~Those dikks at DV finally kicked me out, i cant respond or post topics~

Started by ProjectoR, May 18 06 07:31

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Dissident

I'll leave the respective chauvinists to their breast-beating and mutual barrage.  I lived in Seattle briefly during my previous life in the US, have a few social and familial connections there and also made the occasional 3-4-day trips there since moving to Vancouver, so my reply is woefully misinformed.  However, this is my take:
Weather:  Slightly better than Vancouver--the Olympic Peninsula shuttles some of the rain storms North to BC (especially in Summer), the slight diminishment in latitude allows for a marginally warmer average temperature, and the area is more prone to ice storms and sleet than snow in the Winter as a result (mind you, we're still only talking a few weeks out of the year).


Societal Harmony:  Erm, that's up to interpretation and your intimacy with the culture.  I tend to see Americans as more straightforward about their differences in person, more willing to be "upfront" and get something that's bothering them off their chests and sorted out as compared to Canadians (though BCers can be more forthcoming than people from some other parts of Canada).  I think most Americans would consider that Canadians "gloss over" social "differences" (I assume you're primarily referring to racial, gender-based, or political tension), and either pretend that they don't exist while people's anger festers away and expresses itself in, shall I say, "slippery" (nay, even passive-aggressive) ways.  One side note:  the ethnic makeup of Seattle has historically featured large Japanese and Scandinavian populations, along with a lot of Welsh and Eastern Europeans in the coal mining country east of the city--there's definitely a different "feel" to the mix as compared to Vancouver (more sushi and lutefisk).

I can certainly say from my experience that, once you factor out some of the more reactionary suburban areas, people in Seattle don't display the kind of open, aggressive homophobia that I've seen in Vancouver.  I can say the same about attitudes towards women  (which is why I'm carrying on a long-distance relationship with an American rather than subject myself to Canadian guys).  Also, because urban American youth are forced to become more "street smart" at earlier ages than Canadians, there's a marked difference in a certain genre of "social sophistication"--Canadians would call it cynicism, Americans might call it emotional maturity.  As you can see, it's highly subjective . . .


Health Services--Don't insult my intelligence here.  Horror stories abound.  I worked in health care for a while in the US, and I saw it up close in my family environment.  I've also been on the wrong end of the social Darwinism equation where health services are concerned.  One thing I can tell you:  all the East Asian, subcontinental, African and Eastern European medical professionals who weren't interested in driving cabs in Canada are successfully practising in the US.


Sporting Accomplishment--As a very young child, I attended a Major League Soccer (or whatever they called it then) match in the Seattle Kingdome some 25 or 30 years ago.  Evidently Seattle had one of the largest community leagues in the country at that time.  Nothing like what you're used to, of course.  Their NFL team was in the Superbowl last year, they have a pretty muscular college football programme (which, to my mind, is way more interesting than pro football); there's an NBA team; a baseball franchise (American League, unfortunately) and only minor league hockey.  Hockey fans in Seattle pick up Vancouver Canucks games on cable or make the trip up here when they want to see NHL games.  

There's good skiing, sailing, mountain-biking and all manner of outdoor pursuits in both cities.  The only difference is that in the US you're allowed to carry a gun for protection against bears, pumas and meth-addled hillbillies when you venture into the wilderness.  In Canada you trust your personal safety to a spray bottle of mace.


General Standard of Dress--Canadians do their clothes shopping down in Seattle, and don't believe anyone who claims otherwise.  I don't think either city is more "formal", but Canadians are significantly more conservative in their dress.  You'll especially see more distinctiveness of dress, comportment and general "style" amongst the different subcultures in Seattle--here in Vancouver the differences are more muted.


Average Height--I know where you're going with that one.  I'm not going to take the bait of those old misogynistic threads from DV.


Level of Chestnut Devotion--???  Waaay more variety amongst the squirrel population here in Vancouver.  They're all grey with big fluffy tails in Seattle, but here in Vancouver there are these stylish-looking black ones too.

I'll add two more:

Customary colour of the sky during the day--Uniformly grey in both places.

Topography--Vancouver:  river valley-ish.  Seattle:  positively San Franciscan.

On old-fashioned mnemonic for remembering the order of streets in downtown Seattle:  "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest"

General rule of thumb for street names in Vancouver:  Welcome to the colonies, mate.
fenec rawks!

fenec

LOL @ The only difference is that in the US you're allowed to carry a gun for protection against bears, pumas and meth-addled hillbillies when you venture into the wilderness.  In Canada you trust your personal safety to a spray bottle of mace.


Thanks for that, I'm all the more educated for it.  And whilst you were composing it, DV came back online, I sent you a PM to enquire as to where you were, and another 0.000002% of the polar ice-cap has melted into the ocean.

  I'm also impressed by your faculty for prosaic reviews... I appreciate the effort that has gone into that.  I was especially fascinated by the black squirrels.  
I love Dissident!

tenkani

Wow, Dis.

I like your style    

  It's a shame that you'll be moving on now that DV's heaved its stenching bulk out of the sewers again. [FONT size=1]Or maybe you'll stay?[/FONT]
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Juan Valdez
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of coffee forever.

Schadenfreude

"I used to rock and roll all night and party every day, then it was every other day.  Now I'm lucky if I can find half an hour a week in which to get funky."

purelife

Welcome to DS, Mr. P.  Please remember to buckle your seatbealts and if we hand you a beer, please, accept it.  It's not pink.  ;)

tenkani

For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Juan Valdez
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of coffee forever.

Schadenfreude

tenkani wrote:
 Schaedensomething!!!!!

Long time no see    

  House renos have begun. Little time for dickin' around on the computer.
 
"I used to rock and roll all night and party every day, then it was every other day.  Now I'm lucky if I can find half an hour a week in which to get funky."

tenkani

LOL. Gotcha.

What have you been up to??

Hey, if you're looking for something to do, I hear there are a few vacancies in the mod staff over at DV!    
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Juan Valdez
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of coffee forever.


tenkani

For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Juan Valdez
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of coffee forever.

Lise

Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.
Bill Cosby.

LisejectoR

weirdness is taking over lise, so what colour panties tonight?

Lise

Color of your eyes, my good friend.

  I am so through with DV. DS is my comfort latte from now on.
Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.
Bill Cosby.

Gopher

Schadenfreude wrote:
 .Ah, so it IS a petting picture after all!
 
A fool's paradise is better than none.

kitten

Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

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