Why are people in Seattle kinda off? (income, housing)

[fluffydelusions]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

Moved here from SoCal almost 4 years ago. I'm a very outgoing individual. Literally every friend I've made is not from Washington. Most are from California, Arizona, or the Midwest. Perhaps a coincidence?

I feel like most of the people I meet are not from here originally. Most are from places you mention. Also meet a lot of people from Texas too.

[west seattle gal]

yup

Originally Posted by varun2123

It seems as though people hate to meet new people and everybody comes off just awkward. People have a negative vibe most times and nobody likes to smile. Any other city I visit I get a completely different vibe. I'm trying to figure out why its so difficult to naturally make new friends or get into a relationship out here?

Sorry I know this type of thread has been posted before and I'm trying to ignore this "Seattle freeze" because that doesent give any explanation to why. I just moved back and realized most transplants end up not liking this place.

Would love to hear everybodies thoughts on this topic

Soooo true. We have lived in the PNW for 14 years now (ie.settled in Bham but lived in Seattle about 12 yrs), but every time we travel to the east coast and return, we clearly see what you describe in this whole region. It is just the culture here. However, there are great things about the culture here, too. For instance, I am grateful on a daily basis to live in a region that is not rabidly pro-Trump. We have a lot of thoughtful, educated introverts with a strong sense of justice, and ultimately these are my people. My adopted tribe, lol.

[A1eutian]

People who move to an area and find it not to their liking might just need to realign their perspective. You may not find what you want anywhere else, and there is no perfect place to live.

There is a reason that the area is a magnet in the US and internationally. It drives up the price of everything, but in the tech sector there are more jobs than people to fill them. That's not the case in most of the the rest of the US.

But, the high salaries are a bit like monopoly money, since everything you do costs more. I'm able to live here by not having an entertainment budget. I live in a nice, empty apartment.

People from the area like to take a lot of mini vacations to Las Vegas, anywhere sunny and warm to escape the monotonous grey, cold and drizzly weather. If you can't afford a vacation, find an all consuming hobby or interest to pursue and really get into it. People are really into their hobbies, pro sports are huge, there are a lot of colorful weird people walking around.

Just do your thing and don't look to other people for a connection right away. It almost seems like you're rushing friendship, expecting something to develop and being disappointed when it doesn't. Wherever you go, there you are.

[jakebarnes]

My opinion on the freeze is that it is two factors combined:

1. An introverted population, probably due to settlement by introverted-type cultures and the weather
2. A lot of transplants move here looking to make new social connections. I think the locals here are friendly but if they were trying to make new friends with all the transplants that's all they would ever do. It's not freshman year in college, we aren't all looking for a brand new set of friends and have a clear schedule. :-)

Full disclosure: Transplant, been here 21 years.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by peequi

Not many people mentioned the weather, that has to be the number 1 reason. It effects [sic] everyone, young/old, rich/poor/, black/white. This is the 1 common denominator that EVERYONE in Seattle shares.
.

This isn't as universally true as you think. My guess is that the more transplants there are in Seattle, the more complaints there are about the weather. People didn't used to mind the weather; even out-of-state students at the UW didn't complain. The trick to dealing with the short daylight time in winter is to get outdoors and be active; enjoy skiing, or whatever. I'm from California, and I enjoyed the rain and the variations in the weather. And the only people I've ever known who felt a need to escape Seattle for sunnier climes in winter was a neighbor couple, neither of whom was from Seattle. Granted, in the last 2-3 years it's been much rainier than normal; that's a harbinger of things to come, in the NW, according to the climatologists.

As for people being "off"--I can't relate. Maybe the OP hangs out with techies? People have to realize that there's much more to Seattle than the tech scene. I worked at the UW most of the time I lived in Seattle, and never ran into anyone who was "off". Same for people I collaborated with in other areas of endeavor. What I did run into with one of the hiking clubs was guys who had no idea how to relate to women; they couldn't participate in conversations without inadvertently saying something offensive, and they had no idea how they were coming across. And this was in the days before major tech development in Seattle. It was weird.

If people are running into people who are socially awkward, they should branch out, and explore new crowds, different scenes around the city. It's not that hard to do. To meet new people, join hobby groups, sports clubs (boating of various sorts, volleyball or soccer leagues, Parks Dept. activities--they offer martial arts classes that are co-ed, etc.), check out the different dance scenes: salsa, folk, swing, volunteer for the street fairs or film festival; check out the art or music scenes. just get out there and do stuff with other people. And don't expect instant success; it takes time to find people you can hit it off with. In Seattle, it may take more time than in other places you've lived. YMMV.

[treuphax]

Asocial behavior is infectious.

Even (especially) the folks not even from the west coast get flaked on enough, they start to do it too.

A fellow newcomer here to Seattle once joked with me that it's as if the folks who've been here too long don't have souls. They might seem almost human, polite and normal, but some sense of warmth, grit and authenticity has been amputated and replaced with personalities of superficial phony positivity and dogmatic political correctness seem hollow and empty.

Beware!
Better get out of this place before it devours YOUR soul!

Prosperous, beautiful, seductive... but ultimately perhaps doomed by an old Indian curse on any newcomers who do try to make a claim on the territory from which they were displaced.

[CharlesRamon]

the introversion comes in part from the region being less dense historically but that's changing. people want to come off as smart or educated for some reason, so they sometimes hem and haw because they don't want to say the "wrong" thing. on the east coast, I got the impression people would often blurt out the first thing that came to mind - keeping the conversation going was more important than sounding smart. the "I'm a special snowflake" artist/intellectual culture is pervasive here. and yet people want to come off as unpretentious and down to earth at the same time. it's a weird paradox. they want to make an impression but are reluctant to be too flashy and end up being kinda frumpy and grimy. the weather here ... mm maybe a bit of a factor but there are places with more miserable weather where the people aren't as "off." I also think people here have a bit of a chip on their shoulder from a sense of inferiority whose origin I'm not sure of. too many let themselves get stir crazy from not going out enough to exercise or socialize. the gloomy weather is a good excuse to sit around the house watching netflix and drinking booze or smoking pot. then when you're in this environment all the time everyone feeds off each other's weird vibes.

[Ruth4Truth]

[quote=CharlesRamon;48149094too many let themselves get stir crazy from not going out enough to exercise or socialize. the gloomy weather is a good excuse to sit around the house watching netflix and drinking booze or smoking pot. then when you're in this environment all the time everyone feeds off each other's weird vibes.[/quote] Those are people with no imagination. Gawd, that sounds depressing!
The rainy weather is a great excuse to go to the gym, where you can socialize, or go to the bookstore and take in a bookreading/author lecture, and chat with people, or attend a travel lecture at REI.

[homesinseattle]

Ruth speaks the Truth.

[dav51lin]

dreary grey and rainy= dreary people