Seattle: My New Home?
I am now a Seattleite, though does it count if I am only here for three months?
The experience has been pretty exciting so far. I have never actually lived in a city since turning four (growing up in the suburbs), and so this is an adjustment, albeit a welcome one. A few things I have noted about my adjustment to city life:
- I didn't expect Seattle to be so hilly. As my co-worker told me, just because something is closeby on Google Maps, the path is not necessarily walkable. I live in First Hill, and it seems that most of Seattle is downhill from me. It makes it easy to go far away and then have a tough time walking back. Luckily, the bus system is good, and with my free bus pass this challenge is not insurmountable. Now if I only had one of those fancy gadgets that told me the bus schedule...
- Did I mention that the bus system actually goes pretty much anywhere you might want to go? This certainly is a welcome change from my former home, where I had to walk miles to get to the nearest bus stop, and where a car was a necessity, even to take a trip to the store. If you know me, you know that I hate driving, and I would love to live without a car. I don't have a car now, and if I ever come back to Seattle to live for a longer period of time, I probably won't have one then either.
- Now that I'm in Seattle I can actually order from Amazon Fresh. Carrying groceries on the bus is thus avoided.
- When I told my friends back east that I was headed to Seattle, the one place they told me I had to visit was Pike Place Market. So I did when I got here, and one more time after that. According to one of my friends, I still haven't "truly" experienced the market, but for what it's worth: I liked the peaches that I got, though they didn't last too long. They were very tasty while they lasted, however. The other food was pretty good, but some of it was significantly overpriced.
- I still have not drank any of the coffee here. If all goes well, this won't change.
Overall, I really like the city, and I would love to live here for longer after I graduate. Despite the fact that I have few cities to compare it to, I have enjoyed my stay so far, and I think this city stands out. I feel like it's one of those cities that you visit and think: "boy, I could see myself living here."