Comments on: Survived the one-year threshold and still lovin’ Seattle

By: Kayla

Kayla — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:42:01 +0000

My husband and I are in our mid-20’s and thinking about re-locating to Seattle and plan to come out for a visit over Labor Day. We are currently living in Minneapolis. What tips can you give me about what to see and do while we’re there so we can get a good taste of what Seattle would be like as our new hometown? Thanks!

By: Michael P Lindekugel

Michael P Lindekugel — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:08:19 +0000

you have discovered the color we get in the Pacific NW is not a tan. its rust.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:16:15 +0000

Thanks guys! Yes, traffic I’m sure can be worse, but only L.A. Or NYC Could compare to Chicago – construction is nonstop and its just not close to comparable to Seattle.

Tim, agreed. But, yes, I meant if you are taking the bus strictly within Seattle. I.e. North Seattle to downtown or the like. Heard the bus routes to bellevue or elsewhere are not so grand.Hopefully, that improves someday.

By: The Tim

The Tim — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:47:41 +0000

Thanks for pulling that back out, Dustin. I see that I misformatted that link at the end, which is probably why it got spam-canned. Navigating Transit in Seattle is as Easy as 1, 37, 12! Stupid phpBB is giving me bad habits.

By: The Tim

The Tim — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:54:28 +0000

Hmm. I left another comment on here, but I think it went to the spam bin. Anybody out there that can rescue it for me?

By: The Tim

The Tim — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:39:47 +0000

Karen, I’m curious what led you to the conclusion that “the bus system is extremely efficient.”

I suppose if all you want to do is go to or from downtown Seattle or Bellevue then yeah, it’s pretty nice. But for just about anything else, it seems pretty useless in my experience.

For example, I live in Kenmore and used to work in Redmond (which is obviously a fairly major employment center). Driving (even in traffic) took about 45 minutes. Riding my bicycle took about 45 minutes. Taking the bus from the large park & ride near my house would have required at least one transfer, and taken over an hour and a half door to door.

Annoyances with the transit system inspired me to write this recent article on The Naked Loon: [url=http://nakedloon.com/living/2008/06/26/navigating-transit-in-seattle-is-as-easy-as-1-37-12/]Navigating Transit in Seattle is as Easy as 1, 37, 12![/url]

By: Kary L. Krismer

Kary L. Krismer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:38:18 +0000

With snow my practice is to simply wait for everyone else to get off the road or get stuck. And to try to avoid main roads which become stop and go nightmares.

Once when I worked in Bellevue that meant waiting until about 8:00 at night to try to get home, but it was worth it. If I’d left earlier I probably would have been home about the same time–because I did have to cross a bridge back then.

By: Leanne

Leanne — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:09:09 +0000

… ARE idiots! Need more Seattle coffee …

By: Leanne

Leanne — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:08:03 +0000

Great article Karen, I’m a Seattle native, so if you ever need any translations, let me know.

Ahhhh Kary, you know that the snow we get is rare, and that there is idiots driving out there who somehow missed the fact that our snow is wet and freezes nicely, thus making for a really fun skid-course on which to compete … Especially on our nice hills – the race isn’t who gets to the bottom first or top first on snowy dayts – the race is to see if you don’t get stuck at an embarassing parking angle and have to ditch your car and lose the race !

I’m with you on the traffic! Horrendous, but it does seem lighter, is everyone on vacation, or is it price of gas?

By: Kary L. Krismer

Kary L. Krismer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:15:38 +0000

Good points, but two comments.

First–snow. One year is not enough time to judge snowfall in Seattle. We only have a decent snowfall maybe every 5 years or so. When it happens you’ll find cars abandoned all over the place.

Second–traffic. The price of gas has had an effect. It’s not nearly as bad now as it used to be. Also, certain areas are worse than others, even today.