Seattle, WA

Dates travelled

I first visited in 2023. I moved here shortly after.

First impressions

The natural beauty everywhere you look in the PNW is amazing.

The homelessness crisis is acute here. It's Ground Zero for America's homelessness epidemic.

A lot of people seem to come here thinking this place will solve all their problems, only to find it presents new problems. That doesn't mean it's not worth it, it just means you're selecting a different set of tradeoffs.

When I first came here, the 1 Line only went to Angle Lake and Northgate. It felt uninspiring and unfinished.

Metro had fast and frequent service though, which was nice.

It wasn't as rainy as I expected in summer, though more hazy than I expected.

Highlights

• Link light rail now it goes to Lynnwood, Federal Way, and the Eastside. This is a game changer in a lot of ways.
• The Space Needle is fun to do once and never again. It's kind of a ripoff though.
• Pike Place Market is fun to do once in a while, I go to a spice shop there once in a while.
• The Waterfront is excellent but I feel it could have more amenities.
• Summers are incredible when they're not smoky. It doesn't rain much in summer. The temperature rarely gets above 25°C / 75°F.
• Winter genuinely is depressing and gloomy. This is where Seattle gets its reputation for being rainy and dark.
• I would recommend going to places off the beaten path, like the arboretum, Discovery Park, taking the ferry to Bremerton, and checking out Lake Washington.
• The police here are completely worthless. If you need their services, I would consider not bothering unless they can obviously help you.

Food and drink

Seattle's food scene is best described as "looking for diamonds in the rough." There are excellent places, but they are nestled amongst a lot of middling places.

That being said, I wholeheartedly recommend:

• El Riconsito if you want Mexican, probably the best Mexican food in the PNW.
• Lil' Woody's for burgers. Best burger joint in Seattle.
• West of Chicago and Windy City Pie has good Chicago-style pizza.
• Seattle Pizza & Bar has good pizza if you want "just pizza."
• Owl & Thistle is a cute little pub.
• Corvus is a cute little goth bar if that's your thing, but don't expect excitement.
• Ivar's is great, especially Acres Of Clams at the waterfront.
• Premier Meat Pies — truly excellent, actually.

Getting around

The 1 and 2 lines can get you surprisingly far. If you want to go to Tacoma, you can take Sounder during weekday mornings and afternoons, or a ST Express bus.

King County Metro is generally fine, although certain lines like the 7 can be a bit rough. Note that the 40 is always packed.

Would I go back?

I live here. What does that tell you?

I do want to move to Vancouver, but it has nothing to do with Seattle itself, but externalities in the US as a whole.