Seattle and Washington state look really interesting to me. I'm considering a move to Seattle to attend law school. I live near Austin, Texas now (my native state,) but have lived in Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee, also. Needless to say, I might be in for a culture shock, but that's okay--expands the horizons! Some questions: -I know Seattle is not the rainiest city; but, how warm does it usually get in the spring and summer? -I'm not a right-wing nut job from heck, but still a proud conservative; will Seattle be a friendly, open place to people like me? I've gotten mixed reactions about the "friendly" factor in Seattle. -I'm age 32, single, just broke up with fiance, love live music, and into jogging every morning. What makes Seattle, Seattle? (Not Pike Place or the Space Needle, but the local hangouts and establishments.) Thanks in advance for the help! *just broke up w/ female fiance. I'm straight (lol).
Polls & Surveys - 12 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
it is rainy in the summer and cold in the winter and has the highest suicide rate of any state because of the gloomy weather, other than that it is absolutely beautiful
2 :
The only way to find out is move there. Period. If you don't like it, move away.
3 :
I just moved where I'm at from nearby Tacoma (Seattle and Tacoma share the major airport), and have friends and relatives in Seattle. When I went up there, this is what I witnessed: Lots of busy people with business. Boeing, Microsoft, etc. Coffee shops are king. And not just Starbucks. Seattle downtown is crowded and expensive, like all the big cities. People usually live in a suburb and commute. That's why I liked living in Tacoma, though it's getting too big for its britches too. If you disliked traffic jams in the biggest city in the US without an Interstate belt (Austin, TX), you'll find the freeways are misnamed up there. Traffic jams abound everywhere. You'd think the drivers would be used to wet or snowy weather but it's a madhouse on the major freeways. Washington in general is behind on road repairs. Culture shock: Only 4 country and western stations on FM dial up and down Interstate 5 in Washington. You can hear two of them downtown, though. Temperature note: In 2005, the temperature in June went 88, 88, 89 during a three day span. The National Weather Service issued its first-ever heat advisory for Seattle on those last two days. Not kidding, Seattle's first ever heat warning since starting their NWS station in 1890. It rains ANY time, but the sunny days are up in the 70's and 80's in the summer. Winter, it rains every day, and the temperature that close to Canada is comparable to Canada. It snows. This past winter it snowed for maybe a week or two. You can find all the culture (live music, jogging, sports, theatre) you can stand up there.
4 :
Seattle is a great city but too cold for me, I rather stay here in sunny Florida..☺
5 :
When I first moved to Seattle in 1990, it was a spotlessly clean, very inexpensive city with hardly any traffic and lots of jobs. I moved away a few times to try other places and always returned here. Each time I came back, it was WAY more expensive, incredably more crowded, far fewer jobs and had gotten really dirty. A lot of the residential neighborhoods are still quite beautiful, with a huge abundance of beautiful trees and really lovely houses and gorgeous 1920s brick apartment buildings, but just try to afford one. There is NEVER anywhere to park on the streets, even if you do shell out the big bucks for a mandatory "zoned" sticker. Car insurance and registration fees have gone thru the roof! No matter where you go on any of the main streets, you will get asked for spare change or a cigarette every 20 feet... to the point you don't want to even leave your house. There are bums and homeless people sleeping in the doorways, all over the city every night. There is a HUGE meth and heroin problem here so there are lots and lots of homeless tweekers and junkies all over the place 24/7, either nodded off, zipping up and down the streets talking to themselves, eying your wallet, or panhandling very aggressively. Due to the no smoking law here, you must smoke outdoors. Now, walking along the street is like wading through an ashtray with the hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts in the streets, gutters and sidewalks. In the city and up here on Capitol Hill, EVERYTHING is covered with grafitti and stickers and wide marker srawls. It is really getting ugly. A lot of businesses have moved out either due to raised rents or being forced out by eminent domain so developers can tear down an entire block and build another 300 tiny condo units. More and more apartments are converting to condo. Good luck finding something under $250,000.00 that is more than 600 sq ft. When we moved back here from Kitsap County, (across the water) my car was stolen in less than a week, never to be recovered. So in retrospect, the main reasons why I moved here are gone now. It is just a filthy, expensive, drug infested city. Yes, there are still a lot of beautiful things here. The waterfront, parks, Seattle Center and the Space Needle, etc... but these things do not pay my bills or put food on the table. If you are really thinking of moving to this area... and don't mind an hour or more commute to the city, try Bremerton, across the water. It is very up and comeing and a lot less expensive... however you will be at the mercy of the Ferry schedule or have to sit in gridlocked traffic and pay a toll on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge during your 1 hour plus drive.
