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I agree, I do understand why people in Seattle complain a lot about the winters. But I also get the impression that many complaining about the winters have never lived in the northeast or the great lakes region, where the sun doesn't shine in many cites (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo are actually all cloudier than Seattle) from November to May, and where the temperatures are a good 30 degrees colder in the winter than they are in Seattle. Trust me, you don't want to wish for that weather. Perhaps compared to a SoCal winter, Seattle is depressing and dreary, but I think winters are just as bad, if not considerably worse (my opinion), in parts of the North East or the Great Lakes region. I'd trade rain and clouds at 45 for 10 degrees with -10 wind chills any day of the week...Take it from a life-long resident of the Great Lakes, winters here are horrible; and summers are oppressively humid and hot...and I think many would agree if they lived in these areas of the country.
As an aside, the city of Boston may be at a lower latitude than Seattle, but due to it's easterly position in the Eastern time zone, the sun sets very early there (I'm talking 4:00 PM). This was especially a change for me when I lived there as I had previously lived in western Ohio, where (with its westerly position in Eastern time zone) the sun sets more than an hour later. Seattle, then with it's westerly position in the Pacific time zone, does enjoy a bit more light in the afternoon when everyone is awake then even some northeastern towns...but as other people pointed out this isn't a problem in the southern states. So really this is a northern latitude issue...so if you're from a southern state and get SAD easily, Seattle and many places in the north really aren't for you.
Then again, if you're from the/have lived in for some time the north/great lakes I don't think you should let the "rain excuse" keep you away from Seattle (if you're considering moving there that is), because the winters aren't really that bad comparably, and the summers are very pleasant (unless you love humidity...which is, in my experience, a rare thing). I think Seattle gets an unfair "bad rap", because compared to other places it's not so bad...it seems like there are other places in the country that get just as many clouds, if not more, yet they're not known for being "rainy" or "depressing"...there are a lot of misconceptions/ignorant beliefs due to popular belief regarding this, and I think a major reason has to do with the pacific northwest's close proximity to California (where in many parts of the state, the sun shines consistently all year), and because many Californians move to/visit Seattle...of course Seattle is going to dreary compared to much of California...sure this isn't the only reason for the "bad rap," but I suspect it has a major impact....just my two cents, though, because winter is nice in very few places in the northern US.
Last edited by HockeyMac18; 06-20-2007 at 08:21 PM..
I agree, I do understand why people in Seattle complain a lot about the winters. But I also get the impression that many complaining about the winters have never lived in the northeast or the great lakes region, where the sun doesn't shine in many cites (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo are actually all cloudier than Seattle) from November to May, and where the temperatures are a good 30 degrees colder in the winter than they are in Seattle. Trust me, you don't want to wish for that weather. Perhaps compared to a SoCal winter, Seattle is depressing and dreary, but I think winters are just as bad, if not considerably worse (my opinion), in parts of the North East or the Great Lakes region. I'd trade rain and clouds at 45 for 10 degrees with -10 wind chills any day of the week...Take it from a life-long resident of the Great Lakes, winters here are horrible; and summers are oppressively humid and hot...and I think many would agree if they lived in these areas of the country.
As an aside, the city of Boston may be at a lower latitude than Seattle, but due to it's easterly position in the Eastern time zone, the sun sets very early there (I'm talking 4:00 PM). This was especially a change for me when I lived there as I had previously lived in western Ohio, where (with its westerly position in Eastern time zone) the sun sets more than an hour later. Seattle, then with it's westerly position in the Pacific time zone, does enjoy a bit more light in the afternoon when everyone is awake then even some northeastern towns...but as other people pointed out this isn't a problem in the southern states. So really this is a northern latitude issue...so if you're from a southern state and get SAD easily, Seattle and many places in the north really aren't for you.
Then again, if you're from the/have lived in for some time the north/great lakes I don't think you should let the "rain excuse" keep you away from Seattle (if you're considering moving there that is), because the winters aren't really that bad comparably, and the summers are very pleasant (unless you love humidity...which is, in my experience, a rare thing). I think Seattle gets an unfair "bad rap", because compared to other places it's not so bad...it seems like there are other places in the country that get just as many clouds, if not more, yet they're not known for being "rainy" or "depressing"...there are a lot of misconceptions/ignorant beliefs due to popular belief regarding this, and I think a major reason has to do with the pacific northwest's close proximity to California (where in many parts of the state, the sun shines consistently all year), and because many Californians move to/visit Seattle...of course Seattle is going to dreary compared to much of California...sure this isn't the only reason for the "bad rap," but I suspect it has a major impact....just my two cents, though, because winter is nice in very few places in the northern US.
I'm not worried about clouds or rain. It has a nostalgic feel when it is dark outside. As for people complaining about rain and clouds, Seattle's case is a matter of how many consecutive days it is raining and cloudy. What I have also found is that some Seattle residents use the "rain" excuse to keep newcomers from moving to the state of Washington. I used to live in Everett and I loved it. It didn't rain that much when I was there. It was cloudy for many days, but the summers were very nice, sunny, and mild. Actually, Seattle-Tacoma area is on my list of places I am considering living in.
I agree, I do understand why people in Seattle complain a lot about the winters. But I also get the impression that many complaining about the winters have never lived in the northeast or the great lakes region, where the sun doesn't shine in many cites (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo are actually all cloudier than Seattle) from November to May, and where the temperatures are a good 30 degrees colder in the winter than they are in Seattle. Trust me, you don't want to wish for that weather. Perhaps compared to a SoCal winter, Seattle is depressing and dreary, but I think winters are just as bad, if not considerably worse (my opinion), in parts of the North East or the Great Lakes region. I'd trade rain and clouds at 45 for 10 degrees with -10 wind chills any day of the week...Take it from a life-long resident of the Great Lakes, winters here are horrible; and summers are oppressively humid and hot...and I think many would agree if they lived in these areas of the country.
