starcrafttom
Active member
I have been a way for a week in Idaho and just got back to see this post. Where do I start? Well lets start at the beginning. First my back ground. I have lived in 27 homes. 9 states, several two or more times, both coast and all along the south. In 2001 I was living in Sacramento ca at the time and hated it. I was born not far from there and spent the best part of my high school and youth in the mountains near there. Sac and SF of the 99 early 2000 was a dirty crime ridden shadow of its 1970-80 self. homeless , drugs, crime gangs etc. When Susan told me she had a job offer in Seattle I was horrified. I love her, but dam... All I knew of Seattle was that it was " SF North" and SF had turned in to a shit hole. I would no longer go there to see the sights I so much enjoyed as a young adult.
So she talked me into going to Seattle for the interview with her. On the best of days I am not a city person. Much rather be in the woods, on the water, in the country but I do like to visit a clean city and see the sights. Long story short I was amazed how clean , beautiful and friendly Seattle was . We went to the space needle, the market, the water front and lake Union. Lake Union was amazing to me. Just the high light and gem of the city. Boats, planes , kayaks restaurants and several museums right on the water. The boat museum with boats for rent was my favorite. There was a museum next door ( were the burke is now) and the history and industry museum ( now part of the burke) and many others. All the little parks around both lake Union and lake Washington. Boat ramps and kayak launches, Mom and pop restaurants and far far less TOURIST type shops then most large cities. To top it off I rented a car and drive 30 miles to Monroe and sat on the bank of the river and watched a guy land a nice salmon in clear cool water. The people were all frendly. Nice to talk to and very willing to talk to anyone or answer a question. I have lived places where this is not the norm and not really encouraged. One of the most notable things about the city and surrounding area was the lack of trash on the ground. In comparison to Sacramento it was almost Disney land at opening bell like clean. Like it had been manicured at night after closing for the next days guest. It was very noticeable how much it differed from Sac and SF. It was almost as clean as Salt lake in the 80s. I do not think I saw more then one homeless guy the whole week. Needless to say we moved here that month.
And now we have today. Seattle is without a doubt one of the dirtiest , piss poor managed cities in the country. I just got back last night from a week in Idaho and can not tell you the stark difference. You can blame the city council, the governor or the people that continue to vote them in office or who ever you want but Seattle has gone to shit in the last 10 years and do not think it will be coming back any time soon. There is no law in Seattle if you are poor and homeless, Or just look like it. It is now legal to steal up to $900 in goods. You will not be arrested. Its now legal to do any drugs you want including heron in the street in front of the police. You will not be arrested. If you go on vacation it is now legal for someone to move into your home with a hand written " lease" on a napkin and they will not be arrested or removed. ( three cases of that so far in the area and police will not evict). If you beat a old guy to the ground and drop kick his dog into the street and kill it , just last week, you will be arrested and then release by the judge with out bail before the old guy gets out of the doctors. I don't care what you think about the idea of The Chop but it left not only dead bodies behind ( 4 killed?) but a lasting impression on the residents of Seattle and they did not like it. How do I know living 30 miles north in the Burbs / country? I am an realtor here in the north sound and we are experiencing the fastest price increase in years of fast price increases. And who is buying all these homes for 100k over asking in cash?? people from Seattle that are fleeing. People from Seattle that can now work from home and will not ever go back. I hear their story's everyday. Seattle is not safe. From the Seattle PI " 2020 crime report: Seattle saw highest homicide number in 26 years". From the NYPost "Seattle sees 525 percent spike in crime thanks to CHOP: Mayor Durkan" and from Kttn Seattle burglary explodes 87% downtown after coronavirus policy, crisis"
So what does this mean for the surrounding areas? I live in Marysville wa and just like all the surrounding areas our property crime went up dramatically after the legalization of pot just as I said it would. Not because of roving bands of pot heads looking to steal your stuff but because of the obvious reaction to the law by the cartels. Find a cheaper more addictive product to take its place. And that was cheap heroin made with Fentanyl. Its the driving force behind the massive increase in property crimes, gang warfare, homelessness and over all filth that plagues many cities both large and small. Seattle is the worse and getting even worse but we do feel the effects in the burbs. Marysville has been reducing this problem slowly over the last year and has not got caught up yet but is working on it.
