Hello Seattle

[MJ5150]

Even if we moved here from somewhere else. We were those people who were ruining this place then. Now we are the people carping about it.

Sort of.
I'm all for people moving in and adapting to the community/culture around you. What gets me sideways is what we see a lot of in the Olympia/Lacey area. Someone buys a house and moves in, they tear it down along with a bunch of trees and nature, then build a bigger house. Same thing with commercial developers. They come in, buy a property, run out the established businesses and bring in new generic national chain stores. That's happening over and over and over again around here. Another developer sees a 25-30 plot of nature and envisions roads, street lights, and 35-40 houses later we have another neighborhood full of McMansions.
Heck, I am still mad about it happening to Byrnie Utz and the Hurricane Cafe in Seattle. The fight rages on for the Showbox, but that's just a battle of attrition that the developers will eventually win.
These people from large urban areas get here and make the 75-90 minute drive one way to work every day and now want retail strip malls and shopping/dining everywhere. Along come the developers who tear down nature and history so they can get a Chipotle and Starbucks close enough to Uber Eats to deliver. Now they miss their favorite fast food joint from where they used to live, time to get one of those built.
They are new to the region, so they don't care who or what came before them. All they know is they want a better view or a larger area for the kids sandbox, or a Starbucks with a drive through closer to them or a couple Starbucks close to pick from in case one is too crowded.
We live on property that butts up to preserved wetlands. A few of us in the area know it's just a matter of time before some developer comes along with deep pockets to buy out that designation, tear it all down, put in some roads and houses, and gone is the quiet dead end road people moved out here, some 50 years or more ago, for.
Then you have developers or speculators coming in and buying up property and just sitting on it waiting for the bubble to get as big as it can before it pops to sell. I like what they did in Victoria BC, and put some rules and limits around investors/developers coming along to play that game. There's not enough people in responsible positions with integrity to keep that from happening in the Puget Sound.

We moved here from Ontario, California in 1977, and lived in the same house for almost 35 years before my parents moved into an older home just a few years ago. We missed Del Taco and Carl's Jr, so enjoyed those on trips back to Cali. I like to think we didn't contribute to ruining the Puget Sound, instead we showed up and became part of what was already here.
But hey, I also worked in the construction industry for 20+ years, so thinking about that, this is all just a bunch of hypocritical whining on my part.

-Mike

 

[Gaolee]

Sort of.
I'm all for people moving in and adapting to the community/culture around you. What gets me sideways is what we see a lot of in the Olympia/Lacey area. Someone buys a house and moves in, they tear it down along with a bunch of trees and nature, then build a bigger house. Same thing with commercial developers. They come in, buy a property, run out the established businesses and bring in new generic national chain stores. That's happening over and over and over again around here. Another developer sees a 25-30 plot of nature and envisions roads, street lights, and 35-40 houses later we have another neighborhood full of McMansions.
Heck, I am still mad about it happening to Byrnie Utz and the Hurricane Cafe in Seattle. The fight rages on for the Showbox, but that's just a battle of attrition that the developers will eventually win.
These people from large urban areas get here and make the 75-90 minute drive one way to work every day and now want retail strip malls and shopping/dining everywhere. Along come the developers who tear down nature and history so they can get a Chipotle and Starbucks close enough to Uber Eats to deliver. Now they miss their favorite fast food joint from where they used to live, time to get one of those built.
They are new to the region, so they don't care who or what came before them. All they know is they want a better view or a larger area for the kids sandbox, or a Starbucks with a drive through closer to them or a couple Starbucks close to pick from in case one is too crowded.
We live on property that butts up to preserved wetlands. A few of us in the area know it's just a matter of time before some developer comes along with deep pockets to buy out that designation, tear it all down, put in some roads and houses, and gone is the quiet dead end road people moved out here, some 50 years or more ago, for.
Then you have developers or speculators coming in and buying up property and just sitting on it waiting for the bubble to get as big as it can before it pops to sell. I like what they did in Victoria BC, and put some rules and limits around investors/developers coming along to play that game. There's not enough people in responsible positions with integrity to keep that from happening in the Puget Sound.

We moved here from Ontario, California in 1977, and lived in the same house for almost 35 years before my parents moved into an older home just a few years ago. We missed Del Taco and Carl's Jr, so enjoyed those on trips back to Cali. I like to think we didn't contribute to ruining the Puget Sound, instead we showed up and became part of what was already here.
But hey, I also worked in the construction industry for 20+ years, so thinking about that, this is all just a bunch of hypocritical whining on my part.

-Mike

I actually agree with everything you say. And, funny enough, I also worked in the construction industry for more than 20 years in this area. It was urban mixed use buildings in commercial zones when it was residential, and it was industrial, institutional, and military construction when it wasn't. So, I didn't build sprawl exactly, but I know what you mean and parallel you in a lot of ways.

It's a balance. I don't like suburban sprawl a bit. When I see tall apartment buildings going up in Seattle, it means people can live in an urban area without contributing to sprawl. The local suburban mall, Northgate, is slowly being converted into much more urban and denser uses. It was a box surrounded by acres of asphalt before. I see that as a good thing. Seattle is seeing strip malls disappear. They are being replaced by apartments with shops on the ground floor. When that happens along arterial streets, and the neighborhoods behind those arterials is left alone, it makes my idea of the ideal place to live.

