📋 Rules for living in Seattle

Our Essential Rules for Living in Seattle

The World Cup has come and gone, and it gave many of us a new lens on the city, like seeing Seattle through someone else's eyes. This is also the time of year that a LOT of people are visiting from out of town, and it got us thinking about the unofficial rules to the city. The stuff you only know, if you know. Plus, we figured this might come in handy to all the transplants (Hi Liam!) moving to our city and trying to fit in. [City Cast Seattle]

What to do:

• 📚 Get a library card and use it!
• 🌧️ Know the difference between when it’s raining and when it’s RAINING
• 👖 Dressing casually is always acceptable
• 🏀 Watch lots of women’s sports
• ❄️ Really settle in if it’s going to snow - the city will shut down
• 😅 Watch out for the hills, they’re surprisingly steep
• ♻️ Learn how to recycle and compost or prepare to be judged
• 🅿️ Park the wrong way if you want
• 🗣️ We love to complain, and we do it often
• 🍺 Go to the hole-in-the-wall spot - support local to become a local

What NOT to do:

• 🚫 Stop adding an “s” at the end of things: Pike Place, Nordstrom, etc
• 🐦‍⬛ Don’t make enemies of the crow population
• ☂️ Umbrellas are traditionally for tourists only… invest in a good rain jacket
• 🙅 Don’t touch the gum wall
• 🛣️ No one says the 5, we say I-5
• 🚗 Don’t leave anything visible in your car
• ⛴️ Never cut the ferry line!
• 🛑 Don’t jaywalk - wait for the signal
• ☀️ Try not to leave the city during the summer, Seattle summers cannot be beat, and wherever you’re going will not compare

Special thanks to our prince of social media, Ben Keenan, for seeding this idea. There’s gotta be more, right? What did we miss? Reply to this email and send us your essential rules for living in Seattle so we can add them to our list!

📌 Big tech off-balance sheets raise questions: In their latest quarterly reports, Amazon showed a 20% revenue increase from last year and Microsoft’s revenue grew by 18% year-over-year. However, new reporting shows Microsoft, Amazon and other big tech companies are using off-balance sheet arrangements to mask how much debt they’re taking on (we’re talking trillions), particularly for financing data centers. These financing vehicles are similar to the ones that toppled Enron. [Bloomberg]

🥚 Egg inspections fall short: A new state audit shows Washington’s Department of Agriculture failed to complete 97% of required quarterly inspections of egg packing plants between 2024 and 2025. In 2025, it completed just two of 294 required inspections. The department says it “does not have sufficient staff to visit egg facilities quarterly,” and that facilities with less than 3,000 egg-laying hens should be exempt. [Washington State Standard]

🏘️ Capitol Hill’s first tiny home village opens: The 31 new homes replace a shelter that closed in North Seattle. Belmont Village will be run by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and will have a case manager to help with employment, applying for benefits, and sorting out identification. LIHI will also offer an on-site specialist to refer people to mental health services and addiction treatment. [Seattle Times]