Interesting. I grea up in Spokane/Seattle WA. Now I'm in NYC. I think bakc to how laid back it was and didn't like it. Veryt granola. I do love the outdoors and seeing Rainier from anywhere in the city on a rare clear day. The rain never bothered me, but alas, NYC grabbed me and kept me.
Scott

As a lifelong long-distance walker and I can honestly say there is LESS accommodation for walkers in crosswalks by drivers than ever before. I'm speaking of walking in Lynnwood or Mt Lake Terrace, not Seattle. I've had many near-misses in these walks and at the busiest intersection in Snohomish County was knocked down in a marked and lighted crosswalk by someone who just HAD to make a right turn and plow right into me.
As for friendliness, I have found that 99% of the time I have to speak first to an oncoming person, but I've met more people (and their dogs!) this way just by taking the initiative..try it sometime!

Oh, darn, I meant to include a comment about honesty in returning wallets, and a similar test by the Digest was done in European countries. The winners, as I recall, were all Scandinavian.

I don't know what neighborhood you live in, but here in beautiful downtown Licton Springs, even the cops don't stop for Stop signs and no one will cut pedestrians the slightest slack unless the pedestrian demands it. I walk Precious Pup every day and if we are out any where near rush hour, we are taking our lives in our hands to cross the street if a car is anywhere in sight.

I am the opposite of "Scott S." I left NYC and eventually made it out to Seattle. As much as I loved NYC for a lot of reasons (food for example), I will never return there to live and raise a family. As for Seattle, maybe...

Here are my criticisms of Seattle, having lived overseas, in New England, mid-Atlantic, the South and the Midwest:

Seattlites are, by far, the most passive-aggressive people I've encountered in the world. They love to be victims, so they can thump someone else for being an "aggressor." The city has been subject to many boom-bust cycles. So there does appear to be a certain mentality of, er, little permanence ("I'll just make my money and get out quickly").

Despite the fact that it is a very prominent port city, residents of Seattle are also surprisingly parochial. I am often shocked by an utter lack of awareness for the outside world that many Seattlites display. Recently, a colleague of my wife who has not lived outside the Pacific Northwest region declared the area to be "the greatest place on the planet to live."

Surely, the area has much to recommend (great nature, relatively low violent crime rate, decent food and so forth), but "the greatest"? Some Seattlites need to get out of the region more often and see the rest of the world.

Having said all of this, my wife and I do like the area more than many other metro areas of this size. Seattle's problems are really "annoyances" than full-blown urban problems. But some days, those annoyances just, well, annoy the heck out of us.

Lastly, about the "Scandinavian" thing. The Economist had a cute little piece about that a while back. It turns out that Scandinavians are some of the best (least accident prone) drivers in Europe. But their suicde rates are also the highest. Conversely, Mediterraneans (Italians, Spaniards and so forth) were remarkly death-prone drivers (high alcohole consumption too), but enjoyed the lowest suicide rates.

The Economist's conclusion? The people in the sunny Mediterranean areas are sloppy, drunk drivers, but they are happy. The Scandinavians are conscientious, law-abiding types, but they are really unhappy people. Funny, eh?

Yes, jaywalking is ticketable here! My roommate found that out the hard way, and it pissed him off so much that he wrote a letter to the editor of the Times (it was published!). The "no, you first" civility irritates me too. This happens on a near-daily basis, where the car to my side clearly has the right of way but seems to think I'll appreciate their hesitation and realize they're letting me through first. Not me, though! I speed through first even when it's close as to who has the right of way, because someone has to do it.

No, we natives don't show parochialism when we say the Seattle area is the greatest place to live in the world. Worldly people from elsewhere tell us this all the time. And some of us have lived elsewhere - New Jersey and Hawaii. But I guess you are right: we don't know what we are missing by not living where all the people moving here are from - everywhere!

I was born and raised in Seattle. I have also lived and spent much time in Alaska and Arizona and have traveled throughout much of the West and Southeast. While Seattle is certainly beautiful, other areas of the country offer different kinds of scenic backdrops every bit as spectacular as the Northwest. Alaska even puts the Northwest to shame.

I, however, have a little different perspective on the so-called Seattle politeness. It only extends to fellow leftists. I have seen many people change dramatically when they realize you have conservative views. They turn quickly to sneering derision and name calling when you offer a well thought out conservative position. My wife won't even discuss politics with any local to avoid confrontations. I'm either not as bright or just stubborn.