Things you don't like about Seattle (public transportation, cities, clothes)

[drhr]

Indirectness, lack of smiles, lack of warmth. Lack of inspiring architecture. Lack of a backbone. Refusal to let police do their jobs. Tolerance of homeless who harass tourists and locals alike and deal drugs openly. Lack of a thriving, dominant downtown. Too much focus on the residential neighborhoods - this combined with the grey skies and cool weather that keep people indoors, only ever spending time with super close friends and family, is a 1-2 knockout punch for those of us that enjoy lively warm random encounters and simple acknowledgment. I'm not an extrovert and I like my space, but god damn I need more exposure to gregarious people than what this city seems to be able to muster.

The stereotype that it's a haven for introverts. Only true if you're the kind of introvert that enjoys other introverts pretty much exclusively.

Over-politeness without much funky substance.

The lack of honest self-deprecation and humor, whether it's about the city or the people themselves. Very somber, humorless people. When there is humor, it's usually wrapped in a weird liberal earnestness that is hard to respect.

[rossiapacifica]

Originally Posted by margaretBartle

The BART tunnels were dug through bedrock. The tunnel along the Seattle waterfront is being dug through filldirt. That's why there was so much damage on the north side of SF - it was also built on fill dirt. That's why the tunnel-boring machine is stuck - it was built to dig through solid rock, not silt and infill, which is VERY dangerous in an earthquake. No, even the tunnel advocates acknowledge that people in the tunnel in an earthquake are doomed. Many of the people on the SF Embarcadero lived through the earthquake down there. None of the people in the tunnel will live.

Which Bart Tunnels were dug through bedrock? The transbay tube was actually constructed on land in segments, towed to its position, and sunk, with ballast such as gravel added around it.

Transbay Tube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Are you an engineer? Are you a soils expert? How did you determine that the soft soil around Bertha damaged it? I would be interested in knowing.

Also, there are hundreds of soft bore tunnels world-wide, even in earthquake zones.

http://www.viatechnik.com/constructi...seful-tunnels/

Rossia

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by rossiapacifica

Which Bart Tunnels were dug through bedrock? The transbay tube was actually constructed on land in segments, towed to its position, and sunk, with ballast such as gravel added around it.

Transbay Tube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Are you an engineer? Are you a soils expert? How did you determine that the soft soil around Bertha damaged it? I would be interested in knowing.

Also, there are hundreds of soft bore tunnels world-wide, even in earthquake zones.

Constructing the World's Longest and Most Useful Tunnels - VIATechnik | BIM, CAD Services, Estimating, and Scheduling Services

Rossia

The tunnel under the Berkeley Hills.

[Le-Le]

I concur!! Rainy, long Dark winters, hard to meet friends, Very high rent, terrible traffic. ..you'll Hate it here!! Just visit then LEAVE!!

[Le-Le]

Originally Posted by Professor46

Lived in Seattle for 13 years and loved it for many reasons, disliked it for others . . .

1.) The weather, the weather, the weather -- the fairly constant lack of sunshine drove me crazy!

2.) The "Seattle Freeze" -- I found it very difficult to have deep and authentic relationships in Seattle as compared to other places.

3.) The gentrification -- too many condos and so many neighborhoods are all looking the same.

They're the big ones! :-)

I totally agree on All 3 points! @professor46

[Le-Le]

Yesss say that!! It's All about the culture and not comparing it to the previous city you left...I mean they can always go back if they're going to complain - the door is WIDE OPEN!

[pete98146]

Originally Posted by drhr

Indirectness, lack of smiles, lack of warmth. Lack of inspiring architecture. Lack of a backbone. Refusal to let police do their jobs. Tolerance of homeless who harass tourists and locals alike and deal drugs openly. Lack of a thriving, dominant downtown. Too much focus on the residential neighborhoods - this combined with the grey skies and cool weather that keep people indoors, only ever spending time with super close friends and family, is a 1-2 knockout punch for those of us that enjoy lively warm random encounters and simple acknowledgment. I'm not an extrovert and I like my space, but god damn I need more exposure to gregarious people than what this city seems to be able to muster.

The stereotype that it's a haven for introverts. Only true if you're the kind of introvert that enjoys other introverts pretty much exclusively.

Over-politeness without much funky substance.

The lack of honest self-deprecation and humor, whether it's about the city or the people themselves. Very somber, humorless people. When there is humor, it's usually wrapped in a weird liberal earnestness that is hard to respect.

I found this well written and brutally honest. Trust me, I understand what you say about Seattleites and their lack of humor. I struggle with this on a daily basis. Like most folks that grow up on the east coast, my style of humor is much edgier, observational based brand of humor which does NOT translate well in this city. My wife tells me I have a lot of David Letterman in me and suffice to say, there is a punch line at every street corner in Seattle. Question is how often do I have to edit myself? Some days I do, some days I don't.

My biggest problem is that I love to laugh and make jokes! Life is too short not to enjoy yourself. Seattle folk are notoriously thin skinned and politically correct and yes quasi humorless. I've come to call this dilemma here in Seattle the "cat on a hot tin roof" syndrome. I've convinced many people around here keep their ears to the ground just waiting to be insulted and I find that sad!

So throughout the years, I've picked friends that have a similar sense of humor. I won't let the hypersensitive Seattleites throw a wet blanket over the party!

[MicroOptimizer]

* Lack of affordable housing

* Lack of dating prospects for men

* Unfriendliness, snobbery

* Downtown is a chaotic mess due to letting bums roam freely

* Bus routes do not connect enough areas

* Since everyone is moving here, it's no longer "cool" to live here

* Parking tickets, increasing number of tolls, etc.

[LS35a]

Seattle... pretty but awful. Unfriendliest people I've ever met and I've lived in a LOT of places.

[homesinseattle]

People who incessantly complain about it.