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No, most are people that have lived in Seattle for a LONG time and watched it turn into its current state. Seattle wasn't anything close to the way it is now just 20 years ago. 40 years ago, Seattle was an awesome place. Like every big city, the secret got out, and everyone and their brother flooded the place. Seattle's biggest problem is the traffic, and the fact that the people that moved up here changed the city instead of embracing it. Basically, Seattle isn't Seattle anymore. That's why so many conservatives, centrists and even old school liberals have left or want to leave.
Seattle was full stop liberal 25+ years ago. The difference between then and now was Amazon. Sure we had Microsoft but also different tech companies like Aldus, Wall Data and Attachmate. Heck, the Windows 95 launch was almost 25 years ago. I don't disagree with the traffic and the way Seattle has grown exponentially in the last 15+ years and that's all the more reason to discourage people from moving here, especially ones that will be complaining five minutes after they unpack.
I don't know any liberals that want to leave but we've certainly seen the unhappy conservatives posting here and the obvious answer is, find a more conservative place! Don't pretend the Seattle metro is secretly conservative then complain when it didn't act the way a conservative would want. Save the wasted moving expenses, find a more conservative place and be happy there.
Seattle was full stop liberal 25+ years ago. The difference between then and now was Amazon. Sure we had Microsoft but also different tech companies like Aldus, Wall Data and Attachmate. Heck, the Windows 95 launch was almost 25 years ago. I don't disagree with the traffic and the way Seattle has grown exponentially in the last 15+ years and that's all the more reason to discourage people from moving here, especially ones that will be complaining five minutes after they unpack.
I don't know any liberals that want to leave but we've certainly seen the unhappy conservatives posting here and the obvious answer is, find a more conservative place! Don't pretend the Seattle metro is secretly conservative then complain when it didn't act the way a conservative would want. Save the wasted moving expenses, find a more conservative place and be happy there.
I don't think the tech boom has anything to do with Seattle being more liberal. If anything, it's brought big money into Seattle and kept it somewhat sane. I have family members that work for Microsoft that claim that it's loaded with people that hate on liberals just as much as small town rednecks but for different reasons.
What turned Seattle super liberal IMO was the music seen in the 90's. Droves of people flooded into Seattle because they thought it was going to be like that move Singles. There was a huge bump in population there as a result of pop culture sorta like San Francisco in the late 60's or Los Angeles in the Early 80's. The 90's is when I remember Seattle proper really changing politically.
I don't think the tech boom has anything to do with Seattle being more liberal. If anything, it's brought big money into Seattle and kept it somewhat sane. I have family members that work for Microsoft that claim that it's loaded with people that hate on liberals just as much as small town rednecks but for different reasons.
What turned Seattle super liberal IMO was the music seen in the 90's. Droves of people flooded into Seattle because they thought it was going to be like that move Singles. There was a huge bump in population there as a result of pop culture sorta like San Francisco in the late 60's or Los Angeles in the Early 80's. The 90's is when I remember Seattle proper really changing politically.
Your family members must know a different group than I do.
Washington state has not elected a Republican governor since 1981.
The population has been increasing steadily for decades but I don't think grunge or the movie "Singles" had anywhere near the impact Amazon and growing tech has had.
As an example, in 1991, with the election of Ronald Reagan, Washington state passed I-120 to make abortion legal regardless of Roe V. Wade and also to make it accessible for those who could not afford it.
In 2012, Washington state passed R-74, making same sex marriage legal by vote.
In 2016, Trump only received 8% of the Seattle vote and only received 36% of the vote in the entire state of Washington. Note the population sizes of the red districts on the map. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/washington
Not sure how one doesn't see the obvious correlation between a large tech presence, i.e. a more educated populace, and liberal politics. In fact, lets see a comparison
Your family members must know a different group than I do.
Not sure how one doesn't see the obvious correlation between a large tech presence, i.e. a more educated populace, and liberal politics. In fact, lets see a comparison
Because the people and industries you speak of aren't that liberal . Do they consistently vote democrat as a collective whole? You bet, but what makes Seattle insanely liberal are the type of idiots that make you late to work by impeding traffic with stupid signs, not wealthy tech workers driving BMW's. Add to this that the tech industry is heavily Asian, and Asians tend to be left of center and not crazy when it comes to politics in the United States. These tech workers that everyone likes to speak of only make up a fraction of the population in Seattle. For every moderately liberal tech worker in the Seattle area, there are grips insanely liberal left-wing nuts working in restaurants, call centers, or various other lower middle class jobs that barely provide the means for them to live in Seattle. These are the dip$hits that moved to Seattle to be crazy liberals.
I think where you and I disagree is in regards to the difference between left leaning and crazy off your rocker frothing at the mouth liberal. I'm not saying that certain industries don't lean one way or the other more as far as politics go. I can guarantee you that the engineers that work at Boeing tend to be less liberal than the engineers employed by Microsoft on the whole, but those types aren't what has made Seattle the joke that it has become. The crazy has come from elsewhere. The crazy is every person that moved to Seattle because they thought it would be cool, not because there was a 6 figure job waiting for them.
