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Temperature-wise the winters are similar - mild. South is much hotter through most of the year. The south has many sunny days during the winter, and also colder nights than NW Washington. I lived outside of Charlotte in a blue collar city, which looks similar to Bellingham, except Bellingham has a larger downtown with a lot more going on. The south is much older with more history. Many jobs have been offshored, making it resemble the rust belt. The east coast is different. The social climate is much less politically correct in the east. I found it funny how carefully people chose their words here in Washington, which happens to be one of the whitest states I've ever been in. We always had plenty of entertainment in the east verses here, but Bellingham is also an isolated city, it's not in the backyard of Vancouver or Charlotte or Seattle for ex. The only adjustment process was paying 5 cents for a grocery bag and trying to understand why people are so particular about organic food and where they grocery shop. My cousin tells me it's a west coast thing and some people call it the "left coast". I must say I never seen so many homeless people before coming to Washington. Every big city has them, but here even the not so big cities have them all over. This is one of the only years I didn't stay up for New Years Eve, it seems 9pm is when the new year starts nationwide. I don't at all mind how the east coast is asleep before I am. I'm happy to be here.
It was interesting to hear your perspective on the area- I lived in Western NC for 15 years before becoming unstuck and moving to CO and eventually WA. It was quite a change, though in some ways the rural areas of Western WA remind me a little bit of the NC mountains. Anyway, your description was spot on, I enjoyed reading it. Welcome to Bham!
Temperature-wise the winters are similar - mild. South is much hotter through most of the year. The south has many sunny days during the winter, and also colder nights than NW Washington. I lived outside of Charlotte in a blue collar city, which looks similar to Bellingham, except Bellingham has a larger downtown with a lot more going on. The south is much older with more history. Many jobs have been offshored, making it resemble the rust belt. The east coast is different. The social climate is much less politically correct in the east. I found it funny how carefully people chose their words here in Washington, which happens to be one of the whitest states I've ever been in. We always had plenty of entertainment in the east verses here, but Bellingham is also an isolated city, it's not in the backyard of Vancouver or Charlotte or Seattle for ex. The only adjustment process was paying 5 cents for a grocery bag and trying to understand why people are so particular about organic food and where they grocery shop. My cousin tells me it's a west coast thing and some people call it the "left coast". I must say I never seen so many homeless people before coming to Washington. Every big city has them, but here even the not so big cities have them all over. This is one of the only years I didn't stay up for New Years Eve, it seems 9pm is when the new year starts nationwide. I don't at all mind how the east coast is asleep before I am. I'm happy to be here.
This is interesting. (Please use paragraphs run the future; a wall of text is hard to read.). The lack of entertainment, even in Seattle, was something I never got used to, compared to the SF Bay Area. I never had to choose my words carefully, living in Seattle. Politics never came up as a topic, in any context ever.
B'ham does seem to have more organic grocers per capita than anyplace I've every been on the West Coast! But people eat organic in order to avoid the chemicals used in conventional farming. It was routine in the 60's, before organic farming became a big thing, for there to be warnings to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before eating, due to unsafe chemical residue on them. People became concerned for their own health (some of those chemicals were later banned, as toxic), and especially--afraid for their children's health. And now there are GMO foods (also used as feed to cows, so it's in the dairy products), which have the pesticides bred into them.
This is interesting. (Please use paragraphs run the future; a wall of text is hard to read.). The lack of entertainment, even in Seattle, was something I never got used to, compared to the SF Bay Area. I never had to choose my words carefully, living in Seattle. Politics never came up as a topic, in any context ever.
B'ham does seem to have more organic grocers per capita than anyplace I've every been on the West Coast! But people eat organic in order to avoid the chemicals used in conventional farming. It was routine in the 60's, before organic farming became a big thing, for there to be warnings to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before eating, due to unsafe chemical residue on them. People became concerned for their own health (some of those chemicals were later banned, as toxic), and especially--afraid for their children's health. And now there are GMO foods (also used as feed to cows, so it's in the dairy products), which have the pesticides bred into them.
Regarding entertainment- I think part of that has to do with being somewhat isolated in the NW corner of the NW. In NC, you're within a day's drive of a huge chunk of the US population, halfway up the coast with many cities close by, and many, many colleges around. It's not exactly the same situation, but Northern California has more people, and more cities as well. Here, someone has to even know that Bham is an option to come this far. That's not to say that there's nothing going on, just that location certainly plays a role.
