Seattle Fits, Eventually
The New York Times had an excellent article yesterday about what life is like for newcomers in the Big Apple. So much of it seemed applicable to more than just Manhattan, though, that I thought I would share it.
After you move to Seattle, at some point, you realize it either is or isn’t working for you. If it isn’t working for you, you spend a whole lot of time talking about the Seattle Freeze, comparing Seattle to your former place of residence, and complaining about the weather. And we’ve all done it a time or two.
Eventually, though, I think those who truly become Seattleites discover that it’s kind of nice that people don’t talk to you on the bus; the rain feels pretty refreshing after 73-degree heat; and suddenly, somehow you’ve become a coffee snob.
So, guys, what did it for you? When did you suddenly discover Seattle was a fit for you (or not, as the case may be)?
Not my first sign, but the latest: on Tuesday I wore socks with summer sandals on a cold rainy day.
I celebrate my 2 year anniversary in Seattle this weekend. It only took me 1 visit in the spring of 2005 to fall in love with this place. I came from an small, conservative community in Alabama…
• I love how clean everything is.
• I love how green everything is.
• I love the wine and beer culture in that people want to taste it and not just drink it.
• I love that when someone is nice, they’re being genuine about it and not simply attempting to meet the status quo of friendliness.
• I love how everyone freaks out about sunshine, but secretly longs for rainy November days so that they can curl up on the couch and catch up on their reading.
• I love how politically sound everyone is, yet they’re still willing to put a 143-day young Junior Senator from Illinois in the White House. :) Sorry… I had to take that jab.
• I love how mad my liberal friends get with themselves when they find out I voted for Bush twice and I attend Mars Hill Church.
• I love how Queen Anne feels like a small town within a big city.
• I love the fact that there’s nature.every.where.I.look.
• I love the hotdog stands in Belltown.
• I love how everyone hated Cafe Minnie’s, but they ended up there on a late Saturday night at least once per year.
• I love that the Mariners, even in an abysmal season, still pull in 27,000 fans every game.
• I love 520 bridge when there’s no traffic.
• I love that I’m number 8,567 of the 15,000+ season ticket waiting list for the Seahawks.
• I love the sun setting behind the Olympic mountain range.
• I love how Ballard really would succeed from Seattle if given the opportunity.
• I love a good sunset dinner at Ray’s Boathouse.
• I love the reaction I’ll get from the "hate" section below…
Though things aren’t always peachy keen in the Rain City…
• I hate that most Seattleites will never experience an Southeastern Conference college football game, and their understanding of college football is traffic jams in Montlake or day-long trips to-and-from Pullman.
• I hate that there are so many condos going up.
• I hate that I don’t have a boat.
• I hate that taxpayer dollars fund public parks which taxpayers never get to fully enjoy due to an overwhelming presence of bums, who are defended by misguided liberals who claim that "bums are citizens too." If they don’t have jobs, don’t pay taxes, and offer crack to tourists at Steinbrueck Park… I don’t consider them "citizens" of Seattle.
• I hate that most people think Starbucks is the devil, when in reality Starbucks paved the way for the Cafe Ladro’s, Stumptown’s, and roadside espresso joints of the Northwest (and the world for that matter).
• I hate that Starbucks kinda is the devil.
• I hate that Queen Anne High School is no longer an actual school. How much fun would it have been to go there?
• I hate that in a city abundant with knowledge and teaching… Seattle Public School systems aren’t world renown.
• I hate that Seattleites preach tolerance and an open mind, yet most citizens have a disdain for any type of organized religion or faith outside of Buddhism or New Age thinking.
• I hate that Seattlites aren’t convinced of the Bible and other non-religious historical backing of the Bible, yet a 90-minute movie by Al Gore changed their life… and they’re convinced that it’s hotter today than it was yesterday.
• I hate that people hate the Bush administration, blaming it for the downfall of our government, yet so few people actually take action to change their government. Reading anger-filled, f-bomb-laden poetry at ‘open mic night’ in your local coffee shop doesn’t count as "doing something."
• I hate that the city, as a whole, couldn’t care less about the Sonics leaving town.
• I hate that I feel like I’m the only person who considers ‘The Crocodile’ to be an overrated music venue.
• I hate how the baby seals on Alki Beach are guarded as priceless treasures… though human fetus are an considered expendable "choice." (I love baby seals just as much as the next fellow… but you get my point.)
• But most of all, I hate that I’ll probably have to leave Seattle one day, and miss loving and hating the aforementioned…
I knew I was going to stay in Seattle when I realized I had the courage to be snarky in blog comments. And when I realized I loved expendable choices, like human fetuses.