My spouse & I are thinking of moving to the Seattle area. What can you tell me about that area? Good place?

This is actually a hard question. I'm going to break it down a bit:

Zeitgeist, Local economy, The future

Zeitgeist:

Seattle has a unique feel that is deceptive because it changes based on how long you've lived here and and varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. Seattle's reputation is that it is a city that is educated, liberal, friendly, political, tolerant, and ethnically diverse -- sort of a 'San Francisco light'. Other terms you'll hear: 'Company Town' (Microsoft and Boeing), 'Nanny State', 'Seattle Freeze'.

Some neighborhood stereotypes break down like this:

Belletown/Bellevue: Materialistic

Queen Anne: Herpes triangle

Fremont: Hippie

Greenlake: yuppie

Capitol Hill: gay

Georgetown/Ballard: hipster

These stereotypes are mostly pointless, but some people seem to feel at home in some neighborhoods and loathe others with a burning passion. This is particularly true of the West Side (Seattle)/Eastside (Bellevue) divide.

One important characteristic of Seattle is that it is the 'city of working billionaires': Bill Gates, Steve Balmer, Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, Craig McCaw and a few others, not to mention a legion of Millionaires are quietly powerful and make thier presence felt in untold subtle (or not so subtle) ways. One thing you'll eventually notice about Seattle is that the only reliable identifier of wealth is real estate. There are probably equal numbers of retail workers who lease Lexuses as there are millionaires who take public transportation. And our wealthy tend to dress like slobs or ex-chess club members.

There are also a number of things about Seattle's 'spirit' that are less subtle: Seattle is family-friendly, there's lots of open space, both in the city and the surrounding areas, there's a great music scene, indy film scene, and lots of physically fit people who bike, hike, run, swim, ski, snowboard, etc.

There's more I could say, of course, but I wanted to touch on a few things that you wouldn't notice over a long weekend.

Local Economy:

A highly educated (over 50% have college degrees) population feeds numerous tech start-ups, established firms, non-profits, and heavy-hitters like Boeing and Microsoft. Secondary players such as Costco, Amazon, REI, Starbucks, Foss Marine, local government, Google and Adobe satellites, numerous biotechs, and a surprising number of game companies such as Nintendo, Wizards of Coast, Valve and others, guarantee a reasonably stable employment base.

However, tell that to the people who get hit with a lay-off or someone who is competing with ridiculously over-qualified applicants at every job interview they go to, or has struggled to pay their mortgage during one of the many boom-bust cycles of recent years (Boeing/Aerospace, dot-com, real estate, biotech, etc.)

When I moved to Seattle around 10 years ago, I couldn't believe how hard it was to break in here. I was making $10.00/hr and living in an over-priced, depressing, little apartment and had to sell my blood plasma to pay for groceries. Now I have the luxury of turning away job offers but it was really, really hard for a couple of years before I figured out how to find a place here (I currently work at Microsoft). I grew up in Los Angeles during the 80's and went to school in a college town in Montana and it was harder hitting my stride here than it was than (Big) L.A. or (Small) Missoula.

Part of what's so difficult is that you'll see how 'easy' it is for so many people around you who are already established and wonder what you're doing wrong. You're probably not doing anything wrong. It just takes longer here to find your way than other places. Having a job before you move here will go a long way towards easing your transition. Otherwise, consider yourself warned.

The future:

Lots of people think Seattle's future is bright. Significant growth is expected over the next 10 to 30 years and the city is changing dramatically. There's new public transportation that's coming on line, migration of the poor to the suburbs, increased urban density, gentrification, and the likelihood that Seattle will be a bigger and bigger player on the world stage due to it's port, technology, wealth and demographics.

So... if you want to sink your teeth in and are willing to face a bit of hardship and disappointment -- once you find your way you'll probably never want to leave. Seattle is awesome but not easy.

Welcome. I look forward to a chat over a cup of coffee.

Take care.

Robert.

There are other options besides the ones I've read here. the key piece of information is exactly where the job will be. If it is in downtown Seattle, there are a number of nice places west of there. You take a ferry to get to Seattle. The Bremerton area is much cheaper to live in than Seattle or Tacoma but you have to put up with an hour ferry ride every day. The good news is, you don't need a car. If the job is in Tacoma, Gig harbor is just over the Tacoma Narrows Bridges. Nice rural area but close to to the city. You have to put up with a driving commute and there is a toll on the bridge but traffic is nothing like the gridlock between Seattle and Tacoma. Both of these locations offer a lot of access to water and parks whether Puget Sound or many lakes. Not necessarily a lot of night life but everything is a short commute away. If you don't know until after you move whether the job will be in Tacoma or Seattle, then Federal Way, Tukwila, or Sea-Tac are compromises to consider. No one mentioned alder or fir tree pollen. These can be a problem for some but considering the overall air quality, I still think it is a great place to live. People may gripe about the rain but it knocks down the pollen fairly well.

Just get your butts here! You'll L;OVE it. Seattle is the "most livable" big city in the country. If you liked the feel of Portland, you'll be crazy about Seattle.

Bellevue is a good place to start a family if you don't mind the traffic across the floating bridges when you want to get into Seattle proper. Frankly, I'd look north to Edmonds or Mukilteo if I were starting a family. Very nice communities which are still close enough to get to Seattle in half an hour or so, but far enough away to feel "out of town."

EDIT: I REALLY like Robert's answer, and even though he's only been here 10 years (compared to my 62!)---he's got it figured out pretty well. Obviously an amazing guy I wish I knew--and extremely perceptive about a really special city. Hope you will be joining us here!

So i live in seattle and i love it it is wonderful. We just had a 70 degree day in January come join the fun out here and head to the beach and the mall and the streets!!!! we have a lot of malls and shoppin areas we are just like New York City but it is cleaner and people dont pee on the streets!!!

Come join the fun!