I was in the office today, and went for a lunchtime walk. 2 things about the neighborhood around my office struck me. Firstly, what used to be quite a nice neighborhood has been ruined by gentrification and new construction. There are not many older houses left. When they are sold (or more likely the homeowner has finally accepted an unsolicited offer) - then a lot that once contained one home is converted into 4 or 6 characterless townhomes by some unscrupulous developer. Or worse, they build a big apartment rental building where the units are over-priced, under-sized and lack the necessary parking. Secondly, you can't help but notice the amount of homelessness. Perhaps it was just because it was the start of the month and they got their social security check and already spent it on drink or drugs or whatever, but I seemed to encounter a lot of crazy homeless people today. But even so, the sheer number of campers, RVs and tents that I see around is much more than it ever used to be. They are unsightly, unsafe and don't smell good - it is very unpleasant. So the walks that I used to take regularly from the office are no longer enjoyable - which isn't good, and makes me more inclined to want to become a 100% remote worker. And I think this reflects my general feeling that I no longer like Seattle. It has a homeless problem, it has a crime problem, and it has a cost of living problem. None of these are unique to Seattle, but as I walked around today I could only think how much I miss San Diego. Or at least the San Diego of nearly 20 years ago when I was nearly 20 years younger.
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