Would it be heresy for me to say that I'm not sure I think the endemic winter doldrums / SADD theory has much credence? I have met many people over the years whom I suspect of using Seattle's winter weather as an excuse -- Oh gee I'd love to, but the weather's just got me *so* down. Well, wouldn't you perk up if you were eating a delicious hamburger, say, out at a restaurant with friends? I don't buy it. Seattle's not the only place where it's damp and dim and lousy for long periods of time during the winter. I grew up in one of them, and there wasn't the self-indulgent wallowing that tends to occur here.
RCC's too-far-to-drive theory -- yes, some of this. And maybe tied up with the annoyance of parking, in many neighborhoods -- a good friend lives in a condo on Capitol Hill, only an option via Metro. Which system, even though I commute-salute it, is not a good option for late nights and trips far afield from thoroughfares. I've mentioned here that I have an eye defect that makes it dicey for me to drive at night -- so my pal in Lynnwood I visit hardly ever. (There, I am part of the problem.)
Would it be heresy for me to say that I'm not sure I think the endemic winter doldrums / SADD theory has much credence?
I tend to agree that it has little to do with the weather. Here's a theory: most people who complain about the Seattle Freeze live here, so it's the last place they've lived, and the older you get the less friendly people are, or are to you, because they already have enough friends. If the theory is true then there should be a freeze in every major city, except among young-enough people.
Before I moved here, I met someone in Texas who moved here and moved back because everyone was so unfriendly (at least compared to Texas). I feel like most of the workers in the grocery and retail stores are in a bad mood. Although I don't interact with the customers too much. Maybe they are in a bad mood too. I blame the weather and the economic disparity in the area.
3) For some reason, Seattle doesn't have very enjoyable or very used public spaces. Maybe it's the weather, but when I go to other major cities, they have parks that are filled with people. Here, not so much.
Except for Green Lake and Alki on a warm sunny day...
Agreed, those are nice places when the weather is nice. And at those times, they do get plenty of use. Go to Alki on a sunny summer day and it is exceptionally packed for instance. I meant to emphasize that most public places are underused. And frankly, either location is great for a jog year round (if like me you don't mind exercising in mist), but less fun too meet up with friends there in March.
I find the best part of Seattle to not be Seattle at all. The city is sorely lacking in nice parks and other public amenities.
The key, in any weather, is to get out of the city. I tried living here without a car for over a year when I first arrived, and it worked fine. The problem was I had to rely on friends to get me into the mountains, onto the water, over to the peninsula. Some of the best times I've had, it's been raining in Seattle, but I've been above the clouds in the bright snow and sunshine.
Agreed, those are nice places when the weather is nice. And at those times, they do get plenty of use. Go to Alki on a sunny summer day and it is exceptionally packed for instance. I meant to emphasize that most public places are underused. And frankly, either location is great for a jog year round (if like me you don't mind exercising in mist), but less fun too meet up with friends there in March.
I think that's why we have so many coffee houses.
I greatly prefer Green Lake at night when it's basically empty. Much more park-like.
I always was curious how this place become coffee central. I guess the weather does encourage sitting inside.
Gas prices in the UK are about double what they are here. They don't fluctuate as much because it's so much more heavily taxed, so they're more usually three times as much. The people there are no different, though. If gas (petrol, mate!) was $2 a gallon, everyone would have an SUV just like here...
Well, if people there are no different, then why did they vote for heavily taxed gas, five weeks of paid vacation for everyone, etc.? Americans vote very differently than people in socialist countries do. Namely, the majority here, unlike in those other countries, consistently vote to make their lives worse in the long run. Like they'll vote for tax cuts (for the rich mainly), ignoring the fact that it pushes the US toward insolvency.
People in England don't vote for tax increases! Regardless of party, gas taxes have gone up year after year after year. There is feeling of stagnation and inevitability with regards to the process. Every year, the party in power has a "budget" and they TELL you how much your taxes are this year. You don't vote for each increase like over here....
