# What's it like living in the Seattle area? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623 "2011-04-16T17:11:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/61 "2011-09-06T23:04:05Z")
PS - after reading your note about Ottawa weather, Western WA will be a pretty sizeable step up! And, frankly, do you have to live on Bainbridge? There are a lot of communities to the North, South and East that are just as purty, but don’t entail ferries and a nasty commute. One of my bosses’ lives in Bellevue to the East of Seattle and timewise, the commute isn’t that bad - about 20-25 minutes. So, there are other location options that are certainly more appealing commute wise than Bainbridge. IMHO, that is. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/62 "2011-09-06T23:18:31Z")
> [@all1966](#): > > And, frankly, do you have to live on Bainbridge? There are a lot of communities to the North, South and East that are just as purty, but don’t entail ferries and a nasty commute. One of my bosses’ lives in Bellevue to the East of Seattle and timewise, the commute isn’t that bad - about 20-25 minutes. So, there are other location options that are certainly more appealing commute wise than Bainbridge. IMHO, that is. Yes, this - did I miss a reason why you need to live on Bainbridge? Tho I’m not sure that Bellevue is all that much better if you drive to work - now, if you take the bus it’s fine! (Didn’t they put the toll back on the Evergreen bridge?) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/63 "2011-09-06T23:20:03Z")
I guess I won’t complain about Seattle weather again compared with Ottawa. Shesh. The big thing about Seattle is that it is grey a lot. The clouds are usually very high up though, so it’s pretty light. And every doctor I’ve seen over the past year has asked “are you taking vitamin D every day?” The plus is that the rain doesn’t stop anyone from doing anything. I’ve never seen people anywhere else in the world use umbrellas less than in Seattle. So, if you can handle pitifully minimal amount of sun, the rest of it is pretty nice. And as pointed out, you’re here during the worst heatwave of the past 2 summers and I believe the high on Saturday will be 86 degrees F. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/64 "2011-09-07T12:02:01Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > I’m here in Bainbridge Island and it is so beautiful and peaceful. It’s just gorgeous here!!! There are woods and hiking trails and real forests and you can see the stars at night. I like here. But I am scared witless! It would mean a move across country. And I would have to get a driver’s license. (I’ve only recently learned to drive. About…oh…three months ago.) And my husband wouldn’t get to work from home anymore. He’d have to commute to Seattle instead. So I wouldn’t have him around all day. I’m absolutely terrified! What the hell do I do? I had the same thoughts when I fled from Utah to Portland. I knew absolutely no one here except the kids’ mom and the kids, new job, new place to live, super de dooper stress. We got lost trying to find the closest grocery store just to buy food! But in the end, it was totally worth it. 12 years later and I’m still in the PNW and absolutely love it. ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/65 "2011-09-07T17:59:36Z")
There will be a toll on the 520 bridge, if the state ever gets its act together - I think they’re shooting for December. And there’s heavy debate on whether to toll I-90 as well, as the conventional wisdom is commuters will flee to 90 to avoid the toll on 520 (both are east/west bridges linking Seattle to Bellevue, etc). I think our lovely DOT would give their eyeteeth and then some to have every main road in the state tolled, but for now, it’s just the Narrows Bridge, the HOV lanes on 167 and forthcoming, 520. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/66 "2011-09-07T18:33:09Z")
> [@all1966](#): > > There will be a toll on the 520 bridge, if the state ever gets its act together - I think they’re shooting for December. And there’s heavy debate on whether to toll I-90 as well, as the conventional wisdom is commuters will flee to 90 to avoid the toll on 520 (both are east/west bridges linking Seattle to Bellevue, etc). I think our lovely DOT would give their eyeteeth and then some to have every main road in the state tolled, but for now, it’s just the Narrows Bridge, the HOV lanes on 167 and forthcoming, 520. I can’t imagine that many would decide to take the 90 instead of the 520 - that’s a heck of a detour. Particularly if they worked any where north of the U of W. OTOH, what is the proposed toll? I think it was 35 cents when they took it off years ago. On another hand, the back ups used to be gawdawful, so maybe taking the 90 would be faster?? ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/67 "2011-09-07T18:43:59Z")
