Things you don't like about Seattle (Vancouver, Shoreline: sale, camp, tax)

[Mary22]

Thank you Poor&Dangerous for this thread. As someone moving to WA from out of state, this is one of the most useful/informative threads I've read on here. Although I will not be directly in Seattle, it is good to know the "feel" of the area.

[ChicagoorSeattle]

Originally Posted by branh0913

I think it sucks. Some are ok with it. I hate the 1:30 am last call. Out east I wouldn't leave to go out until 12

Im a bar guy, dont care for clubs.

I enjoy the scenes of NYC, Chicago and Philly very much. Is Seattle a good fit?


I love live music too, whether its at a bar or lounge or an actual venue or small club.

Im getting the idea that Seattle nightlife is mainly similar to areas of Chicago like Wicker Park and Logan Square? More dive bar-ish?

I also love sports as well, and I think I may enjoy Chicago more than Seattle on that front. I do enjoy variety in nightlife and latenight eats too.

[orzo]

Originally Posted by ChicagoorSeattle

Im a bar guy, dont care for clubs.

I enjoy the scenes of NYC, Chicago and Philly very much. Is Seattle a good fit?


I love live music too, whether its at a bar or lounge or an actual venue or small club.

Im getting the idea that Seattle nightlife is mainly similar to areas of Chicago like Wicker Park and Logan Square? More dive bar-ish?

I also love sports as well, and I think I may enjoy Chicago more than Seattle on that front. I do enjoy variety in nightlife and latenight eats too.

There are a lot of low-key neighborhood bars, but a lot of newer places have a lot of money behind them and try and serve top notch cocktails and food. There are also more and more unique theme bars or places with concepts opening up. Personally, I prefer to hang out in the divier places as I think they have more character but the more upscale spots are fun every once in a while. The upscale spots are more about quality of food and drinks and a nice room than being a high energy club or lounge - if you like good cocktails and awesome bar food, Seattle is incredible. In Capitol Hill there are ton of hipster bars as well as hip, swank gastropub-type places. Ballard has blue collar roots so you'll find more of that in the nightlife there although it's also getting yuppier by the month. If you like bars, Seattle is a pretty good town, but really I have yet to find anywhere that beats Chicago for bars.

Seattle actually has some great sports fans too - check out a Seahawks, Sounders, or Huskies game!

[MadHadder]

Everything. I moved here a month ago and I'm already planning to return to NY. It's rained almost every week since I moved here and it's been 75 and sunny in NY! What happened to the "perfect Septembers in Seattle" everyone talks about??

Oh and the staring problem is ridiculous. People look like the children on Village of the Damned. Then when you actually smile or say something to them, they act like you don't exist. What the hell is up with this place?!! GRRR!! And I can't get an actual boy to talk to me! Double GRRRR!! I'm done with this Seattle, siyonara!!

[west seattle gal]

OK, someone is going to tell me to move b/c of this post, but we can't due to jobs, schools, family. There is much I love about this area, but the OP specifically asked for negatives:

High cost of housing (a 500K in Seattle can be a total dump).
So far away from the cities I love on the East Coast.
The PNW is beautiful, but a road trip will take me to more of the same or dessert.
Grey, dreary skies with drizzly rain for 5-6 months out of the year.
Traffic (though many other cities are far worse).
No subway or extensive light rail (the buses are cumbersome/slow).
Can't buy a really awesome taco.
Our "International District" is small and somewhat grimy, not full of life like the one in NYC.
Museums nowhere near same level of quality or size as big East Coast cities (art, science).
Parking downtown is expensive and difficult to find.
Panhandlers on every street corner.
Helicopter parents, with every family believing their own children to be highly gifted.
Property crime -- everyone knows someone who has had a car stolen or house break-in.
Schools are better than OK, but poorer than expected for such an educated area.
Boring selection of private schools, lots of competition to get into the best public option schools.
Materialism on the East side and Mercer Island.
Passive-agressive, anal communication style in workplaces and neighborhoods.
The people and city are lacking vibrancy, like the weather.

