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.
I just love people who come here and say they're happy to make all the money they can but while doing so, they diss the people of our city. I'm no different on the money aspect but I'm here because I want to be and because I love this place and the people - who are far from robots. But go ahead, make your money and quickly be on your way back to the hell that is Atlanta. I feel sorry for the guy that made an attempt with you - he was trying to be nice and has no idea that you were offended by him and would use him as an example of what is wrong with Seattleites. I wonder if the people at your work on the Eastside know you don't like them and think they are ghoulish. Maybe they'll figure it out. No good deed goes unpunished.
Well I like the people I work with actually. None of them are from Seattle originally, but some have been here for awhile. But I find them easy to get along with. I don't hate everyone I've met in Seattle. I'm just saying in general, there are things I don't like about the people. Actually if God willing, I plan to stick around in Seattle for a few years. I work in IT, and I'm working amongst the most talented IT talent in the country. It's like boot camp or the hyperbolic time chamber (DBZ reference).
EDIT: The "Seattle personality" or lack of it, probably is great in the work environment. I can already see the work environment (at least the one I work in) is a lot less hostile, and more cooperative in general than anything I could find on the East Coast. I can't think of anyone in my office right now who would go out there way to get me fired, or try to sabotage me in some way. This is actually pretty much normal business in Atlanta and DC offices.
Well I like the people I work with actually. None of them are from Seattle originally, but some have been here for awhile. But I find them easy to get along with. I don't hate everyone I've met in Seattle. I'm just saying in general, there are things I don't like about the people. Actually if God willing, I plan to stick around in Seattle for a few years. I work in IT, and I'm working amongst the most talented IT talent in the country. It's like boot camp or the hyperbolic time chamber (DBZ reference).
Right - you said you like one person who happened to agree with you politically. You may have noticed that we are ghoulishly passive aggressive here. It would be tragic if things didn't work out for you here as you hoped but I'm sure moving back to Atlanta would be a positive for you in many ways so there's that. You say your coworkers wouldn't sabotage you but it was just a short time ago that you were waxing on about the kindness of Seattle people. We'll see if that changes. People here are pretty perceptive. If they start thinking their sincere efforts toward you are just an example of what is wrong them, they might not be so helpful.
Seattle is ok. I'm not sure if I can see myself living here for another 20 or 30 years. One thing I somewhat dislike about Seattle is it's overall lack of diversity and personality.
Everything is great about Seattle but the people. Honestly, I just find people in Seattle to be very dull and boring. Maybe it's me being mainly on the East Coast my entire life, but people in Seattle just seem kind of lifeless.
I noticed that too but maybe it's because Seattle is more of an introverted kind of place where people are more concerned with education, money, and career advancement than a social life. I'm sort of that way too, but for me it's difficult for me to get out and socialize much when I live in kind of remote part of the metro area- it seems remote to me anyway but I like it. Also when you work and have a side business going like I do it makes it even more of a challenge. The people I have gotten to know here seem nice and non-judgmental though, even though they might be a bit on the dull side.
Quote:
It's hard to find people in Seattle who aren't super politically correct, which get's pretty irritating since I really hate political correctness. I guess we can chalk that up to liberal politics. Basically, in Seattle there are no black people, and the black people who are here are probably liberal. So as a black conservative living in Seattle, I'm so far out of Seattle's myopic view of reality, it's no wonder I don't fit in much. And then I try to get people clearly trying to get me to say things they want to hear. Such as this one guy was talking about some conservative and civil rights, and I guess he expected me to bash the guy. I just said "I don't really care, I guess he's free to do whatever he likes". Really in Seattle, I feel so tense because everything is so politically correct, and it's VERY hard to have a conservative viewpoint without alienating yourself. One thing I liked about Atlanta is it's diverse politics amongst the population. Black conservatives and other minorities weren't really as rare as it is in Seattle.
That's 1 thing that scared me a little about moving to Seattle area. I'm a mixed-race republican and the liberal-democratic slant here is the opposite of where I stand on most things. But I moved here from a heavy republican state where things were a little too conservative- more like extreme right-wing in some cases. At least Seattle's liberalism isn't extreme, it's just kind of annoying at the very worst. On politics I learned to just live and let live because I usually take a more centrist view point, and I realize not everyone is going to agree with me. But I'm in agreement with you about political correctness. I hate it too, and I don't care for people who are so super-sensitive about everything.
I just love people who come here and say they're happy to make all the money they can but while doing so, diss the people of our city.
