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A couple of weeks ago, we realized that we've lived in Seattle longer than any other city. By far. We were born in Wisconsin, and spent a lot of our formative years in Milwaukee (we still call drinking fountains "bubblers," and we're going to be a little sad when our daughter doesn't pick that one up from her peers), but when we moved to Seattle 15 years ago we took root.
That doesn't make us a native, of course. But we do consider ourselves a Seattleite. Which got us wondering: What separates true Seattleites from people who just happen to live here?
The opening paragraph of Sarah Katherine Lewis' essay "Lamb" in her book Sex and Bacon revealed the answer: The weather. Specifically, the attitude about the weather. "The rains haven't started yet, but I look forward to them," she notes, and our brain responded Yes!
Everyone everywhere talks about the weather where they live. Everyone everywhere complains about it sometimes. But people who love where they live learn to embrace their local microclimates.
The cliche, of course, is that a real Seattleite doesn't carry an umbrella when it rains. We don't buy it, mostly because the real Seattleites we know may not mind getting wet, but they're not morons. When you've named a major music festival after an umbrella, you know there's some secret affection there.
No, we believe this is the real test: If you're complaining about the rain the moment September ends, you're not really a Seattleite. If you insist that summer weather should sync up with the calendar, with sun shining continually from June through August rather than July through September, you're not really comfortable here. And if you spend most weeks from October to the fourth of July wishing this rain, rain would just go away, maybe you should consider looking for a city that better mirrors the microclimates in your heart and soul.
A real Seattleite, in short, has learned to stop worrying and love the rain.
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The only reason I complain is that I haven't bought new shoes yet and my favorite pair have holes in the bottom and I tend to get sucker punched by the rain, forgetting about said holes until the water seeps in.
I'm unfortunately wearing sneakers today myself. Little soggy.
Oh, also, I have steal wheels so I really don't have rear brakes when it rains.
But still, I complain not of the rain, just the shoes and the wheels.
Picked the wrong day to leave the gortex hoodie at home.
I always thought ONLY Seattleites used umbrellas. You'd get your ass kicked in Philly carrying one.
I started carrying one last year. Wow...they sure work well!
We don't kick asses here, Brad. We passively aggressively glare at you after you've passed by.
I know! It's like a magic barrier that keeps rain from hitting you in the face. Except not magic. And available in several sizes.
What makes a Seattle person real? Heroin and Queensryche.
No seriously, the rain is actually relaxing and mellow. I like it.
Real Seattlelites love Steve Largent and Shawn Kemp and prefer rock to emo. They remember when Ballard wasn't trendy. I could go on all day. Bellevue being short...
I've lived in Seattle for eight years and was born and raised in Tacoma before that. I don't hate the rain enough to leave, but definitely never look forward to it - it's something that must be dealt with - with umbrellas.
I dig umbrellas but I always feel like Im some cheesy musical and about to break out in song.
I also think the loving sarcasm locals talk of the weather, local sports teams, and Steve Pool help distinguish Seattle natives.
I admit to finally giving in and buying a cute umbrella this year, after a lifetime of living in Seattle. But, I never remember it, so I really am one of those Seattle-ites without an umbrella and I've gotten used to being slightly damp for 9 months out of the year. On the other hand, once it hits September, I rarely forget my gortex...
Talk of the good old days, when Ballard was anything but hip and Queen Anne had a fruit-stand rather than three coffee shops on the Ave's corner... that's a give away too.
@jessejb - that is precisely why i love umbrellas. plus you can find such awesome designs on them. however, it's just another thing (like a purse) that i opt against because i'm bound to leave it somewhere.
i grew up in a place where mid-february to mid-march is winter, and the rest of the year is split into the 70-degree period and the 100-degree period. rain in central florida is something that happens daily from june-november, but only for an hour or so, and then the sun comes out. instinctively, i love the rain, but i tend to want it to come in short, voluminous spurts.
for the past five years of living here, i've been one of those people you described who should probably look elsewhere. this year, however, by late august, i was the person secretly wishing the rain and lower temperatures would come sooner. does that mean that finally, after five years, i'm becoming a seattleite? i guess we'll see how i feel in february.
James, this is a very sweet blog entry.
Personally I feel much better when the rains finally hit -- "Ahhh, now this is the city I know!"
