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Living in the Boise area and taking work trips to the SLC region I have noticed natives in Northern Utah tend to be much more outwardly friendly than people in SW Idaho. Not sure if that has to do with Mormon presence, if my experiences have been just incidental or some other 3rd thing. I have have only driven through East Idaho but I wonder if people there tend to be more similar to Northern Utah than folks over in the Trasure Valley and up through McCall, given the stronger geographical and cultural ties.
Is SE Idaho culturally different from SW Idaho in any significant way?
I live in Boise and spent much of summer 2022 in SLC. In my experience people are about equally nice in both places. Boise Nice is a real thing, and SLC has the LDS influence which is a little standoffish but still nice. SLC is a bigger metro and the drivers are crazy. The Wasatch mountains are more dramatic and beautiful than the Boise Mountains, but I think Boise is prettier and nicer within the city. Both great cities filled with nice folks.
Last edited by AnythingOutdoors; 09-22-2023 at 10:47 PM..
I'm willing to bet the SW folks that aren't overly friendly are transplants from other states.
Could be the case but in my experience as a transplant, it feels more like reservation towards outsiders. This is a generalization, and I also wouldn't say people here are generally rude. But, I've definitely sensed contempt in some people. There seems to be an interesting generational pattern where I've had no issues with younger people around my age range, and the friendliest people I've interacted here have tended to be seniors who have lived here for decades. The overtly unfriendly people I've interacted with have tended to be middle-aged, sometimes on the lower end but most often on the tail end of that bracket.
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I live in Boise and spent much of summer 2022 in SLC. In my experience people are about equally nice in both places. Boise Nice is a real thing, and SLC has the LDS influence which is a little standoffish but still nice. SLC is a bigger metro and the drivers are crazy. The Wasatch mountains are more dramatic and beautiful than the Boise Mountains, but I think Boise is prettier and nicer within the city.
No disagreement on the drivers or Boise being a nicer city, although I have heard good things about Lehi where I have not yet ventured down to.
But, a good number of the people I interact with in Boise are transplants. I was moreso referring to the areas surrounding Boise: Nampa, Caldwell, Marsing, McCall, etc. But even in Boise, I've interacted with a fair number of people who seemed to be completely disintereted in socializing. SLC proper I did not like much at all, by SLC-region I was moreso referring to suburbs within that metro.
As far as the Pocatello - Idaho Falls region is concerned, people are generally sociable then?
You're not likely to get a hello from most people you walk past in East Idaho. People are very reserved here
I have never found that to be the case, but I grew up here.
I think that if a newcomer becomes civically active there's a much greater possibility they'll find folks aren't as reserved as they may appear to be.
The activity doesn't have to be any big deal- a guy who likes to coach little league baseball, for example, can make lots of new friends by simply joining the local little league and asking for something to do.
The folks who move in and seldom go out to mingle will have a harder time fitting in because they are slower to learn Idaho's social mannerisms.
Could be the case but in my experience as a transplant, it feels more like reservation towards outsiders. This is a generalization, and I also wouldn't say people here are generally rude. But, I've definitely sensed contempt in some people. There seems to be an interesting generational pattern where I've had no issues with younger people around my age range, and the friendliest people I've interacted here have tended to be seniors who have lived here for decades. The overtly unfriendly people I've interacted with have tended to be middle-aged, sometimes on the lower end but most often on the tail end of that bracket.?
As a transplant myself I mostly concur here. Being friendly and willing to integrate to the way of life and behavior here is key. I would agree that the age bracket of 35-50 seems to be where most of the unfriendliness comes from when I experience it. Though my experience is mostly in NID so could be a different data point.
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Originally Posted by banjomike
I have never found that to be the case, but I grew up here.
I think that if a newcomer becomes civically active there's a much greater possibility they'll find folks aren't as reserved as they may appear to be.
The activity doesn't have to be any big deal- a guy who likes to coach little league baseball, for example, can make lots of new friends by simply joining the local little league and asking for something to do.
The folks who move in and seldom go out to mingle will have a harder time fitting in because they are slower to learn Idaho's social mannerisms.
I have never found that to be the case, but I grew up here.
I think that if a newcomer becomes civically active there's a much greater possibility they'll find folks aren't as reserved as they may appear to be.
The activity doesn't have to be any big deal- a guy who likes to coach little league baseball, for example, can make lots of new friends by simply joining the local little league and asking for something to do.
The folks who move in and seldom go out to mingle will have a harder time fitting in because they are slower to learn Idaho's social mannerisms.
I also was born and raised here. I agree that making friends is based on your own engagement. But I do stand by my previous comment. I hardly ever get acknowledgement from strangers I walk by on the street
You're not likely to get a hello from most people you walk past in East Idaho. People are very reserved here
You'll have to explain why anyone deserves to have everyone who walks past them say hello. That's a strange sort of entitlement. Nobody is that important that they have the right to be acknowledged wherever they are, at any time they happen to be there..
I think part of the issue is that the towns mentioned are all bigger freeway towns/cities. People are coming and going in both/all directions, so the locals tend to see more people stopping for a meal and gas, and maybe a drive around town before/after checking into a motel for the night. Interacting with these transients is much different than interacting with someone who has moved to the area, or is visiting the area for an extended period of time. Also, off freeway towns that don't see a lot of new people passing through tend to see the uniqueness of a visiting person and might be more open to interacting socially (or possibly closed off completely, but I haven't seen that). For example, we RV often to Arco, McKay, Challis areas. We've always found the local folks very accepting and open to various conversations at local businesses/watering holes, or when we run into people while fishing or rockhounding.
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