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 lived in AZ for 16 years before moving here for work reasons (Boeing). After 7 years of living here there isn't one person I would feel comfortable calling for anything social. My social network consists of people I have kept in touch with back in AZ.
After living here 7 years, if where to move away today - there would be nobody for me to come back and visit.
Prior to living here I never in my life had any trouble making friends and having a social network.
Yes folks are polite here - they can even seem happy-go-lucky but NOBODY IS FRIENDLY.
I lived in AZ for 16 years before moving here for work reasons (Boeing). After 7 years of living here there isn't one person I would feel comfortable calling for anything social. My social network consists of people I have kept in touch with back in AZ. After living here 7 years, if where to move away today - there would be nobody for me to come back and visit. Prior to living here I never in my life had any trouble making friends and having a social network. Yes folks are polite here - they can even seem happy-go-lucky but NOBODY IS FRIENDLY.
People here have to work too much just to be able to pay their bills to have a social life. We used to do "stuff" with our friends all the time. It seems like the last 5-6 years we hardly even talk to them anymore. Why? We are all working more and more hours just to be able to live here. I was seriously doing better here about 5 years ago when I was making about 20,000 less a year. I haven't went out a bunch of "stuff" either to get myself in debt. It's the basics that are killing me.
I am moving out of here the first chance I get. It's math at this point. I could move to a southern state, make 20-30,000 less a year, work less, retire earlier, do better, etc., etc., etc. and be able to live a life instead of living to work. I don't think it necessarily about not being friendly. I think a lot of people are just too freakin' busy to do anything other than work out of necessity (IMO). I've turned into a bad friend myself for this reason.
It's interesting to read everybody's comments. Everybody states their opinions as it's the gospel truth which is fine because we all have our opinions and feel that they are valid and legitimately truthful.
As many of you know, I moved away from Seattle because of the climate. I've stated this a few times before on this forum but I can't believe that the people living in the Seattle area right now are any more unfriendly than anywhere else of comparable size.
I grew up in Seattle many decades ago and I didn't find the people cold or unfriendly at all. Through the years, especially during the boom in population that started in the mid-1970s, people from all over the country started moving into the area with many coming from California. Then in the late 80s and into the 90's when the tech boom started, that added more people moving into the area not only from all over the country but from outside the country as well.
With all these new folks moving in, it greatly diluted those of us who were born and raised in the Seattle area. Today, these born and raised folk are in the minority. So with people for all over the country and all over the world now making up the majority of the people living in the Seattle area, how can we say that ALL people are alike? That ALL are cold and unfriendly? That ALL are polite but are unwilling to establish long-term friendships?
How can anybody say those things when the people living in the Seattle area are from different areas of the country and different countries of the world. How on earth can everybody be alike?
I've met some VERY friendly and warm people throughout all the years I lived there. Some were native to Washington, some were from other parts of the country, some were from the Orient, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia, various parts of Europe, Canada ...gee, I could probably remember folks from more places if I thought about it some more.
I just don't understand how people can classify EVERYBODY in a geographical area as being one way or the other.
And Charles, most of my close friends are located in Seattle rather than the place I reside now. How is that explained?
Seattle is still cheaper than DC, not by much...but it is still cheaper.
I've just finished doing three separate online COA calculations and Seattle was cheaper in all three of those.
I find the Places Rated website by Bert Sperling to be the most useful in figuring cost of living comparisons. There is a feature on the website where you select where you currently live and where you are considering moving to and it calculates how much more expensive (or cheaper) it is in the new city. A few years ago Boston was noticeably more expensive than Seattle but now Seattle has caught up and is almost neck and neck. Chicago used to be only a few percentage points less expensive than Seattle but because of the rise in Seattle's cost of living, there is a greater drop now for Chicago.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
712 posts, read 1,366,878 times
Reputation: 261
Quote:
Originally Posted by JDTD
People here have to work too much just to be able to pay their bills to have a social life. We used to do "stuff" with our friends all the time. It seems like the last 5-6 years we hardly even talk to them anymore. Why? We are all working more and more hours just to be able to live here. I was seriously doing better here about 5 years ago when I was making about 20,000 less a year. I haven't went out a bunch of "stuff" either to get myself in debt. It's the basics that are killing me.
I am moving out of here the first chance I get. It's math at this point. I could move to a southern state, make 20-30,000 less a year, work less, retire earlier, do better, etc., etc., etc. and be able to live a life instead of living to work. I don't think it necessarily about not being friendly. I think a lot of people are just too freakin' busy to do anything other than work out of necessity (IMO). I've turned into a bad friend myself for this reason.
I am with you 100%. I would recommend you consider Pennsylvania or Ohio like my wife & I & kids are. The south is TOO hot IMHO - plus you will find better people in the midwest & east coast.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
712 posts, read 1,366,878 times
Reputation: 261
Quote:
Originally Posted by scirocco22
I just don't understand how people can classify EVERYBODY in a geographical area as being one way or the other.
It is something in the air or in the altitudes, maybe in the water they drink! But it is true, what he meant to say was that people here are passive-aggressive.
