Why Seattle?

That is:  Why move back to Seattle?  Besides the obvious stuff like we miss our friends, and want to be closer to our families?

Brit Jonathan Raban gets it best (via Timothy Egan):

Seattle is the only major city in the world that people move to in order to get closer to nature.

Spot on. In Seattle you can live right in the city and be next to a salmon run.  You can step out of your door and kayak,  or sail, or ski (OK you have to drive a short distance to ski).  You can see orcas and sea lions from the ferry.  You can see bald eagles and 500 year-old trees as well as the Space Needle and office towers.  And most days, you can see "The Mountain", Mount Ranier, the dormant volcano that looms over Seattle like Mt. Fuji, and some times you can see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker to the north.

If you like scuba diving, some of the largest octopi in the world can be found in Pugest Sound just minutes away from downtown Seattle.

You can get around via bicycle... not as easily as Copenhagen, there are big hills and fewer separated trails, but it is safer here on a bike than most US cities.

If you pick the right city neighborhood (like Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, Green Lake and the like) it is very pedestrian friendly with lots of shops and amenities within walking distance.

People here, on the whole, are friendly and open.  Most will say 'hi' if you do.  On our first day back, bringing our luggage etc. into the apartment building, a guy was coming in juggling a pizza pie and he held the door for us.  Nice.  And even though I'm sure it is true (as some Europeans claim) that the smiles etc. you get with service in shops, restaurants etc. may be insincere, I don't care... I like it.  I like it quite a bit better than the indifferent-to-surly service that typifies Copenhagen.

And there's the climate.  The drizzly winters get some people down, but not me.  As long as I'm active and outside it doesn't bother me.  I like the watercolor skies in winter... it's very dramatic.  And the reward for winter is the beautiful, blossom-filled fragrant air of lilac and magnolia in spring and the glorious summers where we get sunsets like this one

of course there are downsides, like the traffic.  But traffic can be avoided if you're smart about it.  Seattle really is quite a special place. It's nice to be home.

Comments

[Greg Plum]

Awe, Beautiful Mike!
Vikings are always suspect, it was the damn Romans that made them that way...or the horde...or I don't know maybe the Visigoths?

[Greg Plum]

Awe, Beautiful Mike!
Vikings are always suspect, it was the damn Romans that made them that way...or the horde...or I don't know maybe the Visigoths?

[misha]

Hehe - thanks Greg. Dunno about the vikings, but I'm glad to be back!