I find the best part of Seattle to not be Seattle at all. The city is sorely lacking in nice parks and other public amenities.
The key, in any weather, is to get out of the city. I tried living here without a car for over a year when I first arrived, and it worked fine. The problem was I had to rely on friends to get me into the mountains, onto the water, over to the peninsula. Some of the best times I've had, it's been raining in Seattle, but I've been above the clouds in the bright snow and sunshine.
Absolutely right.
The most miserable place in the world on a winter day is in the heart of the city. Get out to the mountains and go snow shoeing - it's inexpensive and you will not have a problem staying warm. If it's raining in Seattle, it's usually snowing the mountains!
In summer, don't sit out on polluted Greenlake with a million other people, or sit out with some junkies in a park in Capital Hill (yes, I lived there for several years). Head out to exit 32 on I90 and go to Rattlesnake lake. If you feel like sweating hike up to the ledge and take in the views. If you're feeling more adventurous head up to Granite falls and hike up to one of the mountain lakes up there. Or head out to Mt Townsend on the Olympics and take in the best views of Mt Rainier, Mt Baker, Seattle downtown, and Canada from 6000 feet.
The beauty of Seattle is jobs and not the scenery. It's nice to see the mountains and lakes while you're stuck in traffic, but it's not where the good stuff is.
There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of hiking trails in the Cascades. That's the best place to be in almost any weather IMO and I spent vastly more time in the mountains than the city. I know the Forest Service road network like the back of my hand, but I get lost in 2 blocks downtown.
It is a democracy, right? Then people vote for any tax increase, or any public policy, indirectly at least. People vote for representatives, who make the laws & policies.
England isn't the best example of a socialist country, since they voted for war to make the rich richer too. It's no wonder their standard of living is dropping. (And if they keep up the bad voting, they'll lose their democracy eventually just like we are here.) Sweden would be a better example.
There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of hiking trails in the Cascades. That's the best place to be in almost any weather IMO and I spent vastly more time in the mountains than the city.
It's a plus for the Eastside too. I'm looking forward to Paradise this August. You know what I mean.
It is a democracy, right? Then people vote for any tax increase, or any public policy, indirectly at least. People vote for representatives, who make the laws & policies.
England isn't the best example of a socialist country, since they voted for war to make the rich richer too. It's no wonder their standard of living is dropping. (And if they keep up the bad voting, they'll lose their democracy eventually just like we are here.) Sweden would be a better example.
I don't mean to be rude, but you obviously haven't lived in England. I wouldn't expect you to have... I lived there for many years before getting out and coming to the "land of the free".
I think it's hard for people in the states to imagine what it's like in other countries where the people are not so active when it comes to taxation. In WA, there is a public outcry if someone suggests a few cents on gasoline to pay for schools. They'll be initiatives, voting, lawsuits, etc. In England, that happens every year without an explicit vote, and everyone just shrugs their shoulders.
People in England assume that any party they vote in will put in tax increases, so therefore it doesn't matter which party you vote for - they will raise your taxes! This helps to reinforce the sense of inevitability that I mentioned. If the conservative party puts forward a platform of tax reductions, it's very hard to sell. This is because the national health service (which is terrible BTW) is one of the largest expenditures, so it's very easy to frame the tax reduction as a service reduction where it hurts the most: your health.
Also, people in England didn't vote for the war either. They were against it from the beginning and are more against it now.
There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of hiking trails in the Cascades. That's the best place to be in almost any weather IMO and I spent vastly more time in the mountains than the city.
It's a plus for the Eastside too. I'm looking forward to Paradise this August. You know what I mean.
I'll be heading out there too!
Tiger mountain is an amazing thing to have so close to Issaquah. Get on I90, get off at exit 20 and you're there. Miles of hiking, views, and even some semi-solitude on the lesser used trails. If you head up to Tiger Mountain #2 peak, you might only see half a dozen other people on the way up....
