Has anyone lived in Seattle and San Jose? Need Advice (San Diego: comparable sales, appointed)

[Nell Plotts]

My DD lives in Los Altos, we lived on Bainbridge Island (a ferry ride west of Seattle) for 15 years after having raised our family in Portland.

Weather in the Pacific Northwest is not just rain, rain, rain. There are areas within a metro area that have a lot less rain than others ("rain shadows"). For example the south end of Bainbridge Island receives a lot less rain than the north end because Mt. Olympus deflects storm systems. If rainy weather is a factor in any decision buy (borrow) "The Weather of the Pacific Northwest" written by Cliff Mass.

IF living on Bainbridge Island is an option there is no better place to raise children. The school system is comparable to 'Tino without Tiger Mothers. The only complaint I have heard from kids is that the teens who aren't involved in school activities think it is BORING.

Go to the Seattle forum and ask about neighborhoods and schools there.

Better/worse than the Silicon Valley? Depends on what you need and want. DD isn't moving but then she is in VC.

[neutrino78x]

I was stationed at Bangor Naval Submarine Base aboard the nuclear submarines USS Florida SSBN-728 and USS Asheville SSN-758, from 1999 to 2003. It is now known as Naval Base Kitsap. It's across Puget Sound from Seattle. I went to Seattle on the ferry every weekend when I was not on duty that weekend! It's awesome. The downtown is almost as good as San Jose. The Cinerama theater is great.

I wouldn't live in any of those small towns outside of Seattle, though. I would not want to be a kid having to grow up in one of those places, either. I would rather my kids grow up with easy access to museums, libraries, etc., without me having to drive them everywhere. I hated growing up in a small suburb. I would have preferred downtown.

[neutrino78x]

Plus those small towns, especially in West Puget Sound, are full of rednecks. Seattle is an island of civilization. One of the rednecks from the small towns in West Sound, working as a civilian shipyard worker, once told me, in an angry tone of voice, "evolution has been entirely disproven!" So you tell me, would you rather live in a town like that, or Seattle?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by neutrino78x

Plus those small towns, especially in West Puget Sound, are full of rednecks. Seattle is an island of civilization. One of the rednecks from the small towns in West Sound, working as a civilian shipyard worker, once told me, in an angry tone of voice, "evolution has been entirely disproven!" So you tell me, would you rather live in a town like that, or Seattle?

Port Townsend isn't full of rednecks.

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Port Townsend isn't full of rednecks.

hmm. I'd take Seattle any day over any other place in Washington State. The Bay Area is my home, but Seattle is on the short list of other places I would live.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I grew up in the East Bay, and moved to WA the summer out of high school. Lived in western WA a total of about 18 years altogether, including Seattle and Bellingham. Finally moved back to CA, and I would never live there again. I HATED the weather.

Just to give you an idea of reality living in Seattle, weather-wise. Scroll down this page to the calendar. I set it to last month, August. There are 3, count them 3 days with clear sunny skies:

Weather History for Seattle, WA | Weather Underground

Remember, this is August.

You can scroll that calendar to see the previous months and different years, etc., too, to see the weather in all seasons, even for different years.

And winters are endless with lots of ice. And there will be snow. It will snow, and then rain on top of the snow, making for horrible driving conditions. Black ice.

Winter starts as early as October, and doesn't end until June, if you're lucky.

People up there have a saying, "We have 9 months of winter, and 3 months of bad sledding."

The upside: It's beautiful. But, you will very rarely see the mountains. Often you can't even see the islands because of cloud cover.

At one point, I bought a house in Sumas (on the Canadian border) and commuted to Bellingham, because it was the only place I could afford to buy. A 45 minute commute in rain, ice and snow most of the time. Horrible.

But, anyway, from my house in Sumas, you could see Mt. Baker. When you could. My mother came to visit me for 2 weeks, in the summer, and she never saw the mountain. Clouds. Endless, endless clouds.

It might not rain down in buckets, but once the clouds come, you could just cry. It can literally be weeks before you will see the sun again. It's not the rain that will get you, it's the clouds.

And if you like to garden, keep this in mind. You will have a very limited growing season. I finally figured out that you get small versions of all veggies. Cherry tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, dwarf early corn, that kind of thing. Potatoes do great, snow peas do great.

Don't forget the Seattle freeze everyone talks about, too. For there to be this much written about it, there must be something to it. When I lived in Seattle, I was college aged, and had a blast. No freeze when you are partying in college .

