Leaving So. Calif. Very Sad

As I get ready to leave So. Cailf. for Seattle, I started to reflect on all the things, pro and con, about living here. I compiled a top ten list of both.

PRO:

1. So much tiki- restaurants, events, art
   and people. Tiki Oasis is the best!
2. Being near good surf- Huntington etc.
3. Year round tennis weather, another
   passion of mine.
4. Tons of great restaurants. Taco Mesa
   and Johnny Rebs are tops!
5. Beautiful sunsets over the ocean
   silhoueeting Palm trees swaying
   in the breeze.
6. Cool vintage custom cars everywhere.
7. Rollerblading in Hermosa beach and
   seeing tons of beautiful women in
   bikinis.
8. Belmont Shore, the greatest place I have
   ever lived.
9. The best swap meets in the country- Rose
   Bowl, Long Beach etc.
   10.All my friends and co workers.

CON:

1. Homes are too expensive, hell everything
   here is expensive.
2. Horrible air quality.
3. Horrible Traffic. (I hear Seattle isn't
   great either.)
4. taxes and more taxes.
5. Gray Davis. Will Arnold be better?
6. Overcrowded everything.
7. Our ocean is polluted and getting worse.
8. Crime, gangs, children that grow up way
   too fast.
9. Earthquakes, floods, fires and other
   disasters i'm forgetting.
10. Bong. (just kidding, only trying to
    cheer myself up.)

All things considered, i'll probably be back.

[ Edited by: tiki-riviera on 2003-11-04 09:45 ]

WHY???????!!!!!!!!!!!
We've had an early cold snap in the NW. freezing temps. snow flurries, and ice cold rain. rain. rain rain.
Sorry.

Hey Bongster,
Congrats on making the list, man!
I'm jealous.

??? Start in on the MaiTais a little early today UB???

Tikiriviera,
It is true we get alot of grey days in the Northwest. But it is also true that the summer weather is the best in the country.
(You will need some rum to get through the winter.) Fortunately, you are a tikihead and that should not be a problem.
As Frenchy Polynesia has pointed out, Seattle's and Portland's restaurant scenes are on a par or superior to what you are leaving.
This is not Siberia. It is a diffent scene for Seamus in Walport. (See his posts on Tiki Isolation.)
As you seem to enjoy an active life-style, I suggest buying a sea kyack and exploring the San Juans. Perhaps an inflatable kyack for river running. There are some decent tiki bars too.

Mrtikibar,

Thanks for the encouraging words.

You may enjoy our quaintness. Seattle is a small town that pretends to be a city. Little things are a big deal here, such as a family of ducks living in a mud puddle, visiting celebrities, or any "Top Ten" list Seattle makes. And you'll love the freak outs over a snowfall...It's a hoot. The traffic is overhyped. I've been in LA and SF traffic and Seattle's is nothing compared to those messes (despite us making some "Top Ten Worst Traffic Lists" which of course was front page news here).
Seattle is a really attractive city (in that Northwest understated way). And Washington state has been scientifically proven to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Ocean, mountains, desert, rain forest, rivers, lakes, swamps, and volcanoes just waiting to errupt. Plus we're supposedly over due for one helluva earthquake. We also have cowboy poets. And we share a border with Canada (we're children of a common mother, y'know). Up there you can get these really great maple flavored cookies shaped like maple leaves...Cute! And there's weird Brittish candy and TV game shows in French. Tres drole, eh?
I'll shut up now before everyone moves here.

Seattle is a beautiful city no doubt. There's lot's to do. Didn't mean to sound like a downer. MrTikibar is right about the eateries, there's a good music scene too. I complain alot , but truth be told, I love the NW. But if you're in love w/ SoCal weather and the lifestyle that goes with it, the adjustment can be challenging. Some can't take it, some never look back. I guess it depends on what really floats your boat.
We should be having a Portland Tikibar crawl coming up pretty soon. Try to make the 3hr tour south and hook up with the PDX crowd if you can. The more the merrier! Keep us posted on how it's going. Good Luck!!

When you leave can you please take someone with you?

I'm moving to Seattle next year! I can't wait to hang out, and/or stalk, all the TC'rs (or is it 'the' TC'r) in Seattle!

I love oysters too! And blackberries, bring 'em on! Hey, come to think of it, I like coffee - black Jack!

See you all (or you) soon!

You're gonna love the TV up here, Mr. Bong.

Hey! Isn't Seattle alot safer than California now the the most infamous serial killer in American history was convicted. I heard the Green River was a 'killer' place to go.

On a related topic, my father's family is from Tacoma and my uncle went to school with, and hung out with Mr Ted Bundy. My grandmother said that when Ted visited he was just the nicest boy.

My uncle was interviewed for a documentary on Ted Bundy a few years ago. He still has his high school year book with Ted's signature. I wonder if Ted would be bummed to find out he no longer is the leader of the serial killer pack?

(***** NEWS FLASH **** Police reported today that Captain Crunch was found murdered! Investigator's suspect a cereal killer)

On 2003-11-06 09:22, Tiki_Bong wrote:
[snip]
(***** NEWS FLASH **** Police reported today that Captain Crunch was found murdered! Investigator's suspect a cereal killer)
[/snip]

I heard it was Son of Toucan Sam!

I used to live in the apartment next to the one where Ted Bundy was living when he was murdering girls near UW. He was long gone when I moved in, though (dang!).

Why, oh why, are you moving there when you don't think you'll like it very much? The summers in Seattle are stunning, though. Those three weeks are great.

Yo tikiriviera,
Here's a thread of Seattle "to dos" that occured last June on TC that still has pertinent info, especially for a Seattle newbie. And I'm still at Thaiku every Tuesday evening spinning exotica and more.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4146&forum=1