Seattle Problems 2

This is a follow up to my original Seattle Problems post. A friend of mine has bemoaned how terrible Seattle has become since the COVID-19 pandemic began with the resulting BLM protests. I have bad news for you: Seattle never has been, hasn't been recently, is not currently, will not soon be, and will not ever be a good place to live.

Historically from the days of the Alaskan Gold Rush up through the 1990's Seattle was filled with violent, drug filled and impoverished schools and neighborhoods. From about 2000 to 2010 Seattle's draconian anti-gang units had successfully cleaned up neighborhoods, but real estate prices were still low enough that Seattle was a fairly livable place. But by 2010 Seattle's real estate prices had jumped so high that the cool kids were all leaving for greener pastures, I myself finally giving up on 2015.

Seattle always has been a place to visit, but not a place to live. Specifically it has always been a place to come to reinvent yourself. University of Washington, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Antioch University Seattle are all well recognized significant universities within Seattle city limits. Also in Seattle are employers everyone wants on their resume but no one in their right mind wants to retire from like Amazon, Boeing, and various down town medical facilities. There has always been a stream of out-of-towners coming into Seattle in a homeless condition, reinventing themselves, and then moving on to make the world a better place - that IS Seattle, that IS the legacy of the Emerald City!

For those who complain Seattle is less than ideal for family life, I tell you that Seattle isn't that city, never has been, and should never be that city. If you remain in Seattle, you become a townie of the biggest college town of all time. The world is a big place, and Seattle doesn't need more Seattle-trained heroes that it is already full of. 

My only regret about leaving Seattle is that I didn't leave five years earlier.