Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Grass is Always Greener

I sometimes find myself comparing Denver to Seattle, and Seattle usually wins. The glamor of the Emerald City seems to smooth out the flaws I found with the Pacific Northwest. This morning, taking the light rail and bus to work, I found myself comparing the transit systems, the aesthetics of the city, and the timing of the appearance of Spring.

Seattle's transit system may not be a money maker, but it was so much nicer than the one here. You could *easily* get anywhere by bus and walking. Denver? Ha. Good luck with that. There aren't even sidewalks in many cases, and the bus routes aren't logical many times. To commute the same distance (but public transit) to work that I did when we lived in the PNW takes twice as long, because there are no direct routes. It also costs way more- $2 a ticket/ride versus my practically free student pass from graduate school.

Seattle was a much prettier city, but downtown Denver has it's beauty too. Also, fewer homeless people harassing me for money I don't have, and fewer pigeons. Seattle had the Market, but we now have a small farmers market walking distance from our house.

Spring arrives in February in Seattle, usually (perhaps not this year, with all the random snow), where it has just made its debut here in April. It's also supposed to be about 85 degrees today in Denver. Ugh. It rarely gets that hot in Seattle in the summer.

When I lived in Seattle I missed the sun. I missed it enough that I will never live there again. The glamor fades rather more quickly when I take that into consideration. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Seattle, and I love to visit, but live there again? No.

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