After 6 years I am ready to leave Seattle. (houses, neighborhoods)

[tada]

Originally Posted by olynative

By sitting at home on the computer and spending countless amounts of time whining about the social problems that Seattle has, you people sure are making great strides to fix it. Do you really think that moving somewhere else is going to turn you into a social dynamo? More than likely you will be the same self-hating introvert surrounded by upbeat fake people. I personally could do without everyone constantly pretending to care about my well being. I much prefer the Seattle attitude of "I'll do my thing, you do yours and if we actually have some common interest, then we can be friends." It's a good way to weed out the fakes in my opinion.

Maybe they won't become a social dynamo, but I imagine it would be a lot easier and more motivating to build social skills with people that are less "frozen". It would be a much more reasonable challenge. Unfortunately for those of us who don't have much in the way of social skills, it's discouraging and leads us to be this way.

[olynative]

I think that people just need to realize that Seattle is a large and busy city, people just don't have the time to be everyone's friend. I have never been to any big city where everyone who walks by makes small talk with me. If this is the kind of atmosphere that you like, a small town might better suit you. It's all personal preference. I prefer to be left to do my own thing, and if it should coincide with someone else who has a similar interest then I will more than likely make a new friend.

However.............if you must make small talk with strangers.......go down to pioneer square, there are plenty of "local types" down there that would love to strike up a conversation with you, and if you join in on their festivities, it might break down some of your social anxiety.............


bring $change$

[vette-dude]

Originally Posted by _Charles_

I have finally had enough of the passive aggressive social tyranny that rules Seattle. I am working getting out. I am juggling preservation of my career with moving back to Phoenix, AZ a.s.a.p.

I look forward to being around live people again!

don't let the door hit you in the ***t...

[_Charles_]

don't let the door hit you in the ***t

Since the door is covered with graffiti, the hinges rusted solid and the locals to lazy or stoned to notice - it didn't hit me and won't hit anyone else. But I thank you for your “oh so Seattle concern” - try to have a nice day - such as they are there.

[nwbackpacker]

Originally Posted by _Charles_

Since the door is covered with graffiti, the hinges rusted solid and the locals to lazy or stoned to notice - it didn't hit me and won't hit anyone else. But I thank you for your “oh so Seattle concern” - try to have a nice day - such as they are there.

Yikes...

[sarahf79]

I, too, lived in Seattle for 6 years, and do you know how many friends I had during that whole time? About 4. That's it. People in Seattle do not like outsiders, it is extremely difficult to meet people/become friends, they are indeed very passive/agressive...just not a good social scene at ALL. Unless you already know people there, or you don't mind being alone a lot, my advice is don't go. I think a lot of it is the weather, but not sure. I have heard this complaint about social problems over and over about Seattle, from transplants only. Seattle natives have no idea what you're talking about. I don't think they mean to purposely exclude outsiders, but they just do for some reason. Maybe they are used to being introverted and close to what they know...because of the weather or something? Who knows.

Anyway, after 6 years there I was done. I was looking for any way out and luckily I landed a job in San Diego. Total opposite of Seattle - people are super friendly, I have many good friends and acquaintences, an active exercise life, I'm thin and eat healthy, and to be honest the rents and housing prices are no more expensive than Seattle. $900-$1,000 for 1 BR rent in a cool area, $400k for a small house in the city limits (same as Ballard or Capitol Hill). Pay scales are the same, too. So if you're looking for a laid-back, friendly lifestyle that is in the same price range as Seattle, come to SD! I love it here, but I'm originally from the east coast so I'll probably settle back there eventually But SD is great for now.

p.s. I know Seattle-ites also hate Californians, esp. southern CA, but they are misinformed - they think all of CA is like L.A. and it's not. SD is actually a very open space-oriented, green city that is more a beach town than anything else. Yeah, I agree all of CA needs to work on the public transportation, but Seattle has nothing to rave about either...all they have are buses and a monorail that goes 1 mile. Their light rail/monorail initiative was approved by voters 3 times, then overturned each time by the city gov't...WTF??? Never understood that one.

