Damn, I am glad I left Seattle

[Zomby Woof]

From a favorite site of mine - Seattle Sucks

9/16 One More Time, Monorail!

In classic Seattle style, the Monorail will face its fourth, and final, verdict from the voters. This could be the greatest Seattle suck of all time. Millions have already been spent! Properties have been bought! Taxes have been levied! Now, Seattleities have a chance to create the greatest public debacle in recent memory by killing it all. Do it Seattle! Kill the Monorail! Then go get in your SUV and get back to complaining about traffic.

-snip-


I remember this being voted on a THIRD time before I left, and I laughed when I said it still won't be built. Allow me to gloat and say I was vindicated.

Hahahahaha..... still shitty traffic, no jobs, passive-aggressive people, and dreary drizzly skies. Whew.

[joeybee12]

1. Hey, I used to live there, too!

It was the weather that got to me. The traffic is getting worse, believe it or not.

[shraby]

2. Does Seattle still have that piece of

freeway that goes up into the air and stops, never finished?

[miss_kitty]

5. no. It's the I-90-heads to Boston Mass. n/t

[joeybee12]

7. Yuk, yuk!!!!!!

[feistydem]

6. Yeah, it was put there just to freak out the tourists.

Imagine driving along on one of those freeway interchanges into the sky and wondering, "Is this the one that just drops off?"

[AmyStrange]

35. They turned it into a walkway...

with a winding circular stairs that you walk down to the waterfront. I've asked so many people why that road (that seemed to go knowhere) was there to begin with. Why it was built and still haven't found anyone who knows for sure?

d

[feistydem]

3. Native Seattleite here... don't miss the rain or the gray. But...

...when it is sunny and beautiful in Seattle, there's no prettier place to be.

The commute is a killer, no matter where the hell you're trying to go. I can't believe the way King County voters keep shooting themselves in the collective foot by denying reliable public transportation.

I miss the Puget Sound, but I don't miss those ferries! Only tourist like the ferries because they aren't trying to get to work on one. Oops, missed it. Next one? Oops, missed it again!

Now I am in the sunny mountains in Colorado living at 6500 feet. I can be in the next state in less time now than it took me to drive across Lake Washington at 5 PM on a Monday.

[miss_kitty]

4. jeeezus keeerist

how many more fuckin times do i have to vote yes for this...were you here to vote no on the goddamned baseball stadium? remember how 'NO' won? and what do we have? a fucking baseball stadium. and that only came up for vote once. so fuck i guess we just keep voting for it until 'NO' wins, then we'll get the Monorail?
and didn't Paul 'Daddy Warbucks' Allen's Football Stadium lose too?

so where'd you escape to?

[dad]

8. -

Our taxpayer-funded new basketball stadium lost the vote, so after the election city council decided to fund it with our money anyway, and not do a second vote. Same clowns keep getting re-elected too.

[Zomby Woof]

14. Yeah, those stadiums cemented any end to mass transit

I was invited, as a registered voter, to attend a KING-5 taping of a town hall style Q&A on which type of mass transit we should adopt, in which we were polled in the audience with push-button monitors. The usual suspects were there from city hall and the county council... this was in 1992. We argues light rail vs heavy rail, monorail vs more buses and ferries, etc... it was a waste of time.

So I am now at 7000 feet in northern AZ. Still expensive, but at least I have a permanent job, and an EASY commute which won't steal my time or my soul. It's green, leans Democratic, has a culture, and recently, our city council voted AGAINST big box stores like the WalMart supercenter from coming in. We do NOT want to be like Hell (PHX) to the south.

I still have lots of friends in Seattle. I will enjoy coming back as a tourist, and will have no problem finding my way around.

[sandnsea]

9. I HATE Seattle!!!

And I've never even been! I'm dealing with insurance from a car accident in Seattle. Does anybody WORK up there??? Do you always have to kick people in the ass to get them to do something? They even lost the keys to the car!! The body shop said he'd try to find them at the tow yard, then didn't bother to call me for a week to tell me he hadn't found them. Ask for a normal thing, like a copy of an estimate, get ALL KINDS of attitude. Seattle, you suck!