6 :
The answer directly above me, totally nailed it!!!
7 :
I've lived in the Eastside area all of my life and go to the main University of Washington campus in Seattle. I'll break it down for you by category: COST OF LIVING The cost of living in the greater Seattle area (especially the Eastside) is rediculous. A tiny house with an equally tiny lawn will run you at least $300K if you're lucky. WA state sales tax is 6.5%, but local taxes in most of King County raise the sales tax rate to 8.9%. Tax on prepared food and beverages from establishments such as restaurants, bars, and coffee shops is 9.4%. I'm not entirely sure what the local taxes for Pierce County and Snohomish County are, which include Tacoma and Everett, respectively, but they aren't THAT much lower than King County. On the statewide level, however, there is NO state income tax (just like Texas), and most food items are not subjected to sales tax. Items such as pop, over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, etc. ARE taxed. Unfortunately, because there is no state income tax, property taxes are pretty high, especially when considering that real estate is NOT cheap. Take that into consideration. Here are some quick facts about taxes in WA: Sales tax: 6.5% statewide, plus local taxes on top of that Gasoline excise tax: $0.34 per gallon Cigarette tax: $2.03 per pack State income tax: none Check out this article: it's a pretty good read, and a bit of an eye-opener in some cases. WA state is ranked #4 in tax costs (which include federal, state, and local taxes). We're the only state in the top 10 with no state income tax. That's not good. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/Advice/TheBestAndWorstStatesForTaxes.aspx WEATHER The weather in Seattle has a reputation for being rainy, but in reality, it's not true. There are plenty of other cities than Seattle that rain MUCH more. However, the myth that it always rains in Seattle stems from the fact that the Seattle sky is overcast and gray 2/3 of the year. Other than that, Seattle has pretty predictable weather akin to what most people would expect from each season. Spring sees a lot of blue skies and sunshine, but it also rains a lot, too. Temps range from the low 40s all the way to the 70s and 80s (the past week has been beautiful). Summer is typically beautiful, clear blue skies, lots of green plants thanks to the rain from spring, and the temperatures usually range from the mid 60s all the way to the upper 90s (the summer of 2006 saw temperatures in the low 100s--for Seattle, that's a heatwave!) Summer in Seattle is truly hard to beat. BUT, it will rain occasionally, but of all the seasons, summer definitely has the best weather, and probably only rains for a combined total of two weeks from June to late September. Fall is fall, as one would expect. The leaves turn brown, the temperature drops, and the sky starts to become overcast more often. Winter, however, is truly hell. This is where WA gets its reputation for being rainy all the time. The sky is constantly gray, with very few days where the sun actually peeks out. And when the sun DOES peek out, it's still cold. Not as cold as Minnesota or Wisconsin or elsewhere in that area, but cold by our standards. Winter temperatures range anywhere from mid 20s to upper 40s, usually averaging in the high 30s/lower 40s. It doesn't snow too often in Western Washington, we maybe only get two or three snow days throughout the entire winter, but every few years or so we see significant snowfall. In fact, the period between November 2006 and January 2007 was some of the most miserable weather ever. It rained for 21 straight days in November, then it snowed for two or three days at the end of the month, then a serious windstorm caused significant damage and knocked out power to over 1 million people (some for over a week) in mid-December right before Christmas. Then we had another week of snowfall in January. KEEP IN MIND, however, that's NOT the norm for Seattle. We most certainly see far less snowfall than a state such as Wisconsin or upstate NY, but it DOES happen every six or seven years or so (the snowfall, that is). TRANSPORTATION This one is easy. IT SUCKS. There are only three major freeways into Seattle: I-5, I-90, and WA-520. Don't even bother with I-5 during rush hour, it's a guaranteed backup for miles. 520 is just as bad. I regularly see westbound 520 backed up from Bellevue all the way into Seattle (over five miles of stop and go traffic). I-90 is probably the least worst, but even THAT one bottlenecks at inopportune places. On top of all that, the drivers in WA state are idiots. They're slow, timid, and they don't pay attention. If I had a nickel for every time I got stuck behind some dipshit in a Lexus SUV doing 5 under the speed limit, I could probably afford to buy a house in Seattle. Oh, and let's not forget that it's not at all uncommon to see people driving around with their blinkers on. It's rediculous. Driving in the Eastside area is a necessity, because the mass transportation system (Metro, SoundTransit, etc) isn't all that great. Competent, but it could certainly be improved. Unfortunately, it's a necessity made difficult by stupid drivers and roads in dire need of repair (I-5 south of Tukwila is probably the worst