June 18, 2007
Seattlest Asks: How Do You Carpetbaggers Feel About the Weather?
57 and cloudy on June 18, this coming after another gloomy breath-watching weekend.
We were raised here, and even we are having problems with what's going on outside. It’s got us wondering how someone not from this area feels about living in the world's shittiest weather.
How do you deal with it? Does it bother you? What's going on in that out-of-state brain of yours?
Also, if you're one of those Seattle natives who doesn't mind this stuff and can't understand what all the grumpy faces are about, what advice would give them? Besides move back, because that's actually pretty appealing.
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living in the world's shittiest weather? i like it over freezing winters and hot, humid summers that are so common in the great lakes where i'm from. weather in the seattle area is like living in the produce section of a grocery store: everything is usually pretty fresh and you get misted a few times a day.
there are no blizzards here, no tornadoes, flash floods aren't as common, thunderstorms are rare, heat waves are rare, and the terms "wind chill" or "heat index" haven't been uttered on the evening news in years.
i'm dealing with our current weather quite well!
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It bothers me. I think it bothers me more than when the 51st straight week of 40 and overcast rolls through in February. Can we commission a study to determine whether it's worth getting a voter initiative on the ballot in Nov? Because I think if we can settle on some kind of pie-in-the-sky solution to this weather thing we could easily set up a tax for it which we could in turn doom by tacking a bunch of transportation and sports venue riders to.
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I've been loving the weather.
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Charles said it best.
People visiting here from the east coast or Phoenix or Vegas are probably so relieved to be here right now. I know this from talking to one such visitor yesterday.
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San Francisco is very similar, just the clouds are lower and drier there. What freaks me out about the environment here isn't so much the weather as the damn short days all winter long.
Ok, I admit I'd love to see some sunshine. But then I've been stuck at work lately anyway, so it feels somewhat good that I haven't been missing anything.
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Psssssh....quit your whining. It's only 23 weeks until the snowboard season begins! I've got my new stick all waxed up and ready for some over-the-bow powder.
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I grew up in San Francisco, and have lived here for five years, interrupted for one year by a yearlong stint in Northern England and one month in New York City last summer. The weather in England was so much worse than it is here. I will never forget how terrible the weather was there...it will always make me happier to be in Seattle. As Matt said, SF is not dissimilar. NYC in July was the most miserable thing I have ever experienced.
I caught myself on the bus this morning thinking "I love this weather." And compared to the rest of the country come July? There's no better place to be.
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I grew up in New England. I miss the snow, but that's about it. I do not miss the disgustingly hot summers, the sticky humidity, the dingy grey-brown hillsides in wintertime, or the occasional undrivable downpour/hailstorm.
I chose to live here...I don't get the non-natives who whine about the weather. Hello, did you not get the memo before you moved here? I did.
The weather here always feels very cozy to me. When the sunshine starts, it gets even better.
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I moved here from Florida, and even after four years I love this weather. I'm getting a little tired of my cold weather clothes, but it's still better than twelve thousand degrees and humid.
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Having moved here from the Southwest where it has been between 90 and 110 for the past month and will be for the next two to three months, this is like heaven!! I will take this anyday over the excessive heat.
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Maybe I've been away from it for too long, but I don't think I really mind the Great Lakes humidity. It's just a part of one of the four things they call "seasons" over there. I'm not knocking July in Seattle by any means, but a little more sun would be nice the rest of the year and a little differentiation between June and January wouldn't kill anyone either.
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I love the weather. I hated the heat wave we had early this month, actually. I'm another of those midwest transplants who didn't care for WI's heat/humidity combo.
I learned after two or three years here that summer really runs July/August/September -- the string of sunny days comes later than in the midwest, but stays later, too.
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I grew up in Florida, and I have to admit I felt a serious string of contempt talking to my sister yesterday and hearing that she was sitting on her front porch in shorts and a tank top, that she was about to go inside because it was just too sunny and warm out.
Winters are hardest for me, and I'm with whoever complained about February. My partner and I have had to take to indoor tanning just to avoid slitting our wrists in February.
Then again, it's a fair trade for all the things Seattle has that Florida doesn't (mountains, nearby skiing, progressives...)
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More annoying than the weather is the Seattleite attitude of "I was born and raised here." I've lived in upstate NY, NM, CT, NYC, and Seattle, never in my life have I heard more people with a chip on their shoulder about being "born and raised" in the city where they still reside. Get over it, so you're an overgrown townie, whoopy! Ya want a medal or somethin'?
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Yes, Charles did say it best (not to mention having a great name). Right now, I see big fluffy clouds and blue sky outside my window. It's 62 according to ForecastFox on my browser and I'm going to hop on my bike soon to go meet people and the light will stay in the sky till way past 9pm tonight.
What's wrong with the weather?
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@Dan: I like the humidity in the great lakes if you're near the water, but if you're at all inland the humidity in combination with the mosquitoes can really take it out of you. The only solace is that there are a lot of lakes up north that are prefect for water sports that keep you cool.
While I listed out all of the extreme weather that seattle lacks (and expressed my preference for it), I do miss seasons. Seattle doesn't have seasons. It is always spring with a few hot/cold spells. I miss the cold snaps in the fall, the first few good snows, and the rebirth that is true spring where a grey/brown dead landscape explodes with green life.
