There’s something almost scientific about the way a city sets the standards for the relationships that evolve in it. That’s why some cities across the globe have been bookmarked in tourist packets as “places to fall in love.” We can use this as a reason to envy Paris’ history and famed romance or New York City’s classy metropolitan style. As another year of study begins, Pillow Talk will explore the complexities of sex and relationships, such as why he books it after a one-night stand or why she won’t quit playing games. We can start out the chilly season by discovering how to fall in love with — and in — the city we call home.

It would be easy to simply create a list of the best “hot spots” to take a date, but to find the true romance our city has to offer, Seattle has to be dissected in its raw form. Take, for instance, its bipolar weather system: One day can be flooded with rain and wind, and the next can be clear and warm. As frustrating as this is for our wardrobes, it can be quite an interesting challenge to keep romances on the edge of their seat.

A sunny day can boast tons of opportunities to lounge in a park, watching sail boats master the lakes that guard our home. But, since we’re heading into more of what some may call a “rainy season” — more like “seasons” — Seattle’s everlasting rain cloud is a gift in disguise for blooming love.

No kiss can trump a kiss in the rain; if you’re doubtful, watch The Notebook. With a simple walk through campus, one can prove that, indeed, chivalry is not lost: Couples shade each other from droplets by sharing umbrellas, coats or even using bodies as shields. And there’s no better excuse than rain for spending a day at home under a warm blanket with steaming hot cocoa watching a movie with a loved one.

As we will see in the coming weeks, the city’s abundant green transforms once a year into shades of red and yellow. A stroll through downtown becomes so much better when you’re hand-in-hand, a soundtrack of crunching leaves and whistling winds putting extra pep in your step. There’s something about being bundled up, cuddling close to someone while walking through downtown in the wintertime that can’t be matched in another city: We get the metropolitan feel without the never-ending noisiness or dirtiness.

With Mother Nature on our side, we can begin to appreciate our city’s love of coffee. Even on campus, cafés are all over, proving to be a quaint and easy way to take a break from work and spend an hour just chatting and relaxing. Take one step outside of the U-District, and you’ve got hundreds of cafés in all of Seattle’s neighborhoods, each with its own style, to kick back with a mocha latte and your special someone.

Sure, it’s not an Eiffel Tower or a Times Square, but it’s something we call our own — comfortable and simply romantic. Without this understanding and appreciation for the setting we build our lives in, there’s no way we can begin to theorize about the sex and relationships we hope to find within its trademarks. Here’s to falling in love with Seattle — and using that relationship to make one of our own.

Reach Copy Chief Parisa Sadrzadeh at features@dailyuw.com.