Review of Seattle, Washington


Right for some, wrong for others
Star Rating - 12/23/2006
I lived in Seattle with an interruption from 1977 to 1992 (ages 23-38) and have visited every two years or so since then to see family. It should go without saying that a person's experience depends a lot on what you put into it, but nevertheless much of what has been said here in criticism of Seattle society is true. I considered Seattle close to paradise in those early years. There was a relaxed ambience with room for adventure within the city, even for people with very little money, and a friendly live-and-let-live attitude. It was a family city, with many children and schools and neighborhoods where multiple generations had lived. Today's crowding, traffic, expense and rampant tourism in summer has destroyed that intangible sense of what it was to be a Seattleite. Children are scarce in Seattle today (I'm talking about the CITY) and becoming scarcer. Christianity is nearly an artifact, and leftist politics reigns supreme (with a substantial loony component). As for the oft-remarked coldness or rudeness, it's real but not necessarily fatal. It is of course, possible to make friends with people you do something with - just don't expect your neighbors to notice you. Expect to observe some selfish, boorish behavior (great example: the racing bicyclist who accused my 4-year old son of "spoiling my momentum"). If you are a financially comfortable, left-leaning atheist with time on your hands and an appreciation of the cultural and recreational good life, I could receommend Seattle wholeheartedly, especially if you choose and can afford to live in one of the better close-in neighborhoods. If not, you could find life in Seattle tantalizing, but frustrating and difficult, even infuriating. As for the weather, if you discount the truly gloomy months of November-January, I'd put the remaining nine months up against nine months in any other city for overall pleasantness and variety. No city in the world has nicer summers than Seattle.
Andy | Omaha, NE
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