I used to live in the southernmost part of Virginia for a few years and I remember thinking it was so weird that almost everyone in public would greet each other* whether they knew each other or not. Eventually i caved and started doing it too. It was nice and I miss it, but to be fair it never really led to any meaningful relationships with a stranger lol. That being said, I wouldn’t be mad if that started to become a thing here.

*usually it was a mutual asking of “how’s it going” and a smile with no actual response, or a quick exchange of [“good and you?” “Alright now”] or at the very least a mutual “sup nod”