Seattle freeze? Haven't experienced it. Here I've meet lots of people who are as fiercely loyal and weird as I am. They don't bat an eye at my quirky fashion sense, oddball blurted-out observances, which made me 'the weird kid' back home and lack of social skills. I can truly relax around them and be myself without second guessing what they really think, and knowing that we can have an informed discussion about any topic and still be friends regardless of what our viewpoints are. I am definitely one of those Seattleites with a tight-knit group of friends.
This was actually the last criteria on our list when we moved here, but it's one of the biggest reasons we haven't gotten itchy feet. Proximity of wilderness. You can do there here and it's not even that far away. There's not a lot of major metropolitan areas in the south or east where you can so quickly be on the edge of an incredibly vast wilderness area.
Jobs - while there is a good market for what I do, generally I'm only useful as part of a large organization. You don't get that unless there's a large population center with industries that can support it. This happens to be one of the better markets for my skills in addition to meeting my other criteria. Note: just because I came from the sticks doesn't mean I didn't make every effort to explore and keep exploring the rest of the world. You might even say I've been obsessed with it.
I used to read the world atlas as a kid, dreaming of all the places I'd go. I've studied several foreign languages, and been all over, and no place has felt as much like 'home' as this one. Zurich and Paris probably come closest, but I still prefer Seattle. Right now going back 'home' feels more foreign than many foreign countries do. I'll also say that the minute Seattle stops feeling like home, I'll pick up and move on. Good luck with your adventures - wherever you end up. Just remember that it's the journey that is the goal, not the destination.
It's vibrant and creative and people don't talk so loud. Also I like the outdoors. I don't really fit your criteria for answering this thread, as I moved here because I found a job here after having no luck anywhere else.
Seattle is not in my top five list of cities where I'd like to live. But I'll tell you why I went ahead with moving here, and why a month later, I'm still okay with that decision.
Seattle is a young and nerdy city. As a young person myself, it was important to me to move somewhere that has a lot of people like me.
I'm young, tech savvy, like walking, enjoy going to chill bars and coffee shops, and don't ever plan on owning a TV. Sure, I could move someplace like St. Louis or Houston or Jacksonville or Phoenix, but they don't have enough young and nerdy stuff to keep me interested. I don't want to live somewhere where everyone talks about remodeling their kitchen or their children's illnesses. I'd much rather hear about which city's public transit you like the best, or which foreign movies are your favorites, or about your latest adventures in Thai cooking.
Obviously, the larger cities will have more people who are into young hip stuff, just because they have more people to begin with. But Seattle has a high concentration of young nerds, so despite its smaller size, there are a lot of people whom I find interesting.
The natural beauty. I'm not really outdoorsy, but I am a sucker for good views. What I love about Seattle is that if you look one direction you have awesome city views, and if you look another, you see water, and in another, snow-capped mountains. For outdoorsy people who like camping, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, etc.
I don't really care about any of that myself, and since I don't have a car, going into the mountains has so far not been an option for me. But the nature is there if you want it. It's decently walkable. I'm able to live within walking distance of work, which is awesome. Seattle also has a lot of walkable neighborhoods. The public transit here doesn't suck, but it's also not that great.
The bus drivers here are the least aggressive drivers on the planet, and they're very good at making a short trip take hours. But since neighborhoods themselves are walkable, once you've landed in one, you can just walk to whatever you need grocery stores, cafes, bars, drugstores, etc.
Living here without a car has so far not been too much of a hassle. The weather isn't really that bad, and it's actually amazing during the summer. I've only been here for ridiculously nice summer weather so far, but even though months of the year are rainy, the temperatures are moderate.
As long as you don't care about walking in the rain, the weather is very manageable. Sure, it's cloudy, but that also helps to moderate the temperatures. And even though most of the winter absolutely sucks for sunlight, the sun will come out on an average of four days in January.
