should I move to seattle from philadelphia? (violent crime, find a job)

[dr1185]

Hi, all

I am originally from Philadelphia (although I'm currently living in NYC) and I've been considering moving to Seattle. I've done lots of research on the area and my main concern is the weather (of course). I'm just afraid the gray winters will make me depressed, although the summers sound fabulous. So my question is should I make the move? I like the idea of a liberal, educated population, love the fact that nature and outdoor activities are plentiful, and am very excited about the prospect of exploring the west coast more. I hate the hot humid summers and horrible snow storms in philly. Any input would be helpful!

[azoria]

Summer is July and August. The other 10 months a year are 45F overcast/wet/rainy/grey.

You decide.

[Hemlock140]

Philadelphia and Seattle have almost exactly the same annual rainfall. The difference is that ours is spread out over 9-10 months with mostly light drizzle that takes a lot longer to add up to inches. In our 20 years here the worst was 33 days in a row of rain one spring. Lately, despite the rain, snow, wind and cold, we have seen the sun at least for a few minutes now and then most days. We call those "Sun Breaks."

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by azoria

Summer is July and August. The other 10 months a year are 45F overcast/wet/rainy/grey.

You decide.

Just a tad of an over-exaggeration I think!

[phoenixmike11]

well seattle is more expensive than philly and u might consider the economy- if u have work there at philly-it might be better to stay there until the economy improves unless u get work b4 u move to seattle

[eskercurve]

I would say the ideal situation is to line up a job before you move. That is difficult unless you live in the area already. Some folks move out here and then find a job. Save up a six month savings just in case.

Unfortunately about the weather, you really won't know if it affects you until you actually live here. I would say look at your own moods and reactions to when it gets SUPER cold as it does in Philly, or when it gets cloudy for a week as I'm sure it does in Philly in the winter. If you honestly look at yourself and you know you get all depressed during those times you may want to reconsider Seattle.

But if it really doesn't affect you, you're golden.

[Ira500]

Yes, make the move. Sounds like you're ready for a change. I'm a native of central New Jersey, just outside of Trenton, and have been in the Seattle area nearly 35 years. I don't regret it. It rains a little less in Seattle, overall, about 37 inches compared to 42 for Philly. For seven months of the year( March thru September) Seattle gets less rain on average in each of those months. Sure, there's less sunshine. But there's that liberal, educated populace, lots of outdoor activities, a much cleaner and safer city, water, mountains, great Asian food and seafood. A great cheesesteak is hard to find. A great bagel is hard to find. Great east coast style pizza is hard to find. We have a much worse baseball team, but much more polite fans.
So I say go for it. What's the worst that could happen? You don't like it and move somewhere else.

[Woof]

I agree with Ira.

Originally Posted by azoria

Summer is July and August. The other 10 months a year are 45F overcast/wet/rainy/grey.

You decide.

It's really not that bad. There might be SOME rain and a fair amount of cloudiness most days during about 9 months of the year, but the sun peaks through most days too, except for maybe a coupla really bad months.

From what I remember, Philly is sunnier on average, but has plenty of gray also. The violent crime situation is much worse in Philly, and is slightly worse in NYC. Housing can be a bit more expensive than philly but of course cheaper than NYC.

Outdoor recreation and scenery are nicer, more beautiful than the other two cities. If you get the right rain gear, it's not at all unpleasant to hike or bike.

[bryson662001]

If you live in NY why did you say you are coming from Philadelphia?

Back to topic.....I spent a summer in Portland once and the 1st week or so it was very refreshing without the hot sun beating down. By the time I left I couldn't wait to get out from under day after day after day of grey, damp gloom. They do have hot weather in the summer out there once in a while
but not that summer. I grew to hate it.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

If you live in NY why did you say you are coming from Philadelphia?

Back to topic.....I spent a summer in Portland once and the 1st week or so it was very refreshing without the hot sun beating down. By the time I left I couldn't wait to get out from under day after day after day of grey, damp gloom. They do have hot weather in the summer out there once in a while
but not that summer. I grew to hate it.

Summers in Seattle are not typified by grey, damp gloom. Seattle gets less rain in July and August than Phoenix does. In May, the average high temperature in Seattle is 64.4 degrees , with an avergae of 1.78 inches of rain. Yes, less sunny than Philly, but Philly averages 3.88 inches of rain in May. June, we have an average high temp of 69.6, with an avg 1.49 inches of rain, July-avg high temp of 75.3, avg rainfall of 0.79 inches, August -avg high temp of 76.3 and avg rainfall of 0.88, Sept-avg high temp of 70.5, avg rainfall of 1.5 inches. It's true than just because it's not raining doesn't mean it's sunny, but Seattle's overall a pretty easy place to be in during those months. That doesn't sound like grey, damp gloom, especially considering that it stays lighter longer out here in the summer.
Just because you spent a summer in a city 180 miles away from here and didn't like the weather just doesn't really mean anything. I spent a winter in Boston once and it was cold. Should I advise people based on that to not move to New York?