Can't stand my red state! (Seattle, Republic: apartments, school, living)

[Mclaurin]

Seattle's Mapleleaf neighborhood is so nice. You might feel comfortable in Ballard too.

You might also consider Portland, Eugene or Corvallis.

My other thought is Madison (they should be able to get rid of that Scott Walker soon) or St. Paul.

Good for you! Life is better in a blue state.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Mclaurin

Seattle's Mapleleaf neighborhood is so nice. You might feel comfortable in Ballard too.

You might also consider Portland, Eugene or Corvallis.

My other thought is Madison (they should be able to get rid of that Scott Walker soon) or St. Paul.

Good for you! Life is better in a blue state.

I second Corvallis, Eugene, and Portland, but I would also add Bellingham and Olympia to the list as well. Oly has a good transit system, it's good for bicycling, has the Puget Sound "liberal" vibe, and is not overwhelmingly large. Lots of young professionals there too.

[Sonnenwende]

I second Olympia.

Understand why you want to leave Kansas. It is also a big part of the reason I left Indiana.

[E-rok]

dont forget to buy a prius, deck it out with obama stickers and drive 45MPH on the "fast" lane on I5 when you get here.

[Andy]

You want Eugene, Oregon. Oregon is the place you are looking for.

[pw72]

Originally Posted by E-rok

dont forget to buy a prius, deck it out with obama stickers and drive 45MPH on the "fast" lane on I5 when you get here.

Good grief, that is an exaggeration. Yes, WA has some issues with left lane hogs, but the Obama stickers takes it over the top.

The left lane on Seattle freeways is usually just as slow as every other lane due to congestion. Those who try to save 2 minutes on their trips by weaving in and out will get nowhere fast.

Obama stickers? Really? I have not seen more than about three of them. Does the state vote liberal? Yes, because of a high population of libs in Seattle, the biggest city. However, most drive just fine. And Washington, as a whole, is pretty moderate at the end of the day.

[E-rok]

Originally Posted by pw72

Good grief, that is an exaggeration. Yes, WA has some issues with left lane hogs, but the Obama stickers takes it over the top.

The left lane on Seattle freeways is usually just as slow as every other lane due to congestion. Those who try to save 2 minutes on their trips by weaving in and out will get nowhere fast.

Obama stickers? Really? I have not seen more than about three of them. Does the state vote liberal? Yes, because of a high population of libs in Seattle, the biggest city. However, most drive just fine. And Washington, as a whole, is pretty moderate at the end of the day.

seems like very prius of subaru outback I see has an obama sticker. ok more like half. and they always seem to be in the fast lanes going slower than everyone else.

but I agree, it usually doesnt matter because traffic is so terrible anyways.

[NorthwestRepublic]

I agree with freebird stay in Kansas most of Washington does not need or want you. All the people who will encourage you to move here are likely transplants who are also not wanted are liked by the locals. If you need a break from kansas come visit, but just remember to go home.

[Cinebar]

Originally Posted by rainforest338

Washington may look like a blue state on the map, but hope this breaks it down a little more for you.
Kind of a joke around the state is: It is a red state with a dark blue line running through it. The line is the I-5 corridor, Vancouver to Blaine. Most of the cities and the majority of the population lie along I-5. Once you head east or west it becomes more rural and red. The people I know in Eastern Washington typically feel that their votes don't matter, because the voting base in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties is so much larger. I live on the Olympic Peninsula, and the general feel is that most of the people lean red, but they are mostly silent and their voter turnout is low. So you get a lot of visible blue.

Unfortunately (for me), I live in probably the only red county west of the Cascades.

To the OP: I haven't read all the responses yet, but if nobody has mentioned the Olympia area yet, I would suggest you check it out. I don't live there (I'm southeast of it), but from what I've seen of it, there is a "small city" feel to it but you don't have to go very far to get out into the country.

I know it has public transportation; I can't speak for how efficient it is.

I see a lot of bike lanes - at least in the parts of the city I've been to.

There is an active farmer's market and at least one food co-op that I'm aware of (they sell a friend of mine's raw goat milk).

The ocean beaches are close by, as well as the mountains for skiing (if you do that sort of thing).

Seattle is an easy day trip, possibly by Amtrak if you don't have a car.

Ok, now I will go read the rest of the responses to see if I just repeated something someone else has already said.

[Cinebar]

Originally Posted by NorthwestRepublic

I agree with freebird stay in Kansas most of Washington does not need or want you. All the people who will encourage you to move here are likely transplants who are also not wanted are liked by the locals. If you need a break from kansas come visit, but just remember to go home.

Wow. That is really freakin' rude.

While I'm never anxious for the population of my state, county, or tiny town to grow, I would never suggest to someone who wanted to possibly move here that we "don't need or want" them.

To the OP: not all of us are as unwelcoming as a couple of the posters here. Please accept my apologies for their rude comments.

If you decide to move here, I wish you the best of luck in doing so.