I'm here! Thoughts so far... (Seattle, Renton: to live in, restaurants, legally)

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

T
limeyx: I drove ten minutes to Wallingford this morning and had two near-collisions – one person blew through a stop sign and I had to veer off the road, and another person decided to turn right from the left lane. Then I come home and see this post from you – hilarious!

Yup. I lived in LA 16 years and while I saw plenty of terrible driving, at least a majority of the people actually act like they want to "get somewhere"

having said that, we were in Victoria a few weeks ago and a Van blew right through a red light and almost flattened a poor old lady with a walking frame, I mean came within a few feet of just killing her so maybe it's a regional thing...I dont know

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by Ira500

LA drivers tend to be aggressive, fast, and follow too close. Seattle drivers tend to be spaced out, ignoring things like stop signs, they go 45 in the fast lane, or they stop at stop signs and just sit there until someone honks at them.

Yup, definitely true

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Tully's is far smaller than Starbucks, and far less successful....Get some duct tape, cover the Starbucks name and logo on your cup, and write " I heart Independent" Coffee in magic marker on the duct tape. People will then think you're creative and a good recycler.

...Tullys is also much more bankrupt than Starbucks

Struggling Tully's new plan: bankruptcy protection | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

Make a nice "intense dark mocha" though

[eskercurve]

Have solace in this fact:

At least our drivers here don't freaking crash and/or park on the shoulder when it rains.

RE: starbucks ... their baristas almost universally suck. Go to other different ones. Like Zoka's or ... anywhere else really. I prefer local ones out of coffee huts. There's a reason why they're so plentiful around here (hint: better coffee than Three-Bucks Coffee or Sully's).

Parking ... thank a "progressive" government that would rather you don't drive or eat anything with meat for that!

RE: garbage ... welcome to Seattle! Come move out to the burbs which are much more sane. or do what most people do ... if it's food, compost, if it's anything with recycle on it, recycle, if it's none of the above, garbage; unless it's hazardous, like batteries, then bring to a haz-mat or community recycle-everything site.

[angelenogirl]

Well, a neighbor came over...not to introduce himself, but to complain about us parking in front of our own house legally (because it prevents him from parking in front of his own house illegally). The kicker is that he has a garage. He also said that no one in the neighborhood parks on our side of the street, so we shouldn't, either. And he knew a lot about us.

I'm hoping no one is going to do anything to my car. What a welcome to the neighborhood!

[mikebchipper]

I love living here, just moved here in October. The rain is clean, the land is green, and everyone is mean (but that is the "normal" everywhere in the US of A, so I'm used to it). I prefer Seattle's Best Coffee, myself, over Starbucks. Enjoy

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

Well, a neighbor came over...not to introduce himself, but to complain about us parking in front of our own house legally (because it prevents him from parking in front of his own house illegally). The kicker is that he has a garage. He also said that no one in the neighborhood parks on our side of the street, so we shouldn't, either. And he knew a lot about us.

I'm hoping no one is going to do anything to my car. What a welcome to the neighborhood!

You can always pay back the favor by calling Parking Enforcement the next time he parks illegally in front of his own house....That's the thing about some of the "nice" neighborhoods in Seattle. Sure, there's no crack dealers or gang mambers hanging out on the street. But you have to put up with neighborhors like that. If it were me upset like he was about the parking situation, I would have at least baked you a pie or something.

[wutitiz]

I complain about Seattle drivers like everyone else. I learned to drive in Chgo, which is not as aggressive as LA driving, but still it is up there. But the other day I was merging from 167 to 405 when a guy barreled past me on the right, where the HOV/GP lanes funnel down to 1 lane. Then he (I assume prolly a he) cuts accross the gore pt. way early to get on 405, instead of waiting his turn.

But later I thought about it and realized how rare this kind of behavior is on my commute. I have a pretty long commute so I spend an hour a day on the road. The truth is, Seattle drivers could be a lot worse. I think they're even getting better about not clogging the left lane. Far from perfect in that regard, but better than 10 years ago.

[angelenogirl]

Originally Posted by Ira500

You can always pay back the favor by calling Parking Enforcement the next time he parks illegally in front of his own house....That's the thing about some of the "nice" neighborhoods in Seattle. Sure, there's no crack dealers or gang mambers hanging out on the street. But you have to put up with neighborhors like that. If it were me upset like he was about the parking situation, I would have at least baked you a pie or something.

Oh, yes. A nice cherry pie would have made is seem a lot nicer. But then I'd be a wee bit afraid to eat it.

My husband thinks we should call parking enforcement, too. It just stinks that we're only a week in and now it's weird.

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

Oh, yes. A nice cherry pie would have made is seem a lot nicer. But then I'd be a wee bit afraid to eat it.

My husband thinks we should call parking enforcement, too. It just stinks that we're only a week in and now it's weird.

Focus on the things you like, adjust to the quirks, and just find a new normal. Just like moving to any other city. I'm sure there's reasons why you moved here, focus on those or find new means to stay happy. Yes it sounds a bit like ignorance is bliss, but to a certain degree it is.