I Hate Seattle

I fucking hate it here. I moved here for college and it has been the most miserable 4 years of my life. I'm moving in a few days and I'm ecstatic! Finally! When I first moved here, I was basically only concerned about the weather. I was used to over 300 days of sun per year so being in the rain for the majority of the year concerned me. While the weather is crap, it's actually the least of my concerns and the most minor of all things. I don't enjoy being under cloud cover for the majority of the year (the summers are shit too) but it's not the weather that makes me hate this place, it's the people and the environment as a whole.

Growing up in CA and NV, I had never once been exposed to people like this before. So many people here are idiotic, unnecessarily judgmental, and condescending. As someone previously mentioned, it's almost impossible to have a decent conversation with the people here. There's no reciprocation. It's not possible to carry on a conversation with someone who only gives one word responses. I've never had this hard of a time making friends before. It's simply not possible to make friends with people who immediately judge you and don't attempt connect with you. The people here are so strange! They aren't down to earth or easy going, they just seem to be cold and indifferent. For a while, I wondered if it's me but then I realized that immediately once I get out of the area, all of these issues stop. No one is friendly or considerate of others. People drop doors on you all the time (even when your arms are full). In the occasions that I've actually held a door for someone, people either glare or stare at me like they don't understand what I'm doing before walking through the door without saying anything - no thank you, nothing. If you smile at someone, don't expect to have that reciprocated. Instead, expect a glare or a blank stare.

The traffic is ridiculous. I've heard so many people say "Oh, the traffic in LA is horrible." I'd rather drive in LA rush hour than drive 5 blocks to the store here. At least people there know how to drive and seem like they're going somewhere. I seriously question whether anyone has actually taken driver's ed here. Turn signals are optional - a brilliant idea right? Not only are they optional, head checks apparently are as well. I've seen so many close calls on the freeway where people just swerve into the other lane, no warning, no checking. Furthermore, everyone paces! 4 cars pacing across 4 lanes of traffic = 1 massive traffic jam. Why is that so difficult to understand? If I speed up to pass you, don't speed up to pace me. I honestly don't feel like I'm asking for too much, I'm just asking for people to generally follow the rules of the road. People can't even go the fucking speed limit!

During the winter, it's like no one has ever seen snow before, despite that I've seen it snow every winter for the last four years. You'd imagine that they'd invest in some snow removal equipment by now. But nope, they have them all sent over from Spokane which is about 4 hours away. That's efficient right? People literally park their cars in the middle of the freeway when there is an inch of snow on the ground. Are you fucking kidding me?! That's a brilliant idea. My opinion may be biased considering that I've had to drive to school with 2 feet of snow on the ground but come on, this is still crossing some very basic lines. The amount of accidents I see as a result of an inch of snow and very light flutter is ridiculous. The fact that 16 year olds who just learned how to drive can navigate windy mountain roads with 2 feet of snow on the ground and 10 feet of visibility just goes to show how pathetic this situation is. Get your shit together, Seattle.

The roads are all crap too. I've never seen so many potholes in one area before. Many of the streets are paved over brick roads that were laid down a century ago. Look in some of the potholes, I guarantee you'll see brick down in some of them. It's not the proper way to lay down roads so everything is falling apart. Do they bother fixing them and actually doing it right? Nope, they just keep filling in the potholes and patching the massive cracks. Like that'll solve the problem.. The sewage system is also old and out of date. The storm water and sewage system are interlinked. If it rains a lot (which happens fairly often here - duh), the sewers will flood and begin flowing out of the drains on the street. Yeah, that river of crap going down the road during a rainstorm, it literally is crap. It might be good to think twice about stepping in that shit.

I don't understand the people who absolutely love this place. I don't understand the point of paying out of my ass for a mediocre apartment in a mediocre area. My rent is $1400 for a supposedly nice 700 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment in a super crappy area. Hobos sleep in the back alley that my apartment faces. In my search for sex offenders, I realized that there are approximately 30 in a 5 block radius. Great! Yeah, I can walk to the Safeway a couple blocks away (something some people would consider awesome or convenient - clearly I'm not one of those people) but in the process of doing so, I'll most likely see human shit on the sidewalk and be drenched by the rain in the process. I've even been stalked on my way to class at 8:30 in the morning! What is there to love about that?!

