Some observations... a little closer to the west coast

Ok, let's just face, I'm on the West Coast. Seattle in on Puget Sound which is part of the Pacific Ocean - definitely the west coast. And though not rocket science, it's taking a minute to get use to this cultural shift (which I'm not saying it's better it's just different):
* snowbirds (retired people) go to Mexico, Arizona or Hawaii for the winter, not Florida.
* going to Japan or Hawaii isn't really that big of a deal. It's not really that far away.
* skateboard parks are in many communities here (basically a empty in ground swimming pool without ladders - for those of you who don't know, skateboarding as a phenomenon started in California - in empty swimming pools).
*high cost of living- oy. (This just keeps going up. Of the 88,000 people who MOVE TO Washington State last year, more than half were from California where everything is more expensive and think they're getting a deal here and don't mind paying $1 million for a small house - after all, they just sold theirs for 3...)
* technology - not everyone but many, many people have access to lots of technology. Everyone (almost) had an ipod, palm, laptops, etc. (This also goes back to the incredible wealth in this city and the fact that Microsoft, Adobe, and many, many other technology companies are based here).
* This is a very international city with many NGOs based in Seattle and many people having travels to many other countries.
* Fit. This city is fit. A part of that belong to the west coast obsession with fitness the other part belong to Scandahoovians who first settled out here. Like Meenisota, the cold, rainy weather isn't view as an obstacle.
* Craigslist. I know it's catching up in Cleveland, but it's HUGE out here. Everyone's on it, using it, a part of it (started in San Francisco).

There are a million other observations I have about the city, my life, the West Coast, etc., but I'll start with these few and add one more. I went for drinks with a friend from Ohio (who I had met a couple of times) and we were talking about our experiences. He came out a day after me from Wisconsin and ran into that horrible snowstorm that I had just missed. Anyway, we were talking and he asked me if I missed the Midwest - the honesty of it. And I thought about it, and said, not yet. I don't miss anything yet from the Midwest but then it dawned on me. Seattle, the place I have been going to on vacation for the last 5 years, was now my home. It would be like all of the sudden moving to Hawaii or Key West or where ever you go to vacation. It's now your home but doesn't quite feel real yet. Though I'm sure it will.