SummitPost.org

etsnyd wrote:I think Seattle people are superficially friendlier and nicer than NYC folks. But they tend to be harder to get to really know, and to be included and welcomed into their group is much more difficult. At least this has been my experience.

I haven't been to SP in ages and last time I was here, I was asking nearly the same question. Moved here last year.

My experience has been the same as etsnyd - most people are really friendly superficially. However, with the exception of climbers looking for partners or guys asking me out, the people I meet casually mostly act like I've fallen off the planet once we part. (This goes for people who give you their numbers, cards, ask you to FB them, etc…they seem truly surprised when you actually contact them.) I've only developed friendships with people that I see regularly for some other reason (work, non-profit boards, climbing, etc.) My impression is this is different for younger men (that guys are more open to new friends) but I could be imagining it.

The weather has been fine. The summer was totally clear and dry. In the winter, even during the worst stretches rain, the sun would come out every day or two. I have a view of Rainier from my balcony and on my commute to work so I see it fairly frequently all year and nearly every day during the summer.

Despite climbing in that really popular "moderate" range (5.8 - 5.10b and a little easier alpine) I easily found uncrowded climbing areas with easy access. I made it to Squamish almost every weekend for 2 or 3 months.

I'm a total geek and there are plenty of geeky activities, especially if you're a liberal leaning, wine sipping, NPR type. Lots of interesting lectures, musicians, authors on book tours, etc. swing through Seattle. The regional theater scene is pretty good. Nice museums. Good restaurants and wine. (There are better of course, but it's solid here.) If you never want to dress up again, it's a good place to be. I've been debating whether or not to donate all my suits and dresses to Goodwill (keeping one set for the occasional business trip to NYC or DC.) I reverse commute (live in Seattle and work outside) so I don't see the traffic that people complain about. The little neighborhoods with their unique characters are fun to explore.

So, I'm not totally in love with the city but it's not bad.

b. wrote:I drove through LA the other day. Couldn't really see much of it at all. I thought San Diego was much cooler and easier to deal with. There is definitely not enough skiing or ice climbing down there for me.

Yeah, the freeway just passes thru LA, it's not LA. And as far as skiing and ice, there isn't any. Local skiing, which is OK but two hours away. Most die hard skiers just go to the Sierra, which is also the closest ice.

Thanks, Sophia!

Hey, I didn't forget about the North Cascades or Olympics across the Sound.

Mount Rainier just burns in my mind. It looks so close, and (of course) that's on those days when you can see it.

Yes, I would say in those 9 months outta the year, it really helps to have a WARM BOOK,
GOOD WOMAN and incredible micro-brew CLOSE at hand.

A friend who moved from NY to Seattle a few years back lamented about the "Seattle Freeze". She found it very hard to make friends and break in, which is not uncommon from what she had heard.

bird wrote:A friend who moved from NY to Seattle a few years back lamented about the "Seattle Freeze". She found it very hard to make friends and break in, which is not uncommon from what she had heard.

Actually, I was born in Tacoma, and I could see the "smugness factor" growing between
Seattle & Tacoma back in the 1980s.

But, most recently, my wife & I took the commuter train between Puyallup and Seattle.

The people in Seattle were awesome! Very helpful with directions! And, NOBODY swung their umbrella at us in any "threatening" manner.

Of course, within all major cities, it pays to be "street sauvy" and grow eyes in back of your head ...

And ... don't forget to check out "Tom Hanks'" houseboat in Lake Union!

If you find yourself "clicking" with the locals and enjoying the misty (heavily-laden with rainwater) atmosphere, you too can be ...


Sleepless in Seattle!

lcarreau wrote:And ... don't forget to check out "Tom Hanks'" houseboat in Lake Union!

yaaaawn.

Dude, do you like to ice climb and see the sun on occasion? If so stay in Bozeman...trust me on this We are 30 minutes from the Needle.

Dane1 wrote:Dude, do you like to ice climb and see the sun on occasion? If so stay in Bozeman...trust me on this We are 30 minutes from the Needle.

WHAT needle? The Space Needle ???


Better yet, check out northern Arizona !!!

The "nights" are cool enough for shut-eye, and you won't be "sleepless in Seattle."

Instead, a scorpion might join you for a midnight snack!

b. wrote:I drove through LA the other day. Couldn't really see much of it at all. I thought San Diego was much cooler and easier to deal with. There is definitely not enough skiing or ice climbing down there for me.

How about the Sacramento area or in the foothills? Or anywhere, pretty much in the Northern Bay Area.

I lived for 33 years in the Seattle area. Love the place but the weather was the deciding factor in wanting to live some place new. Growing up in it you just get use to it, but once I started traveling around the west....well, my eyes were opened. If you like to get out every weekend (in the mountains), no matter what the weather, year round, expect about 40 percent of your trips to be in crap weather. I've got pictures for over 100 mountains in bad weather! Usually a complete cloudy summit shot, so all the pics look like they could be in the same place. Contrast that with my Utah trips, almost all of the pictures for every trip are in blue sky. I just wish I could have brought the Olympics and Cascade Ranges down here with me....but then the glaciers would melt, rivers dry up, etc.

As for people, I thought everyone was ok but I'm re-thinking it. When we go back to see family, my wife plays a game called "grumpy-face". Drive down the road looking at people in their cars. Most of them look miserable. I was a skeptic at first but it seems to hold true. Still, when the weather is good, my opinion says, there is no better place. And you see far fewer grumpy faces as well.

As for LA....was that person serious?