My take on the whole "outsider" issue...
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10/19/2011
First off, to the idiot who just vomited acidic vitriol all over this forum, gimme a damn break. I can see where you're coming from with regards to the rich, mindless yuppies who come from far and wide to drive up our housing costs and cause an already crowded metro area to become even more crowded. However, those aren't the only people who move to this area in search of a better life with better jobs in a very, very awesome section of the PNW. There are decent, respectful folks who aren't rich who chose to move to YOUR city of all places out of all others (should make you feel a bit special, right?) and who blend in very well with the local culture.
I am one of those people. I was born and raised in Oregon myself, but every time I visited the Seattle area / Western Washington, I always thought of myself living there someday, because it was like coming home. After 30 years, finally I got the chance to move up here for my career (yes, I'm a techno geek, and no I don't care what you think of me.).
Let me wrap it up for ya: I just moved to Mountlake Terrace, a suburb of Seattle, last month, and I do not regret it one bit. Hate driving up here, but I love walking everywhere! You know what? I fit right in up here from day one. I don't want to ruin the Seattle area and/or culture; I've already embraced it long ago. I'm a long-time Mariners fan, have developed a strong interest in Seahawks football, have a very discerning taste when it comes to coffee, am fascinated by the sheer amount of cool things to do in the Seattle area, the local food and sense of community is awesome as well, Almost Live! cracks me up and is one of my favorite shows since moving up here (I swear I've seen it before...), the climate and rain suit me very well, being of Nordic / Scottish blood, the culture shift is almost non-existent as a native PNW man, and I understand the people who inhabit the area, especially the natives. I have a long-standing and deep respect for the very talented musicians from the area, especially when I was a teenager in the 90's. I was wearing flannel shirts and logging boots long before that stuff became a huge New York fashion trend, and stopped shortly after these east-coast condo-dwelling yuppies started wearing that stuff without any idea why. Before the forests shrunk in Oregon, my entire family worked out in the woods in some aspect or another, so we all dressed like that, more or less. I didn't realize that stuff was called the "grunge look" until the early 2000's.
Look, I don't want Seattle, or its suburbs to grow any more dense than they already are, and I certainly don't want to lose the Seattle I admired as a kid. However, being antagonistic and spiteful towards outsiders doesn't solve anything. The greater Seattle area is my home now, and I'll continue to think of myself as a local.
J W H | Mountlake Terrace, WA