I live in Sammamish, and it's annoying when people that live in Seattle give me the "wow, you live really far out there" comment. "Far out" from what? Far out from the stuff *you* like to do, perhaps. For me, the job situation is closer to me than if I lived in Seattle (which I have done) and the stuff *I* like to do on the weekends and summer evenings is all MUCH closer to the Eastside than Seattle.
I have nothing against anyone that lives anywhere. If we were all the same it would be rather dull. However, I *am* going to start telling people that live in Ballard that they live really "far out" and then clarify that I'm referring to their proximity to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness which I *assume* they must visit regularly, like me. </rant>
I have nothing against anyone that lives anywhere. If we were all the same it would be rather dull. However, I *am* going to start telling people that live in Ballard that they live really "far out" and then clarify that I'm referring to their proximity to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness which I *assume* they must visit regularly, like me. </rant>
The only thing that Ballard is close to is Ballard. It takes a LONG time to get anywhere from Ballard. It's an OK area, but nobody has ever been able to explain what's special about it other than in terms of "coolness" or "hipness". In terms of time to get downtown or to the eastside, Northgate is considerably closer and easier - not to mention closer to big-box/mall shopping and other amenities. But Northgate isn't "cool" or "hip".
I'm also looking forward to a run up to Paradise, or maybe Sunrise... and maybe actually hiking a bit this time. I just hope Cayuse is open this summer. (And I hope we're talking about the same Paradise)
Someone saying I live "far out there" would be a compliment for me. I'd prefer Sammamish to Bellevue, North Bend to Sammamish, Darrington to North Bend, Marblemount to Darrington -- the farther out the better. Unfortunately, my job keeps me leashed to the metro area, otherwise "see ya!". So I end up burning a lot of gas on the weekends to hike -- 250 miles round trip on Sunday to hike off the North Cascades Highway, but the cost in gas is nothing compared to the beauty up there. I had the entire trail to myself on a sunny late June weekend. Completely worth it.
Also, people in England didn't vote for the war either. They were against it from the beginning and are more against it now.
So you're saying it's not a democracy? The representatives go against the express wishes of their constituency, but stay in office? That does happen here. Unscientific polls, like on msnbc.com, show that 89% of over 100,000 people want impeachment proceedings against Bush. That's such an amazing number, I have to think the majority of voters do want that. Yet the majority of Congress has no interest in pursuing that.
About taxes, are you sure that things aren't dropping off the list? People ignore that around here. For example, school levies expire, and when the school gets a new levy on the ballot, many people think it's a new tax, when it's really a tax to replace the old tax that is expiring.
Tiger mountain is an amazing thing to have so close to Issaquah.
Check out Squak Mtn., between Cougar and Tiger. For some reason people just ignore it in favor of the other two. The top third or so is a state park, where you commonly see nobody else. There's a decent view of Seattle (through binoculars) from the top.
The only thing that Ballard is close to is Ballard. It takes a LONG time to get anywhere from Ballard. It's an OK area, but nobody has ever been able to explain what's special about it other than in terms of "coolness" or "hipness".
I recently tooled around Ballard after a long absence and was shocked by how many ugly townhouses had been built. I didn't realize it was that bad.
So you're saying it's not a democracy? The representatives go against the express wishes of their constituency, but stay in office?
Of course it's not a democracy. Neither is USA, France, Germany, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, etc.
What you are familiar with is a democratic republic, which is defined as a republic with democratically selected representatives. Yes, we have a limited few opportunities for actual democratic government (school levies and state propositions for example), but mostly we are all democratic republics.
I use the commonly-used definition of democracy, not necessarily the dictionary definition. Whatever the US is supposed to be, I call it a democracy like the media does (not to be confused with, say, the "democracy" in Iraq, where all the "representatives" are appointed). "Republic" sounds silly when hardly anybody uses it, even if it is the correct term to use, according to the dictionary.
