Black Population In Seattle (Pacific: metro, area, ghettos)

[Ethiope]

I'm amazed about how old this thread is, but glad to see it comes up to the present.

I currently live about 50 miles south of D.C. and definitely need to move. I've lived in D.C., Virginia Beach, Northern Virginia, Houston, Richmond. I have wanted to move back to D.C. for years and was making plans to do so, but for the last six months, the thought of moving to D.C. looks less desirable.

For some reason, I keep having these recurrent thoughts to check out Seattle, which is what brought me here.

It's interesting to hear the "pro" and "con" voices. I'm in my early 40s, so some of the concerns of early 20-somethings I don't have, but I would want to be able to make friends and such. I also want to feel comfortable, but I'm not one who just has or wants to just have black friends, so I don't think that would be a problem as long as there were some around for those times you just want to relate to people who are like you in the racial sense.

The western curiosity is relatively new for me so I'm going to keep exploring it, and I'm going to try to get out to Seattle to check it out sometime in the next year.

Anyone on here in my age range who can tell me what their experience of Seattle has been.

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by OBeanson

I grew up in Seattle. Cheasty Blvd/Andover st area. I think for me, being black and living in the 60-70's Seattle was the absolute no brainer best place for a kid to grow up. We were so diversified. My neighbors were mostly Black/Asian. Only 2 white families. EVERYONE got along. While Newark/Detroit were exploding Seattle was just chillin. I left Seattle when I turned 18. I have been all over the country and halfway around the world. I live on the East coast now. I live in area of NJ that is relatively safe. Asbury Park (nearby) is tough. But let me say this, I played basketball (street) People who don't know me, it never fails think I came from NY/Chi/Det Philly etc because of the way I played ball and carry myself. I have never tried to front or be someone I'm not. My point is you can be a cool brotha from Baltimore or Portland, it's all relatively the same. You can tell where people are from by their accents...and I have come to realize that cats from Seattle/Portland/Oakland SF/LA sound kinda caucasian. Hey whatever, we were just taught to speak properly. Yeah we use ebonics and listen, I knew/know some Haaaard brothas from Seattle. I know cats from Seattle that can handle living and doin dirt in any city they chose. That is a fact. Seattle should be proud that it does not have the "rep" of being hard. Is Philly, New Orleans, Detroit, Baltimore/DC, St. Louis etc..proud of their very high murder rates? They would LOVE to have the peace and tranquility of Seattle. Best thing to happen to Seattle is that it is tucked away from everybody being up north. Keeps the population moderate, and with the gloomy weather, keeps people from overcrowding the place. If Seattle had California weather, with how pretty everything looks on a nice day would probably have well over a million people just in the City alone. Look at what's happening in Phoenix AZ!...Millions of people and the murder rate/crime rate is thru the roof. Phoenix would LOVE to have Seattle low murder rate as well. I just came back from Atlanta. Atlanta is a great place. It actually reminds me of Seattle somewhat. If more blacks found Seattle, it could be West Atlanta. Anyway Pwright1 your photo's really brought back memories (fond) Thanks. Black people DO NOT be embarrassed or clowned by being from Seattle. NO ONE here in Jersey clowns me about Seattle, I can handle my business and clown them. Last thing, I met a cat from LA, while playing Streetball in Virginia. In between games he was telling me how he grew up in LA but never had any problems. I told him I was from Sea-town and he let out an "awww man" I can't stand that place! Turns out that on a visit to Seattle he got carjacked on Rainier. Punk'd down in the South end. He was from COMPTON. Ah well, can happen anywhere. Hope you guys enjoyed my post.

What do you mean with cats?

[Ethiope]

I've been reading some of the posts on here and I have another question about hair.

I've not been relaxing my hair for over three years and started flat ironing it about a year ago and absolutely LOVE IT!!! I can't see going back to a relaxer for anything. But, I hear Seattle is very rainy, so I wonder about how flat ironed natural hair would hold up.

I currently live in Virginia just south of D.C. and it can definitely get VERY humid in the summer, so my hair is usually in a pony tail or I wear it natural but I like having the option of wearing it straight or curly.

Please shed some light on the hair/humidity situation in Seattle.

[MFetch]

Well I'm in my mid-30s and no matter how many times I leave Seattle, I end up moving back so overall my experience has been positive. Aside from the weather, I just like it here.

I have a pretty racially mixed group of friends and really have never felt uncomfortable here.

I've learned from people who move here without any connections that it can be hard to meet people so I think it would be important to get involved with some kind of group early on to get some introductions.

