Any Southern Californians regret your move to Seattle? (Shoreline: leasing, school)

[texastrigirl]

Originally Posted by PNWGuy

I'm not sure what kind of a gig you have right now, but from many sources, amzn works you like a dog, the budgets are penny pinching, and that is the culture they strive to keep. 75% of my friends that quit their job to work at amzn have already left, the rest are staying just to wait for their stock to vest before leaving. This from folks who come from a company with much different culture than they were used to. But the company is doing well, so something must be ok there, I just haven't heard of what iti is

Not really my husband's experience either. He had pretty reasonable hours actually and was there for almost 5 years. He would not have left but got a great offer elsewhere and decided he could always go back if it didn't work out. AMZN is not perfect but certainly has plenty of positives such as the stock appreciation .

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by angelenogirl

My husband and I are considering a move to Seattle, but I worry about making such a huge move and then regretting it. I know there is far more calculus involved, and it's all fairly subjective and specific to each family, but I feel native Californians have enough of a shared experience to give me a rough idea of what the move was like, and if there are regrets overall.

Some of my hesitance comes from relocating to San Diego last year from Los Angeles (where I was raised) and not loving it like I thought I would. I am launching a startup, and the tech scene in San Diego seems almost non-existent. I am also one of those odd birds who is bored with these near-constant "sunny and 70" days. I like rain. Like, really like it. So, for a number of reasons, Seattle has become a now daily topic of conversation. (Though I fear I may be idealizing/romanticizing it a bit.)

I welcome any and all thoughts. I also would love to find that perfect balance between urban and family-friendly. I love quaint and walkable street-level charm, but I also want a really safe and strong community vibe for the kids. Right now I'm trapped in a master-planned community and it's killing me. Way too Stepford!

Sorry to be so longwinded. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your help!

In some ways, Seattle and San Diego have some similarities in strange ways. The overall vibe of each city is very similar. Not sure what you didn't like about SD but I left there because I didn't like it either. Seattle's weather has been discussed to death. However coming from SoCal, you should know that Seattle is also a mild climate but the exact opposite kind of mild. San Diego can go 8 months without any precipitation. Seattle's wet season can last 8 months. However most of the time, it's not the crippling downpours we get in CA. but it last longer.

Not sure what factors you're looking for. I personally loved Seattle when I was there. I'd spent time in southern WA and had a different opinion of it until I went to Seattle. Visit there and take a look around. Talk to some locals (many of whom are from CA) and try to get a feel for the city.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by PollyGlott

Not a native Californian, but I lived in So Cal (San Diego) for over 30 years. Moved here nine months ago, and couldn't be happier. I don't miss the constant sunshine at all, although I do appreciate the sunny days we get here (like today, for instance!)
Oh, and by the way, not a single person has ever shown any of the "anti-Californian" mentality I read about on C-D. What I've gotten instead is "why would you ever want to move here from sunny San Diego?", "don't you mind our grey weather?", and "welcome to the Pacific Northwest"

Lucky you. Wish I could say the same thing. I couldn't move to Seattle just yet. I had more opportunity to return to the Bay Area. Seattle's still in my sight though.

[HuskyDawg]

Seattle's starting to look a lot like California in a lot of ways. Lots of new development knocking down the old, and new buildings with more national chains than used to be here. Wait long enough and California will probably extend up through Oregon & WA.

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by HuskyDawg

Seattle's starting to look a lot like California in a lot of ways. Lots of new development knocking down the old, and new buildings with more national chains than used to be here. Wait long enough and California will probably extend up through Oregon & WA.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by PollyGlott

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

We're definitely being pummeled by newcomers. It's not California or Oregon, it's the rest. Take heart though, when October comes, when the clouds settle in, we'll see how long they can take it. They talk big game but we've seen the runners!

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by HuskyDawg

Seattle's starting to look a lot like California in a lot of ways. Lots of new development knocking down the old, and new buildings with more national chains than used to be here. Wait long enough and California will probably extend up through Oregon & WA.

That would really suck so I hope it doesn't happen. I just managed to escape CA once !!!

I hate the "mallification" that was hugely prevalent in the LA area, added to the endless traffic and smog .... I haven't looked back for a second except to check it wasn't following me !

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by limeyx

That would really suck so I hope it doesn't happen. I just managed to escape CA once !!!

I hate the "mallification" that was hugely prevalent in the LA area, added to the endless traffic and smog .... I haven't looked back for a second except to check it wasn't following me !

I just worry that we will get so packed it will look like the Bay Area. Fly over that and you don't even see green. It's wall to wall concrete. Really sad for such a beautiful area.

Here was an interesting article on Geekwire about Seattle traffic. We are #7 according to Inrix:

1. Honolulu (58 hours)
2. Los Angeles (56 hours)
3. San Francisco (48 hours)
4. New York (57 hours)
5. Bridgeport, CT (42 hours)
6. Washington, D.C. (45 hours)
7. Seattle (33 hours)
8. Austin (30 hours)
9. Boston (35 hours)
10. Chicago (36 hours)


INRIX names top 10 worst traffic cities (and tells drivers how to avoid gridlock) - GeekWire

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I just worry that we will get so packed it will look like the Bay Area. Fly over that and you don't even see green. It's wall to wall concrete. Really sad for such a beautiful area.

Here was an interesting article on Geekwire about Seattle traffic. We are #7 according to Inrix:

1. Honolulu (58 hours)
2. Los Angeles (56 hours)
3. San Francisco (48 hours)
4. New York (57 hours)
5. Bridgeport, CT (42 hours)
6. Washington, D.C. (45 hours)
7. Seattle (33 hours)
8. Austin (30 hours)
9. Boston (35 hours)
10. Chicago (36 hours)


INRIX names top 10 worst traffic cities (and tells drivers how to avoid gridlock) - GeekWire

Yeah. We moved to Woodinville which is a really (really) nice change from LA and I hope it stays that way.

We are lucky enough to back onto green belt land but anything can change I guess, and that doesn't protect the rest of the area.

I really hope this place doesn't get built up like LA.

I have only lived in Seattle and LA, and I can for sure say that the traffic here is much much much better than LA.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I just worry that we will get so packed it will look like the Bay Area. Fly over that and you don't even see green. It's wall to wall concrete. Really sad for such a beautiful area.

Here was an interesting article on Geekwire about Seattle traffic. We are #7 according to Inrix:

1. Honolulu (58 hours)
2. Los Angeles (56 hours)
3. San Francisco (48 hours)
4. New York (57 hours)
5. Bridgeport, CT (42 hours)
6. Washington, D.C. (45 hours)
7. Seattle (33 hours)
8. Austin (30 hours)
9. Boston (35 hours)
10. Chicago (36 hours)


INRIX names top 10 worst traffic cities (and tells drivers how to avoid gridlock) - GeekWire

This is soooooo not true! Maybe in the south bay area but no where near does it look like that everywhere. The Bay Area has huge amounts of open, undeveloped land belonging to regional parks, state parks and national parks. The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest urban park district in the country. Just behind Oakland and Berkeley are huge areas of undeveloped parkland. The Bay Area is larger than the Seattle area but if any large metro area resembles the Seattle area it would be the Bay Area.