Despite being a city, there really isn't much to do around here other than getting drunk off your ass in Capitol Hill. The beaches are shit and actually have signs warning people to not eat the shellfish they find there because of the toxins in the water. Why are there toxins in the water? Look up where the sewage is pumped out, it's right around the corner. Yeah, I really want to go swimming in that shit.. That holds true for just about any beach you can find around here. The nearest ski resort is an hour and a half away and charges ridiculous prices for admission. A season pass to Crystal Mountain and a total of 2600 acres is at least $600 if you get a "good deal." Back in CA, a season pass to three different resorts and a total of 9800 acres (in the immediate area) is $300.

Nothing ever just works out like it should here. Customer service is practically nonexistent. So many times I've walked into a restaurant just to have the staff stare at me like I'm an idiot because I don't know to seat myself and buss my own table, despite there being a lack of signs or any instruction of any form. If you have a question at a store and need assistance, expect the shortest and most unhelpful response ever. That's assuming you can actually find someone to help you to begin with. The employees act like you're bothering them for asking them to do their jobs. What the hell do you think you're being payed for?! Recently, my bf took his car in to be serviced, have the oil changed, and to have his bumper adjusted (since they did the body work on it when someone backed into his car). The shop washed his car.. that's it. They literally "forgot" about everything else. This isn't something that happens once in a while either, it happens all the fucking time! On top of that, I've never seen so many homeless people in one area before, it's probably because this city caters to the homeless. I've even heard homeless people say that they like it here because of that!

Last but not least, the people who live here think they're the shit. They go around strutting their stuff and acting like hot shit when they're clearly not. They think they know what's going on since they live in this hellhole of a city. I'm so sick of this "I'm better than everyone else" mentality that everyone seems to share here. I would like to add that while this obviously doesn't apply to everyone in this city, I've noticed that it does apply to the majority. That's enough for me to hate this place. Clearly I'm not the only person who does either. I'm glad I found this site. I don't think I've ever despised a location and the majority it's people so much before. I'm so happy that I'm getting out of this shithole. I don't plan on ever coming back.

I came to Seattle from a small town to attend college at UW. I did my best to like this place. I tried to fit in and be a Seattleite. In the end, I just couldn't and I will be leaving for beautiful San Antonio in about a year.
Here's why:

1. The weather. It is currently an afternoon in late April. It's currently 43 degrees and drizzling outside. It's been more or less like this since about the middle of September of last year. It's going to be like this for another two months. Sometime in early July, the sun will come out and the temperature will get about 70 for a few weeks. The locals will immediately start complaining about the heat, of course. After these few wonderful sunshiny weeks, the dark depressing drizzle will start again and envelop Seattle in a shroud for about 10 months. The locals always say how there is so much to do here outdoors. The window to do anything outdoors is basically July and August. Have you ever tried to go hiking sometime in the fall? I have and it's absolutely miserable. Fishing? Miserable. Jogging? Miserable. Barbecuing? Miserable. It's like constantly living in a damp moldy basement. The locals themselves don't do anything outdoors either. I've never seen so many adult World of Warcraft players in my life. The whole "outdoorsy Seattle person" is really just a myth.

2. The people. I have not made one friend who is actually from the Seattle area. My girlfriend is from Nevada, my best friend is from Chicago, and I'm friends with people from California, Texas, and a few other places. I can not name one native Seattleite who I am friends with. And it's not due to a lack of trying. Only in Seattle can a guy invite 20 people to a backyard barbecue only to have 1 person show up. The people here are very insular and unfriendly. Every time I try to be friendly to someone, they get this terrified look on their face or try to avoid making eye contact with me. I've noticed this more times than I can count. What is the deal with people not making eye contact? The only people who I seem to be able to have normal conversations with are non-native Seattleites or the weird hobos who hang out in downtown. People here are more content with living in their own little world and not even making an attempt at human connection.

3. The people. Yes, I know I have mentioned Seattle people before. But it is just so difficult to describe the people here to someone who doesn't live here.

