Darkness in Seattle (home, school, deal)

[pirate_lafitte]

Last night darkness fell around 6:30PM in Atlanta. A former Seattle native myself, I remember the sun going down two hours after school let out. I look back on it and it is freaky and nice to see. It is depressing to some, but it can be fun in it's own way. How do you feel about early darkness in this northern latitude?

[mayfair]

It's no fun to take a walk after work- it's pitch black. Also the kids can't play outside in the evening (it will soon be dark very early). The long summer days make up for it though- you can be out afer 9 pm playing or walking.

[CityGirl72]

Long summer hours DON'T make up for it - any parent knows you don't keep your child up past bedtime

I used to say "dusk" was my favorite time of day

But you usually don't get a glowing dusk here (the majority of the time)...it's just gloomy when you wake up and gloomy when you go to bed

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

Long summer hours DON'T make up for it - any parent knows you don't keep your child up past bedtime

I used to say "dusk" was my favorite time of day

But you usually don't get a glowing dusk here (the majority of the time)...it's just gloomy when you wake up and gloomy when you go to bed

I can get over the gloom. I guess it's different for me because I find early darkness a freaky(in an aurora borealis kind of way) event. Long summers make for all night fun. What is the earliest you have seen darkness?

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

Long summer hours DON'T make up for it - any parent knows you don't keep your child up past bedtime

I used to say "dusk" was my favorite time of day

But you usually don't get a glowing dusk here (the majority of the time)...it's just gloomy when you wake up and gloomy when you go to bed

Um, the long summer days DO make up for it. As a parent I have no problem letting my child stay up later during the summer months. You have your own bizarre judgemental opinions, but don't assume that everyone thinks the same as you.

To answer the original question, I kind of like walking through downtown when it's dark when I leave work at five, the city has a subtely different vibe to it when it's dark. Although, by the time February rolls around I will probably be pretty over it and ready for the sun to rear it's head again.

[kmfseattle]

I actually like it - I enjoy the variation in daylight hours, seasons etc. throughout the year over the monotony of consistent daylight hours / times and although it has it's drawbacks, it also creates a bit of calmness for me to walk home from work in the dark. Seattles charm seems to come out more at night as well - walking around downtown Seattle when its dark out late in the year when the sidewalks are packed is an interesting experience. I definitely prefer Seattle night life over Seattle day life (or... light life? ..Hmm... ). With that said, most of my friends here think I'm crazy - they despise the shorter days.

The sun goes down around 5:30 now and gets earlier by the day. Obviously it takes a bit of adjustment if you aren't used to it, and I don't have kids or a family to worry about at this point either so it's all relative. SAD is also definitely an issue for many people due to both the grayness and the lack of daylight hours in the winter. To each his own, some people deal with it better than others.

[CityGirl72]

I pick my son up from school at 4:30 pm and it's been dark lately (it's more dark when there is cloud cover then on a partly cloudy day)

When we go to school at 8 am, it's the same darkness right now.

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Last night darkness fell around 6:30PM in Atlanta. A former Seattle native myself, I remember the sun going down two hours after school let out. I look back on it and it is freaky and nice to see. It is depressing to some, but it can be fun in it's own way. How do you feel about early darkness in this northern latitude?

It was dark in Jersey at 5 last nite. It's not a big deal, it's happens when we turn the clocks back. And in another month it will be dark at 4:30.

I'm used to it, it's been happening ever since I can remember.
(gotta love the extra hour of sleep)

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

I pick my son up from school at 4:30 pm and it's been dark lately (it's more dark when there is cloud cover then on a partly cloudy day)

When we go to school at 8 am, it's the same darkness right now.

It's dark at 8 in the morning?

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

It's dark at 8 in the morning?

When I wake up at 6 it's dark but it's just starting to get light when I leave at 6:40. When I get to work at 8:00 its fully bright. Eventually it will be dark until about 7:30a - 8:00a in the morning when we hit the depths of late December/January.

Here is a nifty site where you can see the sunrise/sunset times for any day of the year:

Sunrise and sunset in Seattle - Washington - U.S.A.

At the winter solstice (Dec. 22st), we only get 8 hours and 25 minutes of daylight.

Conversly, we get nearly 16 hours of sunlight (which feels more like 18 hours since visibility remains long after the sun has set) near the summer solstice.