Yet another gay geek making the jump from Pittsburgh to Seattle (employment, neighborhoods)

[ergane]

Hey all, I've been reading this forum for a while now and would like to ask a few questions. First some background: I'm a early-mid twenties computer science grad from Pittsburgh (not CMU, University of Pittsburgh). I'm getting some serious wanderlust and and looking for a city with good employment prospects, gay-friendly atmosphere, and a wide array of outdoorsy activities. Seattle seems to fit fairly well -- SF is too expensive and the employment rates in Portland leave something to be desired. I have a few qustions:

What are the more gay-friendly neighborhoods to live in and what are the typical activities that attract gay men? In terms of neighborhoods, I've heard Capitol Hill and Fremont are good, but is there anything else? Any good locations across the bridge? In terms of activities, are there interesting things to do beyond the bar scene and the thunka-thunka-thunka of gay clubs?

How's the tech sector in Seattle? I'd be either looking for an entry level job doing software development or an interesting internship doing the same. My experience so far includes an internship for my University doing non-trivial web development (keyword soup: PHP/Python/Ajax/jQuery/REST) and my CS degree was mostly doing systems stuff (OSes, architecture, parallel programming). Major GPA is fine (3.3) general GPA not so much (2.7 -- failed attempt at Pre-Med). Worst comes to worst, I'm willing to intern/temp to network and use my parents as a buffer for at least six months. Do the companies around there take graduated interns at times that aren't the summer? Is that a realistic timescale for finding an entry level job over there?

When's the best time to pop over? I've heard people migrate indoors and introvert whenever the ominous cloud cover becomes a permanent fixture of your sky -- when exactly does that happen?

Thanks in advance!

[Ira500]

There are plenty of neighborhoods and nearby towns that are gay friendly in the Seattle area. Certainly capitol Hill is the historical epicenter, but many neighborhoods within the city have a visible gay presence, including Fremont/Phinney/Greenlake/Ravenna/Columbia City/Ballard/Central District/Mount Baker/Madison Park.
Sounds like you'd like it here.
Doesn't mean that if you're not gay or you're not a geek you'd have a hard time fitting in, but Seattle has plenty of both.

[nwwriter]

I think you’d really love it here and the technology industry is still going strong. You would have no problems finding a job. I agree that Capitol Hill is the epicenter, and also agree that you would still do well and enjoy the Ballard/Fremont/Wallingford areas. West Seattle is another area you may want to look at. There’s a strong gay community in Seattle and many other activities you can get involved with other than the bar scene. mod cut: link removed, 10-post rule The “lousy” weather usually starts November and ends in April (usually). Lousy is a figure of speech because many people here enjoy winter sports and other activities so it’s all relative. mod cut: soliciting removed