Advice for a west coaster moving to the east coast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m from the Pacific Northwest. I moved to the East Coast for my first job out of college (Boston) and it was a huge culture shock. Everyone seemed rude, cold and socially conservative. Even white people were segregated—Irish neighborhoods, Italian neighborhoods, etc. The constant feeling of being rushed and ignored passed as I got used to it, but it was a lonely and exhausting first winter. DC (not The Hill, but regular-jobs-DC) is much less uptight and, surprisingly, less segregated (racially and socioeconomically, which says a lot about Boston) in my opinion. I agree about the weather—snow for months on end is hard. It also feels like outdoor activities are harder to find, but that’s mostly because of the traffic.

Boston is not the entire east coast, but I agree Bostoners by far are the rudest people in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s very fast paced. People are always “on.” The closer you are to DC, the more your news is dominated by politics.

Not everywhere you people are leaving out the half of the east coast that is south of DC.
Personally I would pick Savannah or Charleston, but it sounds like OP wants something bigger.

Again, the south is not the east coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will pass people in the street who when you smile and say hello, will simply stare back at you, silently, as if you are a martian.

Signed someone who has lived on both coasts.

+1

Many people on the east coast don't say hi even when you say hi to them. There is just this blank stare. It's the weirdest thing.

My experience was pretty much the exact opposite. I moved to DC from Palo Alto, and was blown away that everyone I passed on the street in DC seemed to say, "Hi--how you doin?" I got into the habit of doing it, too. When I went back to Palo Alto, I swear the first lady I said "How you doin?" to on the street called the police on me. I am a white woman, so it was not a race or gender thing--it just freaked her the hell out.

D.C. is a Southern city and south of the Mason/Dixon line. Transplants often have to get used to the culture of speaking to strangers in passing on the streets and when entering rooms it’s common practice to address everyone with a greeting. If you mean people on the east coast that don’t speak, you are talking about NY/NJ and the New England areas. I look for people who are able to adapt to the DC Southern culture when making decisions about hiring interns for full time staff positions.

Signed,
A DC Native

It may be south tomorrow f the Mason Dixon line, but only a yankee would consider DC to be a southern city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's very green on the east coast. Lots of trees. Even if you are from the mountainous forest on the west coast, you don't realize how much greenery we have here. That is if you leave your neighborhood and wander into the state and national parks.

Yeah, because Oregon and Washington lack green.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very green on the east coast. Lots of trees. Even if you are from the mountainous forest on the west coast, you don't realize how much greenery we have here. That is if you leave your neighborhood and wander into the state and national parks.

Yeah, because Oregon and Washington lack green.

It actually does, if you ever lived there. So depressing