Seattle Mostly Sucks

[Belltowney]

There are plenty of "complaining" posts here. But this guy actually listed tangible problems in one of Seattle's top neighborhoods. Issues any of us would find objectionable. That's what made the thread more relevant to me.

I do think some of the OP's issues are a function of "barely hanging on" financially. I can assure him that his experiences do not match my own, or I wouldn't have encouraged my 22 yo daughter to try her luck in Seattle. But then again, we're in a newish condo building with 24/7 concierge in a pretty cool area near Sculpture Park. There are homeless people around...but we haven't so far had any problems with them. Our car is in a secured lot. If we need to go somewhere late, we drive or Uber...not walk. We don't use public transportation otherwise.

Further, I find our area of Belltown to be almost shockingly clean. No needles. No garbage on the streets. Quite a bit better than what I see in downtown San Francisco...where you might pay double the rent for a comparable unit.

It's a different life when you have "enough" money to avoid some of life's more unsavory realities. I think, unfortunately, that's a lot of what we're seeing here. And if the OP were in San Francisco trying to get by with a little less money than comfortable, he'd be dealing with many of the same issues.

Dismissing this post as complaining seems unfair to me. He's clearly dealing with some real ****...and essentially asking him to keep it to himself (or move away) doesn't help create a balanced picture of Seattle. It's not for us to decide whether it's to the point where he should move. That's like folks asking others who complain about America to shut up and move to another country. I find any such suggestions objectionable.

If you only want to see positive comments about your home town, you're essentially saying you find reality offensive.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Belltowney

There are plenty of "complaining" posts here. But this guy actually listed tangible problems in one of Seattle's top neighborhoods. Issues any of us would find objectionable. That's what made the thread more relevant to me.

I do think some of the OP's issues are a function of "barely hanging on" financially. I can assure him that his experiences do not match my own, or I wouldn't have encouraged my 22 yo daughter to try her luck in Seattle. But then again, we're in a newish condo building with 24/7 concierge in a pretty cool area near Sculpture Park. There are homeless people around...but we haven't so far had any problems with them. Our car is in a secured lot. If we need to go somewhere late, we drive or Uber...not walk. We don't use public transportation otherwise.

Further, I find our area of Belltown to be almost shockingly clean. No needles. No garbage on the streets. Quite a bit better than what I see in downtown San Francisco...where you might pay double the rent for a comparable unit.

It's a different life when you have "enough" money to avoid some of life's more unsavory realities. I think, unfortunately, that's a lot of what we're seeing here. And if the OP were in San Francisco trying to get by with a little less money than comfortable, he'd be dealing with many of the same issues.

Dismissing this post as complaining seems unfair to me. He's clearly dealing with some real ****...and essentially asking him to keep it to himself (or move away) doesn't help create a balanced picture of Seattle. It's not for us to decide whether it's to the point where he should move. That's like folks asking others who complain about America to shut up and move to another country. I find any such suggestions objectionable.

If you only want to see positive comments about your home town, you're essentially saying you find reality offensive.

We should probably note that the OP isn't even talking about the city of Seattle; he's mainly talking about Everett, with a single comment about Capitol Hill. It's like people who bash "SF" when in fact they're talking about Oakland, not about San Fran at all.

[Belltowney]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

We should probably note that the OP isn't even talking about the city of Seattle; he's mainly talking about Everett, with a single comment about Capitol Hill. It's like people who bash "SF" when in fact they're talking about Oakland, not about San Fran at all.

Right...could be. I got the impression he was directing most of the comments to the City itself...but maybe not. You certainly are right that describing problems with Oakland and attributing them to San Francisco would be off base.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Belltowney

Right...could be. I got the impression he was directing most of the comments to the City itself...but maybe not. You certainly are right that describing problems with Oakland and attributing them to San Francisco would be off base.

Well, for transplants or visitors, "SF" gets used as an abbreviation for "San Francisco Bay Area", so when people phrase inquiries that way, we have to ask for them to clarify whether they mean the city itself, or the entire Bay Area. So it sounds to me that the OP (after I re-read his posts) is using "Seattle" in a similar way; to mean the Greater Seattle Area, which for him is mainly the 'burbs north of Seattle.

[homesinseattle]

Hey DP. I have a great life and good friends. I'm a regular part of this forum and just choose to speak up about things I believe about Seattle. Peace, bro.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by Data Donut

I wish I could feel sorry for you but you come here and complain and gripe and tell the natives their city sucks and all of a sudden were supposed to feel sorry for you?
Nope.
You are an adult (I think) grow up, quit blaming everything on everybody else.

Totally agree with this. But millenials are generally all about the "blame" game. It is how they were raised. Good grief.