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 completely believe you that this happened in Port Townsend, because the liberals in Western WA are accepting of all cultures - as long as it's politically correct to do so. This includes gays, minorities, etc, but if you have the vibe of a conservative, or a redneck, or a "good ol' boy", then that famous liberal "tolerance" seems to magically go away.
How did people in Eastern Washington treat you? Or Lewis or Cowlitz Counties? I guarantee you (despite what "bad apples" says) - you would not have experienced that in the conservative areas of the state.
How do you know? You aren't from the south. I experienced the same attitudes in the Wenatchee area that Granny Fats is describing, I think it's the whole region. Of course not everyone is like this and I am not saying you are just the majority of people living there seem to have a grudge against southerners especially other outsiders to but it's not as bad.
My wife, daughter, and I lived in Ellensburg (5 years) and Olympia (2 years). Stay away from Yakima. It has a high crime rate due to the drug trade and gangs. While it has nice areas to live in, the overall atmosphere is not that positive.
We really enjoyed Ellensburg. It has a nice small college town atmosphere. Housing can be tough to find because of the student population of Central Washington University but the university lends to a nice feel.
Olympia is a beautiful town on Budd Bay and is, of course, the capital of Washington. It is a bit pricey and be prepared to live in the rain. There is a reason everything is so green. It has South Puget Sound Community College and Evergreen College. The area is very liberally oriented. It has a lot to offer. It is the southern part of Puget Sound with a nice farmers market, great restaurants, skiing and camping, boating, fishing, hiking, and not too far from beaches. Seattle is only an hour away with lots of additional things to see and do. Hope this helps give you some perspective on what to expect.
I completely believe you that this happened in Port Townsend, because the liberals in Western WA are accepting of all cultures - as long as it's politically correct to do so. This includes gays, minorities, etc, but if you have the vibe of a conservative, or a redneck, or a "good ol' boy", then that famous liberal "tolerance" seems to magically go away.
How did people in Eastern Washington treat you? Or Lewis or Cowlitz Counties? I guarantee you (despite what "bad apples" says) - you would not have experienced that in the conservative areas of the state.
Gezzz...PS90
Your as bad and badapples!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about broad generalizations about people.........
Have you ever spent time on the Olympic Penninsula?????????????????????????? It ain't Seattle... We are full of "good ol boy" red necks, even outside Port Townsend.. I am not the only guy with muddy Carharts and a beat up ole diesel truck... Ya we got Prius drivers too but, and a small contingent of snobby urban ubber granola types, but it sure as heck is not a mono culture.
Now when you say conservative vibe... If you mean closed minded not open to hearing other viewpoints, only repeat what you hear like a parrot... Then ya.. You are going to catch some eye rolling. Like a liberal is not going to catch heck, by talking about liberal stuff in a conservative community...?? Its a two way street, every ones crap stinks matter of fact..!
Get real PS90
Best stop throwing rocks in a glass house... You are just as bad as bad apples with the broad sweeping generalizations...
-------------------------------
OP.............DON'T listen to us... Just go visit and decide for yourself... Everyone on this forum is insane, and should be locked up in the asylum.
Gezzz...PS90
Your as bad and badapples!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about broad generalizations about people.........
Have you ever spent time on the Olympic Penninsula?????????????????????????? It ain't Seattle... We are full of "good ol boy" red necks, even outside Port Townsend.. I am not the only guy with muddy Carharts and a beat up ole diesel truck... Ya we got Prius drivers too but, and a small contingent of snobby urban ubber granola types, but it sure as heck is not a mono culture.
Now when you say conservative vibe... If you mean closed minded not open to hearing other viewpoints, only repeat what you hear like a parrot... Then ya.. You are going to catch some eye rolling. Like a liberal is not going to catch heck, by talking about liberal stuff in a conservative community...?? Its a two way street, every ones crap stinks matter of fact..!
Get real PS90
Best stop throwing rocks in a glass house... You are just as bad as bad apples with the broad sweeping generalizations...
-------------------------------
OP.............DON'T listen to us... Just go visit and decide for yourself... Everyone on this forum is insane, and should be locked up in the asylum.
Okay. Fair enough. I was conveying my experiences with the people that I know from the South, who give opinions that are in stark contrast to "Granny Fats" and "bad apples" opinions, and I assumed that the higher concentration of liberals in those areas must be the main reason. If you have a better explanation, I'd love to hear it.
And, not that it makes my post acceptable, but if you think no one posts from the other foot, about how Eastern WA is a bunch of inbred rednecks who suck off the teat of the almighty Seattle, then you haven't read many posts in this forum.
I'm surprised no one has suggested Kennewick (part of the Tri-Cities), it's deserty but the crime rate is pretty low for a town of its size (I would recommend living on the south or west side of Kennewick) and people seem to be nice and friendly there.
Okay. Fair enough. I was conveying my experiences with the people that I know from the South, who give opinions that are in stark contrast to "Granny Fats" and "bad apples" opinions, and I assumed that the higher concentration of liberals in those areas must be the main reason. If you have a better explanation, I'd love to hear it.
And, not that it makes my post acceptable, but if you think no one posts from the other foot, about how Eastern WA is a bunch of inbred rednecks who suck off the teat of the almighty Seattle, then you haven't read many posts in this forum.
Sorry for jumpin on you so much... I can not fathom an ethnic southerner having a problem anywhere in rural/small town Washington. When, I say ethnic southerner, I have the stereo type of the fella you described in mind. Which IMHO is not to far off from rural folks in Washington. Rural folks are pretty much the same no matter where you go in this country, again in my opinion.
