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"Big City" Tips
nearlysober
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok... Seattle isn't exactly New York but for many attendees it might be a bigger or more urban environment than they're used to. There are already tips for getting around, places to eat, places to stay and all that stuff in other threads...
This thread is for tips "in general" for dealing with being in a urban/city environment. Feel free to add your own serious/humorous advice:
- Making direct eye contact with a crazy person (note: there's a difference between a homeless person and a CRAZY person) is taken as you initiating contact with them, or sometimes taken as a sign of aggression. It seems to cause them to "lock on" to you.
- Don't jaywalk. Obey the traffic signals. Seattle traffic cops can be jerks when it comes to writing up jaywalking tickets... especially late at night when they're just looking to bust balls of the bar crowd.
- Despite being "in the city" the average person you meet on the street is probably quite nice if you need to ask someone for directions... they'll at least try... but if they're like me they probably won't know.
Thats all I can think of at the moment... add your own.
This thread is for tips "in general" for dealing with being in a urban/city environment. Feel free to add your own serious/humorous advice:
- Making direct eye contact with a crazy person (note: there's a difference between a homeless person and a CRAZY person) is taken as you initiating contact with them, or sometimes taken as a sign of aggression. It seems to cause them to "lock on" to you.
- Don't jaywalk. Obey the traffic signals. Seattle traffic cops can be jerks when it comes to writing up jaywalking tickets... especially late at night when they're just looking to bust balls of the bar crowd.
- Despite being "in the city" the average person you meet on the street is probably quite nice if you need to ask someone for directions... they'll at least try... but if they're like me they probably won't know.
Thats all I can think of at the moment... add your own.
nearlysober on
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Again, this was my experience in San Francisco, but crazy people tend to inhabit big cities in numbers. They come in a variety of styles. One guy I saw was giving an entire Christian sermon on a street corner in a whispered voice in a dirty ragged coat and scraggly beard. Not to mention, I swear, he sounded like he was growling every so often. So, what I'm saying is... bring a video camera, shit like this is gold and deserves to be saved forever.
Get the PAX 2008 Countdown widget and while away your sad, pathetic life watching it tick down the hours to PAX '08!
http://homepage.mac.com/ctishman
Says the guy who lives 50 miles away... seriously when I lived downtown Seattle and had to walk through Pioneer Square at 2 am from my night shift job, I always had one hand on my .45 inside my coat as various strung out bums asked if I had any drugs to sell them.
Not that this should scare people who haven't been here before, the area around the Convention Center is pretty safe (except for the Freeway Park... lol). Not that exceptions aren't impossible, a homeless crazy guy attacked a guy in Westlake Plaza not to long ago, luckily the person being attacked was armed and now there's no more crazy guy.
Up here we have a thriving population of crazies and addicts , but in Seattle their numbers seem to be fewer, and they themselves are better behaved.
I've walked all throughout downtown Seattle by myself on a Friday night, and didn't run into any problems.
There's a pretty solid police presence downtown late night, and hotels, food, and fun things are close enough to avoid venturing into Tweakertown.
Edit: Failing that I'm hiding behind Doc the entire time.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Hastings was fun when I was there at 2-5am.
Also, if you can't make your way around Seattle with the numbered streets I'm not sure you should have ever ventured out of your mother's basement.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
IT'S WHERE SHE KEEPS HER VEGETABLES !!!!
the ones with leaves or the ones in wheelchairs?
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Both.
Oh you know. Hit a couple of the low end gay bars. Got suitably drunk. Stumbled around town having a couple adventures. Same old.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
That's amazing. I've seen a guy with the exact same sign here in Eugene at the corner 29th and Willamette.
Maybe they are brothers.
That should get you some free pizza at least.
Streets are only numbered as you travel east - west. North - south, they have names. The downtown core goes like this, from south to north:
Jefferson
James
Cherry
Columbia
Marion
Madison
Spring
Seneca
University
Union
Pike
Pine
The easiest way to remember them is with the following mnemonic:
Jesus Christ made Seattle under protest
The water's on the west and the hill is on the east.
Busses are the secondary means of travel in the city, and they work a little weird depending on the direction they take. Since the downtown area is the Ride Free area between 6AM to 7PM, one can always board the bus at no cost there. Once you're out of the Ride Free area, things are a little tricky:
Fares are $1.25 for adults aged 17 and up, $0.50 for those under 17. Peak times vary from bus to bus, but they generally go from 3ish until 5-6ish. Peak time fares are $1.50 for adults, same for teh kids. Metro also has a visitor's pass that allows unlimited rides for that day only for $5. If you're taking more than four busses, then it's definetly the way to go. You can't buy them on the bus, you have to head to the customer service offices or buy online.
