I really love thinking about the U.S. as different "clans" of people. Each region and small universe of culture is so distinct in geography, climate, values, and lifestyle. In fact, this idea has inspired a fiction novel that I intend to start this weekend. I want to create a universe of my own for fun!
It's no surprise to anyone I know that I am in love with the Pacific Northwest. I have always been so thankful to grow up here. The beautiful summers, crisp falls, "stormy" winters, misty and colorful springs. The four seasons.
On the topic of storms...
I do have to say that after having lived in various places, the NW "storms" are more of a HINT of a storm than a real storm -- outsiders may even believe we're joking when we claim we're having a "storm". In the winter of 2012 the weather people told us to prepare for a storm -- do you know what that storm entailed? 33-degree weather. That's it!! Lol. I mean, I know it's dangerous because we are people of the mountains and mountains + black ice = a bad thing. But lightning is a once in a blue moon thrill here, whereas in DC lightning seems to be nearly a nightly occurrence while tornado sirens in Ohio become your lullaby. We don't have tornadoes, lightning, thunder, floods, heat waves, or cold fronts. I didn't know what wind chill was until I lived in Ohio. I didn't know what the heat index was until I lived in DC. I wonder if people who grew up in other parts of the U.S. really knew what black ice and hydroplaning were before moving here? Curious.
I love being back here. I love the views, the majestic mountains I see every day, the water surrounding everything, the beautiful Olympic mountain range, the ever-present greenness. Forests are so exciting to me. We are forest people. I also love the cultural mindset here. My parents claim that the mindset of the west started when our ancestors emigrated over here on the Oregon Trail. Only the adventurous or persistent made it here. I think there may be something to that, but I think many other people came here because of the terrain, the opportunity, the adventure. And I think that has created the culture we see today. Personally, I think the experiences I've had speak volumes about the culture. If you listen, you can really hear the culture speaking out to you. Here are two real situations I've had within the past year, living on opposite sides of the country:
Situation 1. Happy hour party full of new people I didn't know (2 hours):
"What do you do?"
"I like to kayak, travel, learn the banjo--"
"--Hmm, I meant what do you do for work?"
"...oh. I do XYZ for the local headquarters here. What do you do for work?"
Situation 2. Costume party full of new people I didn't know (12 hours):
"What do you do?"
"I like to kayak, travel, learn the banjo, do nerdy things."
"That's awesome! Have you gone to the Music in the Park events? We should go next weekend!"
In the 12 hours I spent in Situation 2, not one person asked me what my job/profession/work/career was. Seriously, it's almost like people here are socially inept and introverted when it comes to talking about work, but wildly fun and extroverted when talking about other things. People don't really know how to answer "What do you do for work?", and they shy away (physically, too), from the question. They answer the first thing that comes to mind and then change the subject. It's almost like we as a culture are totally socially awkward about this idea of "work". People think of themselves as people, who happen to get paid to do XYZ. I felt the opposite in DC -- I was defined by my position. I have heard that this culture is extremely pronounced in DC (probably due to the proximity to so many headquarters, contract positions, and political jobs), but oh boy, I did not fit in. At all.
One thing I really miss about the DC region is the strip of museums. DC has such an amazing center of museums on the National Mall. I do wish those were available here. But after some hard decision making, I decided that cultural values, daily life experience, proximity to my preferred nature (I say preferred because some people do prefer desert life, so there is no one true "best" nature for everybody), and attitude would determine where I wanted to live. Not the presence of jobs or museums. I have made my choice and I have never been happier with it.
