I hear all sorts of stories in Seattle.  Compared to Portland the commute seems to be much more of an effort for a lot of people in Seattle.  Some people it is as easy as Portland, others have the nightmare of the hour or longer commute.

It always seemed, and I’ll admit a slightly skewed perspective, that the city dwelling urbanites of Portland had no qualms at all with their commute.  As a matter of fact most of the urban dwellers loved their commute of 5 minutes, 10, or maybe even 20 minutes.  The suburbanites, with their life draining, fun sucking drives of 30+ minutes often complained to no end.  However being an urbanite while I lived in Portland I rarely heard about these people’s commuting misery.  Then of course, even at 30 minutes most Portlanders really don’t have anything to complain about.  Portland really does, as a fact, have a super easy commute with pretty low commute times.  Unless of course someone decides they want misery and lives 40 miles out from the city, but I digress.

Seattle is different though, as a start the place is massive in comparison to Portland.  Seattle seems a bit more like other cities I’ve lived in from a geographic perspective.  The one massive difference is the relief, i.e. hills everywhere.  This changes the perspective of those driving a large degree, namely in the speed equation.  People in Seattle do not drive anywhere near as fast as people in other cities I’ve lived in (excluding Portland, which also drives slow slow).

Another huge difference is the town center areas and primary thoroughfares leave pedestrians with a more auto-centric design to large parts of the city.  This alters the perception of people coming into and out of areas during their commute.  The average anxiety increases dramatically in road environments like this.  To me, I find it entertaining as I take a very anthropological approach to watching people during their commutes.  To put it simply, their misery at the hands of their own decisions I find laughable and entertaining.  In the end, it is their fault that this is such a problem.

Today the sky is without light, except for the ambient glow of the white overcast sky.  The rain is falling slowly and in spurts over certain parts of the city.  The drivers ply their directions into and out of downtown, looking around with the extra franticness that rain incurs.  Being the north west pedestrians still walk around with barely a notice of the drizzle or grey skies.  The buses still roll in and de-bus their hundreds upon hundreds of passengers.  3rd, 4th, and the other streets where egress takes places are full of transit commuters pouring out and onward to work.

I love it.  To me this is beautiful.  The flow of people, the meaning of their intent, the mastery of their day.  Modern humanity.  Some may see despair or slavery to the corporate machine, I see knowledge, security, and passion where it truly is.

On the bus I board, the #545 bound for Redmond, I already know the faces but not the names.  I get the friendly smiles and cursory glances of familiarity among the driver and fellow riders.  It is a warm feeling to have that basic familiarity with those around me.  At some point I will probably know some of their names as random conversations turn into actual meaningful discussions.  The banter rolls away and actual communication takes place.

As we roll up into the hills, to what I suppose is Capital Hill, we poke along at a very slow pace.  It’s always nice compared to the chaotic racket when driving down the Interstate.  It makes me wonder how many people are actually aware of the noise pollution high speed (30+ mph) thoroughfares have.  The noise is often very overbearing, as anyone that has ever lived by a highway or major road can probably verify.

The commute rolls on, rain and dreary overcast, and I have a grand smile on my face while I observe the world around me.  Transit, with the plush seats and comfortable ride, provides the ultimate platform for doing just that.

Arrivederci