Getting the Hell Out!

[Forkliftt]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Anybody remember the Lil Abner character Joe Btfsplk?

Ahhh.
So he does exist. In cartoons and in the .... !!


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's
✌️

[klee wyck]

Originally Posted by Forkliftt

We are also looking into the areas more Northern as have been suggested. The headline, for me anyway, is getting to live a board. I suspect most major cities are not what they use to be- but for some of us "country folk" it is still awesome . We were in Chicago in July- and other than the drive from Midway- found the city exceptionally clean, landscaped and beautiful. Patricia's uncle who we visited in Indiana while on our trip, would have preferred us to stay out of the "city" for safety's sake. But he hasn't been there in years. His opinion I suspect is hugely influenced by the evening news .

So.... if we landed in a live a board marina on Lake Union for a while I think I could dig that.
On our first trip to Seattle last September we took in a day and a half of the city prior to our cruise and enjoyed every moment. The seafood and flowers at Pike market were beyond anything we have found (Kemah has great Gulf fish markets) and it was refreshing to see the positive attitudes within the city. Like it or not, the area is loaded with great jobs (and great salaries I suspect) and that is the draw to the area along with the beautiful water that abounds for boating. Luckily not many of these new "folks" are boaters.
And for me- life is a compromise. My first choice would probably be Juneau. At least during the moderate months .



1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's
✌️

Captain and Admiral Fork,
I think if you arrive Seattle with the attitude expressed in the quote above, you are going to love the place.
I am a small town guy. Grew up in a town of 3800 and currently live where the closest town is 200. Twenty years ago I had a bad attitude and hated Seattle. My boat is now moored there and I find the place quite charming as cities go. I am sure it helps if your lifestyle gives you the latitude to avoid rush hours and the big event venues.
The official statement of our Marina says no live aboard. I am aware of at least three on my pier alone
Would love to host you for a cold one or a toddy (weather depending) during your upcoming visit if you look me up. Regardless, welcome to Seattle!

[Forkliftt]

That's mighty neighborly of you Bill. . And an offer I'm sure we will take you up on. Please PM your contact info and I'll get in touch as our date solidifies.


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's
✌️

[BruceK]

For want of somewhere less drifty, for info not quite worth its own thread, 71 Aussie bushfire/wildfire firefighters just flew out of Sydney heading your way, responding to a request for help fighting fires burning in USA.
They will know what they are doing, they get plenty of practice here, but do lay in a good stock of cold beer.

[Off Duty]

Originally Posted by Marin

Hey, people like different things. If some of them are dumb enough to love living in a city that's below sea level and then act all shocked and surprised when it floods, it's a sure bet there will be others who love to live in the Seattle area...

You just described New Orleans.
And while not below sea level, look at the flooding we've seen in Florida lately. But people keep coming. Gotta be something there.

... As for BandB's statement that I'd hate where he lives, that's spot on. I cannot imagine a worse region in the US to live except South California...

Seriously?
Looks like we bit the bullet on that one lol

...I've been to Florida for work several times. What I and my crew came away with is that Florida is a place that's dead flat and always on fire ...

Nah, we can do much worse than that:-) lol

[Al]

My apologies to the forum, Yes Alaska is 2.5 larger than Texas. Was carried away and thought I could pull a fast one! When you view any map depicting the U.S. as a country, we share about the same size as Hawaiian Islands. thought I could slip one by. When you overlay the lower 48 states with Alaska the appearance sure looks like 5 times larger than Texas.

Al.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by Al

My apologies to the forum, Yes Alaska is 2.5 larger than Texas. Was carried away and thought I could pull a fast one! When you view any map depicting the U.S. as a country, we share about the same size as Hawaiian Islands. thought I could slip one by. When you overlay the lower 48 states with Alaska the appearance sure looks like 5 times larger than Texas.

Al.

Wifey B: It's got a thousand times more water and undeveloped land. And tens of thousands more Alaskans.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by BruceK

For want of somewhere less drifty, for info not quite worth its own thread, 71 Aussie bushfire/wildfire firefighters just flew out of Sydney heading your way, responding to a request for help fighting fires burning in USA.
They will know what they are doing, they get plenty of practice here, but do lay in a good stock of cold beer.

Thanks for the help! We wish them a productive, short, and safe stay!