So to the original question. Should you move here? Well I dont know the south sound as well as the north end so I would leave that to others to give detail on but, The area near the airport is shit. from Seattle south to the air port is just turning into gang land at night. No police presents, No true enforcement, less and less law enforcement numbers as all the cops retire or quit. "Seattle police officers are fleeing the department at a record pace: At least 249 people have left the force over the past year alone, according to a new report." and its the same all over the area. They are down almost 400 since 2018 and no one is applying. But what does that mean to you and me? Well I live on 2.5 ac on the res and have a drug house at the bottom of my hill across from the state police station....... but never had any property stolen. We used to have a lot of druggies and prostitutes' parking out side my house on the dead end street but I took care of that a few years ago and its no longer a problem. So if you spend enough and live far enough out you should not have any real problems for you and your family. If you work inside the airport fence and just drive in and out or take transit ( though thats becoming less safe) you should be fine and be able to enjoy all the reasons I still live here.
Why do I still live here??? I love the weather. I do I love the seasons but not the extremes that others have. Its over a hundred at my mom and dads house right now. In winter its under 0 for weeks at my in-laws house. I fish for salmon and ling in the summer as well as crab and shrimp. I hunt ducks, goose and snows in the winter with one of the longest seasons in the states. I pheasant hunt release sites in the fall. And of course we boat some of the most beautiful water in the country. I have 10 things that float in the parking lot right now. Just driving around doing my job supplies me with endless views of mountains and sea. I just love that I can do all of that with in an hour drive of my home. no going out of state and hunting. No driving to the coast once a year for a week on the boat and then storing it again. I LOVE LIVING HERE.. but you will not catch me in or near seattle un armed if at all. If you live in Seatlle and had have not suffered a crime its only pure luck not the goodness of the city. Seattle, in 2002 when we came here for that interview that changed our live for the better in so many ways, was the only major city I ever gave a thought about living in the center. If I could have bought a floating home or one with a view of the lake at the time I would have. Its a complete and total shame that a city with jobs, wealth, view , parks and every advantage has been destroyed so badly by nothing more then failed policy's. Those that passed them, can not or will not do anything but repeat those same policy's over and over again only with more money. This is how Detroit went from the shinny city on the hill to a shit hole. And now its happening to the center of Seattle. but dont ask me what I really think.
So she talked me into going to Seattle for the interview with her. On the best of days I am not a city person. Much rather be in the woods, on the water, in the country but I do like to visit a clean city and see the sights. Long story short I was amazed how clean , beautiful and friendly Seattle was . We went to the space needle, the market, the water front and lake Union. Lake Union was amazing to me. Just the high light and gem of the city. Boats, planes , kayaks restaurants and several museums right on the water. The boat museum with boats for rent was my favorite. There was a museum next door ( were the burke is now) and the history and industry museum ( now part of the burke) and many others. All the little parks around both lake Union and lake Washington. Boat ramps and kayak launches, Mom and pop restaurants and far far less TOURIST type shops then most large cities. To top it off I rented a car and drive 30 miles to Monroe and sat on the bank of the river and watched a guy land a nice salmon in clear cool water. The people were all frendly. Nice to talk to and very willing to talk to anyone or answer a question. I have lived places where this is not the norm and not really encouraged. One of the most notable things about the city and surrounding area was the lack of trash on the ground. In comparison to Sacramento it was almost Disney land at opening bell like clean. Like it had been manicured at night after closing for the next days guest. It was very noticeable how much it differed from Sac and SF. It was almost as clean as Salt lake in the 80s. I do not think I saw more then one homeless guy the whole week. Needless to say we moved here that month.
