Seattle Weather/Climate Thread (Tacoma, Toledo: basketball, salesman, policy)

[NewtoSD?]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

Oh yeah, definitely. I've always loved fog, and there definitely is something to be said about walking through DTSF, Chinatown, or Nob Hill in the dead of night with the fog out. It feels like living in a Noir, and makes for some really great photos

Some areas, especially over in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, etc) don't get much fog - when I lived in Oakland, I really can't recall any fog of note. Contrasted with Daly City, Colma, etc, where it's even foggier on average than SF. It's an extremely diverse and varied area in terms of weather.


Well, I spent about half my childhood there and then lived there again for a year and a half as an adult. The cold up there did seem to bite harder than it did in SF - both of them have a pretty damp cold, neither is particularly dry, but I always found myself wearing more layers of clothing up there than down here.

I got hit by the anxiety and depression really hard in Seattle - harder than I'd ever been hit before, really. The social climate was a big part of it, to be sure, but the weather played a big role too. In SF, even at the lowest points of winter, you still have a few days where just as always, the fog cooks off and you can see a blue sky through some clouds. Once in a while, you'll even get a day that's warm. And this is only SF - again, go across the Bay to Oakland or Berkeley, and you've got plenty of days with a clear sky even though it's chillier out.

In Seattle, you just go through months of darkness. There is no break. There are days where the cloud cover is so thick that it doesn't get "light" out until damn near 10am, and that "light" means that from 10 till 2, there's a slightly-luminous, impenetrable grey cloud cover that hangs over everything. You can't see your shadow on the sidewalk. You feel like a vampyre.

I ran year-round in the Bay Area; even on cold days, after a block or two, I was warmed up and didn't notice it. Up in Seattle, I tried to do the same; it didn't work. After a half mile, I was still cold, and my muscles were fighting me. Maybe it was the lack of sunlight? I don't know, but I never was able to adapt back to the climate. There are definitely some fit people in Seattle, so obviously it's a YMMV situation; there are obviously plenty of people who absolutely love the weather. I don't think I could ever go back to it.

Ya know, I've always wanted to live in Seattle. The weather and the lifestyle really intrigue me. But on some level I fear that I am trying to relive a time in my life that has passed. The grunge movement of the 90's, the girl I fell in love with in the 90's, and a simpler time when all I needed to be happy was bus fare and a pair of Birkenstocks.

I use to love that cloudy weather when I'd visit. It fit my mood and the artistic side of me. Now, I fear the weather would just bring on that depression/anxiety again. And now, it's no longer cool to sulk or be depressed.

I can't really speak to the social cllimate up there, because I've had both positive and negative social experiences up there. I found that people were fairly friendly, but kind of in a "polite" but almost gaurded kind of way. It kind of brought me back to highschool a couple of times it happened. In eastern WA you'd get the "why is this person talking to me, we're not friends" vibe from the population at large (it wasn't just a highschool thing) if you kept the conversation going too long. When I moved to the Bay at age 19 it was the opposite; I was confused as to why people I didn't know were talking to me. I found both places to be relaxed, but the Bay definitley felt more open. Not to say that you'd make good friends on day 1, but it just felt different.

[la_fuerza]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

I'm 28. On the one hand, I completely agree with you - on paper, theoretically speaking, I should have liked it when I moved back there in '08. The lower rents, superior schools, etc. are all wonderful. However, all this said, I can't see any benefit to my kids growing up with a father or my wife living with a husband who can't stand where he lives, is chronically depressed because of the weather, can't stand the people, makes less money in his field and thus is more stressed financially, and is generally at a much lower point there than he is/was in California. As my friend whom I'd moved up to Seattle with had posed to me, when I decided that I was going to move back down South, "what if you were to meet the perfect girl up here, but she was a Seattlite and would never leave?" My answer: "Then she wouldn't be perfect for me, and that'd be that."

That's fair enough, I can totally relate to the feeling. I'm 36 now but I spent all of my twenties in the Bay Area and I loved it. However I knew once I hit 30 that if I wanted to find a (permantent) mate and not live with roommates forever, I had to leave the Bay Area. I left in 2007 at age 31. Within one month being in Seattle, I got a decent job. Within a year I bought my first condo and met the nice girl who's now my wife.

I do not get chronically depressed by the weather. I'm usually busy working or doing stuff with my wife, taking the dog to the park or the beach, eating out, or going on day trips. There are plenty of ways to beat the winter blues if things are aligned right. When it's gloomy we know sunny climates are just a flight away. My wife and I have traveled to Hong Kong, Europe, and most recently Australia all in the last two years. We go to Vancouver BC (my substitute for SF) all the time. I never traveled like this when I lived in California.

Traveling to other countries has really broadened my perspective. Seattle has a good reputation throughout the world. We tell people we are from Seattle, not "America" or "the U.S." We are proud to live in a tolerant, progressive city that's getting more diverse by the day. I mention my story because it's good to keep options open for the future and I think the quality of life in Seattle can't be beat and I think one day you'll really appreciate it again.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

I'm 28. On the one hand, I completely agree with you - on paper, theoretically speaking, I should have liked it when I moved back there in '08. The lower rents, superior schools, etc. are all wonderful. However, all this said, I can't see any benefit to my kids growing up with a father or my wife living with a husband who can't stand where he lives, is chronically depressed because of the weather, can't stand the people, makes less money in his field and thus is more stressed financially, and is generally at a much lower point there than he is/was in California.

As my friend whom I'd moved up to Seattle with had posed to me, when I decided that I was going to move back down South, "what if you were to meet the perfect girl up here, but she was a Seattlite and would never leave?"

My answer: "Then she wouldn't be perfect for me, and that'd be that."

^Great post.

(I met the perfect girl in a place I disliked, and convinced her to leave the place she would never leave! )

[evergraystate]

48f drizzle in June

[Lamplight]

Originally Posted by evergraystate

48f drizzle in June

My favorite weather!

[JesseJB]

The season formerly known as spring!

I remember back in the 1990's and most of the 2000's, I would have laughed myself silly at the notion of high temps in the 40's in April and May and 50's in June. Time's they are a-changin...

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by evergraystate

48f drizzle in June

Seriously?! Have you already forgotten the unusually nice May we had? This is payback. You can't have it all!

[evergraystate]

Originally Posted by mrman78

You can't have it all!

Yes you can, just not in Seattle

[Lamplight]

Of course, "having it all" means different things to different people. To me, the best spots on that map are the lime green ones.

[mazerunner]

I'm relocating to Tacoma from South Carolina and I'm admittedly not looking forward to the big change in weather. I think I'll have a hard time reconciling the notion that even though it's June, it's only 65 degrees during the daytime. In SC, it's 65 degrees in mid-February.