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Weather - When I say I'd like to move to Seattle, everyone's first reaction is "It rains 9 months out of the year there!" Is that really true? I looked at weather.com's averages for Seattle and it actually doesn't look that bad. Does it snow a lot in the winter? I currently live in Cleveland and we get lake effect snow REALLY BAD. I'm sick of seeing green grass on Christmas Day and blizzards with 20 below temperatures in the middle of April. We don't even have a spring. I just want SEASONS! Are your seasons mild with not a lot of temperature changes? Are your summers hot? Are your winters cold? Freezing?
Traffic - I live in a suburb of Cleveland and traffic is fine. I don't get stuck in endless traffic jams, there aren't 5 car pile ups all around me, the drivers can be aggressive and rude but they're not like "big city drivers." How are drivers and how is traffice in Seattle?
People - I come from a conservative family but I consider myself to be in the middle. I'm not liberal but I'm not conservative. I consider myself to be neither Republic or Democrat. I look at who I think the best man (or woman) for the job is. What is Seattle like? I've heard Portland is pretty liberal. How does Seattle compare?
Also with the people question, are they rude, are they really nice and accomodating? Willing to help someone in need? Are they open minded? Is there a big population of middle aged families? single 20-somethings? College students? Retirees? A mix?
Getting around - I've been to Pittsburgh and if you've ever been there, it can get confusing because the roads are distinguished by colors and they criss cross and they all have the same name. I don't know but that's the biggest city I've actually had to drive in. Is it confusing and difficult to get around there?
Is there a good and bad part of Seattle? Is there an expensive and less expensive area in which to live?
Is there a favorite hang out among the locals? Restaurants? Coffee places? Bars? Concert venues? Parks? Etc.
I'm sorry for all the questions but basically if you have any information about Seattle at all that only and insider would know, please share it! Thank you!
Weather - Seattle has four seasons: Summer, cool and damp, cold and rainy and wet and windy. A few years ago we had a stretch of over 60 days of continuous rain between November and January. There is no winter here to speak of, just colder and wetter. We might get five days of snow in the metro Seattle area on a particularly bad year. When it does snow, and inch paralyzes the entire city. You'll laugh your head off.
Traffic - Seattle has, in my very humble opinion, HORRIBLE drivers. A large percentage of them are immigrants that appear to have no concept of how to drive safely. Those that aren't foreign-born will run people off the roads to gain a car length on the freeway. Most of them appear to be talking on their cell phone while applying makeup or reading the paper.
People - People are people. We have all kinds here.
Getting around - The roads are actually well-marked and it is fairly easy to find your way around, assuming that traffic will let you get to where you want to go.
Weather: Well, the truth is Seattle gets far less rain than most folks think. What we do get however is a LOT of cool, cloudy days. Most of our rain comes in the form of drizzle and relatively light rain that will go on for extended periods of time (often days and days). Summer (after July 4th) tends to be sunny and nearly rain-free until the fall rains begin about the middle of October. We have extremely mild winters, with the average overnight low never dropping below freezing (bottoms out in mid-Jan at about 35/36 or so - with daytime highs averaging around 45). This is the reason we get rain in the winter instead of snow (though the nearby mountains will typically get a lot of snow). Summers are cool by most folks standards, with the average July high topping out about 77/78 or so - though the outlying areas will get warmer (80 or so near the foothills is not too uncommon). The closer you are to the water here, the warmer in the winter and the cooler in the summer. Summer humidity is usually very low compared to all areas of the US except the SW. We do get high humidity, but usually when it's cooler rather than when it's hotter (ie during the wetter seasons).
Traffic - Pretty horrid. The geography of mountains, lakes and sound effectively confine the developed area to to relatively narrow strip of land extending north and south. These means traffic is limited to very few routes and the roads are often pretty jugged-up.
People - Seattle and it's suburbs offer a wide range of political beliefs, but in general the Seattle area tends to vote liberal with it being more the case in Seattle itself and less so in the outlying areas.
Generally folks here are polite but a bit reserved.
Getting around - not particularly confusing, but very congested.
Lots of good and bad parts of Seattle - both in the city itself and the suburbs. The Seattle area has grown to the point now where it is effectively one large metro area from Marysville in the far north all the way down to (and through) Tacoma to nearly Olympia. There are admittedly a few gaps and breaks in between (mostly when geography forces it) but by and large that entire stretch is urban to one degree or another (as the traffic will testify). Because of all the sprawl, it's a bit hard to specifically say that this area is good and this area is bad since there are pockets of both scattered about.
However, in general, I think it's safe to say that the east side cities (ie Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland etc) are generally very nice and very safe and VERY expensive. North of Seattle is a bit of a mixed bag, with the areas directly along Puget Sound pretty much always being nice and most of the rest of it generally pretty good too. South of Seattle I think tends to be a bit less desirable in general (partially due to the proximity of Sea-Tac airport) though there are many nice areas there as well.
Until recently Tacoma has been considered to be pretty much "a pit" - in part due the smelly papermills etc in the area. The last few years however have seen Tacoma really start to take off (in part because of folks moving there to find cheaper housing). It still has a ways to go, but parts of it are starting to be quite nice.
Hope all this helps a bit. If you post questions about some specific areas I'm sure you get a bit more info. The subject of Seattle is a borad one since the Seattle metro area has grown to be very large and very diversified.
Weather: Don't rely on rainfall averages...when it rains here its always a constant drizzle so it seems like it rains a lot but in reality not much is actually accumulating. Pretty much it does rain 9 months of the year, and when its not raining its overcast.
