I apologize for being blunt: Cannot wait to get out of Seattle (Redmond: to live, gardens)

[jwb123]

LOL dirty drunk street kid smell is not the smell of the ocean!!

Puget Sound - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines Puget Sound as a bay with numerous channels and branches; more specifically, it is a fjord system of flooded glacial valleys. The Puget Sound is part of a larger physiographical structure termed the Puget Trough, which is a physiographic section of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System.[4]
Puget Sound is a very large salt water estuary fed by highly seasonal freshwater from the Olympic and Cascade Mountain watersheds.[5] It extends from the southern end of Whidbey Island to Olympia, Washington

[Ambassador]

BTW: HistoryAficionado my reply to you and to various other points is the last post on the previous page. Just so you don't think I was ignoring you I even touched on this whole Puget Sound/Ocean discussion that sprang up out of nowhere!

[The A-Team]

Originally Posted by Ambassador

A couple of points to touch on:

First there is no parade to rain on. I have my personal reasons for liking and moving to Seattle. The only thing that will change that opinion will be personal experience, not comments on a forum. But thanks for the consideration anyway!

Second, regarding the ethncity issue you seem to be refering to two different ballgames here. I was referencing earlier when two other posters seemed to be probing Pwright regarding African Americans and how maybe they and other minorites were not part of the Freeze since they were not Scandanavian. Go back and read those two posts just prior to mine.

The implication was that the Freeze maybe only affects whites since they are Scandanavian, and non-Scandanavians such as AAs, Asians, Latinos, etc.. are free of the "curse".

Culture in an area is very much pre-established...thank you for bringing that up. In fact I have made that contention many times in national assemblies regarding the Immigration debate. The "Lou Dobbs" of American out there are afraid that too many Hispanics will eventually cause a culture shift in America.

People like me argue against that logic, primarily for reasons you stated: Culture is firmly planted in a location. And furthermore Hispanics by the 2nd and 3rd generation born in the US are assimilated and probably don't even speak Spanish like their grandparents do. But never the less there are those out there afraid of "losing our culture"... but I digress..

Back to the point, yes Seattle does have a distinct culture. How much of that is based on Scandanavian influence is questionable. Remember that the Alaskan and California Gold Rush brought MANY people from all over to and through Seattle in its formidable years. Not to mention the large influx of Asians during that period AND the large number of Natives that lived and still live in the area. To limit all of that mixture of cultures to simply the Scandanavians is petty. Also take into consideration that the Scandanavian culture is the most promoted in Seattle; the one most people are proud of... thus perpetuating the thought that all whites MUST be of Scandanavian descent. But that doesn't take away the fact that most whites are also of other cultural backgrounds, they just don't promote those as much as the Scandanavian one.

For the people who post here, trust me there are a handful who seem to never detach themselves from their computer. Don't worry, you are not one of them. But I have been lurking on these forums for over a year-only recently joined to discuss some points on the political forum and ended up "participating" over here as well. In that time I have noticed who the "regular" posters are. Actually, regular would be a very mild term to use for some of these people. Mind you there is nothing wrong with spending large amounts of time on the internet if that is your idea of a good time. I personally LOVE the internet and couldn't live without it..I just don't spen my entire day in front of the computer.

It was those people I was talking about; and proposing that maybe, just maybe the idea that there is a disease in Seattle is actually nothing more than people who are PERSONALLY socially lacking for one reason or another. Just another point to consider when discussing this so called Freeze.

In any case we each have our own formed opinions regarding these issues. They are not going to change easily and even if they did nobody would admit it here. Regardless, these are just some alternative viewpoints to consider. I am no expert by any means but by the nature of my job I do have a considerable amount of perspective with which to form these points. And in no way is that meant to downplay your's or anybody else's views.

Oh, and one final note: For whoever argued that Seattle and Austin are both a 4 hours drive from the Ocean thereby implying they are in the same "boat" has forgotten some key issues.

Seattle sits on Puget Sound which is an inlet of the Ocean. It is connected directly to the Pacific and is populated by marine life including Orcas. If one wishes to sit on the beach and look across the Pacific you could also take a boat to those locations from Seattle.

Austin on the other hand does not sit on any major body of water with any kind of connection to any ocean. Austin is a nice city in many ways but lets keep things realistic.

Exactly.

[The A-Team]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

LOL dirty drunk street kid smell is not the smell of the ocean!!

