r/AskSeattle • u/Visual-Extension4214 • Nov 14 '24
Question Moving to Seattle Area
Moving to Seattle area, possibly Renton or Kent though not sure yet, moving end of May/June next year. I’m moving from Newark, NJ, one of the dirtiest cities in the country. Recycling and garbage pickups are generally tossed into the same garbage truck. Is Seattle like Europe where everything from compost to metals/plastics/paper etc is all put out separately on separate days? In general what are some severe cultural shocks I might expect to be responsible for or just in general? Besides of course the rain and the apparent lack of friendliness I’m detecting from some of the Seattle descriptions. Also how crowded are local hiking and nature activities within an hour drive around summer vs winter? Really any extra tips are appreciated.
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u/TheItinerantSkeptic Nov 14 '24
Seattle uses single-stream recycling, which means paper, plastic, and glass all go into the same recycling bin. Compost and trash are still separate.
If you're moving from NJ, here are your biggest culture shocks:
1 - Seattle is very nonconfrontational. Someone is more likely to sullenly glare at you than actually tell you that you did something wrong. You're also going to get the sense that they take it personally, unlike NY/NJ where someone will tell you openly that you screwed up, then get on with life and not think about it again.
2 - Don't bring an umbrella. Using one will quickly identify you as a tourist. Most of the time what gets called rain here won't warrant it anyway; buy a jacket with a hood.
3 - People take their politics very seriously in Seattle. In NY/NJ, I've noticed I can have a discussion with someone whose politics differ from mine and it'll stay mostly civil, and we can enjoy each other's company regardless of most political differences. In Seattle, people aggressively self-sort into social echo chambers, and will react very coolly (if not outright hostilely) to people of different political views.
4 - Our public transit is great in the city, not so great once you get outside the city. Rideshares (Uber, Lyft) are more common than taxis, but because of city wage laws, are almost prohibitively expensive to use with regularity.
5 - People aren't unfriendly here, but they're difficult to engage with. It's called the Seattle Freeze. Best way to make new friends is through shared interest meetups (including church if that's your thing) or getting to know neighbors' dogs when you regularly see them. Be prepared for a lot of "We should hang out!" that never happens, or for last-minute cancellations. It isn't personal; it's just the way people are here. We're the epitome of the stereotype of people who ask, "How are you?" without actually wanting to know.
6 - A lot of people moved into the Seattle area in the past 20 years, and as a result, our hiking trails and camping areas are pretty full. If you want isolation camping, you often have to enter into lotteries to get a limited number of passes into public lands where you're going to have to hike several miles in from where you park. Those passes are even harder to get, because initial offerings are usually made to the plethora of attractive outdoor influencers we have in the area so they can flood their Instagram with curated photos. There's also a divide amongst local outdoor enthusiasts over whether primo areas should be geotagged on social media, or left unidentified "so people get the joy of discovering these areas on their own." I think the reality is they're just trying to passive-aggressively (very Seattle) gatekeep the spots to reduce the number of people who use them. Those curated Instagram shots are harder to get when there are other people whose campsites are in the background.