Am I the only one offended by peoples junk everywhere? (Seattle: appliances, house)

[muttskie]

Washington is such a beautiful state...Except for the old trailers, rusting cars, debris piles, old boats, RVs, and anything else that should have been properly disposed of, but ends up in front yards, side yards, fields, and anywhere else junk can be (and usually visible for all to see).
Not trying to offend, but why is it so prevalent in this state? In rural areas around the west it is also common, as well. But here, it is everywhere, Seattle, suburbs, every size community. In Anacortes it is so commonplace that when you see a clean well kept yard without the junk, you are pleasantly surprised, because of the rarity. Bellingham is no different. It is this way in virtually every community in the state. What gives? Are there cities that are not this way?

[Ruth4Truth]

Didn't you make a thread just like this on the Seattle forum earlier in the year, under a different "new member" username? You must have a knack for zeroing in on the junky parts of town, because I haven't seen that in Bellingham or Seattle, or the suburbs. I guess I don't hang out in, or drive through, the dumpy areas, unlike you.

[leastprime]

Today I paid my ex-neighbor $200 for the rights to his junked cars along the roadway. It only took 8 months to get this done since he really didn't own the cars, his son did. So I had to run around getting his son's signature and finding someone to haul the cars away, provided that we had the proper documentation. This is mid-valley Oregon, semi-rural/urban.

[muttskie]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Didn't you make a thread just like this on the Seattle forum earlier in the year, under a different "new member" username? You must have a knack for zeroing in on the junky parts of town, because I haven't seen that in Bellingham or Seattle, or the suburbs. I guess I don't hang out in, or drive through, the dumpy areas, unlike you.

No Ruth. Not me. I am a California transplant of 2 years. Let the mudslinging begin. And I don't think I only drive through, or frequent, "junky parts of town". Geez.

[muttskie]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Didn't you make a thread just like this on the Seattle forum earlier in the year, under a different "new member" username? You must have a knack for zeroing in on the junky parts of town, because I haven't seen that in Bellingham or Seattle, or the suburbs. I guess I don't hang out in, or drive through, the dumpy areas, unlike you.

You may also note I joined the forum in 2012 and have found it very interesting and useful. Other than the hostility of people who live on this forum and try to pontificate on every possible thing.

[Ultrarunner]

I'm in rural Thurston County and one of the things I like is neighbors are not imposing... much different than my experiences in the SF Bay Area... where retired friends were passing though in their RV and parked in front of my house one night... two retired old ladies had a fit... even called the police out about a homeless camp... this is a 120k RV owned by a retired Doctor...

Police came out and said it could stay 72 hours...

My Thurston nearest neighbors have what I would call Yard Art... an old tractor and and an old car returning to nature... the car is a Hudson... belonged to his father... the tractor is his but after his stroke at 78 it just sits there...

It adds charactor... and as it is fully on there on property it is none of my concern...

Hate to say it... but city people or people from "California" tend to have very different ideas on how things should be regarding the people that have been there for decades...

Live and Let Live...

To the poster that paid $200 to have the wrecks removed... sounds like a win/win... you both got something out of the deal

[FJhg]

Yep seems to be a lot of stuff with years of mold chilling on people's property. Also lots of litter which I made a thread about a month or so ago.

I'm guessing many areas were pretty much country even 15 years ago and have had a lot of stuff and traffic grow around them rapidly but the properties still maintain their stuff like in the country.

Also maybe it's the long wet winters, people just get lazy and don't want to deal with stuff? I see so many homes with decades of mold on the roof as if the person is a drug addict or massive alcoholic and can't maintain their home it's a little weird.

Another reason is maybe it's quite expensive to dispose of things here, high disposal fees? I see a lot of dumping too.

People don't seem to have the same cleanliness standards and pride with their properties, as compared to areas of midwest and elsewhere.


City areas dont bother to cut grass or weeds too often. Just an all around relaxed let nature take its course type of thing I guess.

Just some observations, probably only half right on some points

[Ultrarunner]

Trash dumping is something else and a real problem in that it seems people will find any spot they can get away with to dump... really sad.

A friend had a spot in Lacey and was always having problems... it was a short drive around a bend and a favorite of locals... sofas, appliances, etc... all dump under cover of darkness... he put up a gate and it was taken...

I do draw a distinction between old equipment/cars on property owned... entirely different.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by muttskie

No Ruth. Not me. I am a California transplant of 2 years. Let the mudslinging begin. And I don't think I only drive through, or frequent, "junky parts of town". Geez.

Oh, you mean you actually live in a dumpy part of town? I gotta tell ya, I've lived in a number of neighborhoods in Seattle, and have never seen what you describe. Oh well.

[thatguy950]

Well many Washington natives are pretty grungy and content to be slobs, so it’s unlikely other people’s junk will bother them as they likely have plenty of their own