Is Seattle being over hyped? (Bothell: new house, job market, to buy)

[RunTheDistance476]

What's so great about San Francisco? Their weather is barely any better/warmer and its always foggy, crowded, polluted, and more expensive than Seattle.

Don't get me wrong, San Fran is a great city, but making a statement like "c'mon" isn't really substantiated.

[Jalhop]

Both San Fran and Bellevue are great places, is my point. For the new transplants, tell us how you feel after you've seen all the highlights of the area thirty times, and can look forward to seeing them another thirty times, usually on a cold gray drizzly day. You might still think it's a wonderful place but you probably won't LOVE it. Nothing wrong with that attitude, it just means you need a change. One of things I like best about this forum is seeing the negatives people have to offer about other areas. I know they may not be my negatives, especially for the first few years when I LOVE the place, but it tells me what I may be getting into long term.

[Tall Traveler]

To sum up Seattle...most beautiful city in the country or at least arguably so, stronger economy than most places, very low crime, mild but depressing climate, expensive but less than SF, SD, Boston, NYC, good schools in the area for educating your kids, traffic sux, probably not the most exciting place (people come here to work their buts off and make a fortune). As someone mentioned, great place to make your money but there is a desire to leave by many (and that occurs often in the winter). Not a good place to retire.

[skidamarink]

I think it's overhyped in terms of how it's proposed as a mecca for people in their 20s. I think that image is geared mostly toward hipsters and Seattle is definitely a great place for hipsters. Magazines and articles make it sound like this is an uber hippie city, but real hippies can't afford to live here. This is not a city full of entry-level jobs, unless you're in the medical or IT fields. Look at job postings for a lowly $13/hr administrative assistant job and it's not uncommon to see "must have 3+ years of experience" written in the ad. Because Seattle employers can afford to be picky like that. Nightlife is not spectacular out here compared to many other large, urban centers. Before I came, I thought this was going to be a city full of bustling 20-somethings crowding the shops and streets. I see more people who appear to be 40+, even in Capitol Hill or Fremont.

I would say Seattle is most ideal for established empty nesters who have years of management experience under their belt or want to retire here. Lots of parks for walking and beautiful, modest houses with gardens that the older crowd likes. I think Seattle would be a great place to raise a kid, if you can afford to live here.

Despite all that, I'm not unhappy here. I might have been a little upset but the climate and scenery is what keeps me here.

If you are a college grad looking to get into that granola Pacific NW lifestyle, I would recommend Portland. It's slightly younger, more compact, cheaper, and seemingly way more hippie.

ONe good thing I will point out about Seattle, though, is that because there are more transplants than native Seattlites it can sometimes be easier to make friends due to transplants like me who make more of an effort to join Meetup groups. It's better than being somewhere where everyone is native and already has their own network of friends.

[Kayela]

Hype is exactly that. And anytime you have someplace getting lots of it - some of it is bound to be way over-the-top. Reality is always a little more elusive.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

Classic example of some ungrateful transplant who doesn't realize that there are MILLIONS of people that would love to transfer places with you in a heartbeat.

I understand Seattle isn't for everyone, but for someone to move here (by choice) and then slam everything about it? Yeah, we don't need you. Move on back to Hawaii and have fun being able to only drive from one end of the island to the other in an hour. Sounds great!

P.S. "...whereas long-term residents/natives simply cannot dismount from their high-horse."

I moved here only 4 and half months ago (that's right in the mild of the rainy season and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!).

Lol thanks for proving my point. We'll see how much you enjoy it after a few more years.

Yes, the xenophobic/uptight residents, traffic, and weather are EVERYTHING that encompass Seattle, glad we all got that straightened out.

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by Jalhop

Let's see... a few to Boise ID, Rochester and Syracuse NY (both specifically for cheaper housing), Hilo HI, a few to the Bay area, Chicago (significantly cheaper), Las Vegas (that friend still works for a Seattle firm) and Phoenix area.

If you can score and keep a good job here, and especially if you like nature, Seattle is a great place. In summer it's a paradise. I used to think I'd retire here. But now I'm looking at moving to somewhere in the four-corners states (AZ, UT, CO, NM), likely at the price of a big drop in income. It would be worth it to see the sun more often and have more opportunities for road trips, hiking and camping.

Are you originally from this area?

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Lol thanks for proving my point. We'll see how much you enjoy it after a few more years.

Yes, the xenophobic/uptight residents, traffic, and weather are EVERYTHING that encompass Seattle, glad we all got that straightened out.

Honestly is it the weather that gets to you? This city definitely isn't for everyone like any place but compared to the Rest of the US it is a pretty great place to live. Yes,, it can be expensive but you dont have to live in the city. My father has been commuting to boeing plants in Seattle and Everett from Federal Way and Tacoma the past 25 years. Though commuting is never fun, it has giving my family the opportunity to be raised by one of the nicest sceneries in the state (waterfront property at redondo beach). Back to my orginal point, I think you are just weighing to make on the negatives. Have you had that bad of an experience? No matter where you live in the world you will always encounter positives and Negatives about a place. Yes, Seattle is not perfect, and yes it may be alittle overhyped but thats because people do move here and love it. It's an emerging economic power, and just an overall Cosmopolitan city. It will truly gain the world's attention in the next 20 years and us Residents are proud to say we live here. We are big homers and do take personal offense to negative criticism, thats all. All in all, it's you choice to like the city or not. If you do leave I hope you come back in teh future to see if your opinion of the city has change or not.

[Jalhop]

Originally Posted by DevanXL

Are you originally from this area?

No, been here over 20 years.

[TheseGoTo11]

I know a ton of people moving to Seattle:

1. Most are moving for work, not play. The fact that it's an interesting city is a bonus, but I know many people here who want to work in commercial, not Federal, technology, and don't want to pay Bay Area housing prices.

2. Most are married and childless. Past the just-out-of-college phase, but not with school age kids they'd have to re-locate. They're not the Portland crowd moving with no job, and are thinking practically about the future.

3. Almost to a person, they're from some place with bad weather, especially the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and New England. A good friend who lived here in DC for 3 years, but grew up near Rochester, NY, moved out there and thinks Seattle might as well be Miami because of how little it snows. I think the rainy weather must be a lot tougher for Californians.

4. My fiance grew up near Portland, and many of her "motivated" friends from high school moved to Seattle for work. She would like to move there, but for now we're staying put in DC. I think she might have caught some over-enthusiastic bug for Seattle, but she's also been there plenty of times, and went frequently while she was growing up. If she was getting it all from a Forbes top 10 article that would drive me a little crazy.

5. Your traffic is nothing compared to DC. I've driven on I-5 in rush hour, driven 405 through the East Side, and they were a breeze compared to the Beltway, or the many side streets that serve as major commuter roads in this area.