No, I read plenty... and I do not care for uppity urbanites looking down their nose at small town folks..
I do not see it as a Conservative verses Liberal thing, I see it as an urban verses rural thing.
I will admit their are a few "Texas personality types" that get under my skin and may cause me to be rude. I just don't care for swollen head types that think they are the best thing since sliced bread. I usually run into trouble on those "Texas verse xx state threads"..
I moved to Olympia in 1988 with my family just before entering high school. After living in the Midwest briefly, I had all but lost my southern accent but my parent's still had it thick. I cannot think off hand of any rude occasions associated with our accents. I will agree that folk at least on the western side of WA can be a bit chilly as well as wrapped up in political correctness and support of whatever it is trendy to support. I don't doubt that Granny Fats ran into rude people in the service industry, I found that area to have some of the most apathetic customer service workers that I have seen in all of my travels. But all the negative aside, I doubt your accent will be too much of an issue other than you possibly getting annoyed at always being asked "where are you from?".
I think your first decision needs to be what kind of climate you would like to be in. Washington is divided by the Cascade Mountains. The west side tends to be milder with a lot of rain (mostly in the winter) and generally only a handful of days where it breaks 85 degrees (although I hear this year has been hot!). The east side tends to have more defined seasons with a true summer more akin to what you are accustomed to and snowy, cold winters. Seattle is very expensive and you are fortunate if you can both live and work in Seattle. I am not a fan of Lakewood, but I probably have been tainted by the era of Tacoma's Hilltop, gangs and drugs. There are still areas of Lakewood that are known for prostitutes and drug deals and I think it is too heavily influenced by the transient population of the military base. IMO, if you prefer the west side climate, the Olympia area is a good choice but might be lacking as far as schools for your daughter. If she plans on living with you while attending college, your choices in town are the private St. Martins University, The Evergreen State College (kind of a hippy liberal arts school), and South Puget Sound Community College. Tacoma has a branch of the University of Washington and a few other schools as well and is about a 30 minute commute.
I can't speak much for the towns in Eastern Washington. Have driven through but don't know them well enough to speak too much to them. Yakima has been known for increased drug traffic over the years, but I am sure plenty of towns area these days. Good luck.
I'm going to quote myself from another post of mine a while ago
Quote:
Originally Posted by NWarty
I had a woman from Oregon stop me the other day and ask for directions. She was older and needed help and was very upfront in asking me for assistance. After giving her directions, I asked her where she was from and she said "Bend, OR, but originally from Texas" as she touched my arm like an older southern lady typically does. Yeah...you don't see that type of behavior from the natives up here.
Get out to less populated areas in W. Washington and attitudes change a good bit. They're not "Texas/Deep South" friendly, but they are much more cordial than anyone that resides in Seattle or Olympia and that's based on my experience of living here 16 years.
I'm a southern transplant also. Grew up in Atlanta, but lived in Houston for several years.
I completely believe you that this happened in Port Townsend, because the liberals in Western WA are accepting of all cultures - as long as it's politically correct to do so. This includes gays, minorities, etc, but if you have the vibe of a conservative, or a redneck, or a "good ol' boy", then that famous liberal "tolerance" seems to magically go away.
How did people in Eastern Washington treat you? Or Lewis or Cowlitz Counties? I guarantee you (despite what "bad apples" says) - you would not have experienced that in the conservative areas of the state.
Some people are dicks all over the place. Instead of looking down on people with southern accents, eastern Washington looks down on other kinds of people - such as liberals as you so clearly demonstrated. It's all "culture I like" vs "culture I don't like". Nowhere is immune to it, you couldn't even compliment the conservative areas of the state without a dig at the liberals.
Sorry for jumpin on you so much... I can not fathom an ethnic southerner having a problem anywhere in rural/small town Washington. When, I say ethnic southerner, I have the stereo type of the fella you described in mind. Which IMHO is not to far off from rural folks in Washington. Rural folks are pretty much the same no matter where you go in this country, again in my opinion.
No, I read plenty... and I do not care for uppity urbanites looking down their nose at small town folks..
I do not see it as a Conservative verses Liberal thing, I see it as an urban verses rural thing.
I will admit their are a few "Texas personality types" that get under my skin and may cause me to be rude. I just don't care for swollen head types that think they are the best thing since sliced bread. I usually run into trouble on those "Texas verse xx state threads"..
I agree. I think Texas liberals vs. Washington liberals are very different, as well as Texas conservatives vs. Washington conservatives are also different.
I'm a conservative, cowboy-boot-wearing kind of guy from Washington, but I felt that I was treated rudely quite a bit when I was traveling often to Texas, so I guess these things cut both ways.
(Believe it or not, TrueTimbers, I can't rep you because I've done it too many times)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Transmition
Some people are dicks all over the place. Instead of looking down on people with southern accents, eastern Washington looks down on other kinds of people - such as liberals as you so clearly demonstrated. It's all "culture I like" vs "culture I don't like". Nowhere is immune to it, you couldn't even compliment the conservative areas of the state without a dig at the liberals.
I agree 100%. My biggest beef with liberals when it comes to this issue is that they preach about "acceptance" and "tolerance", but don't seem to actually practice it, due to the reasons you just mentioned. Most conservatives are just as intolerant, but at least most of them don't go around pretending they are something that they're not.
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.
