Things you don't like about Seattle (Pacific: theater, taxes, shops)

[nja2016]

I don't like driving up steep hills so I barely drove when I visited for a few weeks. Can't imagine driving up them in the rain or if roads are icy. They were everywhere -- downtown, West Seattle, Madison St (Capitol Hill? I walked up the hill from Cafe Flora to the co-op market), Upper Queen Anne. Seattle was great otherwise though.

[KonaldDuth]

Originally Posted by pete98146

It is sad when a large segment of homeowners wouldn't be able to afford their same house if it were on the market today.

It's funny how the American public is duped into believing that rising home prices are a good thing.

rising health care prices = bad

rising food prices = bad

rising home prices = good

[509]

Originally Posted by UrbanAdventurer

City itself seems to lack an original personality. This one's harder to put my finger on and i think the fantastic natural scenery does a clever job of masking it, but it's sort of akin a hot chick who relies on her looks. Fun to look at but boring or even obnoxious to deal with. Something about this place just strikes me as, I dunno - bland? Generic? Nobody would ever say such things about Portland or SF or NYC. Those are all very colorful places with unique local culture and flair. Seattle seems to lack this IMO.

I agree. My view of Seattle is that it is one giant suburb. In other words....boring. My comment is that Seattle is a place to make money, not a place to live.

I lived in Vancouver, and my employer sent me to Portland and Seattle on a regular basis. There is no comparison between the cities. Vancouver and Portland are cities...Seattle is a suburb with no heart.

My complaint that nobody has mentioned is Seattle is NOT a city for walking. I love walking in Portland and Vancouver. The neighborhoods and urban core are interesting. I don't know anybody that enjoys walking in Seattle. It is horrible.

You really need to drive when visiting Seattle and then you get hit with the awful traffic issues.

We live three hours from Seattle and six from Portland. We drive the extra three hours to spend time in a interesting city as opposed to Seattle.

Oh, my other complaint....why does everybody in Seattle spend their weekends in eastern Washington??

For a place they constantly diss it is amazing how many have second homes and spend their entire weekends over here.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by 509

Oh, my other complaint....why does everybody in Seattle spend their weekends in eastern Washington??

For a place they constantly diss it is amazing how many have second homes and spend their entire weekends over here.

I always thought this accusation was questionable and it is. More people are looking to move to Seattle from Spokane than are looking to move Spokane from Seattle. I visit Spokane exactly never and I don't know anyone who does. That doesn't mean Spokane doesn't have its fans and I'm sure it's very nice, but you keep saying this and I don't see it. It might feel like it because Spokane is smaller.

In Yakima, 8 percent of residents are looking at Seattle homes, followed by 5.9 percent of those in Spokane, 3.7 percent of people in Portland and 3.3 percent of the Bay Area.

What about people looking to ditch Seattle? The most popular destination is the cheaper pastures of Spokane, with 4.7 percent of all home seekers in the Seattle area looking to flee there.

Many want to move to Seattle, few of us want to leave | The Seattle Times

[Oh Me]

Originally Posted by nja2016

I don't like driving up steep hills so I barely drove when I visited for a few weeks. Can't imagine driving up them in the rain or if roads are icy. They were everywhere -- downtown, West Seattle, Madison St (Capitol Hill? I walked up the hill from Cafe Flora to the co-op market), Upper Queen Anne. Seattle was great otherwise though.

I agree these hills aren't the best for parking, or driving, but they are great for toning the tush

[JonnyBeoulve]

Originally Posted by nja2016

I don't like driving up steep hills so I barely drove when I visited for a few weeks. Can't imagine driving up them in the rain or if roads are icy. They were everywhere -- downtown, West Seattle, Madison St (Capitol Hill? I walked up the hill from Cafe Flora to the co-op market), Upper Queen Anne. Seattle was great otherwise though.

As someone who drives a manual car, I have no intention of driving down in Seattle. Sounds like an easy way to stall and roll into someone.

[GatsbyGatz]

Originally Posted by 509

I agree. My view of Seattle is that it is one giant suburb. In other words....boring. My comment is that Seattle is a place to make money, not a place to live.

I lived in Vancouver, and my employer sent me to Portland and Seattle on a regular basis. There is no comparison between the cities. Vancouver and Portland are cities...Seattle is a suburb with no heart.

My complaint that nobody has mentioned is Seattle is NOT a city for walking. I love walking in Portland and Vancouver. The neighborhoods and urban core are interesting. I don't know anybody that enjoys walking in Seattle. It is horrible.

You really need to drive when visiting Seattle and then you get hit with the awful traffic issues.

We live three hours from Seattle and six from Portland. We drive the extra three hours to spend time in a interesting city as opposed to Seattle.

Oh, my other complaint....why does everybody in Seattle spend their weekends in eastern Washington??

For a place they constantly diss it is amazing how many have second homes and spend their entire weekends over here.

Lol Portland is a big town. And as someone who works in Seattle with no car, I get by perfectly well.