I have a close friend who works with a large non-profit organization and tagging along to functions with her, I feel like I've met just about every black professional in the city. I would urge you to at least become a member of the Central District Arts Forum. They put on really great events (like "An Evening with Walter Mosely" recently) that really brings people out. There was also a reception at the Seattle Art Museum recently for Titus Kaphar that was attended by a good sized group of 30 and 40 something black folk.

Seattle is not a racial utopia by any means but compared to other cities, it is pretty laid back.

[MFetch]

I've not been relaxing my hair for over three years and started flat ironing it about a year ago and absolutely LOVE IT!!! I can't see going back to a relaxer for anything. But, I hear Seattle is very rainy, so I wonder about how flat ironed natural hair would hold up.

Um, press and curls are a no-go.

Have you considered going natural or wearing braids, locks, twists, or another style that doesn't require bone straight hair?

ETA: Actually, now that I think about it, if your ends are still relaxed then you could probably get away with flat ironing for awhile. Finding a hairdresser can be challenging here if you don't want to spend a lot of money.

[Ethiope]

I thought about locking my hair, but I like the variety of being able to wear it natural or straight. Is it hard to wear it straight even in the winter because I definitely need variety?

Do you think Seattle is a more difficult place to meet new people than other cities? I have lived south of D.C. for 8 years and have failed to develop a really strong social network. Part of that is because this is a very family-oriented area and I'm single with no kids. People here don't have time to hang out because they're doing family things. This is why I want to move to a bigger city. Also because I love the arts and cultural activities.

I also currently run my own very small business where I don't have the opportunity to get out among large groups of people, but I plan to change that.

I'm from Virginia Beach but the only other place I've considered moving is in closer to D.C. My father's from there and my brother lives there and I assumed that's what I would do, but for some reason the enthusiasm I used to have about moving to D.C. has waned and I keep getting these urges to move west. But, I've heard people complain about D.C. being clickish and a hard place to meet people too, so I don't know. The only places I could really move where I know a lot of people is back home to Virginia Beach (don't want to do that) and to Houston where I did my residency (DEFINITELY don't want to do that).

I don't tend to be a joiner although I have lot's of interests (probably why I'm not a joiner, I don't like to limit myself to only a few things or have to be too committed). I think I tend to make friends easily, but moving somewhere where you know only one person is scary (but also somewhat of an adventure).

My sister's sister-in-law lives there, but that's the only person I know in Seattle. I'm going to try to talk to her about her experience there.

[Ethiope]

Oh, and my hair is completely natural. I cut it all off almost 4 years ago, so no relaxer.

I basically do my own hair. I go to Hair Cuttery every 3-4 months or so and get a trim for $8, but that's about it. I've found that since I don't relax my hair it's VERY healthy and doesn't need to be cut so often.

[Neutre]

As for hair: Don't they have any Dominican salons in Seattle? I heard that they can blow your hair straight it's even resistant to very high humidity.

[MFetch]

If there is a Dominican salon in Seattle, it's news to me. There are only one or two salons I can think of off the top of my head that deal primarily with natural hair and I don't think that either of them do Dominican blow outs.

I gave up completely on relaxers years ago, I used to sport a natural but now I just have locs. There are good hairdressers here but I've found that you really have to stop people on the street and ask instead of relying on the yellow pages.

I lived in Boston when I went to grad school and aside from work/school friends, I thought it was very tough to meet people. Seattle isn't as bad as that, I think people here are very outwardly friendly but finding real quality friends takes longer of course.

If you love culture and arts and have spare time, consider volunteering in some capacity for an arts organization like the one I mentioned. I think it's a low pressure way of finding people who share your interests.

Having only one person here is better than none so if you're adventurous enough, and can deal with gray skies then you'll probably be fine here.

ETA: Feel free to send me a private message if there's anything else you want to ask

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by MFetch

Well I'm in my mid-30s and no matter how many times I leave Seattle, I end up moving back so overall my experience has been positive. Aside from the weather, I just like it here.

I have a pretty racially mixed group of friends and really have never felt uncomfortable here.

I've learned from people who move here without any connections that it can be hard to meet people so I think it would be important to get involved with some kind of group early on to get some introductions.

I have a close friend who works with a large non-profit organization and tagging along to functions with her, I feel like I've met just about every black professional in the city. I would urge you to at least become a member of the Central District Arts Forum. They put on really great events (like "An Evening with Walter Mosely" recently) that really brings people out. There was also a reception at the Seattle Art Museum recently for Titus Kaphar that was attended by a good sized group of 30 and 40 something black folk.

Seattle is not a racial utopia by any means but compared to other cities, it is pretty laid back.

I can tell you like Seattle. I used to live in the Seattle area and I still miss it sometimes.

As for the connections, that is one thing to think about. It does help to have connections.