I&#x27;m a Seattle transplant from the east coast and I work for a big scary tech company and I haven&#x27;t had any of these problems. The main difference between east and west coast culture is on the east coast the biggest opener is &quot;so what do you do?&quot; which in west coast culture translates to &quot;i don&#x27;t care who you are.&quot;<p>Which is why getting and talking about hobbies is a better choice. Who is most likely to screw this up? East coast or mid-western kids coming to work at Microsoft and Amazon.<p>A better opener for new-comers to Seattle is: &quot;So what is your favorite brunch place?&quot; or &quot;what do you like to do on the weekends? I like going to Bainbridge&quot;, etc.<p>What you do matters way, way less initially.