Every city has its quirks, and Seattle certainly has its fair share. There are some niche skills that you can make your life easier here in the Emerald City but if you’re new here, you may not be aware of them yet. So we asked our followers to share the skills that you develop in Seattle that you wouldn’t need living anywhere else.
Here are the top skills that you learn in Seattle, according to the people who live here:
- “Getting used to driving approx 100 miles down a sketchy Forest Service road in the middle of nowhere, but then squeezing your car into the last parking spot a mile from the trailhead to hit the trail with 500 other people.”
- “Cloud reading for sure. I swear to god Seattle folks can smell snow clouds.”
- “Are those rain clouds or just cloud clouds? How hard is it going to rain if it’s going to rain, based on the darkness and texture of the clouds?”
- “Staring directly at the sun in February when it comes out for 10 minutes.”
- “Having no air conditioner in the summer.”
- “How to weather the rain without using an umbrella.”
- “Learning the water ways, where to boat, when to paddle, when and where to swim, cold plunging in the Sound.”
- “Knowing how to pronounce Sequim, Sammamish and Yakima.” (And Puyallup!)
- “How to handle an intersection where six roads converge.”
- “How to wash your car in the rain.”
- “Driving uphill at 60 degree inclined angle from a stopped position without hitting the car behind me.”
- “The art of layering.”
- “Being prepared for multiple types of weather on the same day. Rain jacket, light layers, sunglasses, scarf.”
- “Doing multiple quick changes to keep up with the extreme temperature changes throughout the day.”
- “Having a different jacket for every day of the year.”
- “Looking at Mt. Rainier to see what the weather is today.”
- “Checking the temperature because sunshine does not equal warmth whatsoever.”
- “Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest.” (Whether you quote it as protest or pressure, this is a way to remember the streets going north in downtown Seattle!)
- “Remembering a daily dose of vitamin D.”
- “Geoduck digging.”
- “Finding parking in Capitol Hill.”
- “Holding my breath to walk up hills past people so they don’t know my pain.”
- “Knowing what day summer *really* starts.”
- “Parallel parking on the left hand side.”
- “The ability to distinguish Chinook/King salmon from Coho, Pinks, Chum, and Sockeye salmon species.”
- “Knowing that there’s a difference between the statements ‘it’s raining’ and ‘it’s RAINING.'”
- “Coping with seasonal depression.”
- “How to move out the way going down a residential street.”
- “How to take 10 different forms of public transportation to get to one place.”
- “Learning and defending the rules of the ferry line.”
- “Walking while being pelted in the face with rain because I’m too stubborn to look like a tourist.”
- “How to time my walks to sun breaks.”
- “Learning where the community steps up Queen Anne Hill are located.”
- “Throwing salmon.”
- “Mold identification and removal.”
- “Using a special wash to re-waterproof your coat.”
- “How to go up hills by using public conveyances in buildings.”
Once you’ve mastered these you can call yourself a true Seattleite!
What Seattle-specific skills would you add?