East, west, home(page) is best?
Josh’s post earlier this week was the icing on my cake, tying several things together in my mind. After living here several years, I had become accustomed to the fact that people here were a little bit… reserved. However, this is the first time it’s occurred to me to apply this tidbit of information to more than just socializing. In fact, I’ve finally tied it to goods and services: SHOPPING.
Take this quote from the same article Josh quoted from:
When she arrived from Orange County, potential-friend types would say, “Hey, let’s do something sometime.” And she thought they meant it. She’d try to actually set something up. “People would seem shocked; I was seen as aggressive for asking people to do a specific thing at a specific time.”
Well, this would explain why those people at Lamps Plus never called me back. Here I was thinking “Free In-Home Consultation” meant that they were going to COME OVER TO MY HOUSE and TRY TO SELL ME A LAMP. Instead what it actually meant was that someday, if they maybe felt like taking my money from me and allowing me to take a lamp from their store, they would give me a call.
And no wonder my lawnmowing guy never showed up. I thought that by agreeing to pay him the over-inflated sum of $60 per mow, I had virtually guaranteed that he would show up as often as possible. Instead, the lawn was regularly hip deep in grass during that summer.
While I’m learning to communicate with the local merchants, is it any wonder that more of us every year are turning to the internet for our shopping needs? Take my recent purchase at Seattle Lighting as an example.
1) I went to a local light store, so I could see the product in person. Never happened, because they don’t carry every single thing in the whole wide world, so I had to special order it.
2) At least, by ordering it at a store close by, I’d be able to return it easily if it didn’t suit. Except they don’t refund special-order stock.
3) There’s nothing like a local store for that special customer service. They’re UPSing it, so at least I know it’ll get here in the 7 to 10 business days promised. Only, it never did, and when I called them up on Friday afternoon, they didn’t have the tracking number. Why not? Because the factory has it. Well, call the factory. They’re on the east coast and they’re closed. I see. So you sold me something, and promised it would get here on Thursday and now you don’t know where it is? Was it too much for me to expect to be able to do a specific thing at a specific time?
At least I got to pay the government their sales tax.
The Seattle Freeze is REAL!!
I first moved here in 1986 from BEAUTIFUL, WARM, SUNNY Southern California. I moved back to California that same year due to the Seattle Freeze! Unfortunately I ended back up here in 1993 and have been here ever since!! However… I will finally be getting the hell out of this crap hole in May of this year…. and I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This place SUCKS!!! You can have it!
Like I have always said “WARM WEATHER, WARM PEOPLE!!!!! COLD SHITTY WEATHER, COLD SHITTY PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The people who do not believe there is such a thing as the Seattle Freeze have never lived any place else!!!
My friend was one of the people interviewed in that Seattle Times article. I love her, but I don’t agree with her view of Seattle.
I started off in Jersey, spent 12 years in SoCal, then moved to Seattle. NEWS FLASH: making friends in a new town is ALWAYS hard. For me, Seattle was no better or worse than L.A. People have full lives and it’s hard to find your niche in a new place. Your “home” state always seems better because you already have a niche there.
I think that people who believe in the Seattle Freeze should ask themselves how often THEY have made room in their lives for someone new in town. I make a point of befriending newcomers, because I know what it’s like to be the new girl. But I know too many people who expect a welcome wagon when they need it, but never roll one out for anyone else.
Unless you just walked off the plane, someone here is newer than you. Reach out to that person and discover Seattle together. By taking a positive action (and taking a break from complaining), you just might discover that you built your own happiness–instead of waiting for someone else to hand it to you.
I understand what you are saying about making friends in a new place is hard
Yeah, Starr, it must be Seattle that’s to blame for your loneliness. It couldn’t possibly be your attitude that causes it.
Please don’t wait until May to leave. We’d be happy to drop you off at the airport now.
What is wrong Griffin? The truth hurts?
Starr is right. Seattle does suck in that respect and the Seattle Freeze is real. Ive moved several times in my life, several places in the US and also in Europe, and always have settled RIGHT IN VERY QUICKLY.
Until I came to the PacNW. The people here are, generally, unfriendly, socially-incompetent, shallow, uninteresting and just all around lame.
A shame, because the fact that Americans are generally very genuinely open and friendly is by far their most becoming trait. Unfortunately Seattleites have cashed in their chips in that respect, and all its left are ugly Americans with lots of emotional baggage.
Soon as I am done with my degree at school, im outa here.
Good riddance.
To Seattlesux:
Well said!!
Well, the comments here are interesting and all -too familiar. However, to say that the people here are lame and uninteresting just because you’ve never really gotten to know them is just as shallow and ignorant. There are a lot of thoughts and feelings hiding behind the cool exterior but the cold vibe keeps a lot of us from speaking out. Yes, Seattle is a cold place in terms of social graces - even I, a lifelong resident of Washington State, feel it when I’ve visited other locales. But keep in mind that the attitude here is so prevalent it will cause a person who is otherwise bubbly and with a killer personality to suddenly shutup when they realize that no one around them is responding to their otherwise normal behavior. Seattle is probably not going to change overnight, it’s going to take some good people to crack the surface. Maybe someday…
Seattle is full of oold boring and gutless people as soon as my daughter is 18 I’m outta here and back to the east coast. Nice mountain though.
Whiners should just stay out of this city because you’re making the rest who enjoy this place sound bad! I bet you’ll go on about your complaining wherever city you move to, so just take all the whining to your next place. Thanks for visiting and good riddance! Food for thought: Maybe it’s not the place, but the person with the problem.
I’m confused. I’m a Pacific Northwesterner stuck temporarily on the East Coast and I am reading this blog because I miss the NW. Why is it that all of you are reading it? If you hate Seattle so much, why read something dedicated to the city and it’s people?
And just to put in my two cents, I grew up in CA, and found the people of Seattle to be FAR more friendly than the average Californian. Quieter maybe, but is that a bad thing? I’ll take introspective people and beautiful nature anyday over loud, self-centered people and smoggy freeways.