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Old 10-16-2009, 07:05 PM
 
295 posts, read 657,018 times
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Maybe this gets back to what I said yesterday about New Yorkers thinking the city is the center of the universe. However, why they moved in the first place is a good question. Eventually, either the NY transplants to the West Coast assimilate into the new culture and even begin to love to hate NYC, or they get homesick and go back.
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Old 10-16-2009, 07:27 PM
 
947 posts, read 1,635,339 times
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Originally Posted by expdxer View Post
Maybe this gets back to what I said yesterday about New Yorkers thinking the city is the center of the universe. However, why they moved in the first place is a good question. Eventually, either the NY transplants to the West Coast assimilate into the new culture and even begin to love to hate NYC, or they get homesick and go back.
Missed it and moved back.
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Old 10-20-2009, 01:49 PM
 
42 posts, read 230,008 times
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I just answered a similar thread and I will repost what I wrote.....

I think I can answer this for you......

I grew up outside of NYC and moved to Seattle over 10 years ago....moved to the Southeast five years later, back to NYC metro last summer--and now, due to my husband's career, we are now reconsidering moving back to Seattle. If we do so, we hope it will be our last move which means we are giving serious credo to the issues you bring up. I adore Seattle and it remains one of my favorite places on earth--though it absolutely did not start out that way!

When I moved to Seattle, I had just completed a decade of living in Manhattan and expected Seattle to be the same. All I knew about Seattle was based on Frasier and the assumptions I conjured based on my own experiences living in NY. Suffice it to say that Frasier had VERY LITTLE relevance to Seattle and in fact, the Frasier lifestyle was more reminiscent of NYC or Chicago than Seattle.....

First of all, very few residents lived in high rises--it was then (probably less so today) a city where people lived in condos and townhouses in places like Queen Ann or in the suburbs... After running into celebrities and news personalities on a regular basis in Manhattan, Seattle seemed VERY removed from the mainstream. EVERYTHING bugged me about it--from the time difference, to the way people dressed (or didn't dress), to what I perceived as a complete lack of culture and to the tape delay in the news. The Art Museum, as an example, seemed to me to compare more to a suburban art gallery than an actual museum..... There were no Italians or Jews or bagels or delis or subs or pizza....and I was probably the only person in my office who talked with my hands. Instead of wearing summer clothes, I was wearing a jacket to work in June....I was miserable...

Looking back, I can now see a few obvious things--for one, I was young, naive and homesick. For two, having never moved before I was looking to find NYC within Seattle....and trying to find the familiar in the decidedly unfamiliar.

It literally was a matter of perspective and a good example of this is how I viewed the weather. Say a day started out cloudy, I would write off the day as rainy day, which was a fair assumption in the East. In Seattle, however, the fog often settles over the Sound which means a day might start out looking foggy and then morph into a glorious day with sunshine from noon to nine pm....meaning much more sunshine than I would have seen in NYC. But I did not see that at first....

Slowly and steadily, I began to fall in love with the local flavor.....things literally started to sneak up on me. My husband and I began going to Mariners' game that first summer--tickets were cheap and we had few friends so that became our go-to. The stadium was BEAUTIFUL and new and shiny and the Mariners were having a great season. Tickets were affordable and accessible--meanwhile, back in NYC, I had probably been to see the Yankees play in person once. At Mariner Stadium I sampled my first cow-chip cookie (truly the most scrumptious chocolate chip cookie ever created) and paired it with a Tully's foamy latte. I became hooked on coffee....which in Seattle, can be bought at little drive through kiosks everywhere. In the Public Market, at a little stand called the Market Grill, I discovered blackened salmon sandwhiches. It definitely started with coffee and food, but overtime and as we began to explore the surroundings, I found more and more to love....

We discovered Alki beach on weekends--literally a little bohemian beach community right in Seattle. We took the Ferry to Bainbridge Island and then to Victoria.....and then to the San Juan Islands--still one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. We hiked Mt Psi and Snoqualmie Falls. When the summer finally arrived, it arrived with gusto and I still remember boating on Lake Washingto, that first summer, and watching the blue angels fly their F16s into the horizon with Mt. Ranier in the backdrop, looking like a giant ice cream cone popping out of the clouds.

