AquaVita

In another thread, people commenced the Texas-bashing. And while it irritated me, it occured to me that since all I ever hear people outside of Texas say, are bad things, perhaps my judgement is distorted from having lived here my whole life.

I've always wanted to live in Seattle. What is it like there? Are there bigots? Overly religious people? Does it rain a lot, or is that just a preconception?

I would like to hear from our infidels who live there, or used to etc. Or from people who have visited the area, and their thoughts on it. How about cost of living?

Yeah I know, I'm full of questions...but I've had this on my mind for awhile, and I think the time is rapidly approaching for me to get the hell out of here.

char

[QOUTE]What is it like there? [/QUOTE]

There is alot of water. Boating is popular. Climate is very mild. It doesn't get below freezing very often in the winter. It doesn't often hit 100 in the summer. I have a south facing apartment and I haven't turned the heat on this year.

Mountain ranges to the east and west. Three hours to Vancouver, BC. Skiing 40 minutes away in some cases. Mulltiple resorts. 4 hours to worldclass windsurfing in the Gorge.

Good public transportation and lightrail is being installed.

Yes.

[QUOTE}Overly religious people? [/QUOTE]

Of course, fewer than other areas though. I think Washington has the lowest number of religious people.

Depends. This winter was dry. We have mountain range to the east so it blocks alot of weather. Typically you get 1-2 days of rain and then 3-4 of no rain, possibly sun. Repeat for 8 months.

AquaVita

What is the cost of living like, Char? Sounds nice from what you've described so far.

Oh and if someone doesn't like Seattle or you've never been...where do you think a liberal minded person like myself would find a happy ground?

char

According to MSN, if you make 30k in Houston you will need 43k to maintain the same standard of living.

Seattle has a large "metro area." Suburban areas extend North, South and East for quite a ways. The renting market and home market are quite good right now. No one wants to move here. Unemployment is something like 11% in Washington.

AquaVita

Hmm...sounds like a high unemployment rate. Do you know if Seattle rasies has salary on a scale basis? I mean, do they typically pay more because it costs so much more to live there? I would think they do.

damon_achey

That's being polite. It actually only rains here about 3 or 4 days a year.... the other 8 months it will constantly drizzle! If you like outdoor sports there is some very beautiful country up here but if you need it dry for a few days before you can enjoy it (rock climbing for example) then it really sucks for 3/4's of the year.

As for the job market, I guess that would really depend on what you do, your experience, who you work for, etc, etc...

Sakpo

I've never lived in Seattle, but since it's such a nice place and it's fairly easy for me to find people to bum rides from down there (my main concern being that I can be extremely confident nobody is trying to smuggle anything) I go there fairly frequently for short periods of time. One observation: plenty of internet cafe type places from which a certain out of town mod can do his job... Obviously I can't comment on what it's like to actually permanently or semi-permanently exist in Seattle.

Seattle has a fairly nice art gallery, complete with these really cool Chinese statues in the main concourse, which are in an area with free access. The climate is mild, it's quite damp most of the time and it does "drizzle" a lot. The rain there seems to be a lot less than in Vancouver. I grew up in Vancouver, so I actually enjoy damp weather. I've found a lot of people who move to wet places also learn to like it. It's a very short trip to Vancouver (less than an hour) and of course Vancouver has all sorts of neat stuff, it also isn't that far to Portland which also has some neat stuff (ie. that massive institution that is Powells books, not that there aren't plenty of neat bookshops in Seattle). Seattle has a very enjoyable atmosphere. After San Francisco it's my favorite American city I've been in enough to pass judgement on. I'm sure there're bigots and religious crazies in Seattle, they're everywhere, even in the fabled Vancouver. They may be in lower proportion however (religious crazies definitely are, though when they feel isolated, in my experience around them, the whole false victimhood thing gets more extreme).

Oh, one bad thing: there are cops in Seattle who are really zealous about ticketing jaywalkers. I've seen quite a few people get ticketed for jaywalking in what I'd call unreasonable circumstances.

Oh, and 11% unemployment? Ouch! Is that unemployment concentrated in western WA, or is the east going through a slump or what? I'd heard a lot about Boeing making big lay offs, is that part of the reason?

godfry n. glad

I live down the highway from Seattle about three hours and our climate is insignificantly drier than Seattle's, which means our "winter" weather begins in mid-October and generally ends about July 5. It consists of lots and lots of overcast and very little sun. When it is sunny, it tends to be either our coldest or our hottest weather. As a result, those moving from sunnier climes tend to struggle with SAD, seasonal affect disorder. Hell, even the locals suffer from SAD. Weather induced depression is endemic.