Also, people in England didn't vote for the war either. They were against it from the beginning and are more against it now.
So you're saying it's not a democracy? The representatives go against the express wishes of their constituency, but stay in office?
About taxes, are you sure that things aren't dropping off the list? People ignore that around here. For example, school levies expire, and when the school gets a new levy on the ballot, many people think it's a new tax, when it's really a tax to replace the old tax that is expiring.
No, I'm just saying that people in England don't have the same sense of control over their own destiny when it comes to taxes. The general feeling is that there is just no point in fighting tax increases, as they'll happen regardless and it doesn't matter which party you elect.
The taxation system over there is a little different. The money is pooled much more broadly, so you're never really sure where it goes. For example, you never have an X% increase in property tax to pay for a specific bond, or infrastructure project. You just get an increase in a tax, whether it's beer, property or income. All that money goes into a big pile, and they then increase spending from that pile. There is no concept of schools getting a levy on the ballot and having a vote on it. It's just done behind closed doors.
In the states there is much more accountability over where the money goes and what the intent of the tax is, at least at the local level. I'm not saying they don't screw it up, but they do give the voters the chance to say "yes, I am ok with more sales tax because you want to widen a few roads". In England there is no conversation, just a "here is your new sales tax rate" and "we're building a new road and we don't care if you don't want it, or don't want to pay for it".
Regarding the war, nobody explicitly voted for it and the Labor party isn't really paying for it. Tony Blair is gone, but the party remains. If they don't get elected next time around it's because Gordon Brown is a pathetic bungler and the party is stagnant and needs to be replaced. Iraq is generally considered to be Blair's war and not so much a Labor party war.
No, I'm just saying that people in England don't have the same sense of control over their own destiny when it comes to taxes. The general feeling is that there is just no point in fighting tax increases, as they'll happen regardless and it doesn't matter which party you elect.
Presumably either taxes got lowered at some point, or else their growth will decrease at some point. Otherwise they'd reach 100+%. But I hear you on the lack of control. I think people in most of the developed world can expect tax increases, because there are so many costs being deferred to future generations, even in the most progressive countries. The best case scenario one can hope for is that the money is not being wasted.
I don't have a problem with my elected representatives making most of the decisions about what to spend public money on, as long as the public has good visibility to those decisions, or there's an acceptable reason to hide them (like security, with checks & balances to avoid fraud). I think in WA there's a problem where the public has too much control via the initiative process. Classic case the monorail, where it was started/funded three times, and then the gullible voters fell for a anti-monorail initiative that put the monorail's cost in terms that were not adjusted for expected inflation, so it looked way more expensive. Seattleites wasted a lot of money due to their naiveté, whether or not the monorail was a good idea. A truly competent representative would likely not have made that mistake.
As someone relocating from the SF Bay Area to the Redmond area, I am curious what folks think about the so-called "Seattle Freeze" idea played up in some lifestyle articles. For example:
I am wondering if this is more of a thing for single people living and trying to date in Seattle. I am wondering if married folks on the Eastside with kids in school meet other families in the same way it happens everywhere else. Thoughts whether the puget sound region is really any different socially in that way?
I gotta respond.
I was on an evening flight back from New York a few months ago and sat with a nice young accountant lady. Well, young compared to me...
She talked pretty much the entire flight. For her business, she has a home office on the West side of NYC and one in Capitol Hill in Seattle. I commented on how I was amazed at how nice and friendly the people in a particular Irish pub in New Jersey were and I always thought people in new York were mean and didn't care about each other compared to people in Seattle. What she then said in defense of New York absolutely floored me with it's simple, perceptive and accurate wisdom. I had to think about it and she was dead right.
She said: "People in Seattle are polite. People in New York are friendly."
She said: "People in Seattle are polite. People in New York are friendly."
Absolutely.
Most New Yorkers (at least the ones I've talked to) will tell you exactly what they think, in no uncertain terms. But they'll usually share a drink as they're telling you that, in a friendly way. It's quite bizarre.
