Gloomy Depression

[says_simon]

I've been planning to move from Austin to Seattle for many months. The move date is set

Comments

[apestyle]

Right now it gets pitch black at 5. It's 8am and overcast like usual.

[m0rbidm00n]

yeah.. what apestyle said. the sun sets around 4pm these days and is black out by 5pm.

my advice: stay away. we have enough suicides around here already.

[malwae]

It's bad. If you're at all prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder, and moving from a place like Texas, you're going to be thinking about slitting your wrists after just a few months. Even during the day during most of the year it's grey and overcast and dank.

I imagine there are medications you can take to deal with it, or light banks - not sure how effective they are though. I'd seriously reconsider your move if you already have issues with depression and you know that lack of sun makes it worse.

[entropic_system]

I'll avoid any snark on this one: SAD is an actual, serious mental issue in the PNW. I get it occasionally and thought I was largely immune after living in Alaska. It doesn't just get dark earlier here, it's gloomy. In AK, you could at least see the stars or the aurora. Not so in Seattle: just a thick, neverending cloudbank stretching off into the horizon for months on end.

If you're an extrovert, you might be okay, but if you have a history of depression, I wouldn't recommend Seattle.

Also, as much as I love this place, the people here can be a little...flaky? Hard to explain - it's generally called the "Seattle Freeze," but it's not that easy to quantify. Also depends on where you work.

[says_simon]

I'm pretty much home bound. I work from home on my mediocre doll art, just to have something to do. What sun I get through the windows is all I will get.

[superbadgirl]

Much as I love Seattle, stay away. No, really. Take with the grain of salt that I live in a basement apartment (it does have adequately large windows), I had to turn my lights on at, like, 2:30 yesterday because it was so dim in there. I tend to be a gloomy Gert anyway and the grey does not make it worse, so Seattle works for me. If you already know grey skies get you down...

Or invest in a UV light, for sure.

[superbadgirl]

Also, it's 8:20 AM and I already feel the need to take a nap. Fog + grey = hard to wake up.

[says_simon]

I really appreciate this input.

[captain_slinky]

If the weather has that severe of an effect on your mood, I strongly suggest that you look elsewhere. The Greater Seattle Area seems to ration sunshine and warm weather to the point where if it's not raining and the temperature is above 58-degrees, it's time to hit the beach. You can't make any plans based on the weather here because it WILL drastically change 7 to 10 times per day; you need to be prepared to jump out and take advantage of the 17 minutes of bright, sunshiney daylight when and if it shows up at any given moment. We have at least 27 different degrees of "Rainy", many of which you don't see in any other part of the country (including "Not enough to use the lowest intermittent setting of your windshield wipers but too much to not use the wipers at all" and "Not-Fog"). Those of us who have lived here long enough know the difference between when the weatherman says "Sunbreaks" and "Rainy with a chance of sun

[riotdorrrk]

i've been trying to figure out the name for the level of precipitation that occurs between 'fog' and 'mist'

[captain_slinky]

I like to call it "N'Fog"...

[rymrytr]

That would be these steps:

"Fog" - "Mog" - "Frist" - "Mist"... :o)