Any natives (or long time residents) here who've left Seattle? What did you miss most? (...and least?) (Vancouver: how much, homes)

[Scotty Dosent Know]

I am 37 and have lived here my entire life except for 2 years spent in Myrtle Beach SC which was 2009-2011.

The only reason I left was to peruse a career opportunity which turned out to be great. Once I got going I left SC to come back to Seattle area as fast as I could. South Carolina to me just flat out sucks, especially where I was at in Myrtle Beach area. Charleston is marginally better. I hated the weather, geography, people, food, religion, values, racism etc. If I was forced to live there for the rest of my life, honestly I would just end it.


When I was away from home I missed the weather, mountains, Puget Sound and over all just how people are in the NW. I wouldnt say people here are overly friendly but they are polite. Im not trying to make new friends and in general dont care about your life story. In SC if you make eye contact for 2 seconds with a stranger walking the opposite direction on a side walk you have made a BFF for life.


On the other hand most of the things I missed while I was away have made a change for the worse over the last decade. There are so many negatives to living here now I have been considering moving to the other side of the mountains as like others I miss Seattle area in the 90's. People move here is droves and comment that Seattle sucks.......I feel like saying "ever think your the reason it sucks?" You cant move here and complain about the traffic. YOU ARE the traffic.


There is still lots to like, you just have to be willing to stand in a long line or wait in an hour of traffic to like it.........

[dav51lin]

nothing to miss about it

[Flightoficarus87]

Thanks for everyone's input thus far!

I do worry that if I end up leaving, I'll end up really missing Puget Sound/Western WA's amazing scenery/nature (I definitely took it for granted growing up here, but truly appreciate it as an adult), some of the great food options in the area, and also the quirky bits of old Seattle/WA culture that remain intact (i.e - things like bridge trolls and gum walls, the music scene, etc.).

But, I'm also at a point where it might be good for me to leave for awhile. Certain life decisions of mine (like going back to school), and most friends moving on with endeavors of their own (starting families, moving, etc) has left me in a position of needing to rebuild my social (and dating) life. I've found that pretty difficult to do here, and find some anecdotal truth to the "Freeze" aspect of Seattle (especially compared to my experiences visiting some other cities). Of course, it wouldn't be fair to say that's the only variable at play (As my situation isn't uncommon) or that everyone here is like that either.

The rising COL/changing nature of Seattle are other issues as well. I do hope that school opens some new doors for me, but I'm not entirely sure that an uber-expensive Seattle is a Seattle that I want to keep living in long term (other interesting cities I previously wrote off the idea of living in due to COL, when Seattle was still affordable, suddenly don't seem as bad, and offer some benefits that Seattle doesn't). Some family members have left the area as well (partly due to COL), making me feel less incentive to stay here, when there isn't much to tie me down (other than school).

Don't get me wrong - I have plenty of fond memories from here - just may finally be time for somewhere new .

[DutchessCottonPuff]

Originally Posted by homelessinseattle

Sounds like your young. Stay in this area.
As you get older you might find as I have that the outdoor hobbies here in the PNW are no longer as enjoyable in the cold rain and crowds.

Very glad to know I am not the only one . I have to be outside alot for work and ...just no , not anymore .

Flight - I have lived everywhere and I can tell you there are plenty of beautiful places in this world you should see . You may even see something you like even better out there . You never know .

[Data Donut]

I was born and raised here.
(My family came to the PNW in the 1860s by wagon train.)
Wanting to see more of the country, I moved around.
I lived in Texas, Virginia and Georgia for 10 years total.
enough time to learn those places were not for me.
Too conservative.
The bible steers the politics in those places to the extreme
Yikes!
Give me liberal blue Washington State anytime.
Thank you.

[pnwguy2]

I was born in 1959 at Swedish Hospital on First Hill. I lived in Seattle until 1990. Moved away to progress my career and have not lived in the city since. That said, I always will consider Seattle my hometown and it has a special place in my heart. I am still a Seahawk/Mariner/Husky fan, and yes I can't stand that the Sonics no longer exist.