When my daughter was small, we lived in Bellingham. Bellingham is beautiful, and has a university. I personally prefer Bellingham to Seattle. Seattle is too big for me, and I'm not into the cosmopolitan life. It's easier to get to recreation, IMO, from somewhere other than Seattle, too.

What you have to do, is just go out even though it's misty out, or even raining. I used to just put on my raincoat and weed the yard in the rain. You just have to make yourself go out anyway.

But, think about what you usually feel like doing on a cloudy day. Read a book, sit by the fire? Have a hot toddy? Now imagine most of the year is that kind of day.

I don't understand what exactly it is you are looking for, OP. You weren't specific about job requirements or your finances, or if you want a cosmopolitan upscale type place, or what. But, I bet you can find what you're looking for with better weather.

I moved to Redding because I couldn't afford to retire in the Bay Area and have my own apt. Here I can. But, man, are we spoiled living in the Bay Area weather-wise. It's so hot here! It's really sunny, which I love, but the summers are so hot. There's just no better weather on the planet, IMO, that the SF Bay Area.

If you are HONEST about being able to handle the weather I described, and your family can also handle it, it is a beautiful place to live.

Oh, one more story. I finally decided I'd learn how to cross-country ski. I used to just moan about hating the winter and I saw that people who skied, loved the winter. So, I bought all my gear. At the time I was living in a little town at the base of Mt Adams.

So, here comes the snow, and then rain, and then snow! And then rain. Couldn't even ski all winter. That was my last winter there. I gave up.

[RVD90277]

i've lived in both. i lived in the bay area for 7 years (1991-1998), southern california for 14 years (1998-2012), and the seattle area for 2 years.

at least in my 2 years here, it really hasn't rained as much as i thought it would. many days start out a bit cloudy, will rain for a bit, and then will clear up and you'll get fresh air and breeze for the rest of the day. it will be cloudy but the sun will peak out for about an hour and it's pretty nice. i personally like the changing seasons and haven't minded the rain. btw, this day will count as a rainy day in the record books.

it does get dark early though in the winter. i guess it makes up for the late nights in the summer. there's really no better place on earth in the summer...

bellevue is definitely one of the nicer places to live depending on your budget. clyde hill and medina have some great schools and nice houses if your budget allows it. mercer island is also great for schools although the area is a little secluded from the rest of seattle.

if you like seeing trees everywhere and mountains in the horizon, it's pretty nice here.

for pros and cons:

pros: cost of living, no state income tax, relatively high salaries (not much lower than the bay area), good schools, good public transportation, easy access to hiking, skiing, mountains

cons: weather (rains sometimes, cold sometimes), lots of liberals (this might be a pro to some)

[EclecticEars]

I used to live in the Bay Area and have visited Seattle twice in the last year to explore the possibility of moving up there.

I'd much rather live in San Jose than Seattle. Seattle's nice and all, but I really got the sense that it is the bipolar personality disorder capital of North America. I still Vancouver, BC, which has a reputation for the same throughout Canada, to still have people who are a little more friendly and polite than the people in Seattle.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by EclecticEars

I used to live in the Bay Area and have visited Seattle twice in the last year to explore the possibility of moving up there.

I'd much rather live in San Jose than Seattle. Seattle's nice and all, but I really got the sense that it is the bipolar personality disorder capital of North America. I still Vancouver, BC, which has a reputation for the same throughout Canada, to still have people who are a little more friendly and polite than the people in Seattle.

I love Vancouver BC! Used to go on day trips from Bellingham all the time. Stanley Park, the area downtown with the old gas lights, such a beautiful city.

And taking the ferry to Victoria and having high tea at the Empress Hotel. Good memories.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Just to give you an idea of reality living in Seattle, weather-wise. Scroll down this page to the calendar. I set it to last month, August. There are 3, count them 3 days with clear sunny skies:

Weather History for Seattle, WA | Weather Underground

Remember, this is August.

This is the problem with just looking at data. If you lived here in Seattle currently, you would know that we have had an incredible May-September with tons of sun and very little rain. Really it's typical for us to have little rain in the summer, but we've had virtually none for the past 4-5 months. Most of the rain we got was a few weeks ago during a freakish rain storm one afternoon. During the year we have many days where it drizzles for a half hour, then clears up. Or gorgeous 77 degrees summer days with a few white puffy clouds high in the sky. Those type of days contribute to our stats, but don't really give an accurate picture of our weather. In the fall and winter, we have many days with overcast skies, but not the rain that outsiders think.