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Not my own perceptions: I was about to move already. Just during last week I met two people who advised me not to more. One just moved back from Seattle another one will be moving later. I didn't think Seattle freeze was real as when I was in Seattle I didn't feel it--but I only spent a total of about 2 weeks in WA, from which 3 days were in Seattle, 3 in Olympia and the rest in National Parks camping (would have camped there a lot more, but approaching "10 days of rain" that started with mist chased me back down to Oregon), and my interactions with locals were very limited, I only had extensive interactions with transplants one of whom told me not to move if I get SAD--I used to get horrible SAD back in the North--CA sun seemed to break it. As to doubts: I have them about every city or location, now (having lived in a lot of places during my life)--I'm not a wide-eyed 20 year-old moving to Hollywood to "pursue their acting dreams" you know...
My rain camping experience--it was in the state of CA, actually, at Sierra-Cascades junction--well there were big old trees which weren't helping much... the forest just wasn't thick. Yes, rain was banging heavily on my tent, I had to use earplugs to sleep... don't think there's anything unusual here. After the rain, the ground remained all soaked and cold for days, and I was getting way too much condensation in my tent because of this even after rain stopped and I couldn't get any dry firewood to get a decent fire.
SAD is definitely an issue to think about. We do have threads where people talk about how they've dealt with SAD.
As for camping... It does however sound as if you and your friends weren't properly prepped/prepared for camping. You can't really presume camping in CA will be exactly like in WA-- still very different climates. So you've decided to camp in the summer. Fair enough. Summer is our driest season, and we do have plenty other places other than the rainforest to camp in.
Wow, really? I've never been to CA, but even when I was a kid in the 80s when we'd go on vacation we rarely found a hotel for less than $50 a night. The one I stayed at in Wisconsin was $150 for one night, and it was just a regular, run-of-the-mill hotel. These were hotels just kind of in the middle of nowhere, though, and I was fatigued from driving all day so I didn't have much choice.
I found a room at the Hyatt in Newport Beach this summer for $50/night. Check the listed prices on Priceline then bid 1/4 of that. Works almost every time.
If you are single and mobile, why aren't you considering places like Monterey or Carmel? Carmel is probably impractical but Monterey has a few interesting companies around there; I'm just curious. Your only option cannot be a place that could potentially send you to antidepressants.
Monterey and Carmel are probably the last places I want to be at, crowd-wise... I knew 2 people from Monterey, both hated it--one run off to France, another one moved to Portland and is very happy there. Monterrey is full of wealth and fakeness, and boring to death, expensive as hell too. Los Padres national forest is beautiful and the weather is really nice, but that's about all that's there... one can't live in a vaccuum... Santa Cruz is near by and I met the rudest people there... violent panhandlers... the drivers are the worst there--they try to run a pedestrian over just like Brookyn drivers..! Not like some Seattle drivers who do back off often when they see a pedestrian about to cross.
Monterey and Carmel are probably the last places I want to be at, crowd-wise... I knew 2 people from Monterey, both hated it--one run off to France, another one moved to Portland and is very happy there. Monterrey is full of wealth and fakeness, and boring to death, expensive as hell too. Los Padres national forest is beautiful and the weather is really nice, but that's about all that's there... one can't live in a vaccuum... Santa Cruz is near by and I met the rudest people there... violent panhandlers... the drivers are the worst there--they try to run a pedestrian over just like Brookyn drivers..! Not like some Seattle drivers who do back off often when they see a pedestrian about to cross.
Well, good luck. Sounds like you like the California sun but not much else.
SAD is definitely an issue to think about. We do have threads where people talk about how they've dealt with SAD.
As for camping... It does however sound as if you and your friends weren't properly prepped/prepared for camping. You can't really presume camping in CA will be exactly like in WA-- still very different climates. So you've decided to camp in the summer. Fair enough. Summer is our driest season, and we do have plenty other places other than the rainforest to camp in.
I was camping alone. I do have 3-season tent with full rain fly, and waterproof clothing and boots. My stuff is good to camp in PNW as well... i mean I was as prepared as it gets... there was no way to set up a tarp above the tent, there were not enough trees for that. what I'm saying can't deal with wet and cold camping... hands unusually sensitive to cold, can't stand mud and wetness inside the tent. It was early October actually, not summer, when I was camping in the storm... my impression was that camping in Western WA ends in mid-September when rains arrive (and many campgrounds get closed).
Hmmm.... you seem to have some of the same concerns my wife has about moving up there. There are of course a lot of people that moved away from Seattle for various reasons, and my wife has encountered most all of them I try to explain that's just how it works. Most of the people you meet who are from somewhere else will tend to not like that somewhere else. That is why they moved. There are some exceptions. Some people move for other reasons that have nothing at all to do with how well they liked a place. Generally speaking however, you will meet a lot of people who were dissatisfied with the place. I'll put it another way. I'm certain that millions of Americans love NYC. I'm also certain that if you live someplace far away and talk to people who used to live in NYC, you will find that most of the people did not like NYC. The people who love it there still live there...if that makes sense.
Seattle Freeze...I'm not worried about it. Best I can tell from this forum is that it is quite real to some people, and quite a myth to others. Some people really don't fit in up there, and others fit in just fine. Some will swear they had friends galore until they moved there, and some will say they find friends everywhere they live. When I visit Seattle, I detect the same reserved culture I find in parts of Europe. The human species does procreate in Seattle. The hospitals up there have maternity wards. For all of the talk about people not making eye contact, that is proof that contact is in fact occurring up there.