Regarding general discussion and politics, well it's definitely different here than in the foothills in NC. There's far more of an intellectual component here than most of the SE, though Bham reminds me of Asheville and other progressive hotspots. In general though, it's a sign of the times, and it's hard to avoid politics anywhere these days, including and maybe especially Seattle.
This is interesting. (Please use paragraphs run the future; a wall of text is hard to read.). The lack of entertainment, even in Seattle, was something I never got used to, compared to the SF Bay Area. I never had to choose my words carefully, living in Seattle. Politics never came up as a topic, in any context ever.
B'ham does seem to have more organic grocers per capita than anyplace I've every been on the West Coast! But people eat organic in order to avoid the chemicals used in conventional farming. It was routine in the 60's, before organic farming became a big thing, for there to be warnings to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before eating, due to unsafe chemical residue on them. People became concerned for their own health (some of those chemicals were later banned, as toxic), and especially--afraid for their children's health. And now there are GMO foods (also used as feed to cows, so it's in the dairy products), which have the pesticides bred into them.
I don't think people realize how political a non-political topic can sound, like every detail is a code for something political. So far the assumption here is everyone is liberal or a closet-conservative.
I understand the concern for GMO food and would always prefer it if the cost is the same. I haven't seen enough evidence to suggest a $2 organic tomato has twice the nutritious value as a $1 hybrid tomato with pesticides. If my food budget was much higher I would jump on the wagon.
I don't think people realize how political a non-political topic can sound, like every detail is a code for something political. So far the assumption here is everyone is liberal or a closet-conservative.
I understand the concern for GMO food and would always prefer it if the cost is the same. I haven't seen enough evidence to suggest a $2 organic tomato has twice the nutritious value as a $1 hybrid tomato with pesticides. If my food budget was much higher I would jump on the wagon.
As I just explained in the earlier post that you presumably read, the preference for organic is about safety, not superior nutrition.No one ever claimed organic is more nutritious. My doctor insists I eat organic, in order to avoid toxic substances. Non-organic chicken, for example, is bathed in arsenic, a toxic heavy metal.*
I'll tell you what's more nutritious though; the heirloom vegetable varieties they're reviving, now: the purple carrots have 3 times the nutrients in them, compared to regular carrots, according to studies. Same with purple romaine lettuce. Wild blueberries are off the charts, compared to commercial blueberries. I haven't found info about the heirloom tomatoes. This is a recent development, that small farms are re-discovering these heirloom varieties. It's kind of fascinating.
* Here's more info on arsenic, FYI, that I got from a medical journal. I'm including a link to more info, as well.
Quote:
Arsenic exerts its toxicity by inactivating up to 200 enzymes, especially those involved in cellular energy pathways and DNA synthesis and repair.[...] Chronic arsenic toxicity results in multisystem disease. Arsenic is a well documented human carcinogen affecting numerous organs.
Regarding entertainment- I think part of that has to do with being somewhat isolated in the NW corner of the NW. In NC, you're within a day's drive of a huge chunk of the US population, halfway up the coast with many cities close by, and many, many colleges around. It's not exactly the same situation, but Northern California has more people, and more cities as well. Here, someone has to even know that Bham is an option to come this far. That's not to say that there's nothing going on, just that location certainly plays a role.
Regarding general discussion and politics, well it's definitely different here than in the foothills in NC. There's far more of an intellectual component here than most of the SE, though Bham reminds me of Asheville and other progressive hotspots. In general though, it's a sign of the times, and it's hard to avoid politics anywhere these days, including and maybe especially Seattle.
Could it be that many who seek out a place like Bham aren't the kind who demand a lot of 'entertainment,'
because they're more interested in outdoorsy activities (hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, etc etc)...
and are content to pass most evenings with books?
Could it be that many who seek out a place like Bham aren't the kind who demand a lot of 'entertainment,'
because they're more interested in outdoorsy activities (hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, etc etc)...
and are content to pass most evenings with books?
