People here really are socially awkward - don't greet - look at the ground when walking by (Seattle: live, homeless)

[SunAndRain808]

I did not know that people here in Seattle were really that socially awkward until I moved here to the East Side of town.

I now work for a company somewhere in the Redmond area.

I work the overnight shifts and usually end my work shift in the morning.

I find it so FUNNY and ODD that when I see managers from other departments or even people I know from the learning/education department in the main lobby when I am going home, they don't even smile or say "hi" or "good morning" to me.

Must be the over cast cloudy skies that makes the locals' social neurons-synapses mis-wired. LOL!

For example, I am walking in the lobby headed home, and I see Helen, for example walking towards me. Usually normal people with at a least room-temperature level IQ would smile or say "hi" or say "good morning."

Nope, not here.

So I say "Hi Helen, good morning!" when I see her in the hallway. Guess what? She looks down at the ground and walks past me. LOL!

People here tend to also make a "side glance" to look away from you, or deliberately look down at the ground when they see you approach them.

So effin' weird!

Anybody else here from out of state (since locals here don't know their behaviors) notice this weird/odd behavior?!

[rjshae]

Top marks for overgeneralization of the day.

[dozener]

Sounds like the people you work with may just be autistic

[Thom52]

I worked at a tech company in the Redmond area that had this issue. Pretty much specific to that company though. People seemed to be hired with the main consideration of not making eye contact. I think I got hired on a fluke.

I would purposefully say good morning to everyone and made it a funny game to watch them avoid eye contact or saying good morning back. I felt like I should bend over and look up at them to try to catch their eye.

Maybe not coincidentally one of the main Managers there was a vicious office bully. You could literally hear him yelling at people through closed doors several rooms away. He was eventually fired for his behavior, but I wondered if he was part of the hiring culture.

I worked for a lot of high tech companies in the area. This was unique to that company. Based on my experience, I would think a high percentage of Software Companies could have a similar company culture of eye avoidance.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by SunAndRain808

I did not know that people here in Seattle were really that socially awkward until I moved here to the East Side of town.

I now work for a company somewhere in the Redmond area.

I work the overnight shifts and usually end my work shift in the morning.

I find it so FUNNY and ODD that when I see managers from other departments or even people I know from the learning/education department in the main lobby when I am going home, they don't even smile or say "hi" or "good morning" to me.

Must be the over cast cloudy skies that makes the locals' social neurons-synapses mis-wired. LOL!

For example, I am walking in the lobby headed home, and I see Helen, for example walking towards me. Usually normal people with at a least room-temperature level IQ would smile or say "hi" or say "good morning."

Nope, not here.

So I say "Hi Helen, good morning!" when I see her in the hallway. Guess what? She looks down at the ground and walks past me. LOL!

People here tend to also make a "side glance" to look away from you, or deliberately look down at the ground when they see you approach them.

So effin' weird!

Anybody else here from out of state (since locals here don't know their behaviors) notice this weird/odd behavior?!

OP, does "Helen" chat with you during work hours, in the office, when you encounter her? It's outside of the literal office environment that she suddenly becomes uncommunicative? Like, when you see her in her office or the hallway during work, does she give you a smile, or a "how are you" or anything?

I didn't encounter that when I was working at the UW. And I'm from out of state, but I was a UW student, so maybe that's almost in-state, not a transplant in adulthood....

[Transmition]

Who would have thought that people in different cultures would behave differently?!


You can also see how people change dramatically after the coffee has kicked in.

[homesinseattle]

People who work in tech or solitary settings can have a hard time relating to others sometimes. Anyone you want to meet and get to know though, you can. It just takes time, and an authentic effort by you.

[MtnSurfer]

Do you notice this outside of work? Like Thom52 suggested, it could be related to a crappy corporate culture where people are more guarded or affraid of their own shadow as opposed to an entire area/region. Are there any other social venues you've participated in where you could detect a similar behavioural pattern, beyond total stangers on the street, of course? For example, is there a meet-up type group or some other shared interest venue to compare it with? Maybe work is just wierd that way as opposed to the Seattle Freeze. Or maybe the 'Freeze' is a real thing, man! As opposed to Big Foot seen walking in the wild?

Derek

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by SunAndRain808

I did not know that people here in Seattle were really that socially awkward until I moved here to the East Side of town.

I now work for a company somewhere in the Redmond area.

I work the overnight shifts and usually end my work shift in the morning.

I find it so FUNNY and ODD that when I see managers from other departments or even people I know from the learning/education department in the main lobby when I am going home, they don't even smile or say "hi" or "good morning" to me.

Must be the over cast cloudy skies that makes the locals' social neurons-synapses mis-wired. LOL!

For example, I am walking in the lobby headed home, and I see Helen, for example walking towards me. Usually normal people with at a least room-temperature level IQ would smile or say "hi" or say "good morning."

Nope, not here.

So I say "Hi Helen, good morning!" when I see her in the hallway. Guess what? She looks down at the ground and walks past me. LOL!

People here tend to also make a "side glance" to look away from you, or deliberately look down at the ground when they see you approach them.

So effin' weird!

Anybody else here from out of state (since locals here don't know their behaviors) notice this weird/odd behavior?!

Just to clarify, Redmond is not Seattle, they are 15 miles apart with a bridge over Lake Washington in between.


I work in Seattle and walk a mile from Westlake Center to my office twice a day. I pass and acknowledge joggers, dog walkers, others going to work, even the homeless people. Looking down or away is rare. I live on the eastside (Sammamish) and spend a lot of time in Redmond, and Issaquah. I have never experienced what you have, in fact greet or converse with strangers passing by all the time.

I suspect this is common where you work or even in your industry, but doesn't apply to Seattle or the Eastside in general.

[Inkpoe]

OP, were you the one that lived or worked in the Puyallup area? Are the social/work environment of the 2 more similar than you expected?