Whenever in doubt with the bus, do as others are doing. The coin box in the front will also tell you how much the fare is and when you pay it.
If you must call a taxi, go with Yellow Cab. They're the most knowledgable and reliable of the three, but that still means they suck ass. The other two are horrible. Their number is (206)622-6500.
Seattle cops are not assholes, and I've never seen them busting anyone for jaywalking. Still, the only real jaywalking I ever see around here is the "cross at the crosswalk when there's a Don't Walk signal yet no cars are around" kind. Still, it's not a license to go nuts or be a dick--they're still the fuzz, and they will fuck you up if you break the law.
And the people themselves are a little different. We're more apt to cross our arms at rock shows instead of dance, and mostly keep to ourselves in public areas like buses and elevators. We're a polite bunch, if a little chilly, so don't be put off if people aren't all smiles.
Also, there's a local legend that probably warrants a heads-up: Juan the Frye Apartments Guy. Without getting overly detailed on his history, the Frye Apartments are a low-income housing project that has a long waiting list and a strict set of rules for living there. He is called the Frye Apartments Guy due to the sign that he wields, denouncing them as "communist devil" [sic], as well as the police and the Catholic church. His sign also touts a couple if Bible verses and something about Jesus saves.
He has been standing in front of the Pacific Place mall at 6th and Pike (remember your mnemonic!) for years, alternating between shouting about the police, the Catholic church and the Frye Apartments as "communist devil" [sic], and shouting about Jesus as the path to salvation. He's a kick, for sure.
I always wondered what that guys name is! I see him all the time, but not always on his favorite corner. One time I saw him inside Pacific Place down by B 'n' N just sitting there drinking coffee with his stick and sign resting on the table.
Anyway, yeah, we have very polite bums in Seattle. There is little, if any, harassment, and most of the people you see will either have humorous signs or be playing music. My favorites are a guy taht dresses like a pirate and plays an accordian, and a guy who plays on bottles and plastic containers by westlake.
Westlake center has a Gamestop/EB and a few other small electronics stores.
Although I sugguest if you want to see electronics, that you find a way to go to Frys in renton.
Does WA have a concealed license, and if so, do they honor the Texas license? I know some states have a deal where they honor each others licenses. If so, I am going to bring my carry pistol and my license with me to Seattle. I used to live in Redmond, so I know it's not a terribly unsafe place to be, but I just don't trust anyplace or anyone these days. No I won't bring it near PAX itself, just for when I am out sight seeing late at night down town (and by sight seeing, I mean watching my wife drink).
I guess I should go look this up....
I am assuming of course you people talking about being armed have carry licenses *glares*
As for Beer. The Pacific Northwest unlike the rest of the US is pretty well known for it's huge number of Microbreweries and honestly if you are a true beer connoisseur you really should try out what we have on tap. I bet you will be mighty surprised, especially if your idea of American beer is bud, miller, or coors. My personal suggestions are in order:
Manies
Moose Drool
Fat Tire
Terminator Stout
But those are just the tip of the iceberg, and honestly you should take a chance and see what we have to offer in the way of cold malty beverages.
And yes I have been to belgium and germany and I have had some great beer there, but I would honestly put the four I named up against anything I tried in my travels in Europe.
It's only available on tap, and only in Western Washington (maybe Eastern WA & Portland... but its got a small distribution and it is not bottled)
I would double check on the alcohol percentage in said beer as sold in Europe and compare it to the stuff sold in the US. Most imported beers are watered down for US sale.
liquor ftw
For future reference, packing.org is the source for state-to-state concealed carry information. As it is, Texas has reciprocity with just about every state between it and Washington but not Washington itself. WA does issue CPLs (as they are called here) to non-residents, but you have to apply in person.
Fun fact: WA's concealed carry law is one of the oldest in the country, as a result it also has one of the highest rates of carry per capita (third in the country I believe). I've learned that despite our state's liberal bent it actually pays to be open about carrying, because if you have 10 adults in a room, chances are at least one is carrying or has carried with whom you can commiserate.
Oh, and just so you know, since you spoke of watching your wife drink, WA law does prohibit people from carrying in those portions of a restaurant or bar that are restricted to people over the age of 21.
Yeah, the two Gamestops at the two local malls are just one and three blocks from the Convention Center, and there's an FYE and a video store at Westlake Center. I second the vote for Frys - huge huge huge electronics store with everything you ever wanted (computer components, videogames, movies, appliances, solar cells, robots, other random electronic doohickeys), but it's 16 miles from the Convention Center, 20 minutes with no traffic, and would probably be quite the adventure to find a way there by public transit.