I think what the state is considering is a fluctuating toll, based on the time of day - like a peak user fee sort of thing - and ranging from a couple bucks on up - definitely more than .35, sadly! IMO, it’s simply an excuse to get 90 tolled as well to bring in more money they can fritter away on useless things that have nothing to do with traffic. I think after a short period of time, commuters would just suck it up and adjust to the toll for the simple convenience factor. That’s what’s happened on the Narrows. For as much as us Kitsap Penn folks fussed about not wanting the new bridge, it really has helped traffic flow. My hub takes it every day, and we’ve just budgeted accordingly for the toll. And yet, the state continues to look for ways to complicate the tolling - “photo tolling” is the fiasco du jour - no more toll booths on the Narrows bridge - we’ll take a picture of your licence plate and send you a bill. Cuz that makes so much more sense than just paying as you go. Idjits. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/68 "2011-09-07T19:09:30Z")
Found this chart that talks about the tolls. > **[Toll roads, bridges & tunnels | WSDOT](https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/roads-bridges/toll-roads-bridges-tunnels)** > > Learn about express toll lanes, bridges and tunnels in Washington state, and how to save money on every toll with a Good To Go! account. Up to $50.00 if you don’t have a Good to Go pass ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/69 "2011-09-07T19:28:23Z")
Ya, up to $5.00 peak, without a Good-To-Go sticker on your car. The good news is, if you travel the 520 from 11pm-5am, ya pay zip, zilch, nada. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/70 "2011-09-07T19:41:03Z")
:smack::smack:Yeah, I meant to type $5.00. Somehow that extra zero slipped in there. Fortunately for me, I’m rarely up that way anyway. This weekend was the first time I’d been on 520 in years. I went to UW to rent a canoe and do some paddling around. ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/71 "2011-09-07T20:29:28Z")
> [@Taters](#): > > :smack::smack:Yeah, I meant to type $5.00. Somehow that extra zero slipped in there. > > Fortunately for me, I’m rarely up that way anyway. This weekend was the first time I’d been on 520 in years. I went to UW to rent a canoe and do some paddling around. PERFECT weekend for paddling around UW 🙂 'Nother perfect one coming up, too! ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/72 "2011-09-07T21:51:42Z")
It was great! The Montlake Cut was kind of scary to get across with all the big boat/yacht traffic coming through there, but we had a blast. We had to wait for little dip in the traffic and paddle like hell to get across there quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/73 "2011-09-07T22:13:01Z")
Most people fear change. People that surrender to that fear lead boring lives. There is never a perfect time to change jobs, get married, buy a house, or have a kid. There is, however, lots of right times to do those things. Mostly the right time is when it is possible without causing big problems. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/74 "2011-09-08T03:07:38Z")
> [@all1966](#): > > PERFECT weekend for paddling around UW 🙂 'Nother perfect one coming up, too! We might have seen you out there as we were on the way to go crabbing (we got some red rocks and some dungeness - good eatin’) before the season ended. ---
**Author:** ![FoundWaldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@FoundWaldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoundWaldo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/75 "2011-09-08T04:46:30Z")
> [@Clockwork\_Jackal](#): > > People keep complaining about the weather, but I’m not sure how it could be worse than Ottawa This is likely true, in the same sense that hitting my thumb with a hammer isn’t worse than cutting it off with a circular saw, but I try to avoid both 😉 I need more sun and warmth than I got in Seattle. I’ve lived in places with more extreme weather (both hot and cold). I lived in Seattle for quite a while. I have a good handle on the tradeoffs. And for me, the Seattle weather is actually worse than the extremes because it never actually gets warm enough for me, and it never gets sunny enough. I’ll take a cold winter to get a hot summer if I have to (thankfully I don’t), but grey and 65 all the time is not ok. I’m not joking around or exaggerating. I was very depressed by the weather after about a year. I only stuck around so long because of my job and general