Just think how awesome those four days are! But, really, is there anywhere in the northern US that has nice weather in January? I didn't think so. I guess the weather might be a draw or a dealbreaker for some people, but I regard it as a non-issue overall. As an aside on that, I'm starting to get really worried since it hasn't rained for over two weeks. It just doesn't feel right. But moving on I already knew a few people here.
Pike Place, not Starbucks. There's really not much to the place. Trust me, it's a lot smaller than the one in your neighborhood. And crawling with tourists guilty as charged , so you won't want to linger long. A haven for coffee lovers in general.
You can get a caffeine and pastry fix on almost every corner. Locals all have their favorites, and there are so many; Starbucks is just a drop in the coffeepot. And what's with Seattle and coffee, anyway? The obvious: It's nice to cozy up to something toasty when it's dreary and you feel like you just emerged from the shower much of the time.
I was lucky, I'm told, to have experienced two sunny days in a row. That's why there are blue skies in all my photos. My friend also pointed out that the coffeehouses offer a sense of community -- a warm hug on a raw day. I shouldn't have been surprised that there's a lot more to the Seattle food scene than seafood and java.
Move over, all you other culinary capitals. Seattle's got just about everything. And does it pretty well. Extra points, too, for fairly decent Philly cheesesteaks. There's actually a couple of contenders. I tried one at Tat's Deli , started by a guy from the Philly area. One gulp of Cheez Whiz, that sinfully great ingredient , and I was transported back to my college town.
When my friend wanted to buy me a souvenir, this was where we ended up, much to my delight. This candle company that counts area resident and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos as a fan was created by a lung cancer survivor. Her husband made her a glass cup. She put a tiny candle in it, and the creation became her serenity. Today her company makes many shades of that original cup, with glassblowers right on site at one of the stores in the Madrona neighborhood.
Great parks -- and a real beach. There are many, including Gas Works Park , which offers a particularly nice view. This former site of a gas plant sits on Lake Union, where the floating house in the film Sleepless in Seattle still sits. So why the wet reputation? Secondly, the number of days that can be described as overcast can be daunting to the uninitiated.
Overall, the temperature is pretty moderate. Due to its latitude, Seattle has different daylight patterns than most U.
It gets dark earlier in the winter, but also stays lighter longer in the summer, sometimes not getting dark until past 10 p. The economy is surging, but maybe not as much as you think it is. The Amazon headquarters brings a lot of money and jobs to the city as do other big tech firms with roots here.
Retail and fashion are strong drivers of the economy too, with REI, Nordstrom and Zulily all headquartered here. And manufacturing and construction companies, like Boeing, remain stalwarts.
Having so many major companies here means lots of opportunities for people in all kinds of professions and industries. Yet despite this, the unemployment rate is at 3. So while the city is growing, so is the disparity between the rich and the poor. There is some good news: Rising rents in the city have stalled for now, as apartment complexes have been built to meet the demand.
Over the past year prices went up only. Rents on the Seattle outskirts are still rising, but only slightly—they grew 4. And Zillow predictions have it falling farther next year, about 3. The major parks here feel untouched, and the frequent drizzle contributes to a cleaner air quality. To a newcomer, living here can feel almost like camping.
The city makes a big deal about preserving its tree canopy, and our roots in the logging industry mean wide swaths of forests in the area. Coffee lovers will find themselves right at home, while the non-caffeinated may struggle to adapt. The coffee shops here are known as much as spots to socialize as they are places to consume caffeine.
Not having a car is possible, but it can be tough depending on where you live. Additionally, the city is playing a bit of catch up in the mass-transit department, as it started its light rail projects relatively late in the game compared to other major cities, and has been mostly relying on the bus system this system, however, is fairly extensive.
But the good news is that the light rail can now take you from the airport to downtown in under an hour, while stopping at a few key neighborhoods along the way, with future plans to extend to more of the suburban areas like North Seattle Capitol Hill and U-District got their stations in
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