paved road I've ever driven on). SCENERY WA state kicks ass for scenery. I've got nothing bad to say about it at all. One of the most beautiful states in terms of geography. POLITICS Seattle itself is a fairly liberal city, but sometimes too liberal for its own good. The mayor, Greg Nickels, is a male, but I'm pretty sure he has female genitals. Under his rule, Seattle has passed inane laws that leave even liberals scratching their heads. As of sometime earlier this month, you cannot buy malt liquor within Seattle city limits. If you're craving a 40oz of Olde English, you gotta go outside the city. Supposedly, it's supposed to help clean up the homeless problem, but I highly doubt it will have the slightest effect. Whether you're a drinker or not, given that you state you're a proud conservative, such a law should seem outrageously big-brotherish. Personally, I'm a proud moderate that draws equally from both liberal and conservative agendas. To me, this law is just totally rediculous. Oh, and before I forget, the strip clubs in Seattle and the immediate area pale in comparison to strip clubs in other states. You cannot buy alcohol in them (this is true statewide, thanks to the fascist Washington State Liquor Control Board--yes, that's right, WA state holds a monopoly on all hard liquor and liqueurs, and thus beverages of this sort must be purchased directly from the state), and previously, for a little less than a year, Greg Nickels and company passed a law that required strip clubs to improve their lighting, banned direct tipping to strippers, and worst of all, required stripper-customer contact to be at least four feet away. In other words, no lap dances, no ANYTHING that makes a strip club a strip club. Thankfully, the voters repealed this absurd law back in the last general election (November 2006). Outside of Seattle, namely the Eastside, the politics tend to lean libertarian. I highly doubt that most residents in the Eastside are actually wealthy, since they probably spend all of their high incomes on luxury homes and luxury cars, and thus cannot afford to actually invest their money wisely. Nevertheless, because of the supposed wealth of the Eastside, the politics tend to be fiscally conservative, while social issues tend to be fairly liberal. Given that you live in Austin right now, were you to move to Seattle, you shouldn't feel too out of place, as I understand that Austin is fairly similar--that is to say, I've heard from several sources that Austin has a pretty strong counterculture and libertarian following, too. Since you claim not to be a total conservative whackjob, though, you'll be fine. If you WERE a conservative whackjob, that's what Idaho is for :-) Bottom line for this topic: Seattle itself is a total nanny state. Inane laws passed by total left-wing liberal whackjobs that are just as bad as laws passed by right-wing conservative whackos in other states. The Eastside is somewhat better. MISC You stated that you like to jog in the morning. You're in luck, because there are plenty of joggers to be seen day-round here. Supposedly Seattle is one of the fittest cities in the nation. I don't know the veracity of that, but it might be true. You also stated that you just broke up with your fiance. Well, the women in Seattle leave a lot to be desired, really. Unless you live close to the UW, which has a ton of hot chicks, the women in Seattle are typically either chunky or they've got hot bodies but ugly faces. If you're a chubby-chaser or don't mind "butterfaces", you'll be fine. There's a coffee shop or four on every street corner. Literally. In the suburbs, in addition to stand-alone shops, drive-thru coffee stands are everywhere. Make no mistake about people in Seattle drinking a lot of coffee--it's no stereotype, it's the truth. Coffee is delicious. If you like it, you'll be right at home. If you don't like it, that doesn't mean you won't be right at home, but it DOES mean you'll have to smell it every five feet. SUMMARY So, all in all, the scenery is great, the coffee is great, the weather is awesome in the summer, but the people, transportation, politics (for the most part), the weather (except summer and most of spring), and the cost of living leave a lot to be desired. Aunt Ida's response above is equally accurate, just a bit more blunt and concise :-)
8 :
go to http://www.seattle.gov
9 :
My sister lived there for several years. In Seattle. She wants to move back very much- now has a kid and a divorce so she is stuck in Michigan. Funny thing when my mom went to visit she never once saw the mountain..too foggy. I went a week later and it was beautiful. Lots of tree huggers, Vegan's, dread-locks, hippies and the like. We went camping in the mountains- and had a great time. I think there is a lot to do outdoors if your into it. Seattle is know for coffee. Drive up coffee huts, coffee sold on corners, coffee everywhere. If you don't like coffee-forget it.
10 :
i m not so good with this ... sorry :(
11 :
I moved here from the Bremerton area, across the water from Seattle. You would never get me to live in Seattle. It's a great place to visit though. I would recommend living somewhere else and commuting if you can. WA. isn't perfect by any means, but it does have its good points and the scenery is great!
