The Grass is Greener in Seattle
8 Comments
November 18, 2011
I want to move.
Real bad.
Practically everyone who knows me knows I have this deep desire to live somewhere else. Somewhere a little chilly and beautiful.
Seattle.
Currently we live in Orange County.
It’s cool here. I guess, that is if you like everything looking exactly the same. All the houses look the same. Shopping centers are built for driving not walking. Everyone has a swarthy 4-wheel drive SUVs with no intentions of taking it off-road. The women all look the same with their Lululemon yoga pants and blonde highlights. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with yoga pants and highlights (Because I’ve been wearing these yoga pants for 6 days straight. And instead of washing them, like a reasonable person, I just wait until the jelly or snot or what-have-you dries, and then I scratch it off with my fingernail. Not only am I preserving the spandex-y-ness of my pants by not washing them, but I’m also conserving energy and water! Who’s the reasonable one now, huh?), it’s just that I’m ready for something different.
Orange County definatly has it’s good points.
We have a dreamy coast.
Go ahead and ignore that precious newborn in my arms, that's just Berlyn when she was 2 weeks old.
There’s also all these precious neighborhoods:
And we have the Real Housewives of Orange County, so that’s something.
Here in the OC, it’s a little too homogenized, if you will. You know homogenized, that’s the process of shaking milk fats into the milk liquids so you get one creamy smooth outcome. And I don’t want one creamy smooth outcome, you know, because I don’t tolerate the dairy. Plus, I’m ready for an adventure, a lactose-free adventure.
We’ve bounced around ideas of where we’d go:
San Francisco
Berkley
Portland
Seattle
We’ve even considered local cities like:
Costa Mesa
Laguna Beach
Venice Beach
Santa Monica
But we always come back to Seattle.
Ahhh Seattle. Like a cozy pair of rain-soaked jeans. What? You don’t think jeans can be cozy if they’re rain-soaked? Well you obviously aren’t cut out for the weather in Seattle.
But I totally am. I’m practically a Seattle-ite already, here’s why:
I own a pair sheerling boots
I don’t really style my hair anyways
Rain makes me sleepy and I love a good nap
I drink coffee
Flannel is making a huge comeback
I always forget to water my plants and if I move to Seattle, I won’t have to
Plus it’s so mossy there. And moss is a pretty color
So there’s my list.
I know, I know. I seem like a shoo-in for moving to Seattle. But it’s tough to leave this crazy place. I love that all my family and friends are at most a 30 minute drive. And I’m comfortable here. And my kids…well, kids are resilient, and mine would be happy where there is an abundance of string cheese and the movie Cars is playing.
But I’m not moving any time soon. I have to be content with where I am. I honestly love it here, but I think I’d just love it over there more.
See? Even the trees are cozier in Seattle.
Darling one! Come to your senses. I don’t even remember who or why I subscribed to you blog. You are delightful~~
Talk to me ..I am a mother of 5 and a grandmother of almost 11.. lived here in SJC for 36 plus years.And here in So Cal for 50 plus… Talk to my friend who was raised in Seattle.. and has no regets for moving here. .I’ll hook you up.. she says not a good thing.. xxoo
by Audrey Morgan on November 18, 2011
Utah didn’t even make the short list? What, you don’t like religious domination and lack of wine in grocery stores? We have snow… Lots and lots of snow…
by Libby on November 20, 2011
Utah didn’t even make the short list? What, you don’t like religious domination and lack of wine in grocery stores? We have snow… Lots and lots of snow…
by Libby on November 20, 2011
Kirk and I LOVE Seattle. We have friends that moved there from San Clemente and find any excuse to go visit them. The houses there are amazing and unique. Go for it girl, you only live once!
by Julie on November 20, 2011
I happen to love Orange County. But that doesn’t really matter. What matters is who you are and who you choose to surround yourself with. If you’re going to be happier somewhere else, go somewhere else. I hate fake people and despise that it’s referred to as “the OC” and can’t stand the fact that an entire city is filled with apartment complexes painted one boring color. But I still love it here. This is so crazy trite, but home is totes where your heart is. Make it so!
p.s. I may be a little bit bitter about the Seattle thing; I had a friend who moved there and then became way too cool to associate with someone from “the OC” anymore. But whatever.
by Rox on November 22, 2011
Seattle is the greatest place on earth! My husband and I moved from Mission Viejo in 2004 and are never going to leave. We have made the most amazing group of friends and love raising our kids in the city. They are being exposed to art, music and diversity that can not be found in the OC. Come and join us…
by Marisa Dillard on November 27, 2011
My husband and I have had this discussion more than once. Four years ago we listed our house (in OC) and he had two job offers there, two job offers here. If our house sold, we move, if it didn’t, we stay. Four years ago wasn’t exactly the best time to sell a house so here we are. I still visit Seattle often and love it to pieces. Make sure you visit often in the winter because that’s what it’s like most of the time — Summers there are bliss. But then there are those winter days here where it’s amazingly gorgeous outside and the entire country is freezing its ass off. Those days, I say I love it here.
Like you, I have two kids and worry about all the things you mention. It’s easy to get sucked into all the things we all don’t like about living here. But take a look around — go for a run on the path in San Clemente. Walk around downtown Santa Ana. Take a date night in Laguna Beach (again). Hike up in the foothills. Keep in mind you can drive to LA without traffic in under an hour and get plenty of “culture”, and San Diego is almost as close. You want snow? 1.5 hrs away but you don’t ever have to shovel it off your driveway.
Whenever I get down and out about living here, I think how if I was living somewhere else and a year into it I’ve experienced a lot, how much I really would miss it here. Picture yourself watching a show on TV and it’s gloomy outside yet again, and they show a shot of Laguna or even LA *ugh*. I don’t know about you but I’d whimper softly.
by Karla on December 6, 2011
PS – I see you like beer. Me too. Which would be a major +plus for Seattle. I hear ya, sister. If you want, email me and I can give you great local brewery suggestions you may not have tried and I don’t mean BJ’s. It definitely helps fill the void.
by Karla on December 6, 2011
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