggle until you've lived in a ghetto. I know a lot of young black adults who left Washington state and ended up coming back and have never looked back since.

Hell, when I lived in LA, one of my coworkers who was a married father of two in his mid-30's and manager at a bookstore was waiting for a bus and an LAPD cruiser came up and threw him and the other two random black guys and pulled guns, threw them up against the hood, cuffed them, took their ID's, ran them, uncuffed them, and drove off.

Like I said, for all of Seattle's issues, imho racism isn't really one of the more pervasive ones and doesn't seem to be a community-wide issue. Even though the city is predominantly-white, it doesn't have a "predominantly white" attitude.

[vandygirl]

I don't know most of my neighbors. It's not necessarily a bad thing. I don't need to know all about them. I don't need to have them know everything about me. That's what my family and friends are for. I don't think this attitude is unique to Seattle. When I lived in Nashville, I only knew one of my neighbors by name. I did not know that there are places in America where neighbors eat dinner together, watch TV together and are parts of each others' lives. Why is that necessary?

BTW, San Francisco is similar. People in San Francisco are not so chummy with all their neighbors, either. You might not want to know what your neighbors are into there. That nice couple that invited you over for dinner might be swingers.

San Francisco can be just as smug as Seattle. The arts scene there is filled with trust fund babies and tech millionaires. The smug attitude there takes the form of: 'I am more cultured than you. You'll never be worldly enough to be part of this jet set.' REI is not the fashion there but the look in San Francisco is to take expensive clothes and dress them down. People dress as if to say they can afford expensive things but it is no big deal.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by vandygirl

I don't know most of my neighbors.

I know plenty of mine here.

It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Not necessarily, but it's also not necessarily a good thing.

I don't need to know all about them. I don't need to have them know everything about me. That's what my family and friends are for.

Sounds like Seattle is perfect for you, then.

Not everyone looks at socializing this way, and for people that don't, Seattle probably isn't as much what they're looking for.

I don't think this attitude is unique to Seattle.

There are people like this everywhere, definitely. There are towns and cities that have attitudes that are like this, but I (and many others) have found this to be more prominent in Seattle than elsewhere (unless you're talking about a seriously locals-only podunk).

When I lived in Nashville, I only knew one of my neighbors by name. I did not know that there are places in America where neighbors eat dinner together, watch TV together and are parts of each others' lives. Why is that necessary?

The fact that this is how you've lived; you didn't realize that it's normal for people in a neighborhood to get together and socialize and do things like watch TV or have a barbecue or what have you, and you ask why it's necessary indicate that, well, you're a serious introvert. For whatever reason, not saying it's good or bad one way or the other, you just don't need or want people around you to be social with or to. If that's the case, then there's a good chance you'll dig Seattle.

The thing is that if you want people to leave you alone, you can probably get that in most cities - just move there, set up shop, get your routine down, ignore any offers to socialize that come your way, and be happy. If you're looking for the opposite, it's a lot harder to make that happen in an environment that isn't as social.

BTW, San Francisco is similar.

No, it's not.

People in San Francisco are not so chummy with all their neighbors, either.

Maybe in a new high-rise or an area like Nob/Russian Hill where you have a larger number of young professionals who are more likely to work long hours and then go out with their work/school friends in SOMA or Union Square than get to know their neighbors just because of the hours they keep. Out in my neighborhood in the Richmond, I know basically everyone in my building by name - even the guy across the hall who prefers to be left alone. He heard me on the phone when I got locked out the first night and opened it to check and see who I was, because, as he put it, "we all look out for eachother here" and he didn't recognize me.

You might not want to know what your neighbors are into there.

I have more of a come-one, come-all attitude. Unless they're child-molesting murderer rapists, I could care less as long as they're on the benign-to-good end of the spectrum.

That nice couple that invited you over for dinner might be swingers.

Oh god, no.

...

...

... is the wife hot?

San Francisco can be just as smug as Seattle.

Of course it can be!

The arts scene there is filled with trust fund babies and tech millionaires.

It's also filled with struggling young people who struggle primarily because they give their art top priority over having a career, and people who have struck a happy medium.

The smug attitude there takes the form of: 'I am more cultured than you. You'll never be worldly enough to be part of this jet set.'

If that's the case, then Seattle's is: "I am more cultured than you. The fact that I hide it with my polar fleece and Subaru also means I have more humility than you."

REI is not the fashion there but the look in San Francisco is to take expensive clothes and dress them down. People dress as if to say they can afford expensive things but it is no big deal.

Not really. When was the last time you were here?