[Kev]

Originally Posted by 98005xi

This is VERY true. I'm used to climbing up and down SF streets/hills, but having to deal with ice and other reckless drivers (who wind up sliding down said hills) becomes an exercise in futility. This winter looks to be a pretty cool one - on the heels of last year's La Nina present.

Once you're up here, be sure to change your driving habits and slow down in winter weather. My biggest advice is to don't assume that other people know how to actually merge or change lanes safely. They will signal and expect/wait for you to give them space (because they haven't paid enough attention to the approaching exit/interchange/offramp), whereas in CA people will generally not signal and aggressively change lanes/move where there's room (and do it quickly). It's an anticipation/expection thing. Be patient and you'll get used to it (it's pointless to get frustrated - just join in the fun).

Good luck with the move!

-alex

It's very entertaining seeing how people were sliding up down left right in 2 inches of snow. However, it's not so funny when you are the one getting stuck. After last year's snow storm, I decided to just park my car in downtown and walk up the hill to Harborview at 5am. It was definitely the right decision. The roads were not plowed. They have not started using road salts. Every where on the road is just a big sheet of ice. Without good winter tires, or at least brand new all-season tires (old all-season tires don't work as well), I would recommend not trying to get up / down the hills. Also, avoid the rush hours so you don't get bumped by dumb asses who can't drive in snow / ice.

The 2nd part of your comment reverberates strongly with my first visit here. It was 2009 and I was interviewing at the University Medical Center. It was my first time in Seattle so I decided to rent a car to explore the city a bit before and after the interview. I was just getting on to I-5 and I saw this Infiniti G35 with a loud fart can in front of me. I was expecting him to gun the car but instead, he was just driving at 50mph. I ended up gunning my POS rental car around him. It was hilarious.