What I like about Seattle

Many people have asked me how I like Seattle, and my answer is always; I love it. It is hard to explain why, I just feel at home here. If it wasn't for the fact that my family is too far away, I would move here right away! But right now there is nothing that keeps me here at the end of the day. Sure, I do have people here that I consider my friends, but my ties to Norway is much to strong, right now.


* I like the fact that Seattle is not a big city. I like that even though it is not a big city it doesn't pretend to be a big city. Seattle is happy being just the way that it is. I lived in Oslo for one year before I moved to Trondheim, and I got the feeling that, even though Oslo is the biggest city in Norway, it is not a big city, but it tries so hard to be. It tried so hard to be a big city that it felt impersonal.
* I like the small neighborhoods with its charm and its own view on life. It is like coming to a totally different city, divided by hills and real family houses and gardens. Still it is easy to navigate through the neighborhoods, and through the city in general.
* I like that people here are friendly. My roommate from India said that people here are "friendly but not nice". I think they are nice too. They remind me of Norwegians in many ways. Friendly, but it takes time to get people to let you in to their lives. That way they may seem cold and distant, but they are just minding their own business. But when they eventually do let you in, you have a friend for life, and it would be worth working for.
* I like the coffee! And there is a lot of coffee here.
* I like the laid back lifestyle. My roommate from Philadelphia tells me that the west coast is much more laid back than the east coast. Things happen when they happen, and thats it!
* And best of all, I like that everybody thinks I am the most exiting person in the world, just because I am from Norway! I am really going to miss that.