[Marin]

Originally Posted by BruceK

For want of somewhere less drifty, for info not quite worth its own thread, 71 Aussie bushfire/wildfire firefighters just flew out of Sydney heading your way, responding to a request for help fighting fires burning in USA.

That's great for Australia to do that. Yesterday we drove up to the boat and the smoke on the west side of the mountains from the fires on the east side was so heavy that visibility was reduced to just a few very hazy miles. The wind shifted later in the day and started blowing it out of the northern Sound area, but down in the southwestern part of the state, particularly along the Columbia River, the smoke was so heavy that the air quality was listed as red, which means serious health hazard.

[Insequent]

Interesting read. I quite liked Seattle, but then I was just visiting and understand the difference to living there. I do think its one of the nicer USA cities to visit. I spent time to the north (Edmonds as a liveaboard for a time) and in Port Townsend, where I lived on and off for a year during a boat refit. I got a kick out of folks there saying 'welcome home' after getting back there from one of my regular visits back to Australia. I have fond memories of Washington and folks I met while there.

Then when I put the boat on a ship bound for Australia I drove through BC, the Yukon and Alaska before catching the 'Blue Canoe" back to Prince Rupert and continuing my road trip. Now yes it was only a short visit but some impressions are vivid and I think informative and accurate. I have to say that the Alaskan towns that get the cruise ships have been thoroughly ruined. I got really annoyed at the number of diamond/jewellery stores taking up good space in main streets of places like Skagway and Juneau. Then the ships stop coming, a lot of transient workers leave and the streets are full of shops locked for the season. Really depressing. As I had my car I could see a bit more of Juneau than the old town that is either full of cruise ship tourists or deserted, but it was still a bit disappointing. I had always wanted to do an Inside Passage cruise, preferably on one of the smaller vessels. But not anymore. The cruise ships are very much a mixed blessing for Alaska. I certainly would not want to live any place they visited.

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by Insequent

Interesting read. I quite liked Seattle, but then I was just visiting and understand the difference to living there. I do think its one of the nicer USA cities to visit. I spent time to the north (Edmonds as a liveaboard for a time) and in Port Townsend, where I lived on and off for a year during a boat refit. I got a kick out of folks there saying 'welcome home' after getting back there from one of my regular visits back to Australia. I have fond memories of Washington and folks I met while there.

Then when I put the boat on a ship bound for Australia I drove through BC, the Yukon and Alaska before catching the 'Blue Canoe" back to Prince Rupert and continuing my road trip. Now yes it was only a short visit but some impressions are vivid and I think informative and accurate. I have to say that the Alaskan towns that get the cruise ships have been thoroughly ruined. I got really annoyed at the number of diamond/jewellery stores taking up good space in main streets of places like Skagway and Juneau. Then the ships stop coming, a lot of transient workers leave and the streets are full of shops locked for the season. Really depressing. As I had my car I could see a bit more of Juneau than the old town that is either full of cruise ship tourists or deserted, but it was still a bit disappointing. I had always wanted to do an Inside Passage cruise, preferably on one of the smaller vessels. But not anymore. The cruise ships are very much a mixed blessing for Alaska. I certainly would not want to live any place they visited.

That seems to be so true of most smaller cities the cruise ships go to we could make a lengthy list of those in the Caribbean

[O C Diver]

Originally Posted by siestakey

That seems to be so true of most smaller cities the cruise ships go to we could make a lengthy list of those in the Caribbean

While I had not thought about it seriously before, there's very few places that cruise ships frequent that I want to return to......none when a ships in port. The business is like a cancer consuming the local character of the port and making it resemble every other place the ship stops. Only the names on the tee shirts are different.

Ted

[Cottontop]

Originally Posted by siestakey

That seems to be so true of most smaller cities the cruise ships go to we could make a lengthy list of those in the Caribbean

Increase in life expectancy in the Virgin Islands since the cruise ships have been visiting:

Life expectancy at birth - female (years) in Virgin Islands

[BandB]

Originally Posted by O C Diver

While I had not thought about it seriously before, there's very few places that cruise ships frequent that I want to return to......none when a ships in port. The business is like a cancer consuming the local character of the port and making it resemble every other place the ship stops. Only the names on the tee shirts are different.