I think I have a fair opinion on this topic. I moved here from CA because I was had never lived outside of CA and wanted to see what life was like outside of the beach. I was never into a lot of material possesions outside of my electronic gadgets and had gotten sick of everyone trying to be more important than everyone else in LA. I have been in Seattle for a year now and I love it here.
I have always been extremely outgoing and have had no problem making friends in the city. I don't talk about how much better the beach was than here, because if it was - I would move back. The only time I tell people I'm from another city is when I was hitting on girls and wanted to stand out from the rest of the crowd (I'm happily taken now, so it worked at least once).
There is definitely a sense of "Seattle is better than you" around here, but isn't that why I chose to move here? Because I wanted to be a part of this awesome place? Homes are affordable (vs. LA - and the bubble is a year from bursting so getting even better), surroundings are beautiful, and people are polite (but very slow drivers ;>). I read about the "freeze" before I came here, but considered it a media bias fluff piece and never found it to be true. Maybe it is only true, if you want it to be. A self-fulfilling prophecy that the city carries around scaring strangers. "Woe is me, I'm new here and have no friends...it must be everyone else, not me". Play sports, join a team, befriend coworkers, chat up strangers...that is how I have made all my friends. You have to be willing to try to meet people. There is no city hostess that introduces you to people.
Maybe it is a combination of finding love (I know, what a sap), enjoying life, and making friends that I will know forever - not just ppl in a bar that bought me a drink one night. I could probably be happy anywhere because I believe life should always be fun, but that being said - I love it here, Seattle is pretty sweet.
PS-Sorry natives, I have already convinced 1 friend to move here and my parents are coming at retirement....so get used to it.
Comments
RCC's too-far-to-drive theory -- yes, some of this. And maybe tied up with the annoyance of parking, in many neighborhoods -- a good friend lives in a condo on Capitol Hill, only an option via Metro. Which system, even though I commute-salute it, is not a good option for late nights and trips far afield from thoroughfares. I've mentioned here that I have an eye defect that makes it dicey for me to drive at night -- so my pal in Lynnwood I visit hardly ever. (There, I am part of the problem.)
Agreed, those are nice places when the weather is nice. And at those times, they do get plenty of use. Go to Alki on a sunny summer day and it is exceptionally packed for instance. I meant to emphasize that most public places are underused. And frankly, either location is great for a jog year round (if like me you don't mind exercising in mist), but less fun too meet up with friends there in March.
I think that's why we have so many coffee houses.
The key, in any weather, is to get out of the city. I tried living here without a car for over a year when I first arrived, and it worked fine. The problem was I had to rely on friends to get me into the mountains, onto the water, over to the peninsula. Some of the best times I've had, it's been raining in Seattle, but I've been above the clouds in the bright snow and sunshine.
I greatly prefer Green Lake at night when it's basically empty. Much more park-like.
I always was curious how this place become coffee central. I guess the weather does encourage sitting inside.
People in England don't vote for tax increases! Regardless of party, gas taxes have gone up year after year after year. There is feeling of stagnation and inevitability with regards to the process. Every year, the party in power has a "budget" and they TELL you how much your taxes are this year. You don't vote for each increase like over here....
Absolutely right.
The most miserable place in the world on a winter day is in the heart of the city. Get out to the mountains and go snow shoeing - it's inexpensive and you will not have a problem staying warm. If it's raining in Seattle, it's usually snowing the mountains!
In summer, don't sit out on polluted Greenlake with a million other people, or sit out with some junkies in a park in Capital Hill (yes, I lived there for several years). Head out to exit 32 on I90 and go to Rattlesnake lake. If you feel like sweating hike up to the ledge and take in the views. If you're feeling more adventurous head up to Granite falls and hike up to one of the mountain lakes up there. Or head out to Mt Townsend on the Olympics and take in the best views of Mt Rainier, Mt Baker, Seattle downtown, and Canada from 6000 feet.
