Never the Twain Shall Meet

I try to keep comparisons of the West Coast vs the East Coast to a minimum on this blog and in life, as I see it as the equivalent of "black people talk like this, white people talk like this" jokes. In other words, a crutch.

But when I hear people here boasting about how Seattle is often listed in magazines as one of the (if not the) healthiest and most literate cities in the country, it gets my proverbial goat. Similarly, it annoys me when Seattle people talk about how much nicer people are here compared to "those mean East Coasters."

I think to myself, "What kind of self-congratulatory, show-off hug fest have I gotten myself into? On the East Coast we were on the exact opposite side of those polls and we laughed about it."

But then I reconsider. What if both sides are just acting accordingly? What if Seattle should be proud of its accomplishments and their slightly augmented hubris is just the rightful reward for reading and eating properly (aside from living longer)? And what if the only thing we dumb, fat Philadelphians can do in the face of despair is laugh and be mean to outsiders?

I hate it when magazines are right.