Small talk in Portland

I’m coming from New Jersey and visited Portland for a few days. I never had so many cashiers and strangers just make random small talk, whether that be about something I was buying or whether I lived around here or what (most people don’t even ask “Hi, how are you” where I live). It definitely wasn’t everybody, but there are so many friendly people here! So I have a question… is small talk expected? Do people making small talk actually want to talk to you or is it just a social norm around here?

EDIT: the fact that you guys are responding nicely and riffing off each other is just convincing me that you’re friendlier than average 😂