The beauty of Seattle is jobs and not the scenery. It's nice to see the mountains and lakes while you're stuck in traffic, but it's not where the good stuff is.
England isn't the best example of a socialist country, since they voted for war to make the rich richer too. It's no wonder their standard of living is dropping. (And if they keep up the bad voting, they'll lose their democracy eventually just like we are here.) Sweden would be a better example.
I don't mean to be rude, but you obviously haven't lived in England. I wouldn't expect you to have... I lived there for many years before getting out and coming to the "land of the free".
I think it's hard for people in the states to imagine what it's like in other countries where the people are not so active when it comes to taxation. In WA, there is a public outcry if someone suggests a few cents on gasoline to pay for schools. They'll be initiatives, voting, lawsuits, etc. In England, that happens every year without an explicit vote, and everyone just shrugs their shoulders.
People in England assume that any party they vote in will put in tax increases, so therefore it doesn't matter which party you vote for - they will raise your taxes! This helps to reinforce the sense of inevitability that I mentioned. If the conservative party puts forward a platform of tax reductions, it's very hard to sell. This is because the national health service (which is terrible BTW) is one of the largest expenditures, so it's very easy to frame the tax reduction as a service reduction where it hurts the most: your health.
Also, people in England didn't vote for the war either. They were against it from the beginning and are more against it now.
I'll be heading out there too!
Tiger mountain is an amazing thing to have so close to Issaquah. Get on I90, get off at exit 20 and you're there. Miles of hiking, views, and even some semi-solitude on the lesser used trails. If you head up to Tiger Mountain #2 peak, you might only see half a dozen other people on the way up....
I live in Sammamish, and it's annoying when people that live in Seattle give me the "wow, you live really far out there" comment. "Far out" from what? Far out from the stuff *you* like to do, perhaps. For me, the job situation is closer to me than if I lived in Seattle (which I have done) and the stuff *I* like to do on the weekends and summer evenings is all MUCH closer to the Eastside than Seattle.
I have nothing against anyone that lives anywhere. If we were all the same it would be rather dull. However, I *am* going to start telling people that live in Ballard that they live really "far out" and then clarify that I'm referring to their proximity to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness which I *assume* they must visit regularly, like me. </rant>
The only thing that Ballard is close to is Ballard. It takes a LONG time to get anywhere from Ballard. It's an OK area, but nobody has ever been able to explain what's special about it other than in terms of "coolness" or "hipness". In terms of time to get downtown or to the eastside, Northgate is considerably closer and easier - not to mention closer to big-box/mall shopping and other amenities. But Northgate isn't "cool" or "hip".
I'm also looking forward to a run up to Paradise, or maybe Sunrise... and maybe actually hiking a bit this time. I just hope Cayuse is open this summer. (And I hope we're talking about the same Paradise)
About taxes, are you sure that things aren't dropping off the list? People ignore that around here. For example, school levies expire, and when the school gets a new levy on the ballot, many people think it's a new tax, when it's really a tax to replace the old tax that is expiring.
Check out Squak Mtn., between Cougar and Tiger. For some reason people just ignore it in favor of the other two. The top third or so is a state park, where you commonly see nobody else. There's a decent view of Seattle (through binoculars) from the top.
Of course it's not a democracy. Neither is USA, France, Germany, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, etc.
What you are familiar with is a democratic republic, which is defined as a republic with democratically selected representatives. Yes, we have a limited few opportunities for actual democratic government (school levies and state propositions for example), but mostly we are all democratic republics.
Here's Douglas Adams explaining much more coherently than I how democratic republics.
No, I'm just saying that people in England don't have the same sense of control over their own destiny when it comes to taxes. The general feeling is that there is just no point in fighting tax increases, as they'll happen regardless and it doesn't matter which party you elect.