But then the destruction of old, smaller houses in neighborhoods like where my wife and I live is a huge problem. It's only a matter of time before our neighborhood, once a streetcar suburb of Seattle, but now a "hot" neighborhood, gets overwhelmed. We get offers from "developers" all the time. The thicket of people who call themselves that these days just goes one more step toward proving my opinion that the economy is about to overheat. It won't break my heart when a whole bunch of those people lose their shirts. But, in the mean time, the pressure on us, and on our neighbors is pretty intense. It is not a pleasant situation.

And, many of those "developers" are utterly dishonest in their dealings with the city and the local residents. I have known and worked with a number of reasonable, honest, and thoughtful developers over the years. There's a deep chasm between them and the fly-by-nights from some sprawled out suburban area who seem to think the city is just a place to exploit and mine profits out of. The neighbors and I recently had a two year battle with one of those clowns on my block, resulting in TV coverage and the city suing the developer for the problems, expenses, crime, rat infestations, junkie infestations, and other messes he was causing. If he ends up living in a cardboard box in pouring rain, it's a good outcome. Unfortunately, guys like him never seem to get taken down like they should. The behavior of guys like him makes work more difficult for the people who live in the city, care about the city, and want to build apartments and other buildings that fit in the city.

I also miss Byrnie Utz. I lost a hat I bought there, and haven't been able to come close to replacing it with anything close to as perfect for my head and my uses.

 

[MJ5150]

I also miss Byrnie Utz. I lost a hat I bought there, and haven't been able to come close to replacing it with anything close to as perfect for my head and my uses.

I get my hats from Goorin Bros now, on first between Stewart and Pine.
Not the same as Byrnie's, but it's a cool place. But yes, it's another example of a local business no longer around as a national chain takes over its market share. Granted, Goorin Bros has been around since before Byrnie Utz went out of business, but still.

-Mike

 

[Gaolee]

I'll have to check them out. Buying a hat from a chain is better than online.

 

[GregC]

Lol, we feel the same way about Denver. We have a new saying in Colorado, " you got high, now go home." Are you all having a same issues with a huge influx of people since we'd is legal in Washington?

Oh man, I've gone to Denver pretty much annually for the past few decades and it's just exploding! I remember when Castle Rock was pretty much just the rock, and now there's a whole town (including a couple relatives of mine).

 

[Beersurgeon]

Oh man, I've gone to Denver pretty much annually for the past few decades and it's just exploding! I remember when Castle Rock was pretty much just the rock, and now there's a whole town (including a couple relatives of mine).

The boom here is crazy! I have been here for a long time and I can't believe all the growth but I like that I live in a place where the economy is surviving the growth.

 

[TBird1958]

I'm a native, get out of my city!


I'm a grumpy old Queen

 

[Pilgrim]

The boom here is crazy! I have been here for a long time and I can't believe all the growth but I like that I live in a place where the economy is surviving the growth.

Same here in Fort Collins. The only redeeming factor is that traffic isn't as bad as Seattle-yet. But heaven forbid that we should build new road capacity that isn't toll lanes.

 

[catcauphonic]

But heaven forbid that we should build new road capacity that isn't toll lanes.

Ahhh yes the Lambro-Lexus Lanes. Those folks have places to be, don't you know?

 

[TBird1958]

There's nothing quite like an August day in Seattle, The Stones are in town tonight, great weather for their show!

 

[ctmullins]

See, that's exactly what I'm on about!

 

[slobake]

There's nothing quite like an August day in Seattle, The Stones are in town tonight, great weather for their show!

Geezer Rock. I think the Rolling Stones are starting to gather moss. Just kidding. Enjoy the show.

 

[MJ5150]

There's nothing quite like an August day in Seattle, The Stones are in town tonight, great weather for their show!

Indeed.
I've never seen a sky as blue as these ones we get on clear August days.

-Mike

 

[TBird1958]

Geezer Rock. I think the Rolling Stones are starting to gather moss. Just kidding. Enjoy the show.

I'm not going to the show, I like the Stones but not for the price of a ticket.

 

[slobake]

I'm not going to the show, I like the Stones but not for the price of a ticket.

Last time they played here, I could hear the from my house. They played at Oracle (AT&T) Park that is right on the SF Bay. The sound carried all the way to the southern end of town.

 

[TBird1958]

Looking south from my roof you can see a bit of Century Link Field behind King Street Station's steeple, were I to stay downtown tonight I could, no doubt hear the show.

 

[ak56]

You people need to stop posting these pictures of blue skies in Seattle! That's supposed to be a secret!

For everyone else: These pictures are photoshopped! It's raining right now! It is always raining and cold. Don't even think about moving here, you won't like it. Raining and cold 365 days a year (we get one day of sun on a leap-year).

 

[slobake]

We have had blue skies and warm weather all week in San Francisco. SHOCKING!

 

[MJ5150]

You people need to stop posting these pictures of blue skies in Seattle! That's supposed to be a secret!

For everyone else: These pictures are photoshopped! It's raining right now! It is always raining and cold. Don't even think about moving here, you won't like it. Raining and cold 365 days a year (we get one day of sun on a leap-year).

I took this picture a few minutes ago...

-Mike

 

[Beersurgeon]

here is my silhouette in the fan room looking into the studio for bands at WEXP. WEXP maybe the coolest radio stations in the world! I love the vibe and atmosphere there and would move to Seattle just to hang out there every day!