SAD...I'm not worried about it. I grew up in NH, which only has a minuscule bit of additional daylight than Seattle. I managed to reach adulthood without ever hearing about it. Now that I know about it I'm sure I would suffer from it. On a serious note, I know it's real. I just wonder if dwelling on it makes it even worse. I lived in Germany for several years and never heard anyone talk about it. Kinda funny, I can Google it and see how it is a big problem over there. Maybe my outlook makes me immune to SAD. I don't expect to feel the same way with every season. Each season has its own charm and emotions; to include winter. But times are changing. I recall being the class clown in school, and not someone with ADHD.
When I read your first post all I can think is this...self-fulfilling prophecy. Being cautious is not a bad thing. It sounds like you might have crawled over the fence of caution and maybe started convincing yourself that everything you hear is true. Here is what I discuss with my wife. Forget what everyone tells you back home about Seattle. How do "you" feel when you are in Seattle? Every time we go up there we love the place and feel really good about it. Then we go back to SoCal and begin meeting all of the people who used to live there and had to get away. Then we start to have doubts. Then we make another visit and love the place. And then the cycle begins again. There are a lot of people happy up there who will live there until they die. Those just don't happen to be the people who moved away that you are meeting.
Well, good luck. Sounds like you like the California sun but not much else.
I like the outdoor opportunities in CA--I love Yosemite, giant redwoods, many national forests here... love that one can go outside pretty much any month and have a workout session under the trees without freezing the hands off the bars...love that one can camp almost year-round without being troubled by rain or just go lay down in the grass any day almost. Don't care for anything else here, really. The friendliness of CA that people mention is often a fake thing-- just like East coasters say that one can easily get many friends in CA who wont stick by you, but you can get only few, but true friends on the East coast.
Hmmm.... you seem to have some of the same concerns my wife has about moving up there. There are of course a lot of people that moved away from Seattle for various reasons, and my wife has encountered most all of them I try to explain that's just how it works. Most of the people you meet who are from somewhere else will tend to not like that somewhere else. That is why they moved. There are some exceptions. Some people move for other reasons that have nothing at all to do with how well they liked a place. Generally speaking however, you will meet a lot of people who were dissatisfied with the place. I'll put it another way. I'm certain that millions of Americans love NYC. I'm also certain that if you live someplace far away and talk to people who used to live in NYC, you will find that most of the people did not like NYC. The people who love it there still live there...if that makes sense.
Seattle Freeze...I'm not worried about it. Best I can tell from this forum is that it is quite real to some people, and quite a myth to others. Some people really don't fit in up there, and others fit in just fine. Some will swear they had friends galore until they moved there, and some will say they find friends everywhere they live. When I visit Seattle, I detect the same reserved culture I find in parts of Europe. The human species does procreate in Seattle. The hospitals up there have maternity wards. For all of the talk about people not making eye contact, that is proof that contact is in fact occurring up there.
SAD...I'm not worried about it. I grew up in NH, which only has a minuscule bit of additional daylight than Seattle. I managed to reach adulthood without ever hearing about it. Now that I know about it I'm sure I would suffer from it. On a serious note, I know it's real. I just wonder if dwelling on it makes it even worse. I lived in Germany for several years and never heard anyone talk about it. Kinda funny, I can Google it and see how it is a big problem over there. Maybe my outlook makes me immune to SAD. I don't expect to feel the same way with every season. Each season has its own charm and emotions; to include winter. But times are changing. I recall being the class clown in school, and not someone with ADHD.
When I read your first post all I can think is this...self-fulfilling prophecy. Being cautious is not a bad thing. It sounds like you might have crawled over the fence of caution and maybe started convincing yourself that everything you hear is true. Here is what I discuss with my wife. Forget what everyone tells you back home about Seattle. How do "you" feel when you are in Seattle? Every time we go up there we love the place and feel really good about it. Then we go back to SoCal and begin meeting all of the people who used to live there and had to get away. Then we start to have doubts. Then we make another visit and love the place. And then the cycle begins again. There are a lot of people happy up there who will live there until they die. Those just don't happen to be the people who moved away that you are meeting.
You know, SAD is a very real thing and when it gets really bad a person can become suicidal. Good if you're immune to SAD--I am not.
Life is so short, it's such a waste to have miserable SAD months.
Since I can't spend extensive periods of time in Seattle right now I have to rely on what people say. I can't afford to make mistakes like trying and failing and can't be "too cautious". If something happens to me, I don't have a wife, or parents, or siblings to take care of me. It make take a person long time before they're ready to move to wherever they end up moving and even buying a house there--it may take many years, actually. These decisions mature over long time.
As to eye contact--there's way too much of that in CA and this bothers me. I don't like eye contact and never make one. I usually keep to myself and not outgoing or social at all, and it's fine with me if everyone else is the same way, or even cranky as soon as they don't take out rainy day on me being rude.
Last edited by alexxiz; 12-10-2011 at 11:45 PM..
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I try to explain that's just how it works. Most of the people you meet who are from somewhere else will tend to not like that somewhere else. That is why they moved. There are some exceptions. Some people move for other reasons that have nothing at all to do with how well they liked a place. Generally speaking however, you will meet a lot of people who were dissatisfied with the place. I'll put it another way. I'm certain that millions of Americans love NYC. I'm also certain that if you live someplace far away and talk to people who used to live in NYC, you will find that most of the people did not like NYC. The people who love it there still live there...if that makes sense.
