Oh, everything costs too much. Traffic's a drag. Seattle isn't like it used to be. There are still plenty of great things about this city and plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about our future. Slade Gorton is out of office.
Fewer microbreweries make ordering beer less needlessly complicated.
Despite the mess of corporate music critics clamoring to call the time of death on our rock scene back in 1994, bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Murder City Devils continue to gain national and international fame, while local labels consistently release exceptional music from around the country. Mad Cow Disease has yet to reach Seattle. Ditto for Foot and Mouth Disease. Town Hall, brainchild of Seattle Weekly 's founder, is a great new forum for political debate and cultural events. With various dot-coms folding up, and everyone else just plain leaving town, office space is pretty easy to come by and housing prices have at least leveled out.