Your typical Seattle guy: mid 20's - mid 30's, white, pale, scuzzy unkept beard, about 50 pounds underweight, thick rimmed glasses, man bag, works either as a techie, an artist, or for some non-profit, liberal, doesn't travel much outside of Seattle, poor hygiene, wears hiking gear year round, always has a smug "I'm superior to you" attitude, has a Sociology/Art History/Comparative History of Ideas degree from the UW, rides bike to work, no social skills whatsoever,

Your typical Seattle woman: mid 20's - mid 30's, white, pale, about 100 lbs overweight, works as an artist, for some non-profit, or as a secretary, doesn't travel outside of Seattle much, poor hygiene, wears hiking gear year round, smug bitch-like attitude, has a Women's Studies/[Insert name of ethnic group] Studies/Art History/ other bullshit degree from the uw, lack of social skills.

A couple observations about people here: Seattle is very much a group-think kind of town. Any diversity of opinion is not welcome here. Seattleites will be pleasant to you as long as you agree with them about everything. Seattleites don't handle ideas other than their own very well. The moment an idea different from their own viewpoint slips out of your mouth, they will either shun you or they will throw a hissy fit. (As in, they start yelling and screaming and swearing at you) You have no idea how many grown adults I've seen throw hissy fits around here.

Wow, it feels good to get that off my chest. I'll probably return later on with some stories of my adventures in Seattle or should I sate Shitattle.

So this is my first post here.

I have to say that I cannot wait to get the hell out of here. I am from Los Angeles. Now before you say that we aren't comparing apples to apples, I have been to many cities before. And for extended amounts of time. I have to say that I have NEVER met as many two faced-flaky-passive aggressive people in my life, as I have met here in Seattle. I have met girls and guys that simply ignore your texts, emails and phone calls. The question is, why give me your info if you don't want me to use it? I think i have enough examples for my sample to be valid. A girl from work invited me to a party that she didn't show for. I met a some dude and his cousins at a bar. He told me to take his info and he would tell me all about the city. He stopped responding after the 3rd message. 3 ladies shared their facebook with me just to ignore my messages. I have since deleted them. Finally, a waitress volunteered her email info to me and again, has not returned any messages.

I went back to L.A. a couple weekends ago and was STUNNED to have people actually come up to me and chat without me asking. There are some cities that I have been to for weekends and have met more people than I have here in 3 months.

In addition to all of this I am really into golf. While I get that rain is just a part of Seattle, by the time I get a chance to go out, the courses are still so muddy and wet that my balls just bury themselves into the ground when they hit. Walking through the course is a nightmare also. The fairways are so wet that your shoes look like balls of mud by the end of the day.

I was warned about the "Seattle Freeze" before I got here. I thought it was a load of crap and that the person telling me about it was just afraid to be social.

Try going to www.ihatelosangeles.com or www.ihatenewyork.com or www.ihatephoenix.com.

While these domain names will exist or redirect you to somewhere else, they will NOT have an active board like this site does. That should tell any skeptics everything they need to know.

This place is WEAK and not for me. Do I feel better now that I have posted? No, I dont. I dream of the day of packing up my car and getting the hell out of here. How can a whole city take on such a pathetic characteristic? Few leaders, many followers is what it sounds like to me. Stop hiding behind your "education" Seattle.

cfg

I always visited Seattle every year or so...LOVED it. When my husbands job brought us here, I was thrilled. I was really excited about being able to live in such a cool, fun city.

Fast forward two years and I want to get the hell out. We're looking for a job transfer to pretty much anywhere else. What changed?

First, the weather is terrible. I knew that it rained a lot before we moved but it's different LIVING in it 24/7. Your nice weather season is pretty much July-September and it's been so f-ing hot and no one has airconditioning so it's miserable. During most of the year, it's hard to take kids to parks or go for walks without assuming that everyone will be wet, cold and complaining the whole time.

The real estate market is a joke. To buy a decent home in a decent area will cost you insane $$$. Most of the 300K homes outside the city are very basic with no backyards. Inside the city, you have to be prepared to pay at least $600K for anything over 1500 sq ft.

