Does Seattle have a subway or other rail system? I've been there once, in 1994, and I remember a pretty gnarly rush hour getting into the city on a weekday afternoon. The freeway was locked-down for quite a distance. It was grey and drizzly the whole time, which gets old in a hurry. You could tell that the place would be breathtaking if the sun came out, however; very green and hilly, beautiful neighborhoods, etc...

One complaint I had, which I have in all smaller cities, is the lack of awesome+cheap food everywhere that you take for granted in a big city. I don't want to get into a pissing contest w/ the (considerably large) PNW contingent here, but it's not the same as L.A./NYC/Chicago in this regard and it's something that we in the big cities take for granted on a daily basis. Coming from Rochester, MN., this will not be a factor. You will think that you are in the most cosmopolitan, advanced city on earth in comparison. What are you doing there? My sister did her residency at Mayo back in the mid-'90s, she commuted every day, (90 miles one way), rather than get an apartment there. She had 2 little ones at home in Mpls.

My one and only trip to Seattle was for a weekend, and the afternoon I got there was the day that Kurt Cobain killed himself, so the whole weekend had a bit of a down vibe over that. The hipster parts of town really do have a dreary, junkie feel to them. It's undeniable. Seattle is where the term "skid row" originated, and you can see why. Like most cities, it is really two cities. You can never completely isolate yourself from the "other city", though. My other complaint, and it might not be a factor for everyone, was the overwhelming whiteness of the place. I thought that I was from Caucasia, (Minnesota), but you haven't seen pasty skin until you go to Seattle. I'd love to have the Patagonia franchise up there, holy christ. Nothing wrong with being white, (I'm practically an Albino), but there is definitely a point where you just say, "this is unnatural". :D

All in all, depends on your past experiences, tolerance for drizzle, and need for big-city diversity. (With all of the good and bad that it entails). The people are fantastic, and you can forget about skin cancer up there. You will look like a new-born baby at 60 if you move there young enough. Super-easy place to cop if you become a junky. That pretty much covers it. :cool:

IMHO, if you stay out of Seattle proper, you cannot go wrong. As mentioned by others, Seattle has a significant difficulty accepting itself as a major metropolitan city and their inability to manage traffic and transportation is the most visible manifestation of it.

But there are lots of places near to Seattle itself to live that are very nice places.

Sometimes the rain can get old, but do a couple of summer and falls here and you will understand why we are here.

Nope. Been working on it for years though. I have no idea when it will ever go live or if it will have any positive impact considering the limitations I last heard on the routes.

OK, I will toss in my 2 cents.....there is another side of soggy Wa state that is almost like a desert.

Just drive over that mountain range they call the cascades and wham............no more rain, hardly to speak of.

Bottom line, this state is hard to beat, it has it all, you name it, we got it.

Yes, Seattle is the armpit of the state but isn't every big city????

Myself and my wife both were born and raised in Wisconsin, I spent 2 yrs in Superior going to college along time ago and lived thru minus 80 degree weather, only place were you can spit and it will freeze before it hits the ground.

Thank you but no thank you, you can have the great midwest, a great place to grow up and speaking of precipitation levels, Seattle gets less rain per yr than the midwest.

In January, the skiers are skiing there brains out and I can go to Anacortes and sail my boat in some awesome winds......that my friend is a diverse state.

OK, so a little history about me... I was born and raised in Minnesota. Got a job at IBM right out of high school. Have worked with them or a business partner ever since (19 years). I'd be looking for work in the IT field, specifically working with AS/400, iSeries, i5's. Thats my work background and what I know and pretty much enjoy doing.

I'd guess we'd be looking at things north of Seattle, but I really need to see what the job market looks like. And if we could really afford to live there. I know I'll miss the 2500sqft house on 2.7acres for 250k housing market. *edit* Thats 20 minutes from my office... *edit*

Ever thought of Portland? I grew up there and love the city. The traffic can get bad but is nothing like Seattle's. Plus Portland has its stuff in one sock with an excellent public transportation system. Many parks, rivers, the Pacific Ocean, etc.

My wife's family is still in Portland so we go there often. The only bad part of the trip is I have to go through Seattle. I abhor that section of I-5. Nothing can stir the violence inside like Seattle traffic.