And now we have today. Seattle is without a doubt one of the dirtiest , piss poor managed cities in the country. I just got back last night from a week in Idaho and can not tell you the stark difference. You can blame the city council, the governor or the people that continue to vote them in office or who ever you want but Seattle has gone to shit in the last 10 years and do not think it will be coming back any time soon. There is no law in Seattle if you are poor and homeless, Or just look like it. It is now legal to steal up to $900 in goods. You will not be arrested. Its now legal to do any drugs you want including heron in the street in front of the police. You will not be arrested. If you go on vacation it is now legal for someone to move into your home with a hand written " lease" on a napkin and they will not be arrested or removed. ( three cases of that so far in the area and police will not evict). If you beat a old guy to the ground and drop kick his dog into the street and kill it , just last week, you will be arrested and then release by the judge with out bail before the old guy gets out of the doctors. I don't care what you think about the idea of The Chop but it left not only dead bodies behind ( 4 killed?) but a lasting impression on the residents of Seattle and they did not like it. How do I know living 30 miles north in the Burbs / country? I am an realtor here in the north sound and we are experiencing the fastest price increase in years of fast price increases. And who is buying all these homes for 100k over asking in cash?? people from Seattle that are fleeing. People from Seattle that can now work from home and will not ever go back. I hear their story's everyday. Seattle is not safe. From the Seattle PI " 2020 crime report: Seattle saw highest homicide number in 26 years". From the NYPost "Seattle sees 525 percent spike in crime thanks to CHOP: Mayor Durkan" and from Kttn Seattle burglary explodes 87% downtown after coronavirus policy, crisis"
So what does this mean for the surrounding areas? I live in Marysville wa and just like all the surrounding areas our property crime went up dramatically after the legalization of pot just as I said it would. Not because of roving bands of pot heads looking to steal your stuff but because of the obvious reaction to the law by the cartels. Find a cheaper more addictive product to take its place. And that was cheap heroin made with Fentanyl. Its the driving force behind the massive increase in property crimes, gang warfare, homelessness and over all filth that plagues many cities both large and small. Seattle is the worse and getting even worse but we do feel the effects in the burbs. Marysville has been reducing this problem slowly over the last year and has not got caught up yet but is working on it.
So to the original question. Should you move here? Well I dont know the south sound as well as the north end so I would leave that to others to give detail on but, The area near the airport is shit. from Seattle south to the air port is just turning into gang land at night. No police presents, No true enforcement, less and less law enforcement numbers as all the cops retire or quit. "Seattle police officers are fleeing the department at a record pace: At least 249 people have left the force over the past year alone, according to a new report." and its the same all over the area. They are down almost 400 since 2018 and no one is applying. But what does that mean to you and me? Well I live on 2.5 ac on the res and have a drug house at the bottom of my hill across from the state police station....... but never had any property stolen. We used to have a lot of druggies and prostitutes' parking out side my house on the dead end street but I took care of that a few years ago and its no longer a problem. So if you spend enough and live far enough out you should not have any real problems for you and your family. If you work inside the airport fence and just drive in and out or take transit ( though thats becoming less safe) you should be fine and be able to enjoy all the reasons I still live here.
Why do I still live here??? I love the weather. I do I love the seasons but not the extremes that others have. Its over a hundred at my mom and dads house right now. In winter its under 0 for weeks at my in-laws house. I fish for salmon and ling in the summer as well as crab and shrimp. I hunt ducks, goose and snows in the winter with one of the longest seasons in the states. I pheasant hunt release sites in the fall. And of course we boat some of the most beautiful water in the country. I have 10 things that float in the parking lot right now. Just driving around doing my job supplies me with endless views of mountains and sea. I just love that I can do all of that with in an hour drive of my home. no going out of state and hunting. No driving to the coast once a year for a week on the boat and then storing it again. I LOVE LIVING HERE.. but you will not catch me in or near seattle un armed if at all. If you live in Seatlle and had have not suffered a crime its only pure luck not the goodness of the city. Seattle, in 2002 when we came here for that interview that changed our live for the better in so many ways, was the only major city I ever gave a thought about living in the center. If I could have bought a floating home or one with a view of the lake at the time I would have. Its a complete and total shame that a city with jobs, wealth, view , parks and every advantage has been destroyed so badly by nothing more then failed policy's. Those that passed them, can not or will not do anything but repeat those same policy's over and over again only with more money. This is how Detroit went from the shinny city on the hill to a shit hole. And now its happening to the center of Seattle. but dont ask me what I really think.
