Quote:
Originally Posted by guarddog
Here is a good example. In Washington, DC, its perfectly acceptable to ask what a person does for a living, and I mean within the first three or four sentences - followed immediately by where do you live. With that information you can discern ball park salary range, status, social circles, and if you want to associate with that person or not.
In Oregon, if somebody asks what do you do, the response is something along the iines of artist, cyclist, runner, organic farmer, etc. What you "do" is your hobby. Your job doesn't define you.
There are some great things about the DC area, lot of stuff to do, three airports in the area, major train station, East Coast Corridor (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC).
That being said, people are Type A, the area makes people hypersensitive and just generally tense and/or angry. A "me" first attitude. My wife and I talked about this, and I think in Oregon, the mentality is still help your neighbor (Oregon trail days), because if you don't help no one else will. And if they should happen to live through the 'ordeal' they'll let all the neighbors know you didn't help. Hope that makes sense.
I guess the best way to sum the East Coast is its great - if it weren't for the people.
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I was born and raised in the northern Va area. So, pretty much DC. If you live there you know what I mean. While I agree with you with the 'me' first attitude, it also depends on where you live. If you're in the suburbs of DC, your neighbors determine the attitude. I have friends that are in row houses in DC and the neighbors are fantastic. It's assumed that if someone's BBQing, you're invited. My parents live in South Riding. That's a horrible, horrible place to live if you want to talk to neighbors. They are in a bubble of society where they don't even have bike racks at the local grocery stores which are walking/biking distance. That neighborhood encourages the use of your overgrown SUV.
One of the things I miss about DC is the culture. I've lived in Boulder, Co and now Vancouver, Wa. The Smithsonian Museums are all FREE. Almost anything to do in DC is FREE. Most people don't even know there is an aquarium there. And it's FREE. It's by no means like the Baltimore Aquarium, but it's nice.
What I've also learned about living west of the Mississippi is that life is slower. Some people are drawn to that. Some people want it. I like the option. That's why we moved to Boulder and now Vancouver. There are still 'major' cities to go to when you want someone to speak to that is a little more educated. Sometimes you want to talk to someone that knows what's going on in the world. Sometimes you want to not be anywhere close to another living soul. It's hard to find those types living arrangements, but Boulder and Vancouver have done pretty well.
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