But I'm not used to it. My commute to work has two stop signs and one light. 16 miles of twisties along the western side of Fidalgo Island. Takes me 20 minutes. I'm severly spoiled - perfect Porsche country. Plus I average 3-4 Bald Eagle sightings a day. It's beautiful country the PNW.

The reason for Seattle would be to get close to her family.

4-5 hour trip. That's close enough for in-laws:D

Parts of the Northwest sell underarm deodorant with anti-fungal agents added to the formula. Been up there briefly. On a clear day, the scenery can be breathtaking.

The only bad thing about Seattle is that someday Rainer will blow.

you came on the perfect weekend for a Californian:rolleyes:

my first time in So. Cal. they had a smog alert for a week. but i still lived there for 3years. glad i came back to the pacific northWET :)

no cheap food? man you really didn't get a good tour of the city. some of the best prices for fresh local seafood. also many local joints that have gotten lots of press nation wide.

http://www.bethscafe.com/index.html
where else can you find a 12egg omelet :eek:

just a FYI "SKID ROW" has nothing to do with bums/homeless.
it is "SKID ROAD" it refers to when they were still logging in the city back in the 19th century and were sending (SKIDDING) the logs down the hill to Elliott Bay to ship out to other city's like SanFrancisco, that had already used up their wood by then. it used to be one of the dirtier parts of town. but is getting quite a clean up now.

like all cities we have our good parts and bad parts...

when you get here hook up with the "northenders" and drive down to the XXX Drive-In for our monthy get-together and drive.

From the Seattle area:

Mountains for skiing or hiking: 45-60 minutes East to the Cascades or a ferry ride and 60 minutes to the Olympics to the West. http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/

Mountains for climbing: Rainier, Baker, Adams and St Helens and lesser..all within about 2 hours. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/070496/peaks_top.html

Fishing: Salt water 5 to 10 minutes, fresh water 5 to 10 minutes, ocean about 2 hours or so. Rivers and lakes are all over the place. Washington is the boating capitol of the world.

Rainforest: Ferry ride West and 60-90 minutes.

Desert: 90 minutes to the East. Colder during the winter, hotter during the summer.

Pro and college teams: minutes away.

Canada: 2 hours to the North.

Portland: 3 hours to the South.

Pacific Raceways: 45 minutes...http://www.pacificraceways.com/

My Dad called Washington God's County. He grew up in North Dakota and once here always said, "North Dakota, a great place to be FROM."

Um....... Superman- More lakes than you can shake a stick at? The guy's from Minnesota! You know- The "Land of 10,000 Lakes".

Almost every property in MN is lakefront property.

lol, I happen to live in the ONLY county in Minnesota without a natural lake. We have several that are a result of the river being damed, but thats it.

Good point, Dan.

Also, if you are an angler, we have ocean-going trout (Steelhead) and landlocked salmon (Bluebacks).

If you're wanting to be in the Everett area, I might suggest Bellingham. It is beloved. There is a college there, and the atmosphere is a nice, slow mixture of sleepy small town, active arts community, academia and pseudo-urbanity. And.....its a little ways away from Everett. Personally, I think there is a "sweet spot" in terms of how close to in-laws you should live. Different for everybody but about 300 miles has worked well for me for decades. One hour might be better for you. Next door is just a bad idea, no matter how much you love them.

We live in the Laurelhurst section of Seattle, and we think its lovely thanks SmileWavy

Sup, I hear ya on keeping some distance. I think the 'ideal' will be something that just close enough to use them as a sitter for the night out on the town.

I live on across the sound from Seattle for six years, and I would move back in a heartbeat. I would have to get divorced first (the wife's family lives in New England). I miss several things. Dirtbikes on the logging/fire roads in the Olympics, The Turkish deli at Pike Place Market, and Fat Smitty's at Discovery Bay.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1174143219.jpg

[QUOTE] I'd guess we'd be looking at things north of Seattle, but I really need to see what the job market looks like. And if we could really afford to live there. I know I'll miss the 2500sqft house on 2.7acres for 250k housing market.


Holy muskellunge, batman..

The further you get away from seattle, the cheaper housing gets. We still have a strong housing market here in the Puget Sound area, so be aware. Lake Stevens is an affordable area. It is less than 10 minutes from Everett.

Oh, Everett traffic is just as bad as Seattle right now. They are widening the freeway, so it should get better soon.