Within the year, we moved to the Eastside where we bought a home for a fraction of our NE place but eqipped with many more amenities--bookcases, landscaping, architectural details. In our little town, there was an beach park nearby and lots of summer concerts in the summer. We noticed our money going further than it ever had before because you know how expensive the Northeast is.... You can live WELL in Seattle and not make a killer salary....there is no state income tax and things simply cost less, and experiences and items are accessible and affordable in ways they are simply not in the Northeast.

Even though we were young and starting out in our careers, we had a ton of fun and expanded our horizons in ways we could not have imagined. We skied in the winter--an hour's drive away. We climbed Mt. Ranier, skied at Whistler, vacationed in Idaho, explored the Oregon coast, ... We saw the Who at the Colombia Gorge--the stage aloft in front of the descending sun on the gorge. We toured wineries outside of Seattle and began to collect wine in earnest....We made friends with other transplants and with locals and created a community around us. We transitioned from newlyweds into an established married couple with a life of our own, a life we forged on our own.

We lived there for five years before a career change forced us to move. I had my children in Seattle and endured a life-threatening illness in Seattle, and let me tell you, the hospitals and medical system are top notch. Not only are the facilities immaculate, but the doctors are ego free and incredibly competent. More than anything else I discovered the advantages to living in a smaller and newer city. Seattle may never compare to NYC or DC in scale or gravitas, no, but it offers a much higher standard of living to the average person. Even today, with housing being through the roof, I still find Seattle infinitely more affordable than the Northeast. I believe, as well, that this translates into a healthier atmosphere.... We certainly found we had better work-life balance. My husband and I firmly believe our happiest years were spent in Seattle....

Now we have two school aged kids and as we sit here, back in the Northeast but contemplating a move back to Seattle, we do have a few concerns about going back: Education is one.... Being raised as inherent east-coast school snobs, we worry that the educational standards may not match what is available here. But of course, Seattle has surprised us before and what do we know? We certainly don't have first hand experience with the schools yet, and Seattle has already surprised us once before.....Certainly the state SAT scores are incredibly impressive.

Our daughter is a dancer and an artist, and I do mourn the ability to raise her near a cultural center like NYC, so that remains a concern.....

But all in all, I think Seattle is a magnificent place to live..... To directly answer your question, you will ABSOLUTELY feel directly removed from being in the "center of the world"--something that never went away. For me, it was replaced by something more valuable: the feeling that I lived inside this tiny hidden gem that nobody knew about....and it made me feel special to know I had such a rich and varied and balanced life. In the end, I found that nourished me in a much more fundamental way than being around the hustle and bustle of NYC. Even living back here outside of NYC, I still long for that feeling of richness....I literally felt we experienced MORE life there versus here, where I feel much more of an OBSERVER of life vs being an active participant. I think that is why we have been considering making this last move to Seattle and literally settling there permanently to raise our kids.....

Relative to the weather, I found Seattle to be a moderate climate year round. I was not "outdoorsy" before but became so there, hiking year around. I did not find it as dark as expected, and I do suffer from SAD. I think being outdoors more counterbalanced the shorter days....

HTH...

PM me with any questions.

Last edited by KikiMonster; 10-20-2009 at 02:50 PM..
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Old 10-20-2009, 02:39 PM
 
99 posts, read 162,954 times
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Originally Posted by dloqi View Post
To clarify what I mean when I say "people are nicer" - I go to the grocery store, the drug store, the mall, a fast food joint - the people working there actually look me in the eye and greet me, with a friendly word, often times with a smile. Sometimes they actually begin to engage in a conversation with me. They engage in trying to find some small thing in common with me - the weather, the color of my jacket, the book I'm buying. In the time I am spending face to face with another human being, it's treated as something to acknowledge. It's a sense of humanity.

In NYC (something I noticed as soon as I moved there 8 years ago from Boston) it's shockingly rare to have a service person/staff member look you in the eye when they're taking your money for a minor purchase, bagging your groceries, or doing whatever. You get that "dead eye" dismissive look. Someone may "help" you, but it's just part of their job, and they make sure you know that.

I'm not looking for a best friend, but to at least treat each other like a human being because we are all human beings is something profoundly missing in NYC. Now when I DO go looking for a best friend I might have a different story all together....