[sarahf79]

Originally Posted by _Charles_

Since the door is covered with graffiti, the hinges rusted solid and the locals to lazy or stoned to notice - it didn't hit me and won't hit anyone else. But I thank you for your “oh so Seattle concern” - try to have a nice day - such as they are there.

LOL Charles...totally..."don't let the door hit you in the a**" is a prime example of the passive/aggressive attitude of Seattle-ites. The typical "if you don't like it, leave" type of comments. OK, we will - and have! And we're actually happy and healthy now due to our departure, thanks! Heehee, they say people from the east coast are rude?? Nope, they just tell you how it is straight-up back east...and passive/aggressive seattle-ites don't like to hear that!

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by sarahf79

I, too, lived in Seattle for 6 years, and do you know how many friends I had during that whole time? About 4. That's it. People in Seattle do not like outsiders, it is extremely difficult to meet people/become friends, they are indeed very passive/agressive...just not a good social scene at ALL. Unless you already know people there, or you don't mind being alone a lot, my advice is don't go. I think a lot of it is the weather, but not sure. I have heard this complaint about social problems over and over about Seattle, from transplants only. Seattle natives have no idea what you're talking about. I don't think they mean to purposely exclude outsiders, but they just do for some reason. Maybe they are used to being introverted and close to what they know...because of the weather or something? Who knows.

Anyway, after 6 years there I was done. I was looking for any way out and luckily I landed a job in San Diego. Total opposite of Seattle - people are super friendly, I have many good friends and acquaintences, an active exercise life, I'm thin and eat healthy, and to be honest the rents and housing prices are no more expensive than Seattle. $900-$1,000 for 1 BR rent in a cool area, $400k for a small house in the city limits (same as Ballard or Capitol Hill). Pay scales are the same, too. So if you're looking for a laid-back, friendly lifestyle that is in the same price range as Seattle, come to SD! I love it here, but I'm originally from the east coast so I'll probably settle back there eventually But SD is great for now.

p.s. I know Seattle-ites also hate Californians, esp. southern CA, but they are misinformed - they think all of CA is like L.A. and it's not. SD is actually a very open space-oriented, green city that is more a beach town than anything else. Yeah, I agree all of CA needs to work on the public transportation, but Seattle has nothing to rave about either...all they have are buses and a monorail that goes 1 mile. Their light rail/monorail initiative was approved by voters 3 times, then overturned each time by the city gov't...WTF??? Never understood that one.

I believe that the only Seattleites that "hate Californians" are those that are originally from California...

[sarahf79]

Or weed out everyone completely. The attitude is more like, "I'll do my thing, you do yours." Period.

Seattleites are so afraid of meeting "fake" people. I have news for you, fake people exist everywhere. Unless you take the initiative to open yourself up to meeting others, how are you going to figure that out? Why don't Seattle-ites face up to the fact they have a real problem being social? Look at all the posts about that subject on this forum. All the threads. You think people are just making that up for fun? No other city has this magnitude of complaints over the people and social scene. Face up for God's sake! Stop expecting the rest of the world to face up to their evils, but you can ignore your own. Just another example of passive agressive b.s.......

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by sarahf79

Or weed out everyone completely. The attitude is more like, "I'll do my thing, you do yours." Period.

Seattleites are so afraid of meeting "fake" people. I have news for you, fake people exist everywhere. Unless you take the initiative to open yourself up to meeting others, how are you going to figure that out? Why don't Seattle-ites face up to the fact they have a real problem being social? Look at all the posts about that subject on this forum. All the threads. You think people are just making that up for fun? No other city has this magnitude of complaints over the people and social scene. Face up for God's sake! Stop expecting the rest of the world to face up to their evils, but you can ignore your own. Just another example of passive agressive b.s.......

Oh dear, I don't even know where to begin...so I'll just say I disagree with you on nearly every point. But, what do I know...I'm just a dumb native Seattleite that can't figure out how to make friends...