inertia, but it got worse every year, and I felt dramatically better as soon as I moved. Obviously this is very personal. If it doesn’t bother you, by all means move. I know a lot of people who still live there and love it. It is a great area. But I do think it’s a real mistake to visit in August, during what is quite literally the best weather of the entire year, and judge the place by that. It is no exaggeration to say that the weather will be nothing like that for probably 10 months of the year. I can’t count how many Seattle transplants I’ve talked to who come in loving it because they moved in the Summer, and by about February they’re really wondering what the hell they got themselves into. All that said, I do agree with Kevbo that there is no perfect time nor is there a perfect place. No move has to be permanent. If you think you’ll like it, give it a shot. I don’t want to tell you not to do it, but I don’t want you to underestimate how oppressive and depressing the climate can be if your personality is like mine. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/76 "2011-09-08T05:39:24Z")
> [@all1966](#): > > I think what the state is considering is a fluctuating toll, based on the time of day - like a peak user fee sort of thing - and ranging from a couple bucks on up - definitely more than .35, sadly! This is what they do here - higher tolls for peak traffic times. I think the cheapest on the 91 (the freeway to hell - I mean, Riverside) is about $3 in the middle of the night. However, that toll is there to pay for the construction of the lifesaving Fastrack lanes - not that I think they’ll take the toll off when they are paid for! > [@](#): > > And yet, the state continues to look for ways to complicate the tolling - “photo tolling” is the fiasco du jour - no more toll booths on the Narrows bridge - we’ll take a picture of your licence plate and send you a bill. Cuz that makes so much more sense than just paying as you go. Idjits. Huh? Instead of using the Good To Go? > [@FoundWaldo](#): > > grey and 65 all the time is not ok. I’m not joking around or exaggerating. I was very depressed by the weather after about a year. I only stuck around so long because of my job and general inertia, but it got worse every year, and I felt dramatically better as soon as I moved. This is me, except I was born up there and didn’t know any better about the weather until I started traveling further than Oregon, Idaho and Montana, and traveling more overall. I’ve lived here in S Cal for almost 20 years now and I still bless the sun and blue sky every morning! ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/77 "2011-09-08T17:38:50Z")
**Curlcoat,** there will still be the Good To Go (I checked the WSDOT site just to be sure); the photo-tolling will be for people who would be using the toll-booths, ie, vacationers, occasional visitors, people too lazy to get a GTG pass…you know, the folks who when they get a “bill” in the mail for using the bridge will promptly pop payment in the mail. Instead of glancing at quickly then round-filing, cuz, yeah, “I live in the mid-west and this was a one shot visit - I’m going to mail you a check for 5 bucks? Right.” Or maybe that’s just me being cynical. ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/78 "2011-09-08T17:42:39Z")
I have a friend who recently got a kayak - I should direct her to the UW area, per **Taters** feedback about the level of awesome for same 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/79 "2011-09-08T17:44:03Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Most people fear change. People that surrender to that fear lead boring lives. There is never a perfect time to change jobs, get married, buy a house, or have a kid. There is, however, lots of right times to do those things. Mostly the right time is when it is possible without causing big problems. This. Spot-On. I’m very curious to hear what the OP ultimately decides to do! ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623/80 "2011-09-08T17:46:50Z")
> [@all1966](#): > > **Curlcoat,** there will still be the Good To Go (I checked the WSDOT site just to be sure); the photo-tolling will be for people who would be using the toll-booths, ie, vacationers, occasional visitors, people too lazy to get a GTG pass…you know, the folks who when they get a “bill” in the mail for using the bridge will promptly pop payment in the mail. Instead of glancing at quickly then round-filing, cuz, yeah, “I live in the mid-west and this was a one shot visit - I’m going to mail you a check for 5 bucks? Right.” Or maybe that’s just me being cynical. Ooooh. Yeah - stupid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-living-in-the-seattle-area/578623.md?page=5)