The people are cold. I have never had problems making friends before. And still, when we go out of town or on vacation, I meet way more people than I do in Seattle. No one smiles at you on the street or has any sense of politeness. It's much like NYC in that respect. It's very isolating here.

Traffic isn't great - if you compare it to the Bay Area or any other big city, it isn't that bad. But it takes my husband nearly an hour to get home from work and we technically live 20 minutes away.

so yesterday, the small amount of time i spent out of the house i wore a coat, gloves and scarf while walking around by the water!!!! WTF!!!

When we decided we wanted to leave seattle it was because of....
1.the people
2.the rude people
3.the miserable people
4.pets in the grocery store
5.bitches with double wide strollers owning the isles of the smallest trader joes in the country
6.people letting their children drink coffee
7.crime
8.the fat people(more muffin tops out here than in the midwest or the south)
9.the fake sense of liberalism and people acting like they care but really don't.
10.how over-priced it is to live in this 'small town'.
11.homelss peple

Now i can say without a doubt i want to leave because of the weather. this has been the worst spring/ begining of summer in my entire life. when i talk to friends in every other part of the country and see their sunkissed photos on fb, i can't believe i am living in a place where the weather feels like late november. i have lived in seattle for 10 months and have been trying to leave since about 3 months after moving here. we finally have interviews in another city far from here, the first week of july and they can't come soon enough. every day i spend here feels like a waste of my existence.
fuck you seattle!!! yes, i am bitter and ready to go.

I don't know if this has been posted on here, but I thought it was funny and very very true.

Print and cut out this card, which has the 10 most likely responses you'll get from Seattleites if you bring up any negatives about their city. Wait for the discussion to end, hand them this card, and tell them to have a nice day. Better yet, if you're a betting person, bet them that you already know their responses and then hand this to them to collect your prize.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. That happens EVERYWHERE (response to a negative observation about Seattle)
2. Statistically, Seattle is top in ____
3. Oh, yeah? I visited [city name here] and it was a terrible place; I'd never go back, good luck to you.
4. Well, you're not from here, so you don't know.
5. Maybe if you changed your attitude the natives would like you. Sounds like you don't spend enough time outside. This is all your fault.
6. It's not us, it's the rude transplants who are giving you a hard time.
7. You must not be very well educated if you're criticizing Seattle. By the way, that was improper use of that word you just said, FYI.
8. If you don't like it, go home (this one cracks me up whenever said/posted in response to a person's gripe is that people in Seattle aren't very welcoming).
9. Oh, sure, it rains here, but it's so mild most of the year, you don't notice -- it's really warm and sunny in the summer, in fact, it can get downright balmy. Did you know that Seattle actually gets fewer inches of rain that New York, Miami, etc..?
10. Traffic, well, yeah, traffic could be better, but it still only takes me 10 minutes to get from Pike Place to Bellevue.

What did I tell you? Pretty true, huh?

Why the fuck won't it stop being cold and rainy? I looked at a temperature map of America today, and it's at least 75 everywhere except for Seattle. Even Juneau, Alaska is warmer. And the real kicker is that the forecast for next week looks exactly the same. Rain and cold. Where's summer?

Why Seattle SUCKS!

The weather. Hands-down the absolutely worst thing about Seattle. The shit season starts sometime around mid-September and ends sometime in the beginning of July. During this time you can pretty much expect high temps in the low 50's and low temps in the upper 30's, with constant overcast. The locals often point out that Seattle gets less rainfall (in inches) than most other American cities. But what they don't tell you is that it rains just about all the time! It's this annoying drizzle that sticks around for days on end. And you can't really do anything outdoors because it's just so shitty out there. In the wintertime, you can expect darkness to fall sometime around 4pm. Seeing the sun during wintertime is like finding a needle in a haystack. It's very depressing and I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll feel like a slug during winter.

Anyways, sometime during the first week of July (yes July), the weather will clear up and it will start getting into the low 70's. The locals always brag about how this is the best summer weather in the country. It's not. You still need pants and a warm jacket after sundown. Ironically, this is also the time that the locals start complaining about how hot it is. 75 degrees is too hot for them. The nice weather only sticks around until the beginning of September and then rapidly gives way to another 9-10 months of soul-crushing depressing overcast.

