Haha yes I totally get you. I don't really know too many of the people who are considered "popular" or well-recognized here - but it seems to me lots the activity is centered in places that I rarely frequent, like the graphics, hacks, trivia games and competitive battling sections, so that might explain that. I agree about the Pokemon aspect of it - I mean I still like to play the games and stuff, but not seriously enough to do much thinking about strategy, or have... very much at all to say about them, really.
Well my parents are kind of from the east (they both went to college there, at least) and I still have some family there, so that's why I've taken a couple trips. The difference between east coast and west coast people is still an interesting mystery to me! I've asked my mom about it before, but she's remained pretty vague, and searching for people's opinions on the internet I've found they're wildly varied, generally depending on where they grew up/are currently living. I have the feeling that there probably are differences, but they differ so much between individuals as to be nearly unmeasurable.