The taxation system over there is a little different. The money is pooled much more broadly, so you're never really sure where it goes. For example, you never have an X% increase in property tax to pay for a specific bond, or infrastructure project. You just get an increase in a tax, whether it's beer, property or income. All that money goes into a big pile, and they then increase spending from that pile. There is no concept of schools getting a levy on the ballot and having a vote on it. It's just done behind closed doors.
In the states there is much more accountability over where the money goes and what the intent of the tax is, at least at the local level. I'm not saying they don't screw it up, but they do give the voters the chance to say "yes, I am ok with more sales tax because you want to widen a few roads". In England there is no conversation, just a "here is your new sales tax rate" and "we're building a new road and we don't care if you don't want it, or don't want to pay for it".
Regarding the war, nobody explicitly voted for it and the Labor party isn't really paying for it. Tony Blair is gone, but the party remains. If they don't get elected next time around it's because Gordon Brown is a pathetic bungler and the party is stagnant and needs to be replaced. Iraq is generally considered to be Blair's war and not so much a Labor party war.
Not to mention the half dozen or so condo buildings in various stages of completion... and not being worked on.
I don't have a problem with my elected representatives making most of the decisions about what to spend public money on, as long as the public has good visibility to those decisions, or there's an acceptable reason to hide them (like security, with checks & balances to avoid fraud). I think in WA there's a problem where the public has too much control via the initiative process. Classic case the monorail, where it was started/funded three times, and then the gullible voters fell for a anti-monorail initiative that put the monorail's cost in terms that were not adjusted for expected inflation, so it looked way more expensive. Seattleites wasted a lot of money due to their naiveté, whether or not the monorail was a good idea. A truly competent representative would likely not have made that mistake.
I gotta respond.
I was on an evening flight back from New York a few months ago and sat with a nice young accountant lady. Well, young compared to me...
She talked pretty much the entire flight. For her business, she has a home office on the West side of NYC and one in Capitol Hill in Seattle. I commented on how I was amazed at how nice and friendly the people in a particular Irish pub in New Jersey were and I always thought people in new York were mean and didn't care about each other compared to people in Seattle. What she then said in defense of New York absolutely floored me with it's simple, perceptive and accurate wisdom. I had to think about it and she was dead right.
She said: "People in Seattle are polite. People in New York are friendly."
The LA person is saying "Have a nice day" with a thought bubble that says "Drop dead."
The NYC person has the bubbles reveresed.
Absolutely.
Most New Yorkers (at least the ones I've talked to) will tell you exactly what they think, in no uncertain terms. But they'll usually share a drink as they're telling you that, in a friendly way. It's quite bizarre.
I have always been extremely outgoing and have had no problem making friends in the city. I don't talk about how much better the beach was than here, because if it was - I would move back. The only time I tell people I'm from another city is when I was hitting on girls and wanted to stand out from the rest of the crowd (I'm happily taken now, so it worked at least once).
There is definitely a sense of "Seattle is better than you" around here, but isn't that why I chose to move here? Because I wanted to be a part of this awesome place? Homes are affordable (vs. LA - and the bubble is a year from bursting so getting even better), surroundings are beautiful, and people are polite (but very slow drivers ;>). I read about the "freeze" before I came here, but considered it a media bias fluff piece and never found it to be true. Maybe it is only true, if you want it to be. A self-fulfilling prophecy that the city carries around scaring strangers. "Woe is me, I'm new here and have no friends...it must be everyone else, not me". Play sports, join a team, befriend coworkers, chat up strangers...that is how I have made all my friends. You have to be willing to try to meet people. There is no city hostess that introduces you to people.
Maybe it is a combination of finding love (I know, what a sap), enjoying life, and making friends that I will know forever - not just ppl in a bar that bought me a drink one night. I could probably be happy anywhere because I believe life should always be fun, but that being said - I love it here, Seattle is pretty sweet.
PS-Sorry natives, I have already convinced 1 friend to move here and my parents are coming at retirement....so get used to it.