After 6 years I am ready to leave Seattle. (Roosevelt: lower-class, lawyer)

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by iskray917

I've come to think that everyone complaining about the people and feeling lonely in Seattle are the same people who have trouble making new friends or being outgoing in a new environment and feel the need to wine about their issues online.

Never had issues elsewhere.

But I've yet to figure out why other city's forums don't have the same problem then, so maybe not.

ahh whatever.

Thaaaat's the spirit!

[iskray917]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Actually, this same complaint has surfaced in the San Francisco (and to some degree San Diego) forum from time to time. It seems to be an epidemic in the Seattle forum though but the gripes are the same; introverted, cold and non-friendly. I've noticed that a lot of these complainers are not west coast natives and are not aware of the culture our cities share which is different than what many may be used to. While my time in Seattle was short, I found it no different really than what I'm used to down here. Seattle is a wonderful place as we all know but it requires patients for some.

Seattle seems to me to be sort of like that one professor you have who gets bad reviews on ratemyprofessors.com but who actually turns out to be a nice guy. Turns out he's a tough grader and all the clowns online rate him badly because they weren't prepared to make the effort that was needed to succeed in his class. They got bad grades, so they decide to blame it on the professor.

Sort of the same thing with apartment ratings. People only feel the need to write bad reviews online when they have a problem. All the happy tenants, or in the previous case, good prepared students, are never heard from.

[searching4...]

Well, I still can't get a feel for it yet --- is it widely accepted that it is harder to meet/get close to people in Seattle? I'm considering a move from the east coast but definitely want to be in a place where it's easy to meet people, people are friendly, etc. I have trouble enough where I am but also feel a lack of shared values that I was thinking I'd have with PNW'ers (more spiritual, health & environmental consciousness, etc). Maybe I'm just operating on too many stereotypes! Does anyone have a sense of how Portland, OR compares?

Thanks : )

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by iskray917

I've come to think that everyone complaining about the people and feeling lonely in Seattle are the same people who have trouble making new friends or being outgoing in a new environment and feel the need to wine about their issues online.

But I've yet to figure out why other city's forums don't have the same problem then, so maybe not.

ahh whatever.

Not true. I am a one-time Seattleite (18 years there) that used to complain about the "cold" culture but am now happily living in Austin, TX. I've met several ex-Seattlites here who cannot believe the difference in cultures. Seattle is a tough place for extroverts with a direct style because that type of personality is not valued there. It's that simple.

My niece is down here right now visiting from the PNW and cannot get over how friendly everyone is here. She sees it as a real positive, as do I. However, I imagine there are some people that would find such friendliness intrusive. Those are the types of people that feel at home in Seattle.

That said, I'm not saying that people that feel comfortable in Seattle are bad people, they are just different.

[observer]

Jennibc, I agree with you. Even though I personally like Seattle better than Austin in large part because of the summer weather, scenery, and more outdoor opportunities, people do seem a bit friendlier and more open in Austin. Not that people are not nice or cannot be friendly in Seattle, but like you stated, they are different.

I have been to Austin twice and each time for a relatively short stay. Personally, I feel that Austin is overrated. Not a bad place, but considering how it usually ranks in the top 5 or 10 in many categories in different publications I feel it is over hyped. Like you mentioned though, people seem to be a bit more open. In fact, the few times I went out to downtown Austin to hit the bars on 6th street and the blocks around 6th, 4th through 7th I believe, the bar scene, the people, and the level of service was pretty good considering that Austin is not a huge metropolitan area.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by iskray917

Seattle seems to me to be sort of like that one professor you have who gets bad reviews on ratemyprofessors.com but who actually turns out to be a nice guy. Turns out he's a tough grader and all the clowns online rate him badly because they weren't prepared to make the effort that was needed to succeed in his class. They got bad grades, so they decide to blame it on the professor.

Sort of the same thing with apartment ratings. People only feel the need to write bad reviews online when they have a problem. All the happy tenants, or in the previous case, good prepared students, are never heard from.

Great analogy and you're probably right.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

Not true. I am a one-time Seattleite (18 years there) that used to complain about the "cold" culture but am now happily living in Austin, TX. I've met several ex-Seattlites here who cannot believe the difference in cultures. Seattle is a tough place for extroverts with a direct style because that type of personality is not valued there. It's that simple.

My niece is down here right now visiting from the PNW and cannot get over how friendly everyone is here. She sees it as a real positive, as do I. However, I imagine there are some people that would find such friendliness intrusive. Those are the types of people that feel at home in Seattle.

That said, I'm not saying that people that feel comfortable in Seattle are bad people, they are just different.

Interesting jenni, a lot of people I know in California who visit Seattle or the PNW in general talk about how much friendlier the people are there. I've noticed that myself as well.

[chris]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Interesting jenni, a lot of people I know in California who visit Seattle or the PNW in general talk about how much friendlier the people are there. I've noticed that myself as well.

People here in Seattle are generally more polite than people in CA. That doesn't necessarily translate to "friendly" or friendships/relationships.

Jennibc has the focal point down though, Seattle is a very different type of area. For introvert personalities, (imo) Seattle is perfect. That's not to say that extroverts won't feel comfortable here, but it may be somewhat different than areas they may have lived in before.

[observer]

Originally Posted by chris

People here in Seattle are generally more polite than people in CA. That doesn't necessarily translate to "friendly" or friendships/relationships.

Jennibc has the focal point down though, Seattle is a very different type of area. For introvert personalities, (imo) Seattle is perfect. That's not to say that extroverts won't feel comfortable here, but it may be somewhat different than areas they may have lived in before.

I agree with these posts. Without a doubt, I found people in Seattle to be considerably more polite than people in Southern Cal., especially L.A.

[iskray917]

I could listen to everyone on here talk about the cold, unfriendly culture... or I could go out and talk to all the real people I know who feel the opposite. I've honestly never met someone in real life who has this particular problem with Seattle, and never knew it existed even, until I found this forum.