Why do you want to move to Seattle? (2013, townhome)

[queenvic]

Originally Posted by The_Fairfaxian

Don't bring the type-A, passive aggressive, materialistic, covert racist, status-obsessed mentality of DC to Seattle, for the love of God. And of you're black, please keep that "you'se ain't black enough cause you'se speak proper" attitude back where you came from. Some blacks need havens from the Communist Cuba/China style of internal oppression known as "the black community".

WOW!! I'm African-American and I gotta agree with you on that one. It would be nice to never hear that I "talk white" again . I never understood that mentality or the need to have a barrage of entourage (aka: the black community) surrounding you and to validate you.

[RVD90277]

Originally Posted by queenvic

If these things are important to you, especially "pretty people" that you mentioned also in your post, perhaps you should stay in LA and look a little harder. Simi Valley, perhaps? I just know that people in Seattle will not want to hear about how "great" LA is. Most people left California to move to Seattle for a reason.

I'm not sure if Simi Valley is all that great down here. It tends to get pretty hot out there but I don't think I've been out there more than a handful of times.

I guess maybe it's just me that thinks having a lot of "pretty people" around is a positive. I just like riding my bike along the beach and watching people play volleyball, ride their bikes, go jogging, etc.

Anyway, I guess we'll see how I like it when I'm up there. I am headed up there this weekend to look at houses, tour the city, etc.

RVD.

[W & C]

Originally Posted by RVD90277

I'm not sure if Simi Valley is all that great down here. It tends to get pretty hot out there but I don't think I've been out there more than a handful of times.

I guess maybe it's just me that thinks having a lot of "pretty people" around is a positive. I just like riding my bike along the beach and watching people play volleyball, ride their bikes, go jogging, etc.

Anyway, I guess we'll see how I like it when I'm up there. I am headed up there this weekend to look at houses, tour the city, etc.

RVD.

You might consider looking for a place around Alki Beach. It'll remind you of home - well, July - September at least

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by RVD90277

I'm not sure if Simi Valley is all that great down here. It tends to get pretty hot out there but I don't think I've been out there more than a handful of times.

I guess maybe it's just me that thinks having a lot of "pretty people" around is a positive. I just like riding my bike along the beach and watching people play volleyball, ride their bikes, go jogging, etc.

Anyway, I guess we'll see how I like it when I'm up there. I am headed up there this weekend to look at houses, tour the city, etc.

RVD.

Are you planning on buying or renting? I don't mean this negatively at all but I wouldn't bet money on your liking it long enough to make a house purchase profitable. I'm not saying you won't like it but you haven't been here for a couple of winters yet and you already sound like you could potentially have misgivings down the road.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by RVD90277

I guess maybe it's just me that thinks having a lot of "pretty people" around is a positive. I just like riding my bike along the beach and watching people play volleyball, ride their bikes, go jogging, etc.

There's a difference between "pretty people" and "healthy people" or "active people." I don't equate beach volleyball, bicyclists and joggers with "pretty people." For that I would think you meant some clubs on Sunset or the restaurants in Manhattan Beach. Pretty People could just as well be people who paid to have a surgeon make them look that way, which isn't always healthy, IMO.

[RVD90277]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Are you planning on buying or renting? I don't mean this negatively at all but I wouldn't bet money on your liking it long enough to make a house purchase profitable. I'm not saying you won't like it but you haven't been here for a couple of winters yet and you already sound like you could potentially have misgivings down the road.

Actually I plan on buying. If I could find a nice house for rent I would consider renting but it just seems like the hassle of moving all of our stuff more than once is too much to bear.

Of course you are correct in that if I really don't like it, it's an even bigger hassle to sell the house and move stuff back to SoCal as opposed to just moving stuff back to SoCal without having to sell a home too.

We are flying up this weekend so we'll see if there is anything that I really like up there in terms of a home. But it looks like the home rental market isn't so great for renters either. I guess I can also just sort of drive around but I haven't seen many home online that rent in the Mercer Island / Bellevue area that are 2500+ sq ft, 4+ bedrooms, etc. but I am keeping an eye out as well.

RVD.

[isaackko]

- Getting restless here in Hawaii
- Have never lived elsewhere
- I like Seattle based on my visits in 2001 and 2008
- I'm looking for a new start, possibly doing something totally different
- It's cheaper than Hawaii
- I have some family there

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Sometimes "on paper" makes no sense when put into real-life application (as I re-learn everyday out here on this grassy plain ).

If you know what you want, that's half the battle.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by queenvic

Yes, I read that also. Seattle, Minneapolis, and Denver are ranked at the top. Since Atlanta has a very large African-American population (it was called the "Black Mecca" in the 90's), perhaps there is a social stigma about dating interracially (especially when there are high percentage of "eligible" African-Americans available to date). I go against peer pressure, but for most people it is impossible for them to go against the group and do their own thing - especially when no one else around them is doing it.

In cities such as Seattle, Minneapolis, and Denver, however, the population is very large and the people seem more educated. The percentage of African-Americans is rather low, so ones choices in mate are much more limited. Dating outside of ones race then becomes survival and acceptable.

I think another part has to do with history. It would certainly make it easier to date interracially in Seattle for a Black person if the Black population is 10 percent or less. Minneapolis, though, has a Black population around 16-18%.

I would say history has alot to do with this. Minnesota and Washington have been a bit more progressive towards interracial marriage compared to most states. The state of Washington did have a law against interracial marriages. However, it repealed this law in 1887, 2 years before it became a state, and 80 years before the famous Loving v. State of Virginia, recognizing interracial marriages. Minnesota never had an laws against interracial marriages.

Georgia, on the other hand, is part of the Deep South. There were laws against interracial marriages for many years. It took the Loving v. Virginia ruling to make them legal in Georgia. The state next door, Alabama, had laws against interracial marriage and didn't officially take them off of the books until 2000. They may have been ignored after 1967, but they were still in the books. Interestingly, Birmingham,AL is also listed as one of the worst cities for interracial couples.

[green_mariner]

Reasons for me to love Seattle, and want to return:

Mount Rainier
Seattle Mariners
Seattle Sounders FC
Pacific Ocean is very close
Puget Sound
Fresh seafood
The food scene
Cascade Mountains
The Space Needle
The summers in Seattle are better than in Atlanta
A ferry ride to Canada can be found.

There are more reasons, and I just can't really explain it. I have been living in the South longer than the Pacifc Northwest. However, I consider the PNW to be more home, a place more me.