As for "small town mentality" I have to laugh, thinking of the bank manager who, upon finding out that I was married and not currently working (I sold my business in NYC and am waiting to restart), put on my application that I'm a "homemaker." That took a lot of energy to keep my ego in check not to clarify "I'm a [insert profession], not a homemaker."

There are sincerely nice people in NYC just as there are attitude-ladened people in Seattle. But it's about the accepted way of treating each other in the overall climate of social interactions that can impact one's quality of life. It's acceptable in NYC to make some nasty comment to a complete stranger, and suspicious if you're overly helpful or friendly.


Here's the thing about NYC and Seattle with regard to people (I have lived in both cities extensively so I know what I am talking about firsthand). In Seattle you will be smiled at and treated politely in your everyday interactions. However, underneath that polite exterior there is no soul. It's a very superficial politeness.

In NYC, you get treated rude by seattle standards but familiarity breeds love and when you get to know people there is a real, genuine, soulful connection that you could never get from a seattelite.
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Old 10-20-2009, 04:06 PM
 
1,863 posts, read 5,133,367 times
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Originally Posted by JohnStockton View Post
Here's the thing about NYC and Seattle with regard to people (I have lived in both cities extensively so I know what I am talking about firsthand). In Seattle you will be smiled at and treated politely in your everyday interactions. However, underneath that polite exterior there is no soul. It's a very superficial politeness.

In NYC, you get treated rude by seattle standards but familiarity breeds love and when you get to know people there is a real, genuine, soulful connection that you could never get from a seattelite.
Oh, this eternal people question... one way or another, there will always be problems with people. Everywhere, I'm afraid. No place to avoid this one.
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Old 10-20-2009, 04:09 PM
 
99 posts, read 162,954 times
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Originally Posted by movingwiththewind View Post
Oh, this eternal people question... one way or another, there will always be problems with people. Everywhere, I'm afraid. No place to avoid this one.

Well yeah but I don't think it is wrong of me to point out clear patterns I've observed through my personal experience
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Old 10-20-2009, 04:29 PM
 
1,989 posts, read 6,578,714 times
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Originally Posted by JohnStockton View Post

In NYC, you get treated rude by seattle standards but familiarity breeds love and when you get to know people there is a real, genuine, soulful connection that you could never get from a seattelite.
That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. I guess I'll have to notify my wife, children, closest friends, and extended family that our relationships are phony and soulless.
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Old 10-20-2009, 04:38 PM
 
99 posts, read 162,954 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toughguy View Post
That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. I guess I'll have to notify my wife, children, closest friends, and extended family that our relationships are phony and soulless.

I'm glad to have awakened your mind. Now notify them immediately.
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Old 10-20-2009, 06:14 PM
 
9,961 posts, read 17,433,314 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnStockton View Post
Here's the thing about NYC and Seattle with regard to people (I have lived in both cities extensively so I know what I am talking about firsthand). In Seattle you will be smiled at and treated politely in your everyday interactions. However, underneath that polite exterior there is no soul. It's a very superficial politeness.

In NYC, you get treated rude by seattle standards but familiarity breeds love and when you get to know people there is a real, genuine, soulful connection that you could never get from a seattelite.

God**m soulless Seattlelites! They can only come out at night and must avoid the sunlight as well.

Man you must have really had a really bad time in Seattle, considering your feel compelled to rant about the inferiority and awfulness of the place on three different threads concurrently.

Last edited by Deezus; 10-20-2009 at 07:25 PM..
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Old 10-20-2009, 06:15 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
187 posts, read 574,782 times
Reputation: 115
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnStockton View Post
Here's the thing about NYC and Seattle with regard to people (I have lived in both cities extensively so I know what I am talking about firsthand). In Seattle you will be smiled at and treated politely in your everyday interactions. However, underneath that polite exterior there is no soul. It's a very superficial politeness.

In NYC, you get treated rude by seattle standards but familiarity breeds love and when you get to know people there is a real, genuine, soulful connection that you could never get from a seattelite.
Wow, so all the friends and connections that I've made since living in Seattle are false and soulless? My god, I better move to NYC then.
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