What do I miss? The greenery almost year-round. The brilliant views of water and mountains. The foggy/overcast mornings that break out into sunshine in the afternoon. The people, who despite reports, are actually quite friendly.
The small communities that act as almost small towns within the city. The progress of the economy, the tremendous expansion of the skyline (which is both a plus and a curse).

That leads to what I don't miss. The progress of the economy has priced many younger Seattle natives out of the market unless they are highly skilled. The real estate prices have increased to what I consider to be a bubble. It is not affordable for most. The winters, that can be completely dark by 4pm and the day after day drizzle/rain. (However, as a native, I always somewhat enjoyed the cloud cover like a warm blanket).

Bottom line, I love my hometown, always will. I just don't prefer to live there anymore.

[Xanathos]

We made it almost a decade.

What I miss the most? Probably the color. We moved to a place that's just one giant run of concrete and stucco. There are palm trees everywhere, but at eye level it's a lot of grey and brown - you have to look up to get a dash of color. Course, Seattle, you had to avoid looking up to get depressed, so... We also have to go up into the hills to have any sightlines. It's such a massively developed area that you never feel as though you're in space, it almost always feels packed in and dense - which is ironic, because this place is kind of the queen of outward sprawl (Houston being the undefeated king).

What I miss the least? Jesus, I might test the boundaries of a character limit on this forum. Probably the people. We haven't had any real issues with overt "activists" screaming in our faces about this or that or attacking us if we won't take part in their protest. Not to say they don't exist, but they seem to be confined to certain neighborhoods instead of controlling the entire damn city. When people say they're going to show up for something, they show up rather than flake with some lame excuse at the last moment. Diversity of thought isn't 100% frowned upon here and people can keep to themselves; it's pretty rare that we're subjected to some overheard lecture and finger waggling about some political figure, people in the office don't come into work all triggered about some non-event. People aren't as caught up in stupid identity politics as they are in Seattle (I see a post just on my screen right now talking about "oh, I'm so glad I got away from those awful Republicans!", praising a monoculture). We've yet to run into a person ask us to sign some stupid virtue signaling petition, and then be called a racist or something when we kept walking. Profane social awkwardness is definitely less of a problem. No weed stench hitting you every time you try to walk around - they actually enforce the laws about not smoking it in public.

I'd give the weather a tie, though. Man, it's nice reliably seeing blue instead of nothing but grey for weeks at a time. Everybody's not wrapped up in moldy ass North Face apparel looking dour. The sun doesn't set at 4 o clock. Middle of winter, it's 72 degrees, can take lunch out on the beach. And we know it won't get too much hotter in the summer. For all the talk of all the outdoor activities, they f'ing suck when it's cold, grey and raining. I've taken up surfing and beach volleyball, we head out for nature related things way more than we ever did in Seattle.

OH! And idiotic left lane campers in their Subarus passive aggressively doing 10 miles under the speed limit, or Prius drivers in a zombie-like trance looking down at their fuel efficiency dashboard, completely oblivious to every driver around them as they do the same. Definitely don't miss those. Like, if traffic is bad, it's real bad, but if it's open and you aren't moving, you'd better get out of the way.

And definitely don't miss the cost of living. We've been here long enough now to definitively state that it costs us less to live in LA (with a significantly higher quality of life) than it does Seattle, which is dumbfounding to me given how crappy the weather is up there.

Or the remote outpost thing. Seattle, unless going to Vancouver (which is just Seattle with more Asian food), you pretty much had to hop on a plane. LA, you can just make a short jaunt and be in San Diego, or Mexico, or Las Vegas. Or take a drive up the coast to drink wine.

Moronic '12' **** everywhere, insufferable fans. Though I'm told there'll be a lot of purple if the Lakers ever get good again.

I could go on, but the point has been made.

[thatguy950]

^Xanathos wins this thread, all SPOT ON

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

^Xanathos wins this thread, all SPOT ON

Which makes it all the more logical to have moved to LA. Seattle is not forcing anyone to stay here, LA is waiting.

[homesinseattle]

Yeah, I have a number of friends who have had to relocate to LA for work and would love to come back to Seattle. They say it feels pretty Republican, pretty vapid, materialistic, dry and strip mally down there..They talk about missing the plants and trees here, missing their community of friends and little coffee shops and pubs. Say what you want, Seattle has a lot to love (for the people who love it).