[miss_kitty]

10. Thank you

please tell that to as many people as you can. especially if they are thinking of moving here. and no none of us work here. we are too busy drinking coffee, listening to grunge music, posing, trying to get things done between downpours, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and testing the latest in computer gadgetry. and we're all too rich to care. :evilgrin:

ps sorry about the car bullshit.

[Zomby Woof]

11. maybe 10 years ago that was true

And that's the problem... unless you are rich, Seattle sucks. It still ranks high in unemployment, too high in real estate and too many REI yuppies with Volve station wagons and too much self-importance.

I used to love it... but it was an unrequited love after a long time, and really, I was HAPPY to leave. Emmett Watson died at the right time. Even HE had to leave.

Life is too short to be staring at some fucking bumper all day.

And his car insurance story rings true... that is the kind of passive-aggressive bullshit about Seattle that turns people off.

[tigereye]

36. I really liked it when I visited my best friend from college

a number of years back. I live in Pittsburgh, so grey days are not that unusual. Seattle was so rainy and green and progressive. And the mountains and the water. Beautiful! But I don't think I could take 50 degrees all the time. I would love to visit again soon, but I don't know if I could live there.

[ismnotwasm]

20. And don't forget

It rains all the time. I love Seattle even though Seattle and surrounding areas have been thoroughly infested with southern California developers who think everything needs to look like a desert--just like down there. Trees? In the way. We do have a shitty gov'ment tho'. Microsoft and others were pied pipers luring people up here, and suddenly we have this huge community without a freeway system to support them, not to mention, the lose of jobs. Everyone who is leaving, I wish you the best, and I'm sorry it didn't work out--Now, if we can rip down some of those ugly condos, and replant our flora---hmmm

[woofless]

25. Yeah, and Whatcom county sucksoutloud too.

Don't come here........way too crowded.....dirty water..filthy air

[DrWeird]

29. That's right.

No good place to find good burgers. Nothing to do outdoors. There aren't any good used book stores. Large clouds of chlorine gas drifting through downtown bellingham...

[flamingyouth]

31. And it's haunted!

Everyone, please stay away!

[shingashong]

39. Do tell!!! n/t

[shingashong]

37. OMG, edited...

Same here. I'm originally from California (before any native Washingtonians yell at me, please know my hubby grew up here!!!), but we moved up here to Whatcom County in 2003. It's KIND of growing on me...but the rain is something I'm trying to adjust to.

Whatcom County does suck but not that bad...LOL.

ETA: duhhh you posted to me in the WA forumm...I asked "You live in Whatcom County?" LOL!!!!

[flamingyouth]

23. No, actually no one does work up here

I call it Lazy Town.

[ismnotwasm]

30. yup

We're a buncha Birkenstock-wearing pinko hippies on welfare. Oops, maybe not, 'cause how would we afford the Birkenstock's? I know! Value Village on Capital hill! (my favorite boutique)

[Wat_Tyler]

12. I love Seattle. I mean, it's no Vancouver, but I have a fondness for it.

[Zomby Woof]

13. oh, it has good qualities

The beauty is amazing, if you you could just get rid of the too many millions of peoiple infesting it...

I used to brag about it to friends living in those awful east coast cities - Seattle is much cleaner, etc - but as the saying goes, nice place to visit...

[cmf]

15. Bwahahaha!

I love this website. I live outside of Seattle, but work there. I think Seattle's great, but I can definitely appreciate it's finer points of suckiness. The mass transit issue has to be #1. I think it's ridiculous that Houston has actually built a light rail system in the time that Seattle has managed to only vote on it time and time again.

[Wat_Tyler]

16. Jeez, Calgary and Edmonton have had Light Rail for 15 years

and Seattle has double the population of both those cities combined.

[bikebloke]

17. Another escapee from Seattle

Seven years as a third class citizen. Good jobs were reserves for locals - relatives and drinking cronies with top preference. If you did work, it was to pull the slack of the fucking royals with all the money and benefits. None here.

Sure the scenery is nice on a clear sunny day. But people make the city, and Seattle-shites generally were an unfriendly lot. Except for the gay women, who were the most friendly and normal folk in that town. At least towards me, and I'm a straight bloke. Thanks you guys. Your humanity helped me through.

The only bright spot is the dreary weather.

Blimey, my first rant.

