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Old 09-28-2007, 11:01 PM
 
Location: Parker, CO
12 posts, read 30,547 times
Reputation: 11

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I'm curious if anyone else has made a similar move. I moved from the Sacramento area to Parker, CO about a year and a half ago. I do like the Denver area. However, the job market (although much better than Sacramento) isn't as robust as I had hoped (I work in IT in a senior level role). I'm considering a move to the Seattle area (maybe Issaquah) as it appears that the job opportunities and the caliber of companies are quite a bit better than what I'm seeing in Denver. Of course the constant overcast weather is a bit of a concern but then again we've had some interesting weather out here as well. Does it ever get icy in Seattle, specifically on walkways and parking lots? That caught me by surprise in Denver. Also, what are some of the better school districts to teach in? My wife is credentialed to teach both regular ed and special ed, but prefers to teach special ed (moderate/severe). Any insight would be much appreciated.
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Old 09-29-2007, 09:46 AM
 
Location: Seattle, WA..Seattle Sucks: GO AWAY!
170 posts, read 845,932 times
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I'm afraid I didn't move from Denver to Seattle but I did move from Dallas.

First, the weather. Dallas is much sunnier and warmer ( actually scorching hot! ) than Denver. So the difference in weather between the two places was a larger leap for me than it would be for you.

And I love it here. The air temps are never extreme in either direction, so being out and about is easy. You will never feel exausted from the heat/humidity and your fingers will never freeze from the cold.

Yes, it is overcast here quite often. Contrary to popular belief it does not rain all the time here. We see plenty of drizzle and rain spread out over a few days or weeks, but downpours are rare.

The overcast skies are sometimes gloomy, but most of the time they are simply a high overcast which does not prevent you from going outside.

Many times you will wake up to overcast skies only to have it break apart into partly sunny or sunny skies by mid afternoon. In the summer we see clear skies the most often.

The job market as far as I can tell is good. There are always positions available particularly in the IT field. The highest paid people in Seattle are those who work in IT followed by lawyers. So you shouldn't have a problem depending on your qualifications. Just remember that houses here are expensive, but I know for a fact that many IT salaries are six figures.

I'm not so sure about schools since I don't have any children right now. But I do know that the South side of town towards Tacoma is a little grittier so going by that alone I assume the schools are not as good in that area. I'll let somebody with kids answer that question in more detail for you.

Oh, and don't worry about ice. Snow around here is about as common as it was back in Dallas, and the roads/sidewalks are hardly ever frozen over. Now if you go outside the city and into the mountains then you will get all the snow you can handle. It is actually kind of nice if you want that winter feel for a few days, just rent a cabin up in the mountains. Then comeback into the city and bingo: No snow to shovel or deal with while driving
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Old 09-29-2007, 10:56 AM
 
5,595 posts, read 19,010,730 times
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I'm thinking that Seattle will see quite a few more icy days than Dallas. And probably a bit more snow too. Yes, snow is not common in Seattle but I've seen some pretty good snowfalls through the years. I remember one when we had almost two feet out in my driveway and I tried to shovel it and it was so heavy I just gave up after 15 minutes or so. The snow when it comes is usually wet and heavy and if the quantity is great, it's really too heavy to shovel. On rare occasions, there will be a dry snow. I can remember a storm back in the 70s where the temperatures were in the teens and it was snowing hard. That's extremely unusual.

But no, you won't see as many icy streets and sidewalks as I'd assume you would in Denver. Icy sidewalks and streets are fairly common early in the mornings in the winter when clear skies bring below freezing temperatures during the night. Many mornings you'll find icy streets with black ice in a lot of places. I used to run early in the morning before work and I remember hitting a patch of black ice on the sidewalk and landing on my rear end. It happened so fast that I was on my back, on the ground with my legs still in motion. I felt like a bug on it's back with its feet still flailing about.
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Old 09-29-2007, 01:10 PM
 
Location: PNW
1,672 posts, read 2,683,168 times
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If you don't have a garage, you'll have to scrape your car windows when temps drop below freezing during the night, too. Not a big deal, but something to keep in mind.
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Old 09-29-2007, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Parker, CO
12 posts, read 30,547 times
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How often do you find ice on walkways and street in the Seattle area? Is it pretty much constant throughout the winter or just sporadically through the season? We plan on keeping our vehicles garaged out there as we do currently which definitely helps with getting out in the morning during winter.
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Old 09-29-2007, 03:15 PM
 
5,595 posts, read 19,010,730 times
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"...just sporadically though the season," dveit.

As you've probably gathered, the typical Seattle winter weather is temperatures in the 40's and overcast, or misty, or rainy. As I've said before, the most uncomfortable weather to me is temperatures in the 35-45 degree range and raining. Seattle sees that type of weather much more frequently than it does below-freezing weather.

There are times when the sky does clear and it gets below freezing at night. This could happen after a rainy/misty period and as referenced earlier, the roads can get icy in the morning. As mayfair has said, you'll see frost on the windshields of cars parked outside. Normally, the temperatures will rise above freezing during the day. Very infrequently will there be freezing daytime temperatures but occasionally there will be a cold spell where the temperatures during the day will remain below freezing. That's not too common but will occur from time to time.
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Old 09-30-2007, 12:08 AM
 
Location: Parker, CO
12 posts, read 30,547 times
Reputation: 11
How is the mosquito/bug population? It seems like with such a lush, green area with plenty of water it might get a little cumbersome in the warmer part of the year.
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Old 09-30-2007, 10:21 AM
 
5,595 posts, read 19,010,730 times
Reputation: 4816
There was a thread where bugs were talked about. I'll see if I can find it.

Mosquitos are not as bad in Seattle as I've seen in other places. If your concern is West Nile, then a lot of precautions are being taken. Mosquito season in Seattle seems relatively short too. Usually starting in mid-summer and peaking sometime in August.

Here are some links to give you more information:

West Nile virus is here -- avoid mosquito bites (http://www.metrokc.gov/health/news/07053101.htm - broken link)

Mosquito-killing effort targets 46,000 street drains






Ok, here is that thread where we talked a bit on bugs:

Bugs
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Old 02-19-2008, 06:07 PM
 
6 posts, read 12,378 times
Reputation: 10
I'm from Seattle and considering a move to Denver!

Your wife will have NO TROUBLE finding a job teaching Special Ed in the Seattle area, she may just have a bit of a commute depending on her level of education/experience. The nicer districts (near Issaquah, and other suburbs) are a lot more competitive, but overall there is a huge shortage of Special Ed teachers. I am a Special Ed major at Gonzaga (in eastern Washington) and by my sophomore year recruiters from several Seattle area districts were here talking to us.

Issaquah is a nice area but anywhere on the East Side (Redmond, Issaquah, Kirkland) is starting to get pretty expensive. The job market there is excellent, particularly for the tech industry.

Hope it helps!
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