Scared to move to seattle area!!

[mojodog38]

we may be coming from phoenix as well! we should know more in the next few days i will say, i agree that if you make it great, it will be great. honestly, i don't think people in general, in phoenix are all that friendly. i've made some really great friends. i'm well into my thirties with two small children, so i've really learned not to waste my time on people who don't show that they are good and decent people. i only have a small group of friends, i can count them on one hand. but they are great. i'd rather have a few people i can talk to and rely on then a whole bunch of people who don't accept me for who i am. i think, if we do relocate to seattle, i will find friends. i think as long as you keep an open mind, anything is possible.
i, too, worry about the winter in seattle. i grew up in the midwest, so i know its nothing like the midwest snow and -40* windchill, but i've been spoiled with the sun. however, my children and i lay dormant in the summertime in AZ b/c its just too hot to do anything. i love rain and cloudy days, so the loss of sun will not bother me at all, actually, it will be a welcomed relief. i live in the very very small town of maricopa, az. i am soooo ready to move to seattle and pray my hubby gets this transfer. mainly, i'd like to get to a place like seattle b/c it has so much to offer as far as museums, entertainment, restaurants, great schools, etc. i live a bazillion miles from anything and everything right now. just going to the grocery store is a 16 mile round trip for us. hubby works almost 50 miles away from where we live! did i say i hope and pray for the transfer!?

[franklin42]

Originally Posted by azoria

Observing the plants that grow here, I would say that the old weather was pretty much the same as the new weather: cold and wet.

What an "airhead" I must be!

[treeshark]

As a general rule (not just applicable to Seattle, of course): I'd say give it a try if:
You have a means to move back or to somewhere else if you don't like your new destination (do you have flexible job options, how much are you committing to the place where you move? Rent, don't buy, for at least the first 6 months to a year).

I think that people who move and then get "stuck" somewhere they don't like end up that way due to either purchasing a house or condo and having to sell and/or settling into a regionally local job and then having the added burden of doing cross country job searching to get out.

Temporary arrangements and enough of a cash reserve to pick up and move again seems to be the key. Also, if you ended up staying, great, never hurts to save money and you'll know the area that much better when it comes to hunting for your long term home or condo purchase.

[eskercurve]

I have experience "living" in Phoenix for three months, and have a friend who moved to Phoenix from Seattle.

Both she and I agree that Phoenix people are a) too aggressive, b) too closed-minded, and c) too accepting of the suburban culture of nothingness.

That said, if you are OK with living in a "liberal" area and are open to new ideas, and slow drivers, then you'll do fine.

Here's my take on Phoenix vs. Seattle:

Seattle - vibrant downtown with a city limits with livable neighborhoods and low crime
Phoenix - anemic downtown with a city limits with very few livable neighborhoods and high crime
Suburbs for both - liveable

Seattle - 3 hrs from wine country, Canada, 40 min to one mountain range, 4 hours to the other with a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Phoenix - 3 hrs from Mexico and wine country, 40 min to ... ... desert.

Seattle - slow, dimwitted drivers driving cars
Phoenix - fast, aggressive, dimwitted drivers (with guns) driving pick-them-up trucks or SUVs

Seattle - beautiful 3 months out of the year, windy / cloudy for 2 more, kinda cold for 4 months, and 3 months of drizzle and overcast skies
Phoenix - beautiful 9 months out of the year, blazing the 3 other months and 2 weeks of rain

Seattle - high cost of living
Phoenix - low cost of living (surprising, considering it's IN THE DESERT)

Seattle - you can recycle 75% of your waste
Phoenix - you can recycle 10% of your waste

Seattle - has multiple Asian cultures, some middle eastern, and some new European culture thrown into old European culture with a dash of Americanness, and in a very safe city with TONS of things to do
Phoenix - has ... lots of white people. Who regard few neighbors. In safe neighborhoods surrounded by fences. With lots of barbecues.

[Molly 56]

Skinkara, I have been here since October 08--not long--and I absolutely love it. I haven't made many friends yet, as I've been adjusting to my new job but I don't feel the "freeze" at all. I do notice a bit more reserve among "native" types (especially if there's a trace of the Norwegian, perhaps) but really, it's all what you make of it. I came for the climate and the natural environment, anyway, and I have that in spades. I am awestruck every day at the utter beauty of it. I work next to a nature preserve area and every morning with my coffee this May I've watched baby ducks and geese, often herons, a beaver once, and an occasional bald eagle. All before work! I got what I came for and I'm happy. If your purpose in life is to collect many friends and you don't have young children in school or a decidedly social worklife, then it may take a bit to make as many friends as you would otherwise, but I don't think this is a "Seattle" thing.

[rmkiefer07]

I'm not sure where this "freeze" thing comes from. I've heard others describe it, but have not experienced it in the eighteen years I lived here. Interestingly enough, I've heard similar complaints when I lived in Houston and Austin. Any place can feel lonely if you are new and don't put your self out there to make friends. I've made friends through the people I work with and then through their friends. If you take the initiative, you should be fine.