[Zomby Woof]

18. you nailed it

And when I finally broke the third class tier into second class after 12 years, my employer went under after 9/11 a year later... we weren't a dotcom, but we were funded like one... weeeeeeeeee!

[The empressof all]

19. It's true about people not being friendly

It's like they hibernate in their own minds.

It is beautiful though and for the most part I like it here-then again I don't commute on the freeway.

[miss_kitty]

21. well shit I'm sorry I missed you and all the other cool people who got

the 'unfriendly treatment'...that's usually non-natives.
When I was younger, we all used to smile and say hi to each other. Then we started being called "America's Best Place to Live.'

Fuck...then all the total assholes started moving here. I have lived a block from Lake Union for 25 years. The house boats have been there nearly a century. They were really run down for decades, but it started getting better.
The Boeing Co used to build and fly seaplanes off the lake. There has been an aviation presence on the lake since the 1910s. All of the sudden a few years ago, a bunch of asshats from California who had taken over wanted to BAN THE SEAPLANES ON LAKE UNION...shit. If they liked their old place so much, they should have stay THERE?

So this is what has happened here...the reason I don't get out and meet and greet cool folks like you any more, is i stick pretty close to home these days. People are just TOO RUDE here now.

"The only bright spot is the dreary weather." ahahahahahaha! quite hilarious!

[bif]

22. You should see what we have in Detroit!

It's a monorail thqt goes around in a big loop. It serves almost no useful function. I call it "The Train to Nowhere." And it only cost the taxpayers $200 million!

[noonwitch]

24. The People Mover was supposed to be bigger

Originally. Money was mismanaged and it ended up just covering the downtown area. At the very least, it should hook up Wayne State/New Center area with downtown.

I would love to see a train system like Chicago's in Detroit. It would benefit the city so well, especially poor people who shouldn't need to waste their money on a car to get to work on time (the bus system does not hook up well from city to suburb). If they could put trains along Woodward to Pontiac, along Gratiot to Mt. Clemens, along Michigan to at least Westland, but AA would be better, and along Grand River to Novi, we'd be doing good. Then run one along 8 Mile road to link them all east to west. Then the bus system could be refocused on linking people to the trains, so it would be more efficient.

It seems to be impossible to get people out of the "We build them, we'll drive them" mindset, even though we don't build so many of them now.

[FrankBooth]

26. Adios

I love Seattle. I guess I'm just one of those awful people who lives there.

[skypilot]

27. "Passive-aggressive people"

I thought it was just me. I visited Seattle twice about ten years ago. I didn't take much notice of the people the first time because I was really just taking in the city as a whole. The second time I went there the people just rubbed me really wrong. It took me by surprise because everyone had told me that the people were so nice. I didn't have that experience. And I was there during the summer and the weather was sunny the entire time. In all fairness, I have to say that I was only there a week each time. With more time I'm sure I would have met some nicer people but frankly I came away with a bad taste in my mouth.

[Zomby Woof]

33. All the nice people

In my experience, were from somewhere else... exceptions abound of course.

[miss_kitty]

40. damn ZW, my experience has always been exactly

the opposite! :evilgrin:

[skypilot]

49. That was exactly my experience.

If someone started talking to me and seemed really nice I'd ask where they were from. The answer was never "Seattle". I met people from California, Colorado, Hawaii, and even New York. I pretty much got the idea after a while. I think I know who the natives were. They were the people giving me wary looks as they passed me on the street.

[tigereye]

38. people do stop at crosswalks in Seatle and don't seem to mind

that is pretty unusual. Here in Pgh. it is like, why can't I just run you over? or why are you walking, anyway?
;)

[Zomby Woof]

41. Jaywalking is punishable by death in Seattle

And Seattleites know I am not joking.

They pride themselves on being polite to pedestrians, but try driving behind them in Ballard, and it will test your patience! They are just SLOW.

[flamingyouth]

42. Hey, I grew up in Ballard, learned to drive in Ballard...

...it's all true, what the man says. :D

[Zomby Woof]

43. I love ya no matter what!

My friends in Seattle ROCK! :yourock:

[miss_kitty]

48. i have always been a jaywalker

in fact, i used to have a rule that when I went to Seattle Art I had to jaywalk at least once. I still jaywalk when I need to, and in over 35 years of jaywalking here I have never been nailed.:) I am very careful. I'll tell ya, the only time I have ever been hit by a car, i was in a crosswalk crossing with the light. On my way to the Virginia Inn.

