Everyone knows Seattle is great. The mountains, the water, the Space Needle, the Pike Place Market, the way people gripe like it's a pastime. Seriously, if you're ever stuck for a conversation topic, gripe about something—and in no time, someone else will join you. There are a million and one gripes Seattleites have. Here are a few I collected last week when I asked around (all the redundant ones about Amazon, which can be categorized under We Get the Point Already, have been removed).
• "Mercer Street is my personal hell. From the Space Needle to the freeway, it's 1.5 miles and it takes 1.5 hours at 5 p.m." —Sarah, real-estate agent
• "The lack of reasonably priced yet tasty Italian food." —Caitlin, PR specialist
• "The rain." —Teague, tech start-up employee
• "Anyone who complains about the rain." —Cole, server
• "I dunno, there are a couple of places I just can't stand." —Nicole, business development associate
• "How early it gets dark in the winter. But that's okay if that's the worst part of Seattle." —Nancy, retired therapist
• "Seattle's inability to persuade the state to enact climate change mitigation legislation." —Michael, government worker
• "Its beard phase. Also, people who never leave Capitol Hill. Like me." —Hannah, web developer
• "The University of Washington." —Jared, a University of Oregon grad
• "Lack of strip clubs where you can drink. Portland has them, including gay ones. Why can't we?" —Chris, journalist
• "Taco Bell on 90th and Aurora. They've burned me the most." —Nicole, business development associate
• "I wish public transit was better and dog owners picked up their dogs' shit." —Some guy on Reddit
• "The dog poop. I swear, it's to the point now where I wish if you're caught leaving dog shit on the sidewalk (both straight from the tap or wrapped in a bag), you get your dog taken away. Too bad, so sad, pick up your dog's poop!" —Some other guy on Reddit
• "It's hard to find really good Mexican food." —Antonio, research assistant
• "I think my least favorite part of Seattle is what an echo chamber it has become for people with progressive ideals (and I say that as one of those people). Intelligent disagreement hones our ideas and makes our thinking better. We've lost that. I find it impossible here to push back on an argument I find flabby (or ill-formed, or just unrealistic) without getting pushback of the 'How could ANYONE BUT a racist/homophobe/misogynist/idiot/Republican think...' variety." —Margot, tech executive, born and raised here
• "The worst part of Seattle for me is that there are bikers. But also my inner turmoil that I don't want them to die. I want the bikers to be able to bike, but when I drive, I'm annoyed." —Sylvia, passionate driver
• "I'm sad we don't invest more in public transit." —Harry, owner of a convertible
• "Why don't we have any fucking weed cafes?" —Francisco, student
• "The Stadium Station light-rail stop is too far from the stadiums, personally." —Nicole, business development associate
• "The people in Seattle who hate Seattle." —Dylan, former teaching assistant