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Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

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Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#81
post #20
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marrying young and endless dinner parties where first-time homeowners proudly declare "granite countertops!" like checking that box on a list of materials is some major achievement. A bit painful. But there's a dirty, edgy, interesting indoor culture there caused by the shitty weather. It sprouts up around everything from sex to music to art on occasion. Go find it.

Is that the only option available for married life? Surely it's possible to marry someone who is interesting and continue doing interesting things after you're married?

Most of us don't see any reason to continue doing interesting things beyond making ourselves look appealing during courtship.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#82
post #4

While growing up in the Seattle area in the 70's & 80's, I always thought Seattle was the coolest city in the world. It's still fun for me to visit and I do miss the trees, lakes, and Mt. Rainier, but to me it has completely lost its charm. All that was once cool and unique has been monetized and whitewashed.

Out of curiosity, where have you lived after you left Seattle, and how did you like those places? I've been to a few places and liked Seattle a lot :)

My earlier comment is definitely clouded by nostalgia :-) I loved the Seattle of the past, but the Seattle of today to me seems more about horrible traffic, ridiculous home prices, and omnipresent materialism.

But that's a perspective based on my unrealistic expectation of the past. Seattle truly is a beautiful city and people who see it for the first time will probably fall in love with it. So I'm glad you liked Seattle!

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#83
post #53
post #9

Took a job in Bellevue in April and moved from Philadelphia to Seattle. So far it's a been an interesting experience. I've encountered many people hostile to software engineers in general. A bunch of people immediately ask if I work for Amazon with a hint of disdain after I state my occupation. So it hasn't felt super welcoming so far. I get it, even in some neighborhoods in Philadelphia the same thing is happening.…

Seattle has never been particularly welcoming to newcomers; people there tend to be insular and it can be hard to make friends if you don't already know people (even before the amazon/tech stuff -- plenty of articles about 'the seattle freeze' that predate it). Being from there helps. Not being in tech helps -- there are so many new software engineers meeting one just isn't very interesting. You can hardly blame peop…

> and avoiding talking about work entirely

fuck, is this not SOP for everyone?

conversation order of operations: work < people < things < ideas

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#84
post #12

> John Criscitello placed posters in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood proclaiming “Welcome! Rich Kids,” and “Wish you weren’t here.” Its hard not to feel angry at people like this. "Rich Kids" really? These "Kids" spent years developing their engineering skills to get to the point where they are now. Are engineers paid a lot? Of course. But we're certainly not in the same category as those who inherit wealth. Most…

Did he do this one[1] as well? They're getting more and more aggressive lately. (Also I can't help but notice the irony that it was made in Microsoft Word.)

It says "New to the city? Work in tech? You're a plague and locals FUCKING HATE YOU. LEAVE."

[1] http://i.imgur.com/pIkA91B.jpg

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#85
post #9

Took a job in Bellevue in April and moved from Philadelphia to Seattle. So far it's a been an interesting experience. I've encountered many people hostile to software engineers in general. A bunch of people immediately ask if I work for Amazon with a hint of disdain after I state my occupation. So it hasn't felt super welcoming so far. I get it, even in some neighborhoods in Philadelphia the same thing is happening.…

My experience has been eerily similar. Moved to Ballard from South Philly at the beginning of the summer, working in Bellevue.

People are so openly hostile I kinda stopped trying to talk to anyone. The "Die techie scum" graffiti all over doesn't really help either.

Seattle itself seems pretty nice. Its a shame this forced isolation is just going to lead to even bigger division.

Maybe we should hang out?

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#86
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we're certainly not in the same category as those who inherit wealth. Ahhh... it's the old, I'm not rich! The rich are people that make more than me! By that definition, almost nobody is rich.

That's not the argument being made.

Sounds like it to me. What difference does it make if you inherit your money or earn your money. Either way you're "rich".

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#87

I moved to Seattle in 1980 and fell in love with the city and it's unique culture. Seattle has grown up for sure but in my view the growth has been handled overall pretty well and we have kept a lot of the coolest part of the culture here(music, beer, coffee, movies check out the SFF, outdoor festivals every weekend during the summer, great outdoors, the sea and mountains and so on). I have been tempted many times by…

Then what would Portland be?

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#88
post #24
post #12

> John Criscitello placed posters in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood proclaiming “Welcome! Rich Kids,” and “Wish you weren’t here.” Its hard not to feel angry at people like this. "Rich Kids" really? These "Kids" spent years developing their engineering skills to get to the point where they are now. Are engineers paid a lot? Of course. But we're certainly not in the same category as those who inherit wealth. Most…

This guy is a terrible hypocrite; he creates art bemoaning new people in his neighborhood, while being a recent transplant from New York himself. He's cashing in on the worst kind of 'us vs them' mentality. Some people make excuses that he's only rallying against the stereotypical brogrammer, but I don't think that's true. He's really against anyone being in his neighborhood he didn't personally approve of. He's the…

I think "terrible hypocrite" is a major overstatement. The guy is a gay artist who moved to an area built and populated largely by the gay and creative community, only to find it in the process of being colonized by moneyed interests and neighborhood tourists. He identified with the original neighborhood profile strongly and strongly rejects the new one, as I do — though unlike me, he's making his distaste known. I for one salute him, and I love his posters. And by the way, he's not getting rich off selling a couple handmade prints he makes in his own shop.

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#89
post #43
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you can get a 1300 sq foot condo for 70k (or less!) in most of the country. If you aren't among the elite of financial means (we're talking 1% wealth) SF is a losing proposition.

Whoa wait. The top 1% makes >$400K/yr. You're saying you can't afford a $700K condo on a $150K+/yr programmer salary? How comes it's always the "other guy" that's the problem?

[deleted]

Re: Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul

#90
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This guy is a terrible hypocrite; he creates art bemoaning new people in his neighborhood, while being a recent transplant from New York himself. He's cashing in on the worst kind of 'us vs them' mentality. Some people make excuses that he's only rallying against the stereotypical brogrammer, but I don't think that's true. He's really against anyone being in his neighborhood he didn't personally approve of. He's the…

I think "terrible hypocrite" is a major overstatement. The guy is a gay artist who moved to an area built and populated largely by the gay and creative community, only to find it in the process of being colonized by moneyed interests and neighborhood tourists. He identified with the original neighborhood profile strongly and strongly rejects the new one, as I do — though unlike me, he's making his distaste known. I f…

Just because he's gay doesn't excuse his behavior. Just change the labels on your post and many would be horrified.
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