Seattle:
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands
My wife and I were discussing the other day how we get a little excited when the season changes to fall here. I think of drizzle, sweaters, and watching the leaves clog the gutter.
That being said, umbrellas are a waste of a hand that could be holding something useful, like a hot apple cider. They just get turned inside out, and I spent so much on this Gore Tex jacket, I am damn well going to use it.
My thoughts exactly!
I just got a job in belltown and spent the evening taking smoke breaks from meetings, comfortable in a covered alcove and watching the city lights play off the puddles. I love wearing galoshes and thick knit sweaters and the sound of rain or the look if it on the sound. Le sigh. Yeah. It's special.
It depends on the rain, doesn't it?
If it's a light rain or a drizzle (aka "mist on a mission"), I'll defer to my fedora unless I'm going on a Seriously Long Walk.
If it's raining normally, then an umbrella is important.
If it's a squall off the Sound, then I'm staying in and somebody had better be dying to get me out of my apartment.
I moved to Seattle nine years ago this past Monday and I admit that I'm not happy to see summer end and there have been years when the seasonal change hits me like a sucker punch, I'm actually OK with this. I grumble for about five minutes and then I'm back outside enjoying it.
Besides, my jacket may not be GoreTex but damn me if I don't like it an awful lot.
i hated the rain when i first moved to seattle in 1988, but now i miss it, having been gone since 2000. it rained over the weekend here in SF and i had to come up with the lame, "oh, sure, but california really needs it!" to suitably explain my glee. give me five, six sunny days in a row and i get first nervous and then downright hostile.
that being said, the ultimate seattle moment to me was when the sub pop gang hoodwinked a british magazine writer by inventing a bunch of "grunge slang" that the writer then dutifully reprinted back home. or was it a new york times reporter? i don't remember, but remember this: clark humphreys' quintessential book of seattle music is called "loser."
I'll know I'm a real Seattleite when I can say, "You're not from here" without irony.
Been here for about a year. The things I notice is that people here are ridiculously pretentious, everybody owns a couple of small dogs, nobody knows how to drive properly, people project the image that they are all athletic because they go hiking but in reality most gyms are are empty. And most think they are very cultivated and act like they have traveled the world when in reality they just went to ethnic restaurants in the city.
And yes, all they talk about is the rain and the traffic.
I think I summed up everything that's politically correct :)
Spii: In the late 80's Seattle became a popular place to move, and loads of transplants flooded our little city. We benefited from the influx but it changed the attitude from friendly to bitchy. The pretentious attitude is a defense mechanism from when all the Californians moved up here and drove the real estate prices through the roof and brought with them all sorts of snotty brand named stores and high-priced restaurants. I have never owned a little dog by the way. I tend to think that Seattlites own cats, people from Lynnwood own big ass dogs...poodles must be from LA! All the people who cannot drive that you noticed? They came from LA.
All the gyms are empty because young people are in dojos learning martial arts. I have seen more martial arts schools in Seattle than Osaka Japan where I currently live.
Politically correct comes from the fact that Seattle has the highest number of college educated people in the US. And for the record I despise PC. One of the reasons why I moved!
Here is the actual difference between us. Transplanted Seattlites all think we natives love the rain. What?! Hell no I don't love rain. I was born in Seattle and lived there most of my life. Rain SUCKS. Rain keeps kids from going outside to play, causes us to cancel camping trips, makes you wet and miserable the first hour of work or school (because native Seattlites aren't smart enough to use umbrellas). Rain makes it dangerous to drive on the freeway and makes you late to wherever you are going. It forces you to either "get tough" or leave your motorcycle at home and take the car. For bikers it takes an extra 15 minutes to get ready to ride. It makes your books or paper wet and soggy going from the door to the car and vice versa, and for artists it has the potential to ruin a portfolio and all the drawings inside. On top of it all causes the temperature to plummet. No, rain sucks and it has always sucked.
Finally, it wasn't until I spent any substantial amount of time away that I noticed how the weather makes Seattlites mentally ill. I have never met so many manic-depressive and passive-aggressive people as in the PNW. It's cloudy... sunny... cloudy... sunny. And that is how we are. Non-natives write blogs about how special Seattle is, natives are the ones just trying to live here.