[rootusrootus]

> How do I not offend the locals?

That sounds so weird. Washingtonians and Oregonians are frightfully similar as it is. For better or worse :). I can't imagine it being any more magical than an Oregonian wondering what the protocol is for self-service when they go across the river.

[Rediscover]

East-coaster, now in Seattle for almost three decades.

Yeah, Oregonians and Washingtonians share some strange behaviors, but there are many things pretty alien between the two.

Handling of minor riots, drunkenness (on your own property, or not -- ok, sleeping on your front lawn), tipping, public transit (in populated areas), shopping, strip clubs, ... Wow.

[rootusrootus]

That's an interesting perspective, in my experience on basically all of those issues I don't see a notable difference in attitude between Oregon & Washington. There's a pretty big shift in mindset going to the east side of either state, but west of the Cascades it might as well be the same state.

[Rediscover]

Completely agree about going to the east side [of each state].

[ksenzee]

We're almost identical, which is one reason why the gas thing is so weird: these seemingly identical people have an entire set of unknown customs around an everyday activity. I wouldn't call it magical. I would call it uncomfortable. Glad to see the end of it.