Good to see you!

September 10, 2021 7:02 AM

In my old home of Charleston, SC a certain demographic (native southern upper-class (but maybe also middle class?) whites and those who now are in those circles) would greet a new person they've met with "Good to see you" instead of "Nice to meet you". What other US regional subculture uses this phrasing, or what other cultures use this phrase roughly translated?
posted by sandmanwv to Society & Culture (16 answers total)

When dropping off a child at college last month I met my child's roommate and her family. The roommate's father greeted me with this exact phrase. The family now lives in Spartanburg, SC, and he mentioned that he'd grown up in Greenville, SC. The family fits the demographic you've described. So, perhaps this greeting is also part of the culture of that part of the state?
posted by cheapskatebay at 7:11 AM on September 10, 2021

I've lived in OH, CA, IL, PA, TX for several years each. I picked up 'good to see you' sometime around 2013 I think, in IL. And I've been hearing it from people all around the country since. I'm an academic and so are a lot of my people.

Pretty sure I've seen it recommended as a polite/professional/classy thing to say for business people, politicians, teachers etc, bc it avoids the awkward pitfall of accidentally saying 'nice to meet you' to someone whom you've technically met before.

My take is even if it used to be regional/sub-cultural, it is spreading quickly and will probably be very mainstream soon. It's just so handy. You can also say it to close friends and family, when arriving, when leaving, etc.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:30 AM on September 10, 2021 [10 favorites]

It's a normal phrase here in Denmark, but mostly if you know each other in advance -- I'll typically use it when I have only "met" someone online or on the phone. And I use it a lot now with people I haven't seen through COVID-19 lock-down, regardless of whether I've met them physically before or not.
posted by mumimor at 7:33 AM on September 10, 2021

My fiancé (30’s) is from Fredericksburg, VA. And the son of a newspaper columnist who has met a lot of people, most of whom remember him, but given the sheer column he does not remember in return. They both use this phrase to avoid that very common “nice to meet you” pitfall. We live in NC and I’ve adopted it as well.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:46 AM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am a NYer, born and raised, and I say "good to see you" in many contexts because I have a terrible memory for people and don't want to fumble a "nice to meet you" with someone I've met before. I do this in such contexts as weddings, rallies, group bike rides, at my job and more.
posted by Pineapplicious at 7:46 AM on September 10, 2021 [6 favorites]

(A follow up- I think often said is “glad/nice to have you here (if at a party or function event)”
posted by raccoon409 at 7:47 AM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

Another vote for the "saves me the embarrassment" strategy ... I am also UMC white Southern (although not from SC) but I've lived all over and I've heard that expression used all over. It only takes one false "nice to meet you" to make a convert.
posted by mccxxiii at 7:56 AM on September 10, 2021 [2 favorites]

I heard someone who worked in LA observing that there's a point in every rising celebrity's career where they make the transition to "good to see you" for precisely the reasons being mentioned.

FWIW in my daily life (SF Bay Area) we use "nice to meet you."
posted by mark k at 8:09 AM on September 10, 2021

I'm not sure if it's related, but I use this exact phrase constantly, as I'm rarely certain whether or not I've met someone before. I have enough self-diagnosed facial blindness that it happens often. I'm not sure where I learned it. I started saying it as a teenager on the US west coast, now use it as an academic in the industrial midwest.
posted by eotvos at 9:09 AM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

I totally see the practicality of this and understand why it’s becoming more common, but it’s rare enough in my circles that I’ve also been on the other end of a stranger’s “good to see you” and panicked over whether I had ever seen this person before in my life and was I supposed to act like we knew each other and if not, what person they’ve met before do they think I am.
posted by jameaterblues at 9:30 AM on September 10, 2021 [9 favorites]

I had a friend whose grandfather greeted me with "Good to see you" the first time we met, and every time afterward. Your question triggered a nice memory!
posted by emelenjr at 10:00 AM on September 10, 2021

Response by poster: This is interesting-- and I loved this aspect about it, but I've met literally thousands of people in, and the only place where it happened frequently (as in, more than once) was in Charleston. If I did this in NYC where I would live would be confused and I would then talk to them about how awesome this usage by southern aristocrats was.

Perhaps these folks learned it in cotillion or some etiquette class preference by southern elites? Also, it could be the accent I heard it in ("Goooad tah see ya")?
I can understand why you as an individual used it, but bit as a general group. l
posted by sandmanwv at 10:25 AM on September 10, 2021

I’ve also been on the other end of a stranger’s “good to see you” and panicked over whether I had ever seen this person before in my life and was I supposed to act like we knew each other and if not, what person they’ve met before do they think I am.

Likewise - to me the phrase means "good to see you again" and would be confusing on first acquaintance.
posted by trig at 10:38 AM on September 10, 2021 [4 favorites]

In Chile, I'll say 'que bueno verte' to people I genuinely like and haven't seen in a while. I wouldn't say it to somebody I'm just meeting.
posted by signal at 5:39 AM on September 12, 2021

As someone with terrible facial recognition, I’m adopting “good seeing you” immediately. Thanks sandmanwv and Ask Metafilter!
posted by Measured Out my Life in Coffeespoons at 10:34 AM on September 12, 2021

Hah, but then if the person you're talking with also has terrible facial recognition, they get to worry that they're not recognizing you. Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything.....

(Also, "good to see you" can be for both greetings and partings, but "good seeing you" is only for parting, at least in my experience.)
posted by trig at 7:40 AM on September 13, 2021 [1 favorite]