[boomerango]

As a transplant from the Midwest to the North East, anecdotally, this matches my experience. Even after many years and friends, I still feel an outsider here. My wife and I often lament it. There is no sense of community to speak of, just thousands of ships passing in the dark.

[trashface]

Agree. I'm lived in PA most of my life and it's a cold, cold place. It's some kind of micro tribalism and has gotten worse over the years. When I was a kid, the adults in my neighborhood at least knew and talked to each other sometimes, now as an adult in a similar suburban neighborhood no one talks to me and as far as I can tell they don't talk to each other either.

I complain about it to my brother who lives in NJ and he says it's worse there. So it's a regional thing.

I lived out west for 10 years and people were much friendlier, even in SF and Seattle. I have heard of the "Seattle freeze" but NE US is far worse in my experience

[INeedMoreRam]

Do you think you’ll eventually return to the Midwest because of the NE coldness?