Seattle Mostly Sucks (Vancouver, Bellevue: violent crime, wages, living in)

[Sockeye66]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Treuphax's last post also hit home with me here. Very good and wonderfully written observation of Seattle and its bloated and hollow grandeur.

Agree again. I tried to give him a rep bump but apparently I already had for an earlier comment.

It's sad, like the long time married couple who simply drift apart. I wasn't cheated, spurned, or abused, just don't feel the love anymore.

[Hemlock140]

While I work in Seattle I wouldn't want to live there. Still, over 20,000 people a year are moving here so there must be some reasons for it.


Seattle's population growth leads nation: Report | KING5.com

[dcisive]

From what I've been able to ascertain that mayor they have should be run over by a bus

[DutchessCottonPuff]

Originally Posted by fillmore241

I've moved a few times here for a variety of reasons - roommates singing at 12am-4am, roommates stealing stuff, roommates whose only hobbies were smoking marijuana (my employer is really strict about pot, even). Edmonds (Sno Co) was the nicest place I lived, excepting the people driving 10-20mph on 35 mph single lane roads and the poor public transit.

My office is in Mukilteo a mile or two from the South Everett border (also Sno Co), and I believe that might be where a higher density of my problems lie (even outside of So Everett, you'll run into people from there taking the bus down to Seattle). I haven't spent much time South of Capital/First Hill, Leschi seemed nice when I drove through. One car break-in was in Portland. My garage is in a "safe" part of North Everett - virtually no reported crime.

I haven't spent much time over in Bellevue, but that's about the only place where I haven't see evidence of hard drug use. Even in Edmonds I met people who were only there to help with grow operations.

My experience is anecdotal, but uncannily negative. Hiking deep in the Cascades has been nice. Train ride to Vancouver is nice.

I hated Everett when I had to live there . My husband worked at an MRO at Paine Field. We moved all the way to Pierce co and I do not miss it in the least . Overpriced slum .Some will disagree but whatever , I don't have the $36,000,000 to buy something decent -kind of - in the north end and Seattle is eating it up anyway . We lived there 3 years . Like you , when we lived there about the only thing I liked were the trips to Vancouver and the train/ bus station were fine to take me anywhere out of there .

Originally Posted by Minntoaz

Yep. Though I don't live in Seattle (I'm in the burbs) just visiting gives me those exact feelings. Had a biker flip me off near green lake the other day because I was behind him on a street that is meant for cars! Logical eh?

I can't handle the atttitude of entitlement so prevalent.

OP, I'd say get the heck out of dodge before it's too late.

There is plenty of more affordable, cities with jobs.

I understand what you are saying , but sometimes you have to save up to be able to leave - then where ?
NO WAY am I ever going back to Texas .

OP you are not alone we moved here almost 10 years back after an aviation co ( not Boeing) chased us 4 years to come here . THEY did not make good on their contract in several areas ,very disorganized, until they sent 75% of the co home -in one day - 2 weeks before Christmas 2016 after several years of pay cuts.
6 months later my husband finally got a job yesterday in Portland . I will have to stay here he will stay in a workman's motel room, I dont have $6500 to break the lease . This is just to save up enough money to get out of the PNW entirely . The entire family's mental health has really declined , my physical has too . It's beautiful here that's true and we LOVED it the first few years but finally we couldn't enjoy it much anymore amongst the constant lay offs . We came here making almost $90,000 a year and had a home . We will be lucky to leave with the clothes on our backs.
For what it is worth - if you ever go outside or have to drive - King , Pierce and Snohomish are all just one big glob of Seattle . The rapid pop growth can only push it north and south .

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Many beautiful mountain sides in the Oregon Coast where I lived for years have turned into huge condominium complexes for wealthy retirees.

Makes one wonder how things will fare if (when) the Cascadia Subduction Zone slips and triggers that 9.2 earthquake and massive tsunami, strong enough to dampen Japan.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by fillmore241

Yeah, I have no friends; no family; I worked through Christmas, New Years, MLK Jr day, and my two free holidays with no additional pay; and I moved 2,600 miles across the country for my program to get cancelled. I'm a real sucker.

I don't leave dirty needles on the ground, though

Boeing used to be famous for that. Going on a hiring spree, bringing workers in from all over the US, then letting everyone go when the big order was cancelled. Back then, the only reliable major employers were the UW and the public schools.

[DutchessCottonPuff]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Boeing used to be famous for that. Going on a hiring spree, bringing workers in from all over the US, then letting everyone go when the big order was cancelled. Back then, the only reliable major employers were the UW and the public schools.

Boeings not the only one that does that here , by far . We came 2500 miles and the first lay off came during the TRIP HERE . It was too late to go back and ended up at the same temp Portland job he is going to now until they were ready to have everyone return . I have to add, we have no family to go to or to get help , we haven't in many years . We have some barely grown kids 25-5000 miles away but they are trying to make it themselves. No way would/could I put this on them.

[Jiff]

Originally Posted by Sunaimer

Seattle was nice up until the mid-80s. Then everybody started moving up here. Granted, Bill Gates is from this area, but Microsoft started the invasion of people from out of state. Nobody knew where Issaquah was. Now Costco is headquartered there. Amazon is here. And of course, many others, and start ups.

Yes. I wish Gates and Allen were from somewhere else or stayed in Albuquerque, and Bezos had picked a different state. Seattle was fine before Microsoft and the population burst of the mid 80s.

1978 was the best year here for me. The Mariners arrived in 1977, filling out the big three major league sports. We had the arts, opera, etc, lots of live music around town, and the metro area population was at its lowest level while including those amenities, two million versus four million now. The doubling of population since 1978 has done nothing for me, my family and friends, just caused congestion and bigger crowds wherever we go.

Thankfully I've had plenty of vacation time and could go fishing and crabbing on weekdays, and avoid the traffic leaving the metro area on Friday afternoons and returning on Sunday afternoons. Oh well, hopefully most newcomers will abandon their cars and live and recreate in the megalopolis.

[daberkow]

The best thing about Seattle is its location within nature. As a city, I agree it mostly sucks. Culturally weak and the locals are awful. Unless they are being sanctimonious people will do whatever they want like entitled children. You get all the worst of SF with none of the good. The level of property crime is ridiculous. Great job market though!

[Belltowney]

Originally Posted by fillmore241

Is this supposed to be some sort of a personal slight ? Please let me know if I'm supposed to be taking offense, I'm not really sure what you are implying.

I actually took it at face value. You do seem pretty self-confident and objective (relative to your own experiences of course). That's what makes this thread interesting. I see plenty of complaining from folks with a lot less ability to express themselves rationally.