Yes, that's just rude and 1-sided. I admit I moved to Seattle area for the higher earning potential, so money and wealth are very important to me. But at the same time I don't make hateful remarks about the people because I'm happy living in such a great area like Seattle. I don't even mind the gloomy weather the majority of the year because to me it's so much better than where I moved from. If I had to endure another summer of 115-degree temperatures and scorching sun while contending with the dust, pollution, low wages, high unemployment, and the dumb-and-dumber kind of people like I did in Arid-zona, I would have gone insane. For me moving to Washington state was a blessing. It may not be the best place in the entire world but it is several giant steps up from where I came from.
Conventional social norms are relative to the area. I travel for work and our family lived in Boston for a short time. We got along great there but some of the things we heard on a regular basis would be absolutely unacceptable here and that was Boston. Robert, you come here and diss Seattle on a regular basis. There are about five to seven people who come here because somehow Seattle got under their skin and when they left, they couldn't and can't stop themselves from coming back here and tossing grenades. They didn't like Seattle or Seattle didn't like them and they took it really personally. That can happen with any part of the country and I'm sorry it happened to you but you should let it go - it can't be healthy. You should find your happy place and move on. Seattle is our happy place and we absolutely love it, rain or shine, with all its social awkwardness and sincere intentions.
At least your response is civil. I appreciate that. If CDF is replete with threads indicating how unwelcoming Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, and to a lesser extent, Boston and Philadelphia, are, one should take heed.
I have YET to see a thread describing Houston as unfriendly, for example.
I like the adage that "20,000 Frenchmen can't be wrong."
Well I do appreciate the hospitality. I'm guessing now that I'm living here a month, and don't need to ask for directions as much, that some of the boredom is coming out. I just find that people in Seattle are too composed at times. People don't want to NOT look perfect at all times. Which is really the most irritating aspects. I don't relate well to robots, I relate to people. People in Seattle don't act like people, they act like robots. Which is why I simply believe the people are just dull and ghoulish. I mean I make way way way more money here than I did in Atlanta, and the transit is better, so it's easier to get around. But I just find the people in Seattle to be boring, and quite complacent in it's boredom. And the inability to laugh at oneself, which I find to be the most endearing human quality doesn't exist in Seattle. Very odd, because liberal elitist in general have that problem. I guess when you're telling people how to live their lives, you have to be perfect at all times. I've only met one down to earth Seattlite, and he is a conservative (and oddly enough moving to Atlanta). Again, maybe it's a bit of culture shock for me, and I haven't found my place city. My opinion could change in the future.
The bold is just great. When I was a little kid in LA, I thought the hippies, and their remnants, were, by nature, friendly. You know, there's that packaged triad of "Big Sur ... hot tubs ... and free love." On the contrary, liberals, especially ones who left their rebellious phase and have joined the establishment, overcompensate and are the biggest pimples on Seattle's a$$. I, too, lived in Atlanta for 2 years, but moved West because of family, and there no one corrected me or took offense to what I said. I couldn't believe how effortless the transition from Los Angeles was, and I was concerned. True, it may not be as sugary-sweet as the rest of the South, but it's a gigantic metro area that is now too "hustle and bustle" to be as genteel as what the South generally dishes out. I think that the large transplantation of Northeasterners, Midwesterners, and even foreigners, has made Atlanta a great Eastern city that has morphed from being a more regional Southern city. The PNW is the only place I've lived where there is ZERO speech modulation ... the word I've heard is "flatlining" it ... if you don't "flatline" it, the locals will become upset because you're considered too emotional. The BEST thing I ever heard was an exchange at the B&N coffee area near UW where a woman, presumably transplanted, was talking to a visiting New York area type, probably Italian, who was loudly talking about national politics and he was pulling no punches. It was a relief. I hadn't heard someone talk like that in a long time! If he was planning to stick around and/or get a job there, I'm sure they would have shown him the door.
EDIT: The "Seattle personality" or lack of it, probably is great in the work environment. I can already see the work environment (at least the one I work in) is a lot less hostile, and more cooperative in general than anything I could find on the East Coast. I can't think of anyone in my office right now who would go out there way to get me fired, or try to sabotage me in some way. This is actually pretty much normal business in Atlanta and DC offices.
Completely agree! Well, not that part about Seattleites having a lack of personality, but what you wrote about the work environment. At least in the places that I have worked in the Seattle area versus other places in the country.
Just out of curiosity, and I am not being argumentative, just really curious..............there are phrases being thrown around on the board:"I'm tense around all the politically correct"........."Seattleites have a somber attitude, inability to laugh at ones self".........."the people are like robots"........"people don't want to NOT look perfect at all times"............"they are super sensitive"
Could you all describe, in detail please, an experience where someone was a robot, or super sensitive? And what do you mean by "inability to laugh at ones self?" Can you detail an occasion where someone should have laughed at themselves, but didn't? I'm really trying to picture how you are running into these robotic, yet perfectly dressed cry-babies that aren't outspoken enough. Aside from my job, taking my kids to school, sitting in traffic, eating at a restaurant, jogging Green Lake, attending their sporting events, grocery shopping etc etc.........all the daily things an individual might do, I've never run into anyone that is the way you guys describe. Nor can I picture an opportunity where a Seattleite might be speaking to me, and I'd think to my self, "boy, this guy is just so robotic and somber, I wish he would start talking loudly on his cell phone and yelling his political affiliation at me?"
