For those leaving Seattle or who have left recently? Why did you leave and do you have regrets? (White Center: rentals, homes)

[Always-Blue]

friendship isn't thrown around casually.

Quite the euphemism for "people are unfriendly". Wouldn't want too much friendship flying all over the place, what a terrible thing that would be. This right here is the Seattle delusion in a nutshell. There is such a scarcity of positivity that you have to pretend to not miss it in order to seem normal. Otherwise you'd have to acknowledge that your environment and hence your life is relatively miserable. Not always miserable, just more so than most places in the west.

[KonaldDuth]

Originally Posted by Always-Blue

Quite the euphemism for "people are unfriendly". Wouldn't want too much friendship flying all over the place, what a terrible thing that would be. This right here is the Seattle delusion in a nutshell. There is such a scarcity of positivity that you have to pretend to not miss it in order to seem normal. Otherwise you'd have to acknowledge that your environment and hence your life is relatively miserable. Not always miserable, just more so than most places in the west.

Yes, the people here are such snobbish sad sacks. Can't stand the grey-haired Saab-driving locals.

Not surprisingly, the people I've made friends with and hang out with regularly are all recent transplants (2 from Michigan, 1 from Indiana).

[homesinseattle]

Nope. I mean that friendships are real, and have to be earned. Those are the kinds I want, they have depth.

[DP79]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

DP, guess you haven't been to Nectar, my favorite reggae and world music venue in Fremont. You probably haven't been to Seamonster in Wallingford either, great funk/jazz club. Both places are vibrant, light hearted and fun. I actually agree with some of the things you say but I think a lot of it is personal choice. In winter, the people up skiing are joyful. In summer, it's the people outside, in nature, exercising and moving their bodies. In town, some places are reserved and some are anything but. I think you have to take effort to engage people here, friendship isn't thrown around casually. It's also important to have sincere interests, that's how you find your tribe. Home brewing, folk music, hiking, art, mountain biking, volunteering. Anyone I know who has truly engaged in the community seems to be overloaded with friends, things to do.

I have great friends, a full life and many places I love in Seattle. I'll take you out for raucous, fun night next time you come back. Guess it depends on the person.

Oh trust me, I've been to Nectar, Seamonster, Tractor, Neumos... You name it. I'm not saying I didn't have fun in Seattle - quite the opposite, I made SURE to have fun. And I had a lot of people around me to do it with. The thing is I got sick of forcing the fun - forcing people to come out on a Friday or Saturday night when they were going through one of their "winter funks", forcing acquaintances not to act awkward around eachother after they hadn't seen eachother in a while (the infamous Seattle "Oh do we know eachother?" act), and generally having to pave the way for an outgoing, good time every time I stepped out the door. I'm in Chicago now, and all that stuff comes naturally to each and every person living here. Hence the reason I'm a much better fit for it, and it for me.

[Minntoaz]

Came in September of 2016... it was fun and games until reality hit which was about November. It's hard to say if it was the horrendous traffic also known as constantly braking for no reason, weather or the fact that we have jobs that allow us to live anywhere in the western region and can buy a brand new house for 3/4 of our rent and not listen to noisy neighbors.

I can't do the weather. It makes me depressed. I was born and raised in Minnesota and just lived there for 2.5 years so I know a thing or two about winter but there the sun shines at least every other day and stays out for most of the day... plus I did not factor in the UV index here. The sun may be shining brightly but the UV index will only max out at 1... that's why even on the sunniest day you won't really get any benefit.

It has nothing to do with the people. They are the same as anywhere else. Some nice, some not. Whatever. It's just me. I can't do no sun. We bought a new place in AZ and will be leaving here in August.

[homesinseattle]

DP, I don't know this Seattle you talk about, sorry it didn't work out for you. I love Chicago too, hope it is a better fit for you.

[Always-Blue]

Nope. I mean that friendships are real, and have to be earned. Those are the kinds I want, they have depth.

Yes this is the same euphemism from earlier. Terms like "real" and "depth" are intangible and so you're simply pretending your friendships are different than others. Statistically your friendships are more likely to be worse than average because your pool of potential friends is smaller and requires more personal investment with equal or less chance of payoff.

[jakebarnes]

Originally Posted by DP79

Oh trust me, I've been to Nectar, Seamonster, Tractor, Neumos... You name it. I'm not saying I didn't have fun in Seattle - quite the opposite, I made SURE to have fun. And I had a lot of people around me to do it with. The thing is I got sick of forcing the fun - forcing people to come out on a Friday or Saturday night when they were going through one of their "winter funks", forcing acquaintances not to act awkward around eachother after they hadn't seen eachother in a while (the infamous Seattle "Oh do we know eachother?" act), and generally having to pave the way for an outgoing, good time every time I stepped out the door. I'm in Chicago now, and all that stuff comes naturally to each and every person living here. Hence the reason I'm a much better fit for it, and it for me.

I've lived here 21 years, originally from the Midwest, and DP is right that it is an introverted town. It just depends on perspective whether it is a feature or a bug. It kind of suits me actually - I like the more modest, mellow vibe (although that is changing). I'm an introvert though.

One thing is that despite the introversion, people are superficially more friendly in customer service settings, in public, etc. Some people see it as fake, I see it as courtesy and geniality. I don't mind having a conversation with a cashier or sales clerk.

Also, DP are you the same DP who used to post on Seattle Transit Blog? If so, I'm a big fan!

[bluehorseshoe]

Weather
Public Schools are underfunded and mediocre at best outside of select areas
People are friendly but it's insincere. They are also passive aggressive and non committal.
Influx of materialistic superficial people from Cali will make it even worse.
Congestion
Terrible slow clueless drivers
Overpriced mediocre restaurants that spend more money on build out than quality food
Seattle is lovely if you like to camp and go for long hikes but it's overrated as a large city. It has very little cultural activities and legit nightlife outside of just going to bars and restaurants. It's become a northern version of a NoCal Bay Area suburb.

[cmswazey]

I live here and have quite a few friends. Like Homes, I think friendships don't get entered into casually and that this does not mean that they are scarce or hard to come by.


I've made friends either at places I worked or via mutual interests. I have had people drift in and out of my life but now that I'm older I understand that this is just the way relationships can be sometimes. And the majority of my friends are people I've known for years.


I think that no matter where you live, if you don't have some sort of venue where you can have shared interests of some sort, you're probably not going to get a chance to make a lot of friends.


I felt a bit of a Seattle chill when I got here, too, but in retrospect I now think it's just that it's a different area, people have different ways of expressing themselves and that it's just a matter of acclimation and kind of reaching out to people through various activities or the workplace. So I guess I was wrong about the Seattle chill/freeze.


I don't think Seattle's perfect. Points people have brought up about the traffic and the homeless resonate with me. I came here as a newly wed girl in her 20s and I'm glad I'm not newly arrived at that age NOW, because it'd probably be hard to buy a house!


I'd love to see the homeless situation improve (the traffic will always be crazy) and I'd love to see more work on the roads.


I sure don't agree with the smug grey haired people in the Saabs. I think that's a superficial judgment. Example: I have a friend who's grey haired and has been for years, drives not a Saab but something like it. If you judged by mien and appearance, you would not see what she's really like. She has a wicked sense of humor, is brilliant, and an absolute hoot to hang out with, but in a subtle way. So some of those smug people in the Saabs re, doubtless, lots of fun to be with if you get to know them.