The other night at a party I was explaining to a guest the difference in attitude between people where I come from - Portland, the Pacific Northwest - and the Islands (Hawaii), where I currently reside. Basically I said that people in the Pacific NW protect themselves inside shells of hipness, while people here seem to have no use for such armor. People here are generally very friendly and open, more so than in Portland or I suppose than most any city on the mainland. People here give good directions, greet strangers they pass in the street, and go out of their way to help you when they work in customer service - and often even if they don't. Hitch-hiking is big here, and whenever I've seen someone thumbing a ride, they've always been picked up within minutes. There is no attitude, no standoffishness, no hipsters. I find myself rather aloof by comparison - old habits die hard - but I'm coming around.
This is interesting, because I've heard people from Seattle and other "big cities" talk about how friendly and quaint people in Portland are. Just like incest, it's all relative.
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