Great city but don't be naive
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2/23/2015
I lived in Seattle for 34 years and worked downtown nearly all that time. I know the downtown and surrounding areas very well and feel I can speak fairly about the place.
The city itself is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful cities in the country, if you, like me, enjoy a concentrated skyline that looms gorgeously above the landscape. The Space Needle, Pike Place Park, Gasworks Park, Seattle Center and other landmarks are unforgettable. The old neighborhoods near the city, where I mostly lived, are great but are more of a mix than most cities (beautiful homes next to dumps). T
he countryside about 20 miles outside the city consists of endless forest land with all the outdoors enjoyment that comes with mountainous, heavily treed terrain.
But with all the pluses, don't be naive. If you think the rain and cloudiness are something you can quickly adapt to, chances are you will be in for a very unpleasant surprise. A grayness, with drizzle and rain, settles in relentlessly by mid-September, lifts for a couple weeks in April as a tease, and then returns well into June. Summers often are short. I witnessed three years in my 34 where summer sunshine lasted less than three weeks. When the rain returns in September, it WILL be gray and rainy for months. Also, while Seattle isn't a big snow city, the damp cold feels very cold and can last a long time.
Also, don't be naive about the traffic. The beautiful bodies of water (Puget Sound and Lakes Union and Washington) compress the freeways and traffic into and out of the city is a nightmare. This is a concentrated population with no mass (train) transit.
Seattle is not what most people consider an overly friendly or outgoing city (though residents are more open to all types of people than most places). By February or March people tend to be hunkered down and, yes, depression is quite common. This is nearly the ultimate test of how one does with light depravation. I know this first hand.
I have read that many people move to Seattle only to leave within a year or two due to the gray and rain. A close friend and long time resident left Seattle for Denver, missed Seattle so much his family returned and bought a house in their "old neighborhood”. A year later they realized they simply couldn’t do with SO LITTLE sun and returned to Denver.
It’s a wonderful city but don’t be naive. Seattle is simultaneously a wonder and depressing place.
Denis | Carlsbad, CA