When you move to a new city, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all that’s on offer: new sights, new flavors, new people. But the truth is, it’s also easy to get overwhelmed while living in a city you know like the back of your hand. Abundant activity options can lead to indecision, and the next thing you know you’re stuck on the couch again, scrolling through Netflix rather than eating those beautiful tacos you read about in our magazine or taking those flight lessons or going to see that awesome new show at the Can Can.  

No matter how stuck you get in your routine, or feel like you’ve done and seen it all, there’s always new reasons to get out and explore. That’s why I’m launching a blog series dedicated to uncovering Seattle with fresh eyes. Every week I’ll highlight a new place, person or thing I’ve uncovered on my mission to explore all Seattle has to offer. 

Why me? I’m relatively new to Seattle. My partner and I moved here from the Northeast in March 2019 and it still feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the city has to offer. Whether you’ve lived here a lifetime or just arrived yesterday, I’m aiming to help you get to know the city a little better by sharing my experiences, both familiar and unexpected. Take the Pacific Science Center for example. Maybe you visited once upon a field trip, or brought your kids here one weekend several years ago. But did you know PacSci puts on laser shows every week, where people bring blankets and pillows and cozy up on the floor beneath rainbow light beams and smoke machines, and get lost in music pumped through a killer sound system? And that it’s somebody’s JOB to curate that experience?

Side effects of being a writer include a nagging voice pestering me to find out as much as possible about as many things as possible, and this month that means I’m talking to the creative forces behind PacSci’s laser shows, soaking up Artemisia Gentileschi’s greatness on display at the Seattle Art Museum before Flesh and Blood closes on January 26 (while taking a deeper dive with a graphic novel about Gentileschi’s life created by a local artist), and skipping town for a secret surprise getaway to celebrate my (thirtieth!) birthday. Stay tuned for my laser show scoop coming up next week!