Ted

Well, let's see....Fort Lauderdale. Miami, so guess I can't say that. Now as to smaller towns with cruise ships, I have mixed feelings. I like the fact that these ports often have amenities they otherwise wouldn't. Someone mentioned jewelry stores and I think gift shops, but I am fine with those. Shops that would otherwise not exist in these areas and we do our shopping before and after the cruise traffic. The part I dislike is having to stand in line somewhere behind the cruise traffic, but then I come back later. As to consuming the character, they do in some ways, but sometimes that character they consumed was huge unemployment, no business activity. We know in Alaska some of the seaplane tours and the scenic charter excursions we took advantage of might well not exist were it not for cruise ships. We also found that if you really wanted the "local character" you didn't have to wander far away. The cruise ship traffic is generally limited to a very small area. We love exploring the small towns visited by very few, but we also don't mind the cruise ship ports.

All economic development, which cruise ship ports are, changes the local character, but I wouldn't use the word consume. Tourism, in whatever form, transforms areas. However, we are tourists so somewhat ok with that. Mostly when I see locals benefiting then I'm happy.

[folivier]

We spent 2 weeks at a condo in Bonaire right across from the small cruise ship dock. Sat on our patio and watched people streaming out for 2 hours! Told my dear wife "no way you're getting me on one of those!" Stayed in until they were gone. Thankfully the ship only came in once a week.

[MartySchwartz]

Well, I guess I am one of the weird ones. I was born in the deep south and spent the first half of my life on the east coast. I have lived in Morocco (as a child), Florida, Virginia, Connecticut, Mississippi (Pascagoula to be exact),Hawaii, California and for the past 16 years have been in Poulsbo Washington. Of all the places I have lived Poulsbo has been THE BEST for boating. The best weather was in HI but the boating there was not my cup-o-tea. I have never liked Cities and have avoided them as much as possible my entire life.

So, Steve and Patricia, when you guys come up to Seattle to look around be sure to make it over to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas to see what this side looks like. I still think you should leave yer current boat there and just buy another up here, I know of a few Presidents in the area. That way you can have the best of both worlds. And Yes, BEER will always get my attention.

Marty............................

[psneeld]

In the end...after moving over 40 times from college to now...I often find the forever locals to be just as bad overall.


Of course gross generalizations are often...well...just gross....

[O C Diver]

Originally Posted by BandB

Well, let's see....Fort Lauderdale. Miami, so guess I can't say that. Now as to smaller towns with cruise ships, I have mixed feelings.

That's true, they are conjested, over populated, and a driving / boating nightmare without the cruise ships. Guess now I can use the cruise ships as an excuse for staying on FL SW coast.

Ted

[Bob Cofer]

Born and raised in Western Washington, traveled the world a couple of times and came back here to stay. If you want to check out what it's like to live here please do and know that you will be welcomed. Start in Bellingham, work your way South and form your own opinion. If you do start up here send me a PM. Jill and I would be happy to show you around. As a jumping off place for cruising the San Juans and all points North you won't be disappointed.

[siestakey]

Originally Posted by BandB

Well, let's see....Fort Lauderdale. Miami, so guess I can't say that. Now as to smaller towns with cruise ships, I have mixed feelings. I like the fact that these ports often have amenities they otherwise wouldn't. Someone mentioned jewelry stores and I think gift shops, but I am fine with those. Shops that would otherwise not exist in these areas and we do our shopping before and after the cruise traffic. The part I dislike is having to stand in line somewhere behind the cruise traffic, but then I come back later. As to consuming the character, they do in some ways, but sometimes that character they consumed was huge unemployment, no business activity. We know in Alaska some of the seaplane tours and the scenic charter excursions we took advantage of might well not exist were it not for cruise ships. We also found that if you really wanted the "local character" you didn't have to wander far away. The cruise ship traffic is generally limited to a very small area. We love exploring the small towns visited by very few, but we also don't mind the cruise ship ports.

All economic development, which cruise ship ports are, changes the local character, but I wouldn't use the word consume. Tourism, in whatever form, transforms areas. However, we are tourists so somewhat ok with that. Mostly when I see locals benefiting then I'm happy.

Well said

and being many generations deep in Florida ( before it was a state) I am proud of the state in many ways