"I want Paradise" posts (current residents only, please) (Seattle: job market, buyers)

[j_k_k]

How do others feel about these? Not putting anyone down for posting them, but when I see them, they amaze me. Washington must have a rep as the place of a dream lifestyle. How often do we read here:

Help me find my ideal place in Washington. Priorities:

Don't like rain or intense heat.
Would like to be near ocean.
Would like to be able to see mountains.
Four full seasons.
Snow in winter.
Good job market.
Reasonable housing prices, maybe a few acres.
Short, easy commute.
No traffic.
Ready access to big city nearby.
Excellent schools.
Diversity.
Active arts community.
Small-town feel.
Lots of whole food/vegan/raw food/local produce/etc. options.
Not too churchy, no Bible-thumpers.
Politically tolerant (I can't tolerate right-wingers).

When I see these, or some minor variation on them, I'm stunned at how certain people seem to be that they will find this self-contradictory Eden in Washington. (Anyone who thinks you will have a big city with low traffic and easy commutes, for example. Except maybe Detroit, since everyone's leaving it.) But at the same time, I'm also impressed because we can usually meet about 90% of what they want.

I generally don't respond simply because I'm holding my tongue so that this innocent person doesn't get a snark that's been built up over months of reading these, but I thought I'd have the discussion with others who live here. (I am not Washingtonian, but I have lived here since the Nixon administration, on both sides of the mountains, so I think I've paid those dues.)

Viewpoints?

[allforcats]

Ha!! I was going to ignore this topic, til I saw who wrote it...

Listen, Snarky -- uhhh, Sparky -- life is filled with contradictions, no? So why can't people's new-life wish lists be also? Eh? At least when the list starts out, eh? Contradictions... Isn't that how we sometimes start in order to be able to narrow down to what we really want?

You're absolutely right that after a year and a half of this, my brain just goes numb sometimes and I can't think of a reply. But sometimes I can pick myself up and realize that when I was in Tokyo researching in a library frcryin'outloud the places I was considering relocating to (Switzerland, Costa Rica, and the American and Canadian west)-- I didn't know anything more than was published in the few books and magazines available to me there.

Now with the internet everyone has virtually all knowledge available from which to learn. And yet many folks choose not to learn, but rather to ask the opinions of people they don't know, will never meet, and probably wouldn't even talk to at a party. Go figger... That's the part I don't understand -- their reliance not on their own research but, to paraphrase Blanche DuBois, on the opinions of strangers, a few of whom are just flat-out liars and many others who hate their lives and prefer to not change them but instead to whine and yell. That makes it hard for questioners to discern the fact-tellers.

You're also absolutely right that painstakingly explaining WA here turns out, for me too, to be an exercise in surprise -- surprise that this state is so filled with variety and possibilities. Dreams come true? Well, you know that for me that's entirely true. But that's always and with all persons a matter of perspective, the perspective each person chooses, isn't it?

Excuse me, what was the question?

[Ira500]

Yup. No traffic, easy commute to a big city, artsy, vegan, no rain, not hot, cheap housing, and good job market. If you have the good job market, housing usually isn't too cheap and there'll be traffic, unless the commute is long.

[GameHog9]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

How do others feel about these? Not putting anyone down for posting them, but when I see them, they amaze me. Washington must have a rep as the place of a dream lifestyle. How often do we read here:



When I see these, or some minor variation on them, I'm stunned at how certain people seem to be that they will find this self-contradictory Eden in Washington. (Anyone who thinks you will have a big city with low traffic and easy commutes, for example. Except maybe Detroit, since everyone's leaving it.) But at the same time, I'm also impressed because we can usually meet about 90% of what they want.

I generally don't respond simply because I'm holding my tongue so that this innocent person doesn't get a snark that's been built up over months of reading these, but I thought I'd have the discussion with others who live here. (I am not Washingtonian, but I have lived here since the Nixon administration, on both sides of the mountains, so I think I've paid those dues.)

Viewpoints?

I find myself somewhat agreeing with you. Those requirements are next to nil for any city to fulfill (hey that rhymes!). People should know by now that moving anywhere is going to cost something.

[StealthRabbit]

no rain, but green
no snow or freezing temps, but 4 seasons

Close to big city, but no traffic

Let me know when you find it, I'm in... (as long as it has a lap pool nearby, that is priced at under $1 / session; Free senior classes at college would be good, and lots of part-time good paying jobs)

[mthomson]

I certainly see your point, but I view it the same as I view buyers I work with. I ask them to tell me their dreams...then see how many of those we can fulfill in one house.
Kind of the same thing with the posters, I think. They're stating their ideal, and wanting to know what's going to get them the closest.
The "not too churchy" one makes me laugh, or "liberal." Isn't Wa the least churched state in the nation? Isn't everywhere in Wa liberal? Seriously, when we accidentally elected a conservative governor, we just kept re-counting til enough dead people showed up to bring the liberal back to office!

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by mthomson

Isn't Wa the least churched state in the nation? Isn't everywhere in Wa liberal? Seriously, when we accidentally elected a conservative governor, we just kept re-counting til enough dead people showed up to bring the liberal back to office!

It might be the least churched state in the nation--when I was taking religious sociology in college, that was a point of discussion--but not all of it is liberal (setting aside the flaws in modern labeling to begin with). Where I live keeps electing "Do-Nothing Doc" Hastings by decisive majorities. In order to keep voting for Doc Hastings, you might be a lot of things, but the one thing in this world you will never be considered is liberal. While Spokane is a little left of the Tri-Cities, I think you could generally call it on the right side of the political spectrum as well.

[GameHog9]

As far as liberal, Portland is pretty decent, and the traffic isnt as nearly as bad as larger cities... but its tons and tons of rain.

[M3 Mitch]

Although, really, if you look at the original bill of wants, if you go through it and cross off one of the several pairs of self-contradictory requirements (near big city/no traffic, 4 seasons/no cold/hot weather), once you do that, generally you *can* find this in WA.

I guess it's OK to post a list of wants and see what comes up that meets most of them, but if your wants are self-contradictory you can't possibly meet them, so go on and make the choice in your own head...

[j_k_k]

I am not sure whether it stems from Washington's reputation as this sort of land of political, economic and scenic milk and honey (somewhat justified), or from knowledge of the state's vast climatological diversity for its size (well justified). Prosser's a lot different than Neah Bay or Tonasket, this is true, and all of them are a lot different from Seattle. I just wanted to mention it and see what others in Washington thought, without doing it in a thread where it would seem like a direct swat at anyone.