Rain... Well, yeah...that's the Pacific Northwest. West of the crest of the Cascade Mountains, to be exact. Panhandle Alaska, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia all have reputations of rainy country which is well deserved, but it's not the _volume_ of rain that's important, it's the _duration_. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, gets the same amount of rainfall, but it's not spread out over 8-9 months like it is here. As noted earlier by another poster, it is often weeks on end of uninterrupted light drizzle. At about 38-45 degrees F, until April, when the temperature goes up to 45-52 degrees F. Neat, huh?

I have a sort of love/hate thing going over Seattle. It's spot on Puget Sound, with the lakes in its midst, make for a scenic locale, but much of it has been marred by hideous freeways that are clogged most of the time. During one trip from Vancouver, BC, back home, we passed through Seattle at 2 pm on a Sunday afternoon and got stuck in a freeway traffic jam for 2 stinkin' hours. Seems like it happens most times through Seattle.

If you like snow sports, you're within _easy_ driving distance of excellent facilities _and_ if you go just a little bit further east, you'll find a lot more sunshine in the likes of the Yakima Valley; it's high, dry country that's colder in the winter and hotter in the summer than the wet west.

Hey...It's easy to go to the coast, since you're already at itl But, seriously, Seattle is within easy

It's an easy drive to Vancouver, BC and easy to hop a boat ride into the inner harbor at quaint Victoria, BC, for those who think it might be wise to be close to the border...just in case. And, hey, dey speaka da English, there, too.

If you like water sports, San Diego is the place to be. If you like water sports in the rain, well, then, Seattle is it.

The museums and cultural life are fairly active, compared to the quiet little cultural backwater in which I live. Seattle has three major sports franchises, if that's important to you. They have some really neat distinctive residential and commercial neighborhoods. Given all that, I'd still rather visit Seattle than live there, as versus Portland, where I'd rather live than visit.

I'm not quite sure what your asking with regards bigots, but both Portland and Seattle are a couple of the "whitest" American cities I've ever been in. Draw whatever conclusions you want from that. However, they are both fairly cosmopolitan, with a wide and varied mix of cultures and lifestyles. I don't know about Seattle, but Portland seems to be notorious for its active lesbian community. Tolerance for all minorities seems to be pretty good in both metropolitan areas....but...if you go beyond the metropolitan areas, beware. Rural Washington and Oregon are far more conservative than the metropolitan areas (each which constitutes approximately half their respective state populations)and potentially more "bigoted". There's a notorious location halfway between Portland and Seattle where some "anti-you-name-it" wacko has had an ever-changing right-wing billboard, visible from both directions on the freeway, with changing messages. It's been there since the Eisenhower administration and is still going strong.

Religious wackos are everywhere. We got 'em, here, too. <sigh> Of late, I'm beginning to think they have waaaaaay to much influence in both state legislatures....a reflection of the rural interests in both states. Oregon has been touted as the "most un-churched state in the union" based upon the number of residents that claim an association with some organized church. Big whoop. A lot of those that don't go to church seem to sit home an read their babbles and come to their own unhinged conclusions and then vote that way. That goes for Washington, too, which ain't much different. (I do have to say, though, that I think Seattle is the home of Reverend Chumly of the Church of the Incadescent Resurrection and his Wonderdog, Sparky...not to be missed if he appears on a streetcorner near you.)

Oh... In case you're interested, Washington has no income tax. They've got a sales tax and some hefty property taxes. Conversely, Oregon has no sales tax, but an income tax and so-so property taxes.

Drinking water in both cities is great. Clean, clear and relatively pure snowmelt.

Seattle's downtown smells like fish, especially when the tide is out, or you're shopping a Pike Street Market. If you dig that sort of thing, then Seattle is on salt water.

godfry

atheist_in_foxhole

It's a beautiful, vibrant, progressive city surrounded by scenery that can only be described as spectacular.

Unfortunately yes, but fundies and other religious nuts are few and far between in the city proper. They tend to live in the suburbs and rural areas and don't make much noise.



It actually rains less than in many other large cities, but like godfrey said it's spread out over 8-9 months and that sort of creates the illusion that it rains a lot. In any event, I think the climate here is perfect. It's never too hot, never too cold, and the rain/drizzle helps to keep things green and clean all year long.

I really hope you come and visit soon. I'm sure you'll love it here.

Entropic_Gnosis

I lived west of Seattle, in Silverdale, for six years before i went to college and if you want fundies look no further. He had all sorts of them of varrying persuasions. In the rural areas there is an interesting mix of conservitve and neoconservitive people these also tend to be the fundies which is no real surprise and some pretty out their lefties (like myself) who tend to either be atheist/agnostic or keep their religion to themselves. However the local government that i had to deal with was fairly fundy. But Seattle itself is much more friendly toward all manner of people