The neighborhood I’m staying in, Verdun, is a lovely place. The commercial street here reminds me of “downtown” West Seattle — buildings on the street, not too tall, smaller businesses mostly, cute small-town feel. The difference is that the commercial street goes practically forever where West Seattle’s is just a few blocks of dense commercial.
Like Portugal, bakeries are very popular here. There’s no shortage of places to drop in for a pastry, croissant, or sandwich. Restaurant eating seems to be pretty pricey here. I can hardly get a meal for less than 15 US right now.
People are very kind. They tend to greet me with “bonjour.” I reply in kind and tell them I don’t speak French. Many will actually say warmly, “it’s OK; we can speak in English.” I hear English organically spoken on the street, and that is comforting after leaving a place where I heard only 2-3 people organically speaking English on the street. French is obviously the default language though. Signage is in French and people speak French by default.
There are two bike shops on this street, which makes me think these are my kind of people. They seem to value alternative means of transportation and health. I haven’t seen many obese people here, but that could just be a function of the neighborhood I’m in. There are bike trails and parks dotted around the city.
Verdun is about 2 miles from downtown. It’s a long walk, but it’s a comfortable one. There are sidewalks all the way, and it feels safe.
Downtown is really cool. There are so many things to do and explore. I found two indoor shopping malls, which I bet help in the winter. It’s less hilly than Seattle which makes it easier to walk. I haven’t braved transit, but I haven’t needed to. It’s been relatively easy to get around everywhere I’ve needed to go.
It has been cool here in April/May but rarely cold. It hasn’t been especially warm, but there have been a couple of days I could go out without a jacket.
If taxes weren’t so high (apparently 33k in Seattle) and immigration weren’t hard, I might consider living here.