Smug Seattle

This is the kind of attitude from "native" Seattlites that bewilders me.

It's one thing to have pride in your home, whether it be a town or a region or a country, but they don't really have that here in Seattle. They have anti-pride. They aren't ashamed of aspects of the city, but rather they share a smug happiness when transplants (like myself) find things about the city that are disagreeable. This is unlike many places I've been... New Yorkers have no problem telling you why your city is inferior because there is nothing you can do there that they can't do in New York. Folks from DC think its quaint that you might have a "mayor" in your town, because they have a "president." People in LA complain about the traffic, but it seems a worthwhile trade for the weather, the beautiful people, and the access to beaches and mountains.

But in Seattle it seems chic to brag about being able to deal with the gray. I've blogged about the weather a lot, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't take a little time to adapt. But let's get serious: it's not very hard to adapt to "mild." This isn't Minneapolis in the winter, or New Orleans in the summer. Who brags about adjusting to the middle? And who brags about one of the bad aspects of their city?

Seattle has a lot to be proud of: it's clean, it has stunning views of mountains to the east and west, there's more outdoors activities nearby than any other major city in the US, there's a great music scene, it is home to several wildly successful companies... Seriously. Show some pride. You aren't Dallas (which has nothing to brag about, yet Texans just seem to love it).