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Leaving Google

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Re: Leaving Google

#191

I visited Seattle and Vancouver for the first time recently. I was surprised at how similar they were. I was expecting Vancouver to be a lot different than it was. Vancouver was even more high-rise, glass-everything, gated-community than Seattle. I spoke with the locals who informed me that was Vancouver's MO, and if I wanted a culturally interesting Canadian city, I should head over to Toronto.

Is "culturally interesting" code for dirty and run down? ;)

Re: Leaving Google

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seattle 8 years. Sadly I have to agree wholeheartedly with this, because I've been unable to find much contrary evidence. The 'Freeze', which is deservedly famous, is very, very real, no matter how many people try to minimize its reality. Go ahead, come here - it's on display every second of every day in every cubic meter of the city. The only people who will make eye contact or speak a word to you are the homeless -…

I have lived in the bay area, south bay specifically, for 2 years now and I dont remember the last stranger who spoke to me beyond the general politeness. I meet people through a common activity, like playing a sport, tech meetups etc. but that is the same for Seattle. So what really is the freeze and how does it affect you? P.S. - I have lived in Seattle and would move back in a heartbeat if I had the same professio…

Whether it is possible to proactively mitigate a circumstance has no bearing on whether the circumstance exists. I met plenty of people through sports and work. The Freeze is a local, cultural ambient background of social norms. It's an impression that each person is, more than usual, in their own private world. It's a lack of friendliness. It's strangers never looking at you or saying 'hi' - and there are places in the world where it is normal to look at strangers and say hi when you pass them. People don't say much. When they do they don't emote much, and it tends toward mealy-mouthed politeness. I could theorize about potential factors - off the top of my head I'd guess it's partly due to an unusually high population of affluent introverts. By now, even second-generation affluent introverts (e.g. the grown children of the people who made Windows). It affects me as a constant general background of insularity and alienation. It's quite apart from the issue of whether I've made friends through activities - I've done that. Obviously, nobody is saying that no human being in Seattle ever associates with any other, ever.

It also occurs to me that it's maybe a sort of social tragedy of the commons. There's nothing wrong with being a locksmith, but an entire society of locksmiths would probably run into problems. Likewise, it's not a sin to be introverted, but a party (or a city) where everyone is introverted is going to be missing something, and become very dependent on the presence of Guitar Hero or Settlers of Catan stations for fun.

Re: Leaving Google

#196
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Downvoted for your blanket statements about an entire populace. Calgary might be more racist? Based on? Most major Canadian cities are close to the US border, for three very important reasons: geography, temperature & economy. Geography: because a good part of the country is covered in Canadian Shield, making it very expensive to excavate land. Temperature: because the nicest temperatures are near the border. Economy…

> Calgary might be more racist? Based on? And CA is more racist: based on what?

In my observation the blue states are less racist, so I agree with you. I guess shitting on SF is the trendy thing to do, so I expect that from a few. OP must have met a girl in Calgary that wouldn't go all the way with him.

Re: Leaving Google

#197
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seeing as California is extraordinarily passive-aggressive (from a New Englander’s perspective), that really says something.

Being from Europe, I can only confirm that people in the Bay Area are in fact, incredibly passive-aggressive. The first few years I must admit that I felt like living on Mars. Even-though I'm coming from a "western" country whose lifestyle and tradition are somewhat similar, the cultural gap was actually much bigger than say, with Indians or Latinos. At work for example, it took me a rather long time to understand th…

As an Englishman, i have found this whole thread about the cultural differences up and down the west coast somewhat fascinating. What i'm missing is a cross-reference to the European scale of societies.

I live in London, where we don't speak to our neighbours or make eye contact on the tube; would i actually be more comfortable in Seattle than San Francisco? Or would it be over the top, like being in Sweden or something? Or is the variation along a completely different axis?

Re: Leaving Google

#198
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seattle is 16+% Asian and 70-% white, 8.4% black and 1% native. How is that very white? In contrast, LA is 50% white, 10% asian, 10% black, with a 50% Hispanic (many co-identifying as white or black). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Seattle

eevilspock: Actually, most people in Seattle are recent arrivals, irrespective of national origin. "Of the people living Seattle itself, only 37% were born in WA, 44% another state, and 19% another country according to the 2006 census." http://www.city-data.com/forum/seattle-area/281766-transplan... http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/NPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=1...

Ya, I was born in Portland myself, though my dad is from walla walla and my mom is from Ketchikan. Seattle is the capital of basically the entire northwest, from Prudhoe Bay to Grants Pass, all the way east into Idaho and Montana.

Re: Leaving Google

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seattle is 16+% Asian and 70-% white, 8.4% black and 1% native. How is that very white? In contrast, LA is 50% white, 10% asian, 10% black, with a 50% Hispanic (many co-identifying as white or black). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Seattle

That 16% asian population mostly arrived in the last 20 years from SE asia. They and the black population is highly segregated compared to New York or the Bay Area. No one here is holding L.A. as a great example. Try Vancouver (from the OP), San Francisco, or New York. http://www.metafilter.com/65711/Segregated-Seattle https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/maps_2010.htm

Actually, Seattle's asian community is increasingly Chinese, while San Francisco took in more SE refuges than Seattle did (and are more asian for it, but increasingly Chinese also). Both Seattle and the Bay Area have strong Vietnamese and Korean communities also (seattle area has the largest outside of CA).

All those demographics are on wiki: Vancouver is 40 % asian (and like 25% Chinese) which we all know, San Francisco is 33% asian but only 6% black (not counting Oakland I guess, but we aren't counting Tacoma for Seattle either). New York is New York.

I have no idea where you get saying they are segregated, at least when it comes to asian. Black is more urban, but that's hardly surprising (unless we want to start talking about seatac and Tacoma, which are different cities).

Re: Leaving Google

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really because we (seattlites) just don't like Californians very much; they are turned on all the time, shifty, and drive super aggressively. Makes sense that he feeling would be mutual (e.g. Too passive, naive, and drive super cautiously). This was a real thing in the 90s at least.

As a born and raised Californian that has visited Seattle via car a few times, I agree completely about our driving habits. There is a reason we drive that way though, it's out of necessity. Our traffic is heavy and drivers are very self-centered so the only way to get anywhere is to be aggressive and take space and position or someone else will. Personally I preferred the driver's mentality of the northwest and once…

I've heard many Californian transplants complain about Seattle drivers being so timid, and it really is true we can't drive when it is raining, snowy, or sunny (too much glare).
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