Maybe it's not the people you see everyday, milling about and living their lives, but your co-workers that are the problem? I'm just guessing, that maybe you had a much closer relationship with co-workers that opened up about their home life, talked football scores, debated politics and such? Maybe not.......
I'm originally from Vegas, and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to not here EVERYBODY conversing loudly on their cell phone. My own family is still down there, and they are the types to have loud, political or religious rants sitting at a restaurant for everyone to here, it drove me absolutely insane. If Seattle is somber, robotic, perfectly dressed, overly sensitive and politically correct.......I'm not seeing it. But whatever it is, I like it!
I'm originally from Vegas, and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to not here EVERYBODY conversing loudly on their cell phone. My own family is still down there, and they are the types to have loud, political or religious rants sitting at a restaurant for everyone to here, it drove me absolutely insane. If Seattle is somber, robotic, perfectly dressed, overly sensitive and politically correct.......I'm not seeing it. But whatever it is, I like it!
Well, compared to how white trash Vegas can be, it might be refreshing. Vegas is a hard, jaded town. One weekend morning, sitting in a popular chain breakfast place on Trop, we saw all kinds of Vegas characters, many of them sketchy. One guy was about 60, muscled, tanned, looked like a gangster, and was wearing a sundress and white tennis shoes. Funny *****, but I wouldn't want to live there.
Ok, here's one example. Talk about nationality and see where that goes. Are you from the East Coast? You know how people automatically say "What are you?" in the East, meaning are you Jewish, Puerto Rican, Italian, Greek, Irish. Don't do that in Seattle. You are not supposed to talk about ethnicity, because we're all Anglo and it's not politically correct. Another example, do not make any comments about gays and lesbians, even if funny and completely harmless, since they'll play the politically correct card again. (And this happened in a circle of about 4 or 5 guys at work after hours, all presumably straight, who were local). So, what then, they've never engaged in "locker room talk?" But Lisa Lampanelli goes to Seattle and people laugh at her, and her routine can be vicious. Go figure.
I make a lot of non-malicious, smart-ass comments when I observe social phenomenon that is quirky. Don't do that in Seattle. You can do that in LA, Atlanta or North Jersey, and, if you're keeping similarly wired company, they will LAUGH. For God's sake, have you ever heard anybody bust up LAUGHING in metro Seattle? I never have. It would cause people to look.
In my experience, the success of people in making comments like these depends on whether or not somebody knows and trusts you. If you don't have a social credit line with somebody, they probably won't find it funny.
If people in Seattle are by default polite and pleasant but also tend to keep people at some slight remove from themselves as far as 'opening up to them completely,' for a longer period than the usual (as is the constant assertion around here), it stands to reason that you can't just make those kinds of statements freely, because nobody will find them funny. It's probably not that they couldn't, or wouldn't in other circumstances, it's that somebody hasn't earned the right to take it to that level with them yet. We all have these boundary lines, and they vary from person to person. What you find funny and completely harmless might just come off as 'bigoted and narrow-minded' in a community of intellectuals who pride themselves on politeness...at least until they know that you're fundamentally smart, sensitive, and interested in being kind and polite. If you take things that far too soon, it just makes it that much less likely for them to open up later.
Is that speed for everyone? Definitely not! And life is too short to spend in a place that doesn't embrace the same cultural norms that you do...but I'm just not sure that this makes any of them 'humorless'. I think it's a function of the kind of person who lives there, in large part owing itself to the industries around which the city has sprung up.
Also, it makes me sad to see people politically generalizing here. I'm socially quite liberal, and also extremely friendly and outgoing. I'm related to a slew of starched-shirt conservatives. I am very good friends with a fairly wild super-conservative former airman who is the son of two pastors; I have broken off friendships with other socially liberal individuals for doing, or being, things that I found objectionable.
I am not a pimple on the ass of anything. Sometimes, people are just *******s.
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.
You say your coworkers wouldn't sabotage you but it was just a short time ago that you were waxing on about the kindness of Seattle people. We'll see if that changes. People here are pretty perceptive. If they start thinking their sincere efforts toward you are just an example of what is wrong them, they might not be so helpful.
You should find your happy place and move on. Seattle is our happy place and we absolutely love it, rain or shine, with all its social awkwardness and sincere intentions.