I have owned a small business here in the higher end part of the U district for about 16 years. It used to be fun. The people used to be nice....well, the young guys still are sort of nice..it's the middle aged hags out there that are out of their minds with self love. I have a job that's fun.....nothing too extreme...but, in the end, product has to be perfect. The female customers that I've had for the last 16 years are still great..it's the new breed of women that are killing my spirit. I am high energy, wear bright clothing and talk to everyone about everything. Alot of people have told me that I don't belong in Seattle....I am more of a Southern girl...kind(mostly), gentle(mostly)..outgoing. I tried like heck to make it work ..I did....but lately, I've just been beaten up one too many times by smart a** ugly women that think their time is more valuable than mine. If I get one more hand in the face in the middle of one of my sentences..I'll scream..(they have to answer their phones, you know). Or..."I can't wait for you to do your job...I have kids in the car."..hurry hurry hurry.What the heck is the rush? I'm tired fo the fake friendliness that seems to be the norm here in Seattle. I'm tired of the RAIN..the gloom..the lack of friendships.. the jealousy..the miserable way women dress...(sloppy fleece..Oh Yeah!!! and they wonder why they're single?) I'm tired of the road rage...I'm tired of the rage against me as a Christian...(my fish symbol really gets people angry)..WHY??? I'm tired of the insulting way people talk to each other here...snippy snippy snippy. I'm tired of everone here thinking this hell hole is the BEST place on God's green earth to live..."Why on earth would you want to move?) Her's a tip Seattle..When it comes to driving....The lane on the far left..isn't a lane to mosey on down the highway in..it's a PASSING lane. Pass and then move over. (move over?) Ever been to England?? Get a clue people!! Don't honk your horn at me when I'm at a cross walk..letting someone actually cross. I've been road raged by a smart car..a smart car..raging against my pickup truck? I've also been raged against by a cyclist...he thumped his wheels into the back of my BMW sports car....that worked!! I'm tired of the "I'm better than you" attitude that all the young/middle aged women have here. I was single again at the age of 40...I had NO problem getting dates. Guys thought my personality was fun and festive. But all I hear is these women complain that they can't get a date...Well..there is some truth to that I guess. Some of the guys here in Seattle could use some good old fashioned mid west influence!! Go eat a steak, buy a gun, lift some weights, get a tan, get outside and get away from your iphones and computers. Stop asking young girls to "hang out"..Call them up..go on a date...grow some ba**s...be a man!!!! Open up a door for a lady...and you young gals...try being ladies. Have some self restraint...don't give it all away the first week. The conversations I hear are amazing! Financially..Seattle is DOOMED!!!!! The taxes keep getting higher, the debt keeps growing, nothing is going to be done with that death trap called the viaduct. The 520 bridge is soon to be tolled..that's going to be GREAT!!! The roads are in disrepair..try going aroun Lk. Washignton Blvd...right past the Arboretum....POT HOLE CITY. Good Grief. Ms. Gregoire will do her best to make WA ST look just like California...financially. We Are Broke..Seattle!!!! I like Starbucks, though. But don't go for the coffee!! It tastes burnt. I like chai tea lemonade..and the coffee cake. If everyone treated each other like the workers do at Starbucks..we'd be a much friendlier place. Instead of What Would Jesus Do? ..could Seattlites possibly embrace the notion of What Would Barristas Do? I'm going back East.....Hopefully I can find a farmhouse tucked in a cornfield somehwere...me, my husband, my dog, my bible and my gun.....Did that make you angry??? If I was a Starbucks, would you want to throw a rock through my window? Like the liberal "no gun" protester that smashed Starbuck window in Leschi? (And dowsed the front with red paint??) That is the real problem the IS Seattle. It's Filled to the brim with Liberals that stand for free speech, human rights, anti-violence...until they need to make a statement against violence -with violence. Passive aggressive, violent, rushed, angry, unfufilled, arrogant,holier than though, faith hating, mean spirited people..(not everyone). I need to be quiet now. My unders have gotten into a bunch, and now I need to go cool off.