Why I love Seattle!

I was  surprised to see this  blurb on the internet (this is only part of the article and wow, they couldn’t have found a better picture to go with the title!  And why is she not holding her umbrella over her head?)

Seattle is the nation’s third most miserable city

Seattle is pretty miserable, but not as miserable as Phoenix or Portland.

At least we’re not alone. They say misery loves company.

That ranking is based on an analysis of data gathered by Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal. But before you start blaming Seattle’s weather or passive aggressive behaviors on its miserable outlook, note that this study looked at consumer attitudes.

The Wall Street Journal reports “slow progress on the job front and soaring gas prices” were the chief reasons for discontent among unhappy cities.

Real estate markets also factored into the ranking.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised by that blurb!  I think deep down inside Seattleites would love to keep the image of non-stop-rain-and-misery alive so as to keep newcomers from making Seattle home, in the hopes of keeping Seattle as it is and stopping it from getting any bigger or busier.

Ok, back to the title of this blog!!!  I want to say that I LOVE Seattle.  Next month will mark 20 years since I moved here.

To be perfectly honest, yes, the rain and gray do get to me!  Especially, in June, when, in my mind, it is supposed to be warm!  Summer seems to officially begin here after the 4th of July!  However, contrary to popular belief, Seattle is not the city with the most rain.  It may feel like it when the skies are gray most of the year and there is a constant drizzle to remind you not to leave the house without an umbrella or rain coat.  The fact is we only get 37.1 inches of rain per year.  We are not even in the top ten rainy cities!  Chicago gets more rain than we do!  We get our rain in constant drizzly  doses for about 9 months out of the year and the air often feels moist.

I had to research the above facts to make absolutely sure I am getting this right!  Here is an interesting rain chart:

The 10 rainiest cities in the U.S. by amount of annual rainfall include:

• Mobile, Alabama–67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
• Pensacola, Florida–65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• New Orleans, Louisiana–64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
• West Palm Beach, Florida–63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days
• Lafayette, Louisiana–62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana–62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• Miami, Florida–62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days
• Port Arthur, Texas–61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days
• Tallahassee, Florida–61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
• Lake Charles, Louisiana–58 inches average annual rainfall; 50 average annual rainy days

When the rest of the country is sizzling in heat waves in August, Seattle is often the only city in the USA enjoying a  comfortable 70-75 degree temperature.  It rarely gets hot, it rarely get too cold. You will rarely encounter mosquitoes in the city.  They  patiently wait to feast on you in the forests!  The weather is conducive to year round bicycling  and many people commute to work by bike all year round. Seattle gets an A+ for walkability!  You can walk anywhere in the city year round because of the temperate climate. The city is incredibly GREEN, again, year round!  And yes, that is thanks to the RAIN.

I love Seattle for so many reasons!

I love Seattle because I can walk anywhere all year round and the public transportation is great.  I love the water views.  The city lakes, Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, and the surrounding mountains are breathtaking.  On a clear day, the  Cascades and the Olympics jump out at you.  Mt. Rainier still makes me stop and say, “Oh, Rainier is so beautiful today!”  The scenery here is unbelievably great!

I love the houseboats, the roses and flowers that love this moist climate, the seafood!!, the great variety of food at the farmers’ markets and at Pike Place Market.   I never tire of walking around Green Lake.  I love that we are so close to SeaTac Airport  (only 20 minutes away!)  I think it is super cool that Jimi Hendri  was born in Seattle.  (Get this: Rick got to see Jimi in concert way back when!  I mean, how amazing is that?)   Perhaps because of the rain, indoor activities such as watching films at the Seattle Film Festival, reading, and taking yoga classes are high on people’s lists of things to do!

As for outdoors, great hikes are within an hour outside of the city. In winter, snowboarding, snow shoeing, downhill ski slopes and  cross country ski trails are only an hour away.  In winter, when it rains in Seattle,  you can be sure snow is falling in the mountains not that far away! Seattle and its environs are a nature lover’s paradise.   We have waterfalls, lakes, rain forests, and rich wildlife nearby.

Seattle has some of the best coffee and great coffee shops.  It has a very interesting history and Chief Seattle (Noah Sealth) was a great person.  The city itself is not huge, but offers everything a large city has to offer: city parks and gardens, zoo and aquarium, museums, theater, opera, and ballet to name a few.  It is a green city in more ways than one.  Everyone recycles and is conscious of the environment.  We realize this place is an emerald gem and we want to protect it.

Seattle has fantastic schools (high schools, community colleges and universities), including the prestigious University of Washington!!

I have not yet mentioned the people who live here.  For the most part, this is a very safe city, so people are relaxed and trusting!  Many Seattleites are polite, friendly, globally aware, liberal, educated, well-read, open-minded, progressive, laid back, and eager to learn more and more.  For the most part, people are fairly healthy (must be all this clean air!!)  and fit (because of the proximity to the great outdoors).

Glad I moved here twenty years ago!

PS…as I write the sun is shining!!