Are people in the DC area just a different kind of rude?

[Anonymous]

Yes. So many dysfunctional nerds now raising their kids and passing on poor social skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole no eye contact or acknowledgement when passing by people on the sidewalk drives me crazy.

This is not my experience at all in DC, but then most of my neighbors are longtime residents who have been here at least a couple generations. We acknowledge each other and say hi, even if we don't know each other. It's one of my favorite things about DC.

But the transplants, not so much.

Agree. All my life, walking the dog, people always exchange brief eye contact and smile, or a simple hello. The newcomers? They avoid eye contact with a closed unfriendly face.

Not true

In our DMV zip code the vast majority of us are trans plants from Other countries and states - and the vast majority are pleasant when I walk our dogs. Many people smile and want to chat. People chat at the school bus stop in the mornings. Many transplants volunteer in our local citizen group that plans and runs many community events.

This is a false dichotomy and causality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole no eye contact or acknowledgement when passing by people on the sidewalk drives me crazy.

This is not my experience at all in DC, but then most of my neighbors are longtime residents who have been here at least a couple generations. We acknowledge each other and say hi, even if we don't know each other. It's one of my favorite things about DC.

But the transplants, not so much.

Agree. All my life, walking the dog, people always exchange brief eye contact and smile, or a simple hello. The newcomers? They avoid eye contact with a closed unfriendly face.

Not true

In our DMV zip code the vast majority of us are trans plants from Other countries and states - and the vast majority are pleasant when I walk our dogs. Many people smile and want to chat. People chat at the school bus stop in the mornings. Many transplants volunteer in our local citizen group that plans and runs many community events.

This is a false dichotomy and causality.

Animal to plant, or mineral to plant?

[Anonymous]

People are friendly to me when I am friendly to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole no eye contact or acknowledgement when passing by people on the sidewalk drives me crazy.

This is not my experience at all in DC, but then most of my neighbors are longtime residents who have been here at least a couple generations. We acknowledge each other and say hi, even if we don't know each other. It's one of my favorite things about DC.

But the transplants, not so much.

Agree. All my life, walking the dog, people always exchange brief eye contact and smile, or a simple hello. The newcomers? They avoid eye contact with a closed unfriendly face.

Not true

In our DMV zip code the vast majority of us are trans plants from Other countries and states - and the vast majority are pleasant when I walk our dogs. Many people smile and want to chat. People chat at the school bus stop in the mornings. Many transplants volunteer in our local citizen group that plans and runs many community events.

This is a false dichotomy and causality.

Animal to plant, or mineral to plant?

😀

I’d say plant (invasive) to mineral (diamonds in the rough) ….

😃

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Move to a Black neighborhood, OP. Much friendlier. You'll see the difference right away.

Help gentrify a neighborhood where you have no historical ties, make it more expensive for the people who’ve lived there forever decades, and then think you’ll be welcomed just because your white presence brightens things up?

Do you understand how arrogant that is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lobbyists and the staff of congress-critters are some of the lowest forms of life; the most entitled, opinionated, arrogant a-h0les in existence.

Let’s not forget how many DC dwellers are lawyers.

So true. And most of them can't even figure out the simplest things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a bunch of nerds with low EQ.

Hall monitor types.

Yes to this! The kids who would remind the teacher she didn’t assign homework.
I don’t think DC types go out of their way to be rude though. I think so many here just lack any sense of social skills. I would add too that for whatever reason the people’s anxiety level is off the charts.

[Anonymous]

I lived in the DMV for about 10 years. Other places I've lived include London, NYC, Los Angeles, and Germany.

I would say hands down, it is the rudest, most socially dysfunctional of all these places. Even people from former East Berlin have better social skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived in the DMV for about 10 years. Other places I've lived include London, NYC, Los Angeles, and Germany.

I would say hands down, it is the rudest, most socially dysfunctional of all these places. Even people from former East Berlin have better social skills.

I’ve lived on six continents and our part of DMV is lovely … people are friendly, many community events, many parks nearby and good restaurants .

[Anonymous]

Grew up and lived MW all my life prior to transplanting here and ABSOLUTELY DMV area def has an arrogance/rudeness that can't be matched. Everyone one here has some ulterior motive. For real. They aren't just nice because they are nice. You go around the country and you will find nice for the sake of nice, not here. It's always about something for them.

I swear to God it's true. But look at the number of attorneys, lobbyists, defense contractors, military, GovCon and other political players who live around here. That's what they do as a living so yes, anyone who thinks folks around here are as truly nice as the rest of the country are in denial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up and lived MW all my life prior to transplanting here and ABSOLUTELY DMV area def has an arrogance/rudeness that can't be matched. Everyone one here has some ulterior motive. For real. They aren't just nice because they are nice. You go around the country and you will find nice for the sake of nice, not here. It's always about something for them.

I swear to God it's true. But look at the number of attorneys, lobbyists, defense contractors, military, GovCon and other political players who live around here. That's what they do as a living so yes, anyone who thinks folks around here are as truly nice as the rest of the country are in denial.

m

There is a flip side to that - people here are better educated and also love the arts. There are people from all over, which makes it more dynamic for me. I could not live in many US cities due to the narrow mindedness and now lack of women’s health rights.


That said, I do really like the MW cities we have visited.

DMV has > 7 million people now and many smaller places with distinct personalities within it. Our little DMV town is charming but I am sure many are not.

[Anonymous]

When I went to Cali with my partner I was all weirded out for the first night when people were calmly chatting at a party and getting to know each other. What are they doing and what do they want?!?! Are they all on some weird drugs and are they going to try to get me to join a cult? No, I had just forgotten how confident, normal, friendly people talk to one another, as opposed to here where they are trying to one-up and name drop the whole time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not my experience at all. I moved here 26 years ago. You are what you attract, just saying….

Same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I went to Cali with my partner I was all weirded out for the first night when people were calmly chatting at a party and getting to know each other. What are they doing and what do they want?!?! Are they all on some weird drugs and are they going to try to get me to join a cult? No, I had just forgotten how confident, normal, friendly people talk to one another, as opposed to here where they are trying to one-up and name drop the whole time.

I don’t know anyone who does this and I have lived here since the 1990s.