Because the people and industries you speak of aren't that liberal . Do they consistently vote democrat as a collective whole? You bet, but what makes Seattle insanely liberal are the type of idiots that make you late to work by impeding traffic with stupid signs, not wealthy tech workers driving BMW's. Add to this that the tech industry is heavily Asian, and Asians tend to be left of center and not crazy when it comes to politics in the United States. These tech workers that everyone likes to speak of only make up a fraction of the population in Seattle. For every moderately liberal tech worker in the Seattle area, there are grips insanely liberal left-wing nuts working in restaurants, call centers, or various other lower middle class jobs that barely provide the means for them to live in Seattle. These are the dip$hits that moved to Seattle to be crazy liberals.
I think where you and I disagree is in regards to the difference between left leaning and crazy off your rocker frothing at the mouth liberal. I'm not saying that certain industries don't lean one way or the other more as far as politics go. I can guarantee you that the engineers that work at Boeing tend to be less liberal than the engineers employed by Microsoft on the whole, but those types aren't what has made Seattle the joke that it has become. The crazy has come from elsewhere. The crazy is every person that moved to Seattle because they thought it would be cool, not because there was a 6 figure job waiting for them.
First it was Microsoft employees are secretly conservative , now it's Boeing engineers are the real conservatives, not Microsoft employees. I know Microsoft but only know a handful of former Boeing employees - maybe they are. The Asians I know are liberal too and I know plenty of them. Liberals in downtown or the Eastside are mostly busy working. Going after restaurant workers and call center employees now? How dare they make less than an engineer. And who's to say they aren't going to school to become an engineer? Seattle is also one of the most educated cities in the US.
First it was Microsoft employees are secretly conservative , now it's Boeing engineers are the real conservatives, not Microsoft employees. I know Microsoft but only know a handful of former Boeing employees - maybe they are. The Asians I know are liberal too and I know plenty of them. Liberals in downtown or the Eastside are mostly busy working. Going after restaurant workers and call center employees now? How dare they make less than an engineer. And who's to say they aren't going to school to become an engineer? Seattle is also one of the most educated cities in the US.
Your reading comprehension is quite poor for as many posts as you have. I'm not saying that to be rude, but I really feel like you're having trouble understanding the basis of our conversation. Either that, or you're just another prolific troll. Look, you don't have to be conservative to hate on crazy liberals. There is a difference between voting (D) and being a crazy left-wing nut just like there is a difference between voting (R) and being a crazy right-wing nut. Does that make sense? The world isn't so black and white. One of these days you should try exploring what's outside of your tiny little pond.
Seattle seems to be increasingly coddling criminals, druggies, and the homeless. Property crime is rising. Taxes are rising.
Are Seattle's suburbs more politically sane? Someone posted that Kirkland's cops don't tolerate vagrants or troublemakers.
I've read that Medina photographs the license plates of cars coming off the freeway into Medina, thus cutting down on burglaries.
Do those cities -- and other suburban areas, like Bainbridge, Mercer, Bellvue, etc. -- have a higher quality of life, and greater safety from crime, than does Seattle?
Do those cities have fewer loony leftists in government, the kind that push for the more radical agendas?
Bainbridge, Mercer, and Bellevue are definitely better places to live than Seattle (as far as safety is concerned), especially Bellevue which has much of the same ammenities as Seattle but a far lower crime rate, less homeless, and a more competent & intelligent city government. The great thing about Bellevue is you can walk the streets at night and you won't encounter drugged out wannabe hippies or a homeless person crapping on the sidewalk, like you might encounter in parts of Seattle.
Seattle is going to end up like San Francisco if they don't get their crap together soon.
Don't pretend Seattle isn't liberal or cloudy or rainy or so far north that December days end at 4:30 if that is a concern.
I like cloudy, rainy, and darkness by 4:30.
I can even tolerate liberals. I've lived my whole life in two liberal metro areas -- New York and Los Angeles.
What I don't like are violently intolerant leftists. People who think that everyone right of center is a Nazi. Waiters who'll spit in you food, people who'll vandalize your property, or even physically attack you, if they think you voted for Trump.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I had a business in Bellevue from 1993-2007. We had a few incidents with one homeless guy, and after calling the police the 3rd time they packed him up and took him to Seattle. There was a problem in the mid 90s with Russian immigrants in the Crossroads area, and the police put in a substation there to get it under control. They just don’t tolerate what Seattle does, and the result is low crime for a city of it’s size.
As an example, in 1991, with the election of Ronald Reagan, Washington state passed I-120 to make abortion legal regardless of Roe V. Wade and also to make it accessible for those who could not afford it.
Do you mean 1981?
Reagan was elected in 1980, and out of office by 1989.
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. Do they consistently vote democrat as a collective whole? You bet, but what makes Seattle insanely liberal are the type of idiots that make you late to work by impeding traffic with stupid signs, not wealthy tech workers driving BMW's. Add to this that the tech industry is heavily Asian, and Asians tend to be left of center and not crazy when it comes to politics in the United States. These tech workers that everyone likes to speak of only make up a fraction of the population in Seattle. For every moderately liberal tech worker in the Seattle area, there are grips insanely liberal left-wing nuts working in restaurants, call centers, or various other lower middle class jobs that barely provide the means for them to live in Seattle. These are the dip$hits that moved to Seattle to be crazy liberals.
, now it's Boeing engineers are the real conservatives, not Microsoft employees. I know Microsoft but only know a handful of former Boeing employees - maybe they are. The Asians I know are liberal too and I know plenty of them. Liberals in downtown or the Eastside are mostly busy working. Going after restaurant workers and call center employees now? How dare they make less than an engineer. And who's to say they aren't going to school to become an engineer? Seattle is also one of the most educated cities in the US.
