Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dogshed]

If you are from a flat area like Kansas Washington is just stunning.

When I drove a truck I once parked in the gravel lot next to the Starbucks headquarters for a few hours.

[Dan The Chainsawman]

[Tiger Beer]

I've lived in Portland Oregon for a year. Love it!

I'm even slightly more impressed by the State of Washington. Higher average Asian population as well than Oregon. Even in small little Washington towns I'd see the occassional Korean-owned gas station and such.

[Tony_Balony]

I lived in downtown Seattle for 7 years. I loved calling in sick and loitering at Westlake drinking lattes and watching people go to work.
The best meals I had were made by me and they consisted of fresh trout and a fresh peach that I got at The Market. I loved the hikes on the weekends, I loved the time at the beach camping with the massive driftwood fires and the earthreal north Pacific sky. Oh Hozomeen! Fishing on the strait was the best. I loved riding down Pine st on my street mod MTB or even more coming down Beacon Hill.
I loved the cafes and the bars and the bands and the music and the marqee at the Lusty Lady. I loved the politics. I was hit bad by Seasonal Affective Disorder. It was great when would make fun of their smash hit. I loved scalping my Pearl Jam tickets. The bike commuting was terrific. You could pick up duals anywhwere downtown at rush hour. I liked seeing real people in places like Concrete where the locals call the cops on each other when the dog comes over to the neighbor's yard and poops too much. i loved the five points and the mecca cafe.

[paquebot]

I've spent time living all over the state -- Spokane, Walla Walla, Yakima, Vancouver, Forks, Olympia, and Pullman to date. There are huge contrasts between regions of the state. For example, last week I moved from Pullman to Olympia and saw the temperature change from 110' F to 60' F just a six hour drive away.

The Olympic Peninsula (far northwest) has one of only three temperate rainforests in the world. Last I checked the average rainfall was something like 156 inches a year but it's a great place for mountain hiking, fishing, whale watching, and exploring sandy beaches, lighthouses, and giant old-growth forests. It's also worth checking out the Makah Culture and History Center for some Native American history -- a mudslide wiped out the village of Ozette two centuries ago, pretty much all of the artifacts were preserved and can be seen at the MCHC.

Olympia is the capital but I don't know that it's really worth visiting. If you visit somewhere in the I-5 corridor (Bellingham, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Kelso, Vancouver) the best recommendation would be Seattle. Lots of variety in shopping, sites, and food. Alki Beach is across from the downtown area and gives you a view of the Space Needle while you're relaxing in the sand. If you ever miss Korea just visit Lakewood (south Tacoma); there are Korean markets, noraebangs, and miles of business signs written only in Hangul. The weather here is fantastic for me -- plenty of rain but the temperate climate means it doesn't get too hot in summer or too cold in winter.

Mount Rainier and Mount Saint Helens might be worth checking out if you like hiking, skiing, and/or snowboarding. The Cascade Mountains create a rainshadow between the two halves of the state (and also serve as a political barrier between the liberal west and conservative east). Lots of rain and trees in the west, lots of dry land and farms in the east.

Once you get a little east of Ellensburg and by the Columbia River you enter a desert zone and a landscape that looks a little reminiscent of the southwestern states. You'll get tumbleweed across the freeway and rock formations that jut up from the surrounding ground. Go a little further south though and you eventually reach fantastic fruit country. Yakima is a big center of this with cherries and peaches as important crops.

Spokane is the second-biggest city in Washington but seems to be viewed as either (a) a slum compared to larger cities around Puget Sound in the west or (b) the only decent shopping center in the entire eastern half of the state. Go a little further south though and you get rolling hills devoted to wheat fields. If you've ever seen the default Windows background (green rolling hills) that was actually taken in the Palouse (the area around southeastern Washington). In the summer it can get really dry and hot, while in the winter it gets quite cold (there were days I walked to my university classes in -12' F temperatures). However, I don't know that the area has too much to offer a tourist.

Of course, this is naturally just my own opinion of the state. Hopefully 27 years of living here means I'm at least half-way accurate.

[taobenli]

I'm from Seattle (grew up on Vashon Island, went to high school on Broadway and moved back to Seattle after university in Wisconsin). Wisonsin was quite pretty, too, but I missed the water and mountains. I love Seattle but it does have its bads- namely the less than satisfactory public transportation system. I hope that when light rail is completed (if it ever is!) things will get better. It also gets gloomy in the winter, but that makes it all the more cozy to sit with coffee in a little cafe playing good music somewhere...it's Seoul I'm nearly as motivated to study as in Seattle, so it's a good thing I'm going to grad school there and not here!

[cangel]

The state's really cleaned her act up after catching both the Green River Killer and the Spokane Serial Killer... I grew up in Spokane and at the time, 70s-early 90s, it was great. Went back in 1995 and it had really started to slide. Many people equate Spokane's demise to the influx of Californians looking for cheaper housing and bringing with them gangs and drugs. I really don't know how true this is but it's a mitigating factor IMHO. Was back again in 1999 and it's really tanked. Riverfront Park is still pretty cool and for those who don't know, Riverfront Park can be seen in the Johnny Depp movie, Benny & Joon. The Spokane River running through the center of town is beautiful particulary through the park when the flood gates are open. The Bowl and Pitcher are nice too (Riverside State Park). Lot's of frontier history with Ft. Spokane et al. Love the seasons in Eastern Washington which are quite diverse and a great display of the seasons and their contrasts. I also lived in Centralia, where the first BSE cow was de-boned back in 2004... What a sh't storm that created. Like the previous post, Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens are spectacular. I remember being in school in Spokane when Mt. St. Helens erupted... Day turned to night even on the east side of the state. I was at Ft. Lewis for a couple of years but was never into Tacoma although the aroma has decreased sustantially in recent years. Seattle's a great city but I felt really jipped by the underground tour... WTF? The Boeing Flight Museum is awesome and so is Bumbershoot. The Olympic Nat. Forest is great, too. I have an aunt and uncle that have a large fruit farm in Cashmere. Spectacular fruit, love the Rainier cherries. Anyway, Washington's great.

[nomaster]

I too have lived all over the state, but it seems ot have been adequately covered except no one has mentioned camping in wilderness areas or fishing anywhere but on the sound.
The state used to be a sports haven and people who don't remember it from back when still think it is.
JDN said he went to Eastern's branch campus in Spokane, I went to the main campus in Cheney, first time when it was still Eastern Washington State College. Now it's Eastern Washington University, I still think that's laughable decades later. Merely a ploy to charge more for out of state tuition.

[Don Gately]

[Don Gately]

[Dan The Chainsawman]

[riley]

Happy's Market?

Damn bastards wouldn't sell me beer. Told me that my Oregon state license was fake and yelled at me (the 24 year old) to get the hell out.

It was on the same day as when Western Oregon beat CWU, so I wonder if that had something to do with it.