[west seattle gal]

Originally Posted by Ira500

That zip code is the 98118, and the claim that it is the most diverse in the nation is not accurate. Some zip code in Queens NY holds the title. But the 98118 is very diverse, with lots of Whites, Blacks( African Americans and Somalis, Ethiopians, Kenyans, Senegalese, Eritreans, etc,) Asians( Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos,Vietnamese, Cambodians, Lao), Hispanics, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists.
Still, while Seattle may have diversity, it's not diversity that's evenly distributed. For example, Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, Wallingford, Ravenna, etc are more than 80% white. The real diversity is in the south end, like the 98118 zip code. But the neighborhoods that are diverse are also the neighborhoods that people tell you to stay away from.
An old pal of mine, a Norwegian from Ballard, when asked about the lack of diversity in Seattle, responded " What do you mean we're not diverse? We've got Norwegians AND Swedes."

Exactly.

[GatsbyGatz]

I love Seattle, but oh my god, I hate the traffic! Even though I mostly take the bus, the buses are sometimes late due to the terrible traffic!

Part of the problem is a physical limitation. Plain and simple, Seattle's streets were not designed for heavy traffic. They're tiny.

The problem I have is the absurdly STUPID way the city deals with this congestion. So many streets that desperately need left turn signal lights don't have them (or a bigger insult, blinking yellow yield lights to turn left). Are you kidding me? You'll be stuck at a light for 10-15 minutes just because traffic is backed up because of people turning left. Seattle could easily resolve this issue by installing left turn signals, but nope! Hardly one car ever manages to turn left at a time. So if you need to turn left at a light, you might as well get out of your car and walk.

What Seattle should have done from the very beginning was to make every street one-way only. This would have eliminated any congestion that would've been the result of people turning left. The city could theoretically implement this system now, but we all know that would never happen...

But I still love Seattle!

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by MadHadder

Everything. I moved here a month ago and I'm already planning to return to NY. It's rained almost every week since I moved here and it's been 75 and sunny in NY! What happened to the "perfect Septembers in Seattle" everyone talks about??

Oh and the staring problem is ridiculous. People look like the children on Village of the Damned. Then when you actually smile or say something to them, they act like you don't exist. What the hell is up with this place?!! GRRR!! And I can't get an actual boy to talk to me! Double GRRRR!! I'm done with this Seattle, siyonara!!

Summer is over by the beginning of September. Mid-September at the latest. For nice weather, you want May, July, and August.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by MadHadder

Everything. I moved here a month ago and I'm already planning to return to NY. It's rained almost every week since I moved here and it's been 75 and sunny in NY! What happened to the "perfect Septembers in Seattle" everyone talks about??

Oh and the staring problem is ridiculous. People look like the children on Village of the Damned. Then when you actually smile or say something to them, they act like you don't exist. What the hell is up with this place?!! GRRR!! And I can't get an actual boy to talk to me! Double GRRRR!! I'm done with this Seattle, siyonara!!

Lol. Whatchu doin here?

Everything is a step down from NY if you need fast-pace and vibrancy. I moved back to Portland after living in NY for about a year and frankly it took awhile to adjust to the slowness. Plus it was late October/early November so the rain and dreariness had set in for the season, and I was out in the suburbs. Felt like I was in hell for while.

[BellevueNative]

I've spent about half of the past month in NYC, and it has certainly not been sunny and 75 degrees every day. In fact, there has been plenty of HARD rain, clouds, and horrid humidity. In mid-September it rained hard, then it got so hot that the water started evaporating off the sidewalks. It was literally like a sauna. Last week wasn't as humid, but I still got caught in a heavy downpour one night. The weather men there suck and can't spot a storm coming from a mile away!

But, if you're someone that loves everything about New York City, you will probably not like Seattle. Seattle is way more laid back and slow, which happens to be why I love it. I'm in NY a lot for work, and though there are things I like about it (great take out food on every corner), I'd never want to live there. It feels dirty and high strung to me.