Just got back from a great birthday Seattle visit! (Glacier: credit, houses)

[RotseCherut]

AT, I love your attitude.. I hope you enjoy the Northwest life.. IT's always nice to have a Montanan make Washington/Oregon his home instead of the Californian /East Coast invaders who have screwed the place up, especially my home state of Oregon.

Anyhow, I hope you can help contribute good things to Seattle and the Northwest with your positive attitude and friendly Montana cheer.

You don't really have to convince me, Seattle has so many great things.. There is no major city in the USA that can rival its beauty and it has a very nice downtown and skyscape. Portland is obviously not the booming metropolis that is Seattle. The coffee is really great here, unlike Montana. As much as I loved Montana, it was quite a chore to get some coffee that I could actually drink.

BTW. We have huge mountains here.. I just looked at one called Mt Rainier right from my living room window. Don't think any mountain in Montana stands as high or with so much prominence. Actually , the scenery of the Northern and Central Cascades certainly rivals the beauty of Montana's mountains. Another thing I like about hiking in Washington and Oregon is we don't have to worry about grizzly bear and moose, both of which I had run-ins with on my hikes in Glacier National Park. We also don't have wolves, which means better elk/deer hunting in many areas, if you are into that. Also, you simply cannot beat the beauty of a stunning snow-capped Mt Rainier overtaking the skyline on a clear day from Puyallup or Tacoma. As well, the Olympics rising over the mountains is purely majestic and immaculate.

Enjoy the greenery! If I ever leave the Western side of the Cascades I will miss it. I lived over 4 years on the Oregon Coast, where we received appx 90-100inches of rain and had 15 ft thick Sitka Spruces and Douglas Firs.

[Arushan]

Originally Posted by AT-AT28

Seattle smaller hills and mountains is a nice change from being feel in the rockies like I have been and the gray weather doesn't rely bother me iit'd just the frigid cold with no snow that has gotten old over the decades due to climate change. I welcome a much milder gray winter thst Seattle has and the fact that is stays greener and warmer through the year appeals to me after dealing with Montana crappy and unreliable weather.

I applied to jobs within a 50 mile radius in Portland and the job outlook was still poor vs Seattle, I had over a dozen or more job applications a week easily an had 3 phone interviews aalready with a 4th coming up for the US. I had no such luck in Portland and I have no desire to take a huge financial risk and move without acquiring a job first and Portland was proving locals were having a hard time acquiring work without network connections. I have plans and goals I wanna accomplish for myself for this year and I simply got tired of Portland hording me back, Seattle on the other hand has been proving very lucrative and the gaming and geek scene is even bigger with PAX, comic cons, LAN parties, cos plays and bbrony conventions even, all of which I want very badly and can't get in Montana.

Yeah, Seattle will have it's issues and faults, like everything else in life but for my needs and dreams and personal taste, Seattle has garnered my attention and I'm going steam ahead with it. As far as the people are concerned, I'll deal with them in my own unique way, I'm good at breaking people's ice barriers and for those who I can't, especially the ladies, they arnt worth my time anyway.

Just one thing to remember when you move here: hold on to that unique way that you use to break people's ice barriers and don't let anybody convince you to give that up over time. That is how you get far here.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

You will love Seattle because you have a great attitude with an openness and excitement about all it has to offer! Fremont is an awesome neighborhood but truly the whole city is dotted with great neighborhoods that have their own character and feel. The city is vibrant, economically solid and is growing every day with new people moving here from all over the world. Seattle is like no other city in the country and I feel grateful to live here everyday, even on the endlessly rainy ones : )

I hope you are able to make the move very soon and start calling the city your home!

[Ghaukne]

Thanks for the great photos. You make me more excited for my move in a week. Looks way more happening than Minneapolis!

[Mezter]

Why can't all posters be this positive? Great inspirational post!

[Ruth4Truth]

Gasworks Park and Greenlake are great places to meet women. I imagine some of the gaming venues you were introduced to had their fair share, too. Someone with your energy and exuberance should do well in that department. I hope you have a bike; you can take your bike to Greenlake sometime, and bike around the lake, and watch the local female scenery walking and jogging around.

Fremont is beautiful. It's good to be near water, because the summers do get hot. But that just gives you a good excuse to take your clothes off with everyone else and jump in the nearest lake.

How did your interview go?

[AT-AT28]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Gasworks Park and Greenlake are great places to meet women. I imagine some of the gaming venues you were introduced to had their fair share, too. Someone with your energy and exuberance should do well in that department. I hope you have a bike; you can take your bike to Greenlake sometime, and bike around the lake, and watch the local female scenery walking and jogging around.

Fremont is beautiful. It's good to be near water, because the summers do get hot. But that just gives you a good excuse to take your clothes off with everyone else and jump in the nearest lake.

How did your interview go?

Oh boy, did I see LOTS of lovely ladies biking and running around the canal area, now its just a matter of how in the world to politely approach them without coming across as creepy


INterview for the local IT firm went pretty well I felt considering I haven't done a face to face interview in over seven years, though I think I rambled a bit too much and moved my hands around animating what I was talking about but I guess that means I felt comfortable *shrug* I'm somewhat excited bout that job but its not my ideal one but I guess I can't really be too picky if I wanna get to Seattle this year.

Now the Univerisity of Washington position has me REALLY excited on the other hand! WOw, that place puts my local university to utter shame! I wish I had time to visit but I got an email when I got back saying they wanted to do an interview on the phone and it musta went really well as 2 days later, the head of IT called me back and wants to do a webcam interview this week with this staff!

[Podo944]

Your post revved me up to move up there! (Hubby and I have been flirting with the idea) and probably inspired a few others. Some people might not be so happy bout that!

Oh oh... we're also from California! ... BUT my IT hubby is from England (who just became a U.S. citizen!) and we don't own any property here and I'm a down to earth waitress, and we hide from the sun! ... do we get a pass?

Anyway, best of luck to you in your pursuit of happiness... I know there's so much in Seattle that appeals to us too. We're also Comicon people, Star Trek nerds, and love rain. Sigh... we were up there last month actually, and really enjoyed the area. There are so many great restaurants too!

Keeping my fingers crossed for ya!

[Ghaukne]

Originally Posted by AT-AT28

Oh boy, did I see LOTS of lovely ladies biking and running around the canal area, now its just a matter of how in the world to politely approach them without coming across as creepy

^^ This. Please share how to do this as I am always running around the lake with beautiful women. Bit out of my knowledge area as to the approach other than running by with a big smile.

[ShellNic]

I agree that this post was very inspiring. I'm originally from Seattle (and still have family there) but have lived in Dallas for over 30 years. It is time to move back to my fave city...I've been so nervous though. Changing (finding) jobs is my biggest fear but I truly think that once that's over (hardest part, imo) then the rest will be a breeze.

I never knew about Seattle Freeze until I read it here...people can be weird everywhere...even in Dallas where they're more "friendly"...hehe...not always, I say. I loved the OP part about the smell of the water...to me, that is so important and I forget that it is until I'm there again. LOVE that smell...and the sound of the water.

It is time for me to leave this place...sometimes I let fear get me, but then I read a post like this and I remember, I've accomplished much harder things in life than moving across country. And I lived...so what the heck am I waiting for? Yep, I do love Seattle...but I'll try not to spread that around TOO much...we don't want it getting too pushed out at the seams!!