I've lived in seaside, Warrenton, Walla, Walla, and Hermiston.
I've lived in these places over the last 4 years. This is my experience.
Some of the first things I've noticed about the small towns in Oregon and Washington were that people had very low expectations of everyone around them. At first on the surface they are friendly, give directions, reach out and say hi, make sure they introduce themselves, have a friendly outlook, and other such things. When it comes to integrating oneself with groups of people at work, in friendships, and in family relationships, it tends to be a game of who said what to who and how bad someone did someone in their entire lives. There is a constant battle for King or queen of the rumor mill. Basically, the impression I get now is everyone is into everyone else's lives. It's a hobby for these small towns. It gets bad, because of one thing starts from some anonymous person saying something negative about somebody else. Else the whole town and the surrounding towns now know to judge that person more fully. Don't get me wrong, the scenery is great! The outdoorsmanship is awesome! However, on a personal level it gets pretty nitty-gritty.
In Phoenix and in bigger cities, none of that would fly. Someone who would get shot over talking shit about somebody else. In big cities there timid and scared to say anything about their neighbor for fear of them, robbing them slashing their tires or shooting them. That doesn't seem to be an issue here, it's more of a game to see. You can destroy whose life better.
