In California, where I grew up, it's expected to have a small response:
A: "Hey, how are you?"
B: "Good, and you?"
A: "Good, thanks."
But in the Northeast, you'll stress yourself out trying to actually respond. People will throw it out as you're walking by each other, and if you try to squeeze in a "Good, and you?" they'll be taken aback because they're not really expecting to say anything further. And they're not really waiting to hear any actual response like "Meh" or "Woo".
In Boston and New York, I literally translate "How are you" to "Howdy" in my head. That is, "Howdy" was derived from "How do you do?" but obviously you don't respond "Good" to "Howdy". It's just a synonym for "Hi."
In California, where I grew up, it's expected to have a small response:
A: "Hey, how are you?"
B: "Good, and you?"
A: "Good, thanks."
But in the Northeast, you'll stress yourself out trying to actually respond. People will throw it out as you're walking by each other, and if you try to squeeze in a "Good, and you?" they'll be taken aback because they're not really expecting to say anything further. And they're not really waiting to hear any actual response like "Meh" or "Woo".
In Boston and New York, I literally translate "How are you" to "Howdy" in my head. That is, "Howdy" was derived from "How do you do?" but obviously you don't respond "Good" to "Howdy". It's just a synonym for "Hi."
A: "Hi, how are you?"
B: "Hi."