But with those transitions (which are short, lasting a matter of weeks) you have the extremes, which are long and last months. It's the marathon of upper midwest winters that I don't miss, but I love going back to visit so I can get little tastes of the things I like.
All said, I love Seattle weather--particularly the overcast days with a cool breeze.
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@Charlie: word!
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I'm with Mike w/r/t the "I was born and raised here" attitude (not necessarily from our host here, but from lots of natives). Also, all the folks who moved here and have a slightly different chip on their shoulders -- you know, that self-congratulatory smugness (viz. "I don't get the non-natives who whine about the weather. Hello, did you not get the memo before you moved here?")
See, I didn't really choose to live here (my partner's job situation kinda forced me to come here), so I get to whine all I want, pal.
Perhaps the perfect expression of weather smugness I witnessed occurred within weeks of arriving, when I told a barista I'd just moved from Chicago. He said, "Well, you must be glad to be out of that hellhole." And I'm like, "Hellhole? What do you mean?" And he kind of stammers, like he just assumed I'd agree that Chicago was a hellhole and he wouldn't need to explain it: "Well, uh, the weather."
Coming from the extremes of Chicago, I'd say the weather is a wash. Yeah, it's nice not to have the severe heat/humidity and the severe cold. But damn the 50-and-overcast all year 'round gets really old. Right about now I'm dying for some serious heat. And as others have said, the darkness and dampness of winter become a real drag by February.
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Love, love, love Seattle weather. Don't care about rain but I hate the heat and snow. I am posting this from Arkansas (home state) where is was hot and humid today. Please get me back to the land of not sweating for three months at a time.
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Great timing on the post:-) I think you brought out the sun today....
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Late to the party, but here's my two cents: I'm from southern California. I'm okay with the gray, okay with the chill. While I don't call this summer, I'm not severely bummed that I'm still wearing my winter coat in the mornings. But like it's been said up above, my opinion will probably be different in February.
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Yr kidding, right? Cuz this misty cool and grey is the best and also the most unique weather we get. More, please!
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I'm not a native, I'm from Michigan. The weather here is far superior. However, the grey does get to me. We are rewarded with the best summers around though!
The way I see it, summer doesn't start here until the fourth of july and spring is just a warmer version of the winter (with bonus sunny days). I've found that shifting my summer expectation- and remembering that it lasts until the early days of october- helps a lot.
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Ha! Ha! Totally agree with pdp about people's response to Chicago! I moved here in December, and when I tell people I moved from the Midwest, they look at me like I've just escaped hell. I hate the humidity, but I love it because it's its own distinct season. I know in Chicago when spring ends and summer begins.
That said, I think I like the coolness of Seattle, and if I could handle winter in Chicago, I can handle winter in Seattle. I'm just trying to get my brain to figure it all out. Every morning I expect to be able to wake up and wear skirts and sandals and shorts, and then I remember that I also have to bring my coat with me. It's still weird to me and will take a little time to get used to.
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Matthew @4:
I have a number of relatives, all born-and-raised in PDX (as am I), who wouldn't trade the weather up here for Phoenix, or Redding CA (where they live now) on a bet.
Just because one is a native, it doesn't necessarily follow that they take a liking to our wetness any more than many transplants do.
As for myself, well, I go back-and-forth; I like the heat and the sun just fine, but it's the cool and the damp that makes me happy.
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I am originally from Long Beach California and there we had more than 300 sunny days in a year. Median temperature was 75-80 almost year round. I also lived in Honolulu for a few years so I need my sun. When I start to get antsy about having snow or too many overcast days I go back to Southern California or visiting various family or friends around the country for awhile so I meet my sun/warmth quotient.
Its nice to have summer and early fall here but after around 10 years living here the winters and darkness/overcast can get to me. Its really quite beautiful here though.
When I start to feel bad about winters here I figure it could be worse and we could live in Siberia. The summers here are great and we don't have roaches lol...
I think for non natives its essential to go get some sun during the winter months here. Go down to Southern Cali, Florida or head over to Hawaii. Winters are cheaper in Hawaii and its cheaper and not so crowded also. As long as you avoid January you'll be fine.
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I just moved to Seattle in May. In the following order, I've lived in:
birth-18... Miami, FL
18-22... St. Louis, MO (college)
22-25... Phoenix, AZ
25-32... Boston, MA
Miami, St. Louis, & even Boston suffer from oppressive humidity in summer & when it gets 110+ in summer, who cares if Phoenix's heat is dry or not. I grew up not knowing the change of seasons, & having moved from Boston, it's my belief that seasons are overrated (though autumn trees are pretty). I have yet to endure a winter here in Seattle, & I've been told by my partner who has lived here since 1983 that the grey skies here can be oppressive & last for weeks at a time. So be it! I'd much rather have that than the car-burying blizzards & frozen wind enemas that characterize Boston winters.
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I grew up here and moved to the south for a few years. I remember after weeks and weeks of that damned Dallas heat I would ache for some of that refreshing seattle rain. Who knew Atlanta had the freezing weather it does with Ice storms and all. They can have it. Oh, and don't get me started on all the bugs, all over everywhere down in the south. (it's nice to be home)