My wife & kids & I go out for drives, I drive like a true professional - always use turn signals & I don't tail gate or cut anyone off ever. Sure enough, the inevitable happens, a middle finger emerges. If I started to take pictures up and down the highway, I would capture a large collection of middle fingers.
People love to flip off anyone, does matter if you are a priest or a carpenter, a family in a minivan, small children singing Christmas carols, you will get flipped off by the passive-aggressive people of Seattle. I bet they would even flip off a newborn baby! You see this in vast numbers every day. People with one hand on the cell phone, the other with the middle finger in the air. Is this not a good example of Seattle?
I would beg to find out what would happen of those Seattle people if they flipped off others on the highways of Los Angeles or Dallas, TX or even New York City?
I guess my point is that these are not necessarily "people of Seattle." They may now live in Seattle but they could be from Pennsylvannia, Ohio, or any other place in the mid-west or east coast ...and no doubt, many from California.
Again, in the 1960s and 70's, I don't remember people giving the finger randomly to others in public as you describe. I wasn't brought up that way and neither were the kids I grew up with. I do agree that it's quite common now in the greater Seattle area.
It angers me that many make such sweeping generalizations of "people of Seattle" when the most of whom you refer to are transplants. For those of us who were born and raised there, it's insulting. I realize that no amount of arguing is going to change your mind because it's your perception of the "people of Seattle" and I realize that you and many other participants here are not going to give what I say much credence. We've had this type of discussion several times on this forum during the last year and a half and sure enough, somebody new to the forum will start a thread and reiterate all this "b.s." (my opinion) all over again.
I'm not going to hold that against you because you have the right to feel anyway you want and to express it on this board. However, I just want to express the fact that there are a few of us that are hurt and confused as to why a lot of you can keep making such sweeping generalizations.
I don't understand it but I'm too far outnumbered on this forum by those of you who hold these perceptions.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
712 posts, read 1,366,878 times
Reputation: 261
Quote:
Originally Posted by scirocco22
I guess my point is that these are not necessarily "people of Seattle." They may now live in Seattle but they could be from Pennsylvannia, Ohio, or any other place in the mid-west or east coast ...and no doubt, many from California.
Again, in the 1960s and 70's, I don't remember people giving the finger randomly to others in public as you describe. I wasn't brought up that way and neither were the kids I grew up with. I do agree that it's quite common now in the greater Seattle area.
It angers me that many make such sweeping generalizations of "people of Seattle" when the most of whom you refer to are transplants. For those of us who were born and raised there, it's insulting. I realize that no amount of arguing is going to change your mind because it's your perception of the "people of Seattle" and I realize that you and many other participants here are not going to give what I say much credence. We've had this type of discussion several times on this forum during the last year and a half and sure enough, somebody new to the forum will start a thread and reiterate all this "b.s." (my opinion) all over again.
I'm not going to hold that against you because you have the right to feel anyway you want and to express it on this board. However, I just want to express the fact that there are a few of us that are hurt and confused as to why a lot of you can keep making such sweeping generalizations.
I don't understand it but I'm too far outnumbered on this forum by those of you who hold these perceptions.
Where in Seattle do you live? Let's take a close look and consider your point of view.
Since you're new here, I'm sure you didn't go back and read all my old posts.
I was born and raised in the Seattle area and lived most of my adult life in various parts of Washington. Most recently, on the eastside where I lived and worked for many years. I've been gone for several years now but come back to the area frequently as I have many friends and family in the area.
The three reasons I left were what I described to my friends as my 3-C's 1. the climate 2. the increasing rate of congestion and 3. the increasing rate of crime. The congestion and crime aspects obviously aren't an exclusive Seattle area problems but the climate IS and that's the main reason for my wanting to leave. Over five decades of the cold, wet, damp, rainy climate took its toll.
But notice, I never mentioned that I found the "people" intolerable. People are people no matter where you go. There are friendly, warm, polite people in all large metro areas as there are impolite, cold, rude and passive-agressive people in any metro area. That goes for Seattle or any other metro area of a million plus people.
And I don't see why what part of the city I live in would make that much difference.
Location: In a place with little freedom (aka USA)
712 posts, read 1,366,878 times
Reputation: 261
I dont understand these Seattle people, they always get hissy and hurt feelings.
You see alot of this stuff in Seattle, the men here are very delicate, they seem to be very fragile. They tend to use hand lotion, clip their nails all the time, carry a hair brush, etc. They even carry man purses! Far from what you see in Philly or NYC or Boston. But hey, I am not saying its bad to over-groom, its just more than most people are used to seeing. By the way these are the same people that flip you off on the highways.
Truth is that unless you are making TONS of money and your job gives you lots of freedom, forget it, it will be hard to make it. Best advice for anyone is to CAREFULLY read all these posts. Hear what people have to say about the city. You will see that Seattle is OK for visiting & vacation. But for the most part people with kids live here as a mistake and end up moving away - as I am going to in 6 months.
How many agree?
Last edited by scirocco22; 01-14-2008 at 10:13 PM..
Reason: quote orphaned
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.
