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Seattle doesn't suck. But if you have a problem with rain/drizzle or you're not willing or able to adapt to the weather then it might suck for you.
As for everything else, Seattle is an awesome city but it's a bit more of a mature city than some. For example, I live in Chicago and Chicago feels like a much, much younger city and has a lot more partying going on. But it's also way bigger.
Seattle's social scene is more low-key but it's there. Countless fantastic breweries and pubs with good food. Great beer scene. Great wine scene. Great arts, theater, music/live performances. Great sports, although the sports teams are often not too great, but the Mariners, Sounders and Seahawks all have good fan bases.
Awesome Asian food, sushi and food scene in general.
As people have stated before, Seattle is obviously one of the most beautiful cities in the country because of the combination of urban and nature. Trees everywhere, green year round. Many huge lakes around, ocean/salt water sound, mountains and hills and hiking and trails.
Seattle's both safe and clean in comparison to many other big cities. The people are nice, polite and respectful but not necessarily friendly and open, especially in comparison to here in the midwest.
Peoples biggest complaints are usually the weather and that Seattleites are hard to get to know. Nothing you can do about the weather. As for friends, that's really up to you and depends on your age. It's going to be a bit hard for anyone that moves to a new city in their mid 40s to make a bunch of friends but if you're in your 20s, depending on what scene you enjoy, it's not that difficult. Sometimes guys complain about the standoffishness of Seattle girls especially in bars and public situations in general. I guess the girls are typically more reserved and more wary of potential creepsters.
I don't personally see how anybody could hate Seattle unless they can't deal with the weather (which in my opinion is quite mild. And you get used to the rain. It rarely outright downpours and the rain is usually a slight drizzle. It's the overcast skies that takes getting used to. But without all that rain, you wouldn't have the beautiful nature).
I have my complaints about the social scene sometimes and about friendliness, but honestly it's not a huge deal. You'll find all kinds of people just like anywhere else. So no, Seattle does not suck (aside from the rain) unless you want it to suck. Seattle is pretty damn cool and one of my top cities in the world.
One last note: I've always felt like Seattle is a place you end up, but not really a place you start out. This is referring to young people starting out careers or recent college grads just starting out in life and goes with what I said about Seattle being a somewhat older/mature city. I'm in grad school in Chicago, having moved from Seattle, and I plan to end up in Seattle later in life but while I'm this young (24) I'm going to explore some more vibrant, bustling cities.
Hi, I'm new here. I'm currently a college student in Los Angeles, and I can't wait to get the hell out of California and get my hide up to Seattle! I've never been there, but from everything I've read about in books, the Internet, and elsewhere in the media, and from word of mouth tells me that Seattle is the place to be...not only on the West Coast, but in the whole country!
L.A. has too many earthquakes, too much unemployment and high taxes, too many people who don't speak English (I'm sorry for the negative way that sounds), too many homeless people who hang out on the street corner, begging for change (ditto for that one), too many people, period!, too much crime and gangs, too many corrupt politicians who say there's not enough money to fix the state's so-called "problems". I can't take it anymore!
Like I said before, I've never been to Seattle before, but it can't be worse than L.A. There's got to be a reason why everyone and their brother is moving to the Pacific Northwest. For one thing, I hear it's beautiful up there--with the mountains, lakes and forests, etc. And also, it's got a thriving economy, I hear. Seattle has got everything: Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Nordstrom, etc. Plus a number of smaller firms in technology and business. Seattle, I hear, is getting very big in the healthcare industry.
So what if it rains a lot? That's a small price to pay to get away from the trash that is L.A. In L.A., many of the people are either rich, rude and arrogant and won't give you the time of day, or a minority and poor who can't afford to give you the time of day.
And I've heard that it doesn't really rain all day, every day in Seattle. It's just overcast and misty most of the time. Californians are so conceited and stuck-up. They get a little rain and wind and they cry, "Oh, hold me, Mommy! There's a big storm coming!" Oh, pul-leeze! These people don't know what rain is. You want rain? Go back east to New York and Miami!! And compared to California, I hear most people in Seattle are very friendly and laid-back. The dress is often casual, and the people there will often go out of their way to smile at a stranger on the street or even help with directions or something. Try doing THAT in Southern California! You'll likely get, at best, a mean scowl.
My only questions are: 1) Is it really expensive to live there, as they say it is? (It can't be as bad as CA.) How are the rents and home prices in the area? And 2) How is the economy? I'll be graduating from community college next year--2012--with a certificate in Accounting. Can I find a decent, well-paying job in the city?
If anyone knows the answers to either or both of the above questions, feel free to drop me a line at: sdg1023@gmail.com Thanks. Scott
My husband and I would consider moving to Seattle again (we lived there once before) once the kids are raised. With a family, though - with kids - it's a tough place to find happiness and live a good life. Too busy, too $$, too much traffic, too many problems, too rushed, too many people in a place that wasn't built to have that many people... we were not happy there as a family trying to raise kids. Too stressful.
I think as a single person or a childless couple (or a couple who has already raised their kids) it's an interesting place to live if you can tolerate traffic, the weather, the cost, the weirdos, the tourists, the nerds, the smell of downtown... No place is perfect, Seattle has some very good food, music, and places to explore. It's a fun town to visit and we enjoy going back there to visit once or twice a year.