Traffic: Pretty horrible. Especially I-405, backed up all day long and weekends. I-5 is pretty bad during rush hour and heading into Seattle on Sat nights, and also heading north on Sat and Sun mornings as they shut the express lanes down for that direction and people don't know how to merge and cause long backups. I avoid I-405 at all costs, only 2 lanes most of the freeway, slow drivers and people who seem to have never driven before. Really just depends on where you are headed, the time of day, and if you can take backroads and side streets to get there.
People: Mostly liberal, but outside of Seattle in the farming areas you get conservative, country station listening people. I don't know how to answer your question about the mix of people as the region is so large there are all types of people here. Really depends on the specific city/suburb if you want to more closely examine the social structure.
I don't ever go downtown so I am not quite up to speed on happening venues/eateries
Weather> Cloudy and damp for most of fall, winter, spring. Summers to dies for much like Indian summer in the midwest. I am from Southern MI.
Traffic > Sux, everyone here seems to think they need to be first. When we moved here in 88 it was great very couteous. Now cutthroat.
People > Lot of nice folks but more than our share of "smug"folks going around espcecally the "eastside". Lots of people who obtained wealth but not the sense to go with it and they will let you know by there attitude.
You will find a lot of banter about Seattle Versus Eastside. After living in both places I would like to move away from both because of shear embarassment.
No place is cheap in the Seattle/bellevue area. You can not compare Clevland to this area by any stretch of the imagination. Cost of living is compable to Southern Cal. and keep climbing. I live in a 1400 square house that is worth Aprrox. 350K.. Not like the midwest homes in the least. Chec out Reator.com and take a look.
Loved the "smug" comment. One of the reasons I didn't like the eastside much. There was no way I was going to raise my kids in that kind of environment.
Overall I would agree with most of the comments above, except the liberal attitude of Seattle, I think that is way overstated quite often and not accurate except for a smaller, more vocal portion of the population in King County (whereas, it's completely evident in Portland, a very liberal city imo - Seattle is all business). I've lived all over this great country and I've never met more conservative people in nature than here in Western Washington. I do think Seattle is progressive for the most part, but when you have lots of people with lots of money, it's easy to be that way.
Were you not here last winter??? We did have snow and ice--not as much and as long as other northern areas but it was here. As far as drivers go, I guess you never have driven anywhere else. The drivers here are much more user friendly and polite on the whole.People are people but I find them here to not be very friendly---read the other threads. The roads are a joke and it is not easy to find your way around. Anyway, I live in the greater eastside so that is where I am coming from. Where you are maybe different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wythors
Weather - Seattle has four seasons: Summer, cool and damp, cold and rainy and wet and windy. A few years ago we had a stretch of over 60 days of continuous rain between November and January. There is no winter here to speak of, just colder and wetter. We might get five days of snow in the metro Seattle area on a particularly bad year. When it does snow, and inch paralyzes the entire city. You'll laugh your head off.
Traffic - Seattle has, in my very humble opinion, HORRIBLE drivers. A large percentage of them are immigrants that appear to have no concept of how to drive safely. Those that aren't foreign-born will run people off the roads to gain a car length on the freeway. Most of them appear to be talking on their cell phone while applying makeup or reading the paper.
People - People are people. We have all kinds here.
Getting around - The roads are actually well-marked and it is fairly easy to find your way around, assuming that traffic will let you get to where you want to go.
I travel 405 all the time and what you say is not true. 405 is never only 2 lanes for me so I will assume we live in a different part. True 405 is busy during rush hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by martina26
Weather: Don't rely on rainfall averages...when it rains here its always a constant drizzle so it seems like it rains a lot but in reality not much is actually accumulating. Pretty much it does rain 9 months of the year, and when its not raining its overcast.
Traffic: Pretty horrible. Especially I-405, backed up all day long and weekends. I-5 is pretty bad during rush hour and heading into Seattle on Sat nights, and also heading north on Sat and Sun mornings as they shut the express lanes down for that direction and people don't know how to merge and cause long backups. I avoid I-405 at all costs, only 2 lanes most of the freeway, slow drivers and people who seem to have never driven before. Really just depends on where you are headed, the time of day, and if you can take backroads and side streets to get there.
People: Mostly liberal, but outside of Seattle in the farming areas you get conservative, country station listening people. I don't know how to answer your question about the mix of people as the region is so large there are all types of people here. Really depends on the specific city/suburb if you want to more closely examine the social structure.
I don't ever go downtown so I am not quite up to speed on happening venues/eateries
Sorry I do not agree. I live on the Eastside and love it.Their are some smug people here but they are everywhere even in Seattle. As far as liberal goes, I lived in Portland and thought it was liberal until I moved here.Seattle/King county/government is very liberal and Portland is just a Seattle wannabe.You obviously have never lived in the midwest---that is conservative
Quote:
Originally Posted by chris
dajam,
Loved the "smug" comment. One of the reasons I didn't like the eastside much. There was no way I was going to raise my kids in that kind of environment.
Overall I would agree with most of the comments above, except the liberal attitude of Seattle, I think that is way overstated quite often and not accurate except for a smaller, more vocal portion of the population in King County (whereas, it's completely evident in Portland, a very liberal city imo - Seattle is all business). I've lived all over this great country and I've never met more conservative people in nature than here in Western Washington. I do think Seattle is progressive for the most part, but when you have lots of people with lots of money, it's easy to be that way.
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Were you not here last winter??? We did have snow and ice--not as much and as long as other northern areas but it was here. As far as drivers go, I guess you never have driven anywhere else. The drivers here are much more user friendly and polite on the whole.People are people but I find them here to not be very friendly---read the other threads. The roads are a joke and it is not easy to find your way around. Anyway, I live in the greater eastside so that is where I am coming from. Where you are maybe different.