Sure- there are also plenty of people here interested in bookstores, and plenty of introverts- it is the NW, after all. And while the town is known for outdoor enthusiasts- several of the biggest groups- skiers/snowboarders and mountain bikers - aren't always the type to pass most evenings with books. There's a big brewery/tap house/bar scene here- well over a dozen breweries, four cideries, several huge beer gardens that are often packed, etc. And there are more small street and neighborhood festivals than I've seen anywhere I've lived. Oh, and there's a substantial day trip tourism crowd from BC and a 16,000 student university in the middle of town.
I think there's more to do than Ruth or Kyknight realize, but you have to poke around- she's not from here, and he's new in town. But then again, no one really defined "entertainment" - but there are plenty of local things going on. The thing that my wife and I notice is a little bit of a lack of national traveling music acts, which, I chalk up more to isolated geography than a lack of people wanting to go out. Larger acts, of course, go to Seattle or Vancouver- either of which are easy enough to visit in a day or quick overnight trip.
Sure- there are also plenty of people here interested in bookstores, and plenty of introverts- it is the NW, after all. And while the town is known for outdoor enthusiasts- several of the biggest groups- skiers/snowboarders and mountain bikers - aren't always the type to pass most evenings with books. There's a big brewery/tap house/bar scene here- well over a dozen breweries, four cideries, several huge beer gardens that are often packed, etc. And there are more small street and neighborhood festivals than I've seen anywhere I've lived. Oh, and there's a substantial day trip tourism crowd from BC and a 16,000 student university in the middle of town.
I think there's more to do than Ruth or Kyknight realize, but you have to poke around- she's not from here, and he's new in town. But then again, no one really defined "entertainment" - but there are plenty of local things going on. The thing that my wife and I notice is a little bit of a lack of national traveling music acts, which, I chalk up more to isolated geography than a lack of people wanting to go out. Larger acts, of course, go to Seattle or Vancouver- either of which are easy enough to visit in a day or quick overnight trip.
The bolded is absolutely how I define "entertainment", and it's what I missed in Seattle. The caliber of the music acts was not on the same level as SF/Oakland, NYC, LA. What about film, how many movie theaters does the city have, and are there any that specialize in independent film and international films?
I do count university lectures and other public offerings (concerts, art events) as entertainment, bartonizer, which is one reason I'm interested in B'ham. The presence of a state university is a huge amenity. I also enjoy taking university classes, learning new languages, learning new stuff in general. The university there is unusual, in that it has a huge archive of documents and materials on Mongolia, the country, language, culture, history, etc. That's very interesting, that it would have a resource and research focus like that.
The bolded is absolutely how I define "entertainment", and it's what I missed in Seattle. The caliber of the music acts was not on the same level as SF/Oakland, NYC, LA. What about film, how many movie theaters does the city have, and are there any that specialize in independent film and international films?
I do count university lectures and other public offerings (concerts, art events) as entertainment, bartonizer, which is one reason I'm interested in B'ham. The presence of a state university is a huge amenity. I also enjoy taking university classes, learning new languages, learning new stuff in general. The university there is unusual, in that it has a huge archive of documents and materials on Mongolia, the country, language, culture, history, etc. That's very interesting, that it would have a resource and research focus like that.
Sorry Ruth, I wasn't jabbing at you- just mentioning that not living around here, you may not be familiar with some of the lesser known local theaters and artist guilds, etc. And the other poster just moved here, so he's probably not familiar, either. Regarding film, we have the obligatory big theater (w/IMAX), and then two great little independent theaters, the Pickford and the Limelight.
Regarding music, yes, there's less traveling acts than we experienced in CO- which benefits by having both a receptive scene, legendary venues, and a completely central geographic location- and in NC, which also benefits by both central location, but also as I mentioned, many cities in close proximity. We don't have a ton of venues in Bham, and I don't think a lot of acts are all that familiar with the area. A lot of times, small to medium acts add dates closer to shows- sometimes last minute. And again, between Vancouver and Seattle, there's quite a bit going on within two hours.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
This is interesting. (Please use paragraphs run the future; a wall of text is hard to read.). The lack of entertainment, even in Seattle, was something I never got used to, compared to the SF Bay Area.
I guess entertainment is different for different folks. If you like to ski, mountain bike, fish, hike, kayak, sail, or climb, B'ham is where it's at! If not, you're in the wrong place.
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The university there is unusual, in that it has a huge archive of documents and materials on Mongolia, the country, language, culture, history, etc. That's very interesting, that it would have a resource and research focus like that.
