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Dillinger · 01-05-2010, 06:32 PM

1) Best indigenous food - I would have to say that our salmon and our coffee are really well known. Having said that, we have a lot of Pacific Rim influence and we have some great Asian food here. We have some of the best Mom and Pop Teriyaki chicken places I have found around the country.

2) Biggest plus to living there - Well, it's not Kalifornia, there is no state income tax ( yet ) and depending on where you live in the Puget Sound region, you are never more than 1.5 hours from doing just about anything. Want to go sea fishing? Short drive and you can charter a boat. Want to go skiing or snow boarding? Short drive to one of three or four really good resorts. Want to go hunting? We have an entire mountain range full of game. Want to go trail riding or hiking? We got a ton of State maintained trails and tons more than are part of the national Parks.

3) Biggest minus - Traffic. We have terrible traffic in and around the cities. We have NO public transportation that is worth a damn. The "monorail" that everyone talks about is a joke and a maintenence nightmare. The ferry system is about 20 years overdue for being completely overhauled. The "Sounder" train is a good step forward, and if you want to go to Seattle, it's great, but it does not take you anywhere else that is useful. And we got 3 counties of Democrats that vote the state Blue because of the population density.

4) Weirdest wildlife - Geoduck. Look it up.

5) A word or phrase that an outsider wouldn't understand - "Eastside", which basically means the Eastside of Lake Washington, where all the money and high end folks live. "Passive Aggressive" - No one here says it, everyone here practices it. What a bunch of quiet, take it and plot behind your back bunch of girly men we have here. "Sounder" - It's the light rail system that cost a ton of money and helped reduce about 1% of our traffic problems. "The Troll" & "Freemont" - No self respecting FTF member would be caught dead in Freemont, unless it was to photograph the Troll and leave. Yes, we have a big assed Troll that lives under a bridge and it's a "landmark". The "Soft" or The "Dark Empire" = Microsoft.

6) Local boy or girl who made good. - Bill Gates ( born here ). Paul Allen ( born here ). Kasey Kahne ( some Nascar driver or something ). A bunch of worthless artists from the "Grunge" era. Steve Largent was a wide receiver here and became a US Senator, but I think he was from Oklahoma though.

7) Gun laws - Good, but confusing. I can buy any pistol over the counter with my state carry permit. No waiting required. I can buy any sound suppressor with the proper paperwork. I CAN NOT shoot said sound suppressor, ever, inside the state.

We have a lot of Class III, private, firearms owners here and the local PD does not frown on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Obtaining gun permits and carry licenses is very easy and without red tape.

8) Biggest misconception the rest of us might have about your state - That is rains all the time. It does. Stay away. We don't need any more of you transplants that can't drive in the rain... LOL! Actaully our rainy season is less than New York and several other places around the country. Our winters are never too cold and our summers, though increasing in temp, are never heat waves. Few homes have A/C. Most homes have gas burning fireplaces that are more show than actually used to heat the house.

9) The thing an outsider should never do - I don't know about this one. Visit Hill Top in Tacoma unarmed. Or Parkland. Wear rubber rain boots ( or galoshes ) to work. Wear flannel to anywhere that isn't REI or work. Drink Starbuck's Coffee and assume it's the best we have to offer. Actually go and throw a fish at The Market. This will tell everyone how much of a tourist you are.

10) Restaurant - The Metropolitan Bar & Grill. Go and have the ( assumed ) best steak in Seattle, rub elbows with the local semi famous and any traveling, visiting celebrities or high ranking mucky-mucks.

El Gaucho - Go and have the best steak in Seattle no one knows about. And expect to get there EARLY. Expect to wait for a table. Expect to wait for the meal. Expect to enjoy the evening. Just don't expect all this to happen in a 2 hour time frame, because only the locals know about it.

cpttango30 · 01-05-2010, 06:50 PM

Geoduck. Look it up.

LOL that is the oddest dam thing I have ever seen. Some say it tastes great but for one reason and one reason alone I am not putting that thing in my mouth.

Once you nonknowers looks that thing up you will know why......

Benning Boy · 01-05-2010, 07:03 PM

You ever look at something, and some primal force inside you wants to destroy it for no good reason? No?

Look up the geoduck, and you will.

Good thread, J.D., I'm understanding more already, if you were to compare the vibe to some other place, what would it be?