It's fairly easy to figure out how expensive a place is by doing a little homework yourself. The hard part is overcoming your excitement with regards to moving to a new place and allowing yourself to really understand the reality of the new place. Don't talk yourself into moving to a place that you can't afford. Do your homework. You'll be miserable after the first year (or sooner) if you don't.
We've lived in California and Washington State as well as other states in the U.S. Seattle was more expensive than the area just north of Sacramento in California where we lived. I have never lived in L.A. so I do not know how Seattle compares to L.A. , but housing and utilities in Seattle are very expensive, based on our experiences there and the other cities/states we've lived in. A decent two bedroom rental in a safe area will easily cost $1200 - 1500/mo. or higher. Buying a home is very expensive there, it's almost wiser financially to rent in some areas.
Hi, I'm new here. I'm currently a college student in Los Angeles, and I can't wait to get the hell out of California and get my hide up to Seattle! I've never been there, but from everything I've read about in books, the Internet, and elsewhere in the media, and from word of mouth tells me that Seattle is the place to be...not only on the West Coast, but in the whole country!
L.A. has too many earthquakes, too much unemployment and high taxes, too many people who don't speak English (I'm sorry for the negative way that sounds), too many homeless people who hang out on the street corner, begging for change (ditto for that one), too many people, period!, too much crime and gangs, too many corrupt politicians who say there's not enough money to fix the state's so-called "problems". I can't take it anymore!
Like I said before, I've never been to Seattle before, but it can't be worse than L.A. There's got to be a reason why everyone and their brother is moving to the Pacific Northwest. For one thing, I hear it's beautiful up there--with the mountains, lakes and forests, etc. And also, it's got a thriving economy, I hear. Seattle has got everything: Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Nordstrom, etc. Plus a number of smaller firms in technology and business. Seattle, I hear, is getting very big in the healthcare industry.
So what if it rains a lot? That's a small price to pay to get away from the trash that is L.A. In L.A., many of the people are either rich, rude and arrogant and won't give you the time of day, or a minority and poor who can't afford to give you the time of day.
And I've heard that it doesn't really rain all day, every day in Seattle. It's just overcast and misty most of the time. Californians are so conceited and stuck-up. They get a little rain and wind and they cry, "Oh, hold me, Mommy! There's a big storm coming!" Oh, pul-leeze! These people don't know what rain is. You want rain? Go back east to New York and Miami!! And compared to California, I hear most people in Seattle are very friendly and laid-back. The dress is often casual, and the people there will often go out of their way to smile at a stranger on the street or even help with directions or something. Try doing THAT in Southern California! You'll likely get, at best, a mean scowl.
My only questions are: 1) Is it really expensive to live there, as they say it is? (It can't be as bad as CA.) How are the rents and home prices in the area? And 2) How is the economy? I'll be graduating from community college next year--2012--with a certificate in Accounting. Can I find a decent, well-paying job in the city?
If anyone knows the answers to either or both of the above questions, feel free to drop me a line at: sdg1023@gmail.com Thanks. Scott
Having lived both in SoCal and Seattle, I can't wait to get back to California. I'll take LA people and all their faults over the miserable lot up here.
One last note: I've always felt like Seattle is a place you end up, but not really a place you start out. This is referring to young people starting out careers or recent college grads just starting out in life and goes with what I said about Seattle being a somewhat older/mature city. I'm in grad school in Chicago, having moved from Seattle, and I plan to end up in Seattle later in life but while I'm this young (24) I'm going to explore some more vibrant, bustling cities.
Its funny you mention this because the SeattlePI blog referred to an article about this not too long ago.
L.A. has too many earthquakes, too much unemployment and high taxes, too many people who don't speak English (I'm sorry for the negative way that sounds), too many homeless people who hang out on the street corner, begging for change (ditto for that one), too many people, period!, too much crime and gangs, too many corrupt politicians who say there's not enough money to fix the state's so-called "problems". I can't take it anymore!
Like I said before, I've never been to Seattle before, but it can't be worse than L.A. There's got to be a reason why everyone and their brother is moving to the Pacific Northwest. For one thing, I hear it's beautiful up there--with the mountains, lakes and forests, etc. And also, it's got a thriving economy, I hear. Seattle has got everything: Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Nordstrom, etc. Plus a number of smaller firms in technology and business. Seattle, I hear, is getting very big in the healthcare industry.
So what if it rains a lot? That's a small price to pay to get away from the trash that is L.A. In L.A., many of the people are either rich, rude and arrogant and won't give you the time of day, or a minority and poor who can't afford to give you the time of day.
you sure you are not talking about Seattle?
How is it that you bolden everything else (which isn't as a real big problem here, despite what you may feel) but not the earthquakes part?
I live in Illinois. My mayor committed suicide and there is a high criminal conviction rate among our state governors. Comedian Lewis Black came to our local university to do a show one winter and within the first three minutes described how the scenery here "makes you want to kill yourself!"
So, please come to Springfield, Illinois and stay for a while.
I'm from Hawaii, but LOVE Seattle. I'll take cool, dreary, & rainy any day over humid, hot, & sun-so-bright-you-always-have-a-headache. Dreary and cloudy = cozy. Hot and sunny = misery, at least for me.
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