[Zomby Woof]

50. a friend visiting from the east coast

He has that superior east coast attitude (and I loathe the east coast and its filthy grimy cities... I still LOVE Seattle compared to any of them), and he got caught right away! It was a bicycle cop ho snagged him... and I was able to talk him out of fining my friend the $45 or whatever, lol.

This was on 1st Avenue, just a block east of Pike Place Market.

I ate a good sandwich at the Virginia Inn once... used to work at the Federal Building 5 years ago, and tried every bar within a short walk at least once. :-)

[miss_kitty]

51. I am very careful, and have strict rules

when i jaywalk, i must never make cars slowdown or stop for me. that is wrong. also i scan pretty hard for cops before i take the plunge.
They nailed a Nobel prize winning scientist at a convention in the convention center...I think they wait around in the area during the conventions.

[baby_bear]

28. I know you don't really mean it, ZombyWoof

Seattle has great protests and the Two Bells Tavern!! As you well know...

I just got back from a boat trip to Poulsbo for the weekend. Ran into some old friends, made three new ones, cruised in the fog, watched baseball, drank too much, and generally had a great time.

Get in touch when you come back for a visit. In the meantime, enjoy Flagstaff. Is Babbitt's department store still there?

Cheers,
s_m

[Zomby Woof]

32. Seattle is fun

If you have money.

Yeah, all kinds of Babbitt stuff... too bad Paul Babbitt is trailing Repuke Rick Renzi in the congressional race...

Yeah, I will try visiting next summer. I want a DU gathering, dammit! :D

[baby_bear]

45. You can get a DU gathering

Just name the time and I will arrange a place!

s_m

[Zomby Woof]

47. not the Two Bells!

Too boring! ;-) My favorite pub was the Owl and Thistle, especially when they had live music.

It will be next year before you are graced with my cute face. :evilgrin:

(Sierra_Moon has actually marched with me in anti-war rallies... folks, she IS COOL!)

[ikojo]

34. St Charles, MO (near St Louis) voted twice against

expansion of Metrolink, the light rail system in St Louis. They didn't want "those people" coming across the river to steal their big tee-vees and escaping on the train. PLEASE! So, to this day when I hear a St Charles resident complain about the high cost of gas and how long they sit in traffic, I say, "isn't it a shame St Charles voted down Metrolink?"

[MadChatter]

44. I love Seattle!

I've been here 5 years, and have never been better. Financially and emotionally.

[baby_bear]

46. Hi MadChatter

Welcome to DU from another Seattleite. I've been here 19 years and 10 months. Looks like I'm here for awhile. I just take the bus fromm Queen Anne to my downtown job, stay out of my car as much as possible, and watch myself when crossing streets in downtown Seattle because the drivers are looking out for themselves for sure. Other than that, and aside from an occasional despondent period due to rain, I just love it here.

If you don't like the water, you have the mountains, and vice-versa. And everyone has Mt. Rainier and the excitement of figuring what it going to go first, the viaduct or Mt. St. Helens (again).

s_m

[Josey Wales]

52. Seattle...

I used to work for a company based in the Seattle area and I always thought of the place as a very nice place to visit because of how unique it was but I would hate to live there.

I was there for an outdoor company get-together in late August (it was barely raining, of course) and I was told that there had only been 11 days of sunshine that entire summer. Truth be told, I was there at times in the summer when it was sunny & clear and the beauty of the surrounding area was breathtaking but those days were supposedly very rare.

I was there several times in December for an entire week and we never saw the sun and the temperature was constantly between 38-44 degrees, and it was very, very wet. There were storms that would kick in with 30-40 mph winds and the cold rain would be coming in sideways. There wasn't light until 8:00am in the morning and it was dark at 4:00pm.

What a miserable existence!!!

I live in Texas and we have extremes in weather but I know I can golf (most of the time while wearing shorts) in this state 12 months a year. I guess it is what you are used to but give me a nasty hot August day in Dallas over December in Seattle any day.

To be fair, the people were very nice. They were much different than Texans but nevertheless very enjoyable and I got along with them very well.