[Haakon]

Originally Posted by 509

Oh, my other complaint....why does everybody in Seattle spend their weekends in eastern Washington??

For a place they constantly diss it is amazing how many have second homes and spend their entire weekends over here.

Originally Posted by Seacove

I always thought this accusation was questionable and it is. More people are looking to move to Seattle from Spokane than are looking to move Spokane from Seattle. I visit Spokane exactly never and I don't know anyone who does. That doesn't mean Spokane doesn't have its fans and I'm sure it's very nice, but you keep saying this and I don't see it. It might feel like it because Spokane is smaller.

In Yakima, 8 percent of residents are looking at Seattle homes, followed by 5.9 percent of those in Spokane, 3.7 percent of people in Portland and 3.3 percent of the Bay Area.

What about people looking to ditch Seattle? The most popular destination is the cheaper pastures of Spokane, with 4.7 percent of all home seekers in the Seattle area looking to flee there.

Many want to move to Seattle, few of us want to leave | The Seattle Times

That has nothing to do with what 509 said. Where people are moving to is irrelevant to where they spend their weekends. Anyone who's had the misfortune to drive westbound over any east/west pass on Sunday afternoon knows visiting the east side is hugely popular with the urbanites who complain about eastern WA all the time.

But who can blame them for wanting to escape the Seattle cesspool any chance they get.

[skidamarink]

Originally Posted by 509

I agree. My view of Seattle is that it is one giant suburb. In other words....boring. My comment is that Seattle is a place to make money, not a place to live.

I lived in Vancouver, and my employer sent me to Portland and Seattle on a regular basis. There is no comparison between the cities. Vancouver and Portland are cities...Seattle is a suburb with no heart.

My complaint that nobody has mentioned is Seattle is NOT a city for walking. I love walking in Portland and Vancouver. The neighborhoods and urban core are interesting. I don't know anybody that enjoys walking in Seattle. It is horrible.

You really need to drive when visiting Seattle and then you get hit with the awful traffic issues.

We live three hours from Seattle and six from Portland. We drive the extra three hours to spend time in a interesting city as opposed to Seattle. I guess that's how it is in this country, though. The more desirable a city is, the crappier the people.
Oh, my other complaint....why does everybody in Seattle spend their weekends in eastern Washington??

For a place they constantly diss it is amazing how many have second homes and spend their entire weekends over here.

I can understand your complaint about Seattle being bland or lacking a soul, but Portland? The only character I see there are deadbeat European-American kids (usually living off their parents' money) who decided to retiree before age 30 and make an art form/statement out of it. Capitol Hill and North Seattle's response to this is the hard-working European-American who lives off minimum wage and wants the whole world to know it, as if being poor and white is a phenomenon that should be applauded. Like this never happens anywhere else in the country. lol OKAY.

Pretty much everything that Portland and Seattle try to make a big deal out of or iconocize has already been in practice by blue collar whites in the Midwest for years. I am from the Rust Belt and after living in Seattle and working in Portland, I have the impression that the current "social movement" or vibe in the Pac NW is a pitiful attempt at recreating and glorifying the Midwest. But because of the big money and international attention, there is less humility, more attention-craving, and more of a sense of entitlement amongst transplants (and some natives) in the Pac NW. Can't tell you how many times I've either heard people explicitly say or at least demonstrate that they feel like they have the right to be here...and you don't. Like it's some kind of god-given birthright for them to live on the Pacific Northwestern lands, but why do YOU feel like you deserve to be here?

The natural scenery and climate of Seattle is amongst the nation's best, but the civilization that's been created in the city is very, very f****d up IMO. The concept may have started out gracefully, but the population and too many different subcultures and socioeconomic classes attempting (or not attempting) to coexist is what's caused it to become a mess.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by skidamarink

I am from the Rust Belt and after living in Seattle and working in Portland, I have the impression that the current "social movement" or vibe in the Pac NW is a pitiful attempt at recreating and glorifying the Midwest. [/i]

The natural scenery and climate of Seattle is amongst the nation's best, but the civilization that's been created in the city is very, very f****d up IMO. The concept may have started out gracefully, but the population and too many different subcultures and socioeconomic classes attempting (or not attempting) to coexist is what's caused it to become a mess.

Seattle is trying to recreate and glorify the Midwest? I don't see where you get that at all. We have been compared to the Bay Area a lot because of the tech companies but I think we are still different from the Bay Area. The Midwest? I see no similarities to the Midwest and since you posted previously that if you return and marry, you will make clear to your potential husband that you expect to return to the Midwest - so it can't be that similar.

What's more, you make clear in all your posts how much your dislike Seattle so why in the world would you move back? You say your family is in the Midwest, you prefer the Midwest, so why move to a city you clearly dislike? The anti-Seattle posts are fine, we're being overwhelmed here, but it's not logical to actively seek to live in a place you repeatedly declare you dislike so much.