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

Post by forrestthewoods » Thu, Oct 08, 2015, 6:23 PM UTC

devindotcom wrote: post #88

pazrul wrote: 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…

Post by aaronbrethorst » Thu, Oct 08, 2015, 6:26 PM UTC

devindotcom wrote: post #91

pm90 wrote: 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…

Our problem on Capitol Hill is people coming from the rich suburbs to trash our neighborhood, yell "fag" at the locals, fail to tip, and then Uber out, never to be seen again until next Friday. The poster doesn't say "get out of here, self-made engineers!" That and the construction of cheaply made housing that rents for well above what the neighborhood has ever paid. It's the same story in many other places, of cours…

Post by aaronbrethorst » Thu, Oct 08, 2015, 6:27 PM UTC

bndw wrote: post #78

seathrowa wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those unfamiliar with Seattle, SLU is adjacent to Capitol Hill. So, some Amazon employees inevitably live in Cap Hill, which is for some reason a desirable place to live (lots of night life activities, crappy transit options). Cap Hill used to be a gay / artist / low income district of Seattle but is increasingly wealthy tech workers. I don't see this as a bad thing but obviously some people do.

Cap Hill used to be a gay / artist / low income district of Seattle but is increasingly wealthy tech workers. I don't see this as a bad thing but obviously some people do. I think this comparison misses the point. The think the main complain with the change is just that, change. Capitol Hill used to feel much more eclectic and diverse. Today, personally, I don't feel that sentiment. FWIW, I've lived in the neighborho…

Post by devindotcom » Thu, Oct 08, 2015, 6:29 PM UTC

thieving_magpie wrote: post #68

wfo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Yeah, I'm not all that concerned with making friends with people that are hostile about my profession. That's so petty. >partly because the countless new techbros with no respect for Seattle culture who spend 11hrs/day at work and don't have time to develop a personality romping around town give it a real bad reputation What does that even mean? I hear this all the time and I honestly have no idea how to "respect Sea…

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 08, 2015, 6:31 PM UTC

voxrumor wrote: post #85

mattress wrote: 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?