As an aside, the city of Boston may be at a lower latitude than Seattle, but due to it's easterly position in the Eastern time zone, the sun sets very early there (I'm talking 4:00 PM). This was especially a change for me when I lived there as I had previously lived in western Ohio, where (with its westerly position in Eastern time zone) the sun sets more than an hour later. Seattle, then with it's westerly position in the Pacific time zone, does enjoy a bit more light in the afternoon when everyone is awake then even some northeastern towns...but as other people pointed out this isn't a problem in the southern states. So really this is a northern latitude issue...so if you're from a southern state and get SAD easily, Seattle and many places in the north really aren't for you.
Then again, if you're from the/have lived in for some time the north/great lakes I don't think you should let the "rain excuse" keep you away from Seattle (if you're considering moving there that is), because the winters aren't really that bad comparably, and the summers are very pleasant (unless you love humidity...which is, in my experience, a rare thing). I think Seattle gets an unfair "bad rap", because compared to other places it's not so bad...it seems like there are other places in the country that get just as many clouds, if not more, yet they're not known for being "rainy" or "depressing"...there are a lot of misconceptions/ignorant beliefs due to popular belief regarding this, and I think a major reason has to do with the pacific northwest's close proximity to California (where in many parts of the state, the sun shines consistently all year), and because many Californians move to/visit Seattle...of course Seattle is going to dreary compared to much of California...sure this isn't the only reason for the "bad rap," but I suspect it has a major impact....just my two cents, though, because winter is nice in very few places in the northern US.
I'm just as happy with sub-zero temps and snow as I am with rain. GA could use it. What I am saying is that many persons who tell out of staters about the rain tend to exaggerate just to keep out of staters from moving there. Rain would only make me want to move there more. The backdrop of beautiful mountains and outdoor activites such as rafting are worth it.
it is relatively awful. I have lived in Michigan most of my life, in various locations. For the last five I have lived in the Upper Peninsula, about 40 miles north of Lake Michigan and right on the Wisconsin border.
To compare it to Seattle -
"Seattle has 3 months of good weather." I hear that on these forums all the time. There is a difference between "good weather" and "bearable weather" though. Where I live, it goes from one to the other in a matter of hours. If we have 3 months of good weather here, that's an exaggeration. It never feels truly like summer has hit until mid-June, and by the end of August, the days can be very cool and rainy. And that's it! We have some gorgeous spells during the fall months, but we're talking a few days, or maybe ONE day, at a time, and then the next day - it's miserable.
"It rains in Seattle all the time." Well, it SNOWS here all the time. There are people who like snow - those are the people that enjoy playing in it, and looking at it. First off, it's expensive to play in it (skiing, that is) and looking at it is fine - but shoveling it constantly is not. I lived on the southern coast of Lake Superior, where we received an AVERAGE of 190 inches of snow per year. We did beat that average three years during the nineties by hitting 270 inches, with one of those years breaking the record with 300 inches. Believe me - going out in the morning to start the car, only to find out that you will have to shovel for 45 minutes, which is horrible work (and not even the "good for you" type of work) is not fun at all.
"Seattle is bad 9 months of the year." Well so is Michigan! This year, we had cold nights starting the second week of September. Two nights in a row there were hard frosts. Everything green and flowery and pretty disappeared overnight. That is the norm, not the exception. You can't start planting outdoors until at least the second half of may, if you're LUCKY, because you risk losing everything to a hard freeze. From October to April, it freezes every night. From December to March, it never gets ABOVE freezing. During the in-between months of May,September and OCtober, you never know what will hit. We've had snow already this year in September, albeit only a bit. We have our worst snowstorms in late March or April - just when you want to get outdoors! The trees aren't sprouting leaves until mid-may. In other words, if we have five months with green grass that's good - but that's only grass - all your garden plants and flowers are dead by the end of September.
"Seattle is grey." Well, we don't have much other than that here either. Even in summer, we have mostly "partly cloudy" days but not very many "sunny and dry" days. In winter, it is unbearable to go outside most of the time, even if it is sunny. Our average high temperature in January is around 20 degrees, low 0 degrees (f) and our high in July is about 80, with lows in the upper fifties. We do have very high records and very LOW records. Our record low here was 45 below zero (f) and if you have never experienced a day of below-zero weather (which we sometimes have for days on end) let me tell you - it hurts to leave the house.
So to me, Seattle weather sounds like heaven, rain, shine, or not. And when I see pictures of homes in Seattle with a palm tree growing there, however small, I laugh because we can't even grow many varieties of winter-hardy fruit trees here, because they can't take the cold of the winter! Ick.
I'm sitting here re-reading this entire thread. And to be honest I'm so glad summer is over and it is getting cooler out. It has been pretty over cast and rainy here the last few days. So yes, Ive been trying to picture me living in Seattle the past few gloomy days.
Thing's just look better in the grey weather, the contrast makes everything so much more beautiful "especially" with the leaves changing.
My sis calls Seattle the gloomy pit of hell. But we both manage to have a great time anyways! It's all about your attitude. Don't move here if you're already a depressed personality, otherwise, you'll have a great time! Lots to do and great people. Intelligent and fun.
But did you see that full moon last night? It was so bright that I shut off my lights, opened my curtains, and sat in the living room just amazed. This morning the sky was this pretty blue with pinkish streaks. With the backdrop of the islands, there was the full moon while the sun was rising in the east. Mt Rainier was out in full blast and it was chilly and frosty. MAN it was AWESOME. Mother nature can keep this up. No arguements here.
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Weather is Relative, and here in Michigan......