Puget Sound - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines Puget Sound as a bay with numerous channels and branches; more specifically, it is a fjord system of flooded glacial valleys. The Puget Sound is part of a larger physiographical structure termed the Puget Trough, which is a physiographic section of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System.[4]
Puget Sound is a very large salt water estuary fed by highly seasonal freshwater from the Olympic and Cascade Mountain watersheds.[5] It extends from the southern end of Whidbey Island to Olympia, Washington

......dirty drunk street kids? Don't just say random things lol And posting a link to a webpage and actually living somewhere are completely different things.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

I'm Scandinavian

But you're from Southern California, like me. The point is that a Southern California existence (sun, palm trees, tell-it-like-it-is people) do not support "acting" Scandinavian. If so, you might be asked "what is wrong with you, you sourpuss?" I had school friends who had Scandinavian roots (last names ending in quist and strom) down in the Southland and they were just as free-wheeling as any other So. Cal. person.

I also met a German woman, an immigrant, who first moved to FL and then to CA. She was a co-worker. We went to lunch together constantly, practically laughing to the point of tears. Why? She was more So. Florida and So. Cal. than Germanic. She loved hanging out with me. She told me that when she went to Germany to visit her Mom, everybody was so smug and thought something was wrong with her because she smiled too easily.

The Scandinavian reference is valid in Western WA and in Minnesota because all the entrapments support that way of "acting." Bleh...no thanks. Conversely, any person from a Southern latitude (read: sunny disposition) moving there would have to adapt to their way of acting, otherwise they'd get the "what is wrong with you, you obnoxious individual?"

I swear, if I had become a psychologist, especially one that did research, I would have done my thesis on this or probably even made a career of it. It's that jarring...and identifiable.

[jwb123]

And posting a link to a webpage and actually living somewhere are completely different things.

Uh, where have you been? I only just left the Seattle area, in which I lived for 10 years, and most of my family was born in! (and still lives in).

If one wishes to sit on the beach and look across the Pacific you could also take a boat to those locations from Seattle.

.... but it would take HOURS. It's at least two just to get out of the Puget Sound and head out to the San Juans. By boat.

[Ambassador]

Originally Posted by The A-Team

......dirty drunk street kids? Don't just say random things lol And posting a link to a webpage and actually living somewhere are completely different things.

Here in the State Department we have a term for people who seem to think they know everything about a subject based on what they have read on the internet:

Wiki-Heroes!

I'm not calling you that personally, Jenbar...but I just felt it was apropos to the last few posts.

Also remember that the "ocean" of the PNW is different than that of SoCal, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, NorthEast, etc....

Each body of water is affected by weather patterns and water temperature; which in turn affect degrees of salinity and currents to name a few. Therefore the "smell", look, and even feel of different seas will be different depending on where you are. The Ocean of Miami is vastly different than that of Rockland,Maine. That doesn't mean that Maine's or Miami's version isn't "real"

Also, as our good friend Wiki pointed out the Puget sound is fed by a degree of surface freshwater from the surrounding mountains. That affects the degree of salinity as well but in no way changes the fact that Puget Sound is a direct inlet of the Pacific Ocean. If anything that last fact should be a positive one, as it reminds us of how Seattle is surrounded by not one but two beautiful snow capped mountain ranges!

[jwb123]

I'm not calling you that personally, Jenbar...but I just felt it was apropos to the last few posts.

I would disagree, considering I still carry a WA drivers license and lived there longer than this A Team poster. LOL

Here is a typical "nice" "beach" in Seattle.

It's not the same as a real beach, on the coast.

It's just not.

[The A-Team]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

I would disagree, considering I still carry a WA drivers license and lived there longer than this A Team poster. LOL

Here is a typical "nice" "beach" in Seattle.

It's not the same as a real beach, on the coast.

It's just not.

Should have posted a picture of Alki. Why didn't you post sandy beach pictures? You do know where Alki is right? This " Jen Bar" poster sounds like they haven't spent as much time as they claim around Seattle"LOL"!

[Ambassador]

I respect your opinion Jenbar, and I completly see the point you are trying to make..100%.

But again, the beach/ocean environment you have in mind is-I am imagining- the SoCal one with rollerblading bikini girls, muscle heads, and a baywatch-esque environment. The PNW by nature of its geographic location is going to have a different looking beach and ocean, just like I explained in my previous post. That doesn't make it any less of a real beach or ocean.