Relocate from Phoenix to Seattle (cities, good)

[cantor]

I moved to Seattle one year ago from Phoenix. These are my observation for you:
- The rain won't get to you so much, but the cold will. It is far colder here than you are used to. Buy several pairs of thermal underwear and be ready to wear them as early as September and as late as May or June.
- Summer days are very long, and it will weird you out. Being used to living in Phoenix and staying inside until the relentless, oppressive sun finally set, it was difficult to move here in mid-June and have it stay reasonably light until well after 9PM.
- Get ready for it to be very dark in the winter. If you arrive in the summer, as I did, and then move into the fall, it will seem like darkness descends upon you at the same time a lot of rain arrives. November seemed to have the worst weather with howling windstorms and heavy rains. It was difficult to make it through.
- Two words: Seattle chill. It's not that folks don't try to be nice, friendly, etc., they're just not outgoing here in the same ways you might be used to.

Hope this helps.

To cantor:

You forgot to mention some of the positive things:

-Seattle has MUCH better air and water quality than Phoenix. Phoenix has one of the worst air and water quality in America.
-Seattle has usually very comfortable moderate temperatures, and you wont have to worry about melting here or being in an oven heat exhuastion, heat stroke etc. (except for 5 days at most a year).
-Seattle has a nicer skyline than Phoenix, and better city things about it for the most part while having a lower population!
-Seattle has lower crime, depression, and suicide rate. Arizona has one of the highest crime, depression, and suicide rates in America!
-No dangerous sun rays/skin cancer worries.
-No scorpion worries!
-More green and water landscapes.
-Other things.

But Ill be fair, some positive things about Phoenix over Seattle(Personally I overall prefer Seattle over Phoenix)

- I probably will prefer November-January Phoenix weather over November-January Seattle weather (I think Ill like the rain then though, but probably not like the clouds/darkness all the time then. It can be sunny in Seattle then too actually)
-Sometimes I rather have it sunny than cloudy. But I can like clouds/rain as much as sunshine.
-Phoenix has lots of solar power potential thanks to all of its sunshine. (Washington actually still has solar power potential but not like Phoenix).

[_Charles_]

Seattle did not work for me. It was a mistake for me to relocate there from Phoenix in 2001. My career eventually benefited but nothing else. I lived in Eastlake and Capital Hill - the quality of life sucked.
Yes Seattle has great scenery and despite the hype - the weather is no big deal (unless long stretches of no sun bothers you).
The difficulty there is the people - I for one could not break the ice and I was there 8 years.
I had a great job and liked the folks at work but I choose not to "live" at work.
When I returned to Phoenix it was a coming back to life. - reconnecting with others and feeling human again. It was like a waking up to pleasant morning after having had nightmares all night.
Just my two cents worth. To each their own you might like it there. Good luck to you.

[_Charles_]

You forgot to mention some of the positive things:

-Seattle has MUCH better air and water quality than Phoenix. Phoenix has one of the worst air and water quality in America.
-Seattle has usually very comfortable moderate temperatures, and you wont have to worry about melting here or being in an oven heat exhuastion, heat stroke etc. (except for 5 days at most a year).
-Seattle has a nicer skyline than Phoenix, and better city things about it for the most part while having a lower population!
-Seattle has lower crime, depression, and suicide rate. Arizona has one of the highest crime, depression, and suicide rates in America!
-No dangerous sun rays/skin cancer worries.
-No scorpion worries!
-More green and water landscapes.
-Other things.

No offense but nowhere in your list did you mention the people of Seattle.
One cannot go to lunch with views of Mt Rainier, the Cascades or the Olympics.
One cannot befriend or be befriended by locals such as Pikes Place market or the Space Needle/Seattle Center.
LOL there will be no brunches witht he San Juan Islands or the Strait of Juan De Fuca.
And not everyone wants to mindlessly pedal around on a bicycle or repeatedly climb Mount Si.
And therein lies the negative. "Seattle chill" is real - folks there are not sociable. I was there 8 years - I would know.
Folks here in the Valley are light years more sociable.
And BTW - who cares about solar? How is that even relevant to the subject of this thread? LOL whatever.

I disagree with what you said about the people of Seattle and how you make everyone here sound so unfriendly and unapproachable and uninteresting. You make it sound like its a different city and not Seattle. I think there are plenty of people that are sociable and approachable here but maybe in a different way from other places and also plenty of interesting people here.

Personally, there is such a thing as being "too sociable and outgoing." I know some people who are ALWAYS sociable and outgoing but give absolutely no time for themselves and to have some time on their own and that they could actually make the most of their socializing and being outgoing more if they gave some more time to be on their own. Some of those people might also not be fun to be around because they dont pursue other things in their lives other than socializing, if that makes sense, and dont show other life interests than socializing. The ideal is for someone to be sociable and outgoing but also know when to not take it too far and just have some time to be on their own and overall being a well rounded individual.

I heard a lot of horrible things from some others saying how some of the people in Phoenix are like and how some people there might seem more outgoing and social at first, but might end up being too sociable and outgoing, and sometimes more superficial, judgmental, more dull, and even more sketchy compared to people in other places as well as other negative things about certain people(of course definitely not all)in Phoenix. Im sure there are great people in Phoenix too.

It doesnt feel like the Seattle freeze exists to me.

Im surprised thats how you feel about the people in Seattle compared to Phoenix. I think for me, I would feel the opposite for the most part from you and not do as well socially in Phoenix as in Seattle. And I wouldnt want to be in the Phoenix anyways because of the heat, pollution, and dryness. But its all about someones personal preference.

[cantor]

Hello All -

My advice to the original poster was meant to highlight some of the things that I think a former Phoenix person should know before moving to Seattle.

I can say gobs and gobs of positive things about Seattle and many negative things about Phoenix. My choice to move from Phoenix to Seattle was very intentional and long thought-out. I find Seattle to be a much better place to live than Phoenix for a host of reasons.

I would have different advice for people moving from Seattle to Phoenix - and my comments would be much less pretty.

Phoenix is my hometown, and I love it despite its numerous and serious flaws.

[daneurysm]

Originally Posted by silverfox

are you prepared for the Climate Change ???

Yeah, I'd like to emphasize that point. A lot of people who move here from warmer climates are shocked at the weather. The rain is a bit overstated (Texas gets more rain than we do, but in different distribution). Seattle summers are beautiful and some years very, very warm, but not even in the same ballpark as AZ, NV, TX and SoCAL. What we have for a good chunk of the year, even on dry days is a lot of cloud cover, overcast, mist and drizzle sort of stuff. Seattlites break out the shorts and sandals if the temperature hits 65. If it hit's 90 here for more than a few days consecutively at the height of summer, that's like a heatwave.

[SwingVote08]

Originally Posted by daneurysm

Seattlites break out the shorts and sandals if the temperature hits 65.

Hah, we break out the shorts when it hits 30 in Columbus!

[Silverwaters05]

Oh Masika lol. The way you talk about rain in Seattle makes me so happy. I live in the Midwest and plan on moving to Seattle at the end of the year. Most people think I am crazy moving to a place that rains and has cloudy days all the time but let me tell you, I thrive in rain and thunderstorms. I mean granted I like the sun too but rain makes me happy lol. And you explain Seattle so beautifully that I just want to move up there right now! Im going to love hiking and smelling fresh pine.
I do plan on moving up there by myself and plan on getting an apartment in downtown Seattle as well and I do anticipate it being significantly higher especially me moving from the Midwest. Capitol Hill and First Hill you say are good places? They are safe as well?

[funyoncity]

I'll chime in my 2 cents. I moved from the Seattle area down here to Tucson to come back to school and visit the Seattle area on a semi-regular basis. Things I've noticed that are different (all generalizations of course):

In Seattle it is 50 degrees and cloudy most of the year with 'sun breaks'. It's very humid, lots of moisture and lots of 'drizzle'. You don't see much lightning, just lots and lots of clouds. It's cold, windy, and rainy during the winter with less hours of day light and 'black ice' on the roads in the mornings.

In AZ the rain usually comes during the summer in a downpour monsoon, lightning, and cools down the scorching heat, it's quite refreshing. 110* weather is pretty brutal. Summer in Seattle has little rain and is gorgeous. I love PNW summers.

People in Seattle don't really talk to strangers or people they don't know well for more than a few sentences unless they want something from you. I've had extended conversations with people in AZ just to talk. It's been easier to make friends in AZ than in WA.

I love the snow in the mountains in Seattle, and having lakes is really fun. I enjoy fishing and boating. A lot of rivers in Arizona (especially Tucson) don't have any water in them until it rains.

There is a weird divide between people in the greater Seattle area and those who are on the 'east side'. I was guilty of this when I lived there, I grew up in the 'burbs. Only now since I visit do I go downtown.

I never realized how bad my Seasonal Affective Disorder was until I left the Seattle area. It's fun to visit, and the summers are awesome, but depending on the weather systems (El Nino, La Nina) some years have much less sun than others. The year I left there was record rain and 31 or so straight days of rain all the way through November. My birthday is in November, very depressing. Not one day of sunshine.

I really miss my family who are all in Seattle, and my friends, but I've never been a 'Seattle' person and it just never felt right. Who knows, maybe the northwest is your type of place. Only one way to find out.

Only you know what will make you happy. I wish you luck.