Tell me about Seattle and Washington state...?

Question

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).

Answer 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

Answer 2

That's funny because I grew up in Seattle, and then moved to Austin about 5 years ago. Pretty much you can expect 40-60 degrees year-round as far as the weather. And it is a rainy place, but it's not really "rain". It's mostly just misty all the time. Jogging everyday might be hard to do every morning in the rain (guaranteed that it will be raining/misting 85% of all mornings) Seattle is definitely not as friendly as the South, but it's not a horrible place to live either. I'm generally a conservative person as well, and I survived just fine. You'll be fine. It's definitely populated, and pretty expensive to live, but it sure is beautiful. It truly is a gorgeous place to see, and if you don't move there I definitely recommed a visit. The thing that I love the most about Seattle is the general "vibe" of the city. It's hard to explain, but it's definitely got a hippy/granola feel to it. I'm definitely not a granola girl by any means, but I still appreciate it. I also enjoy the nature and Native American sides that Seattle has to offer. The only reason that I don't plan to move back is that I really enjoy the warm weather and getting to do things outdoors year-round. It also seems to be a little too congested for me. There are people EVERYWHERE there, and it just seems to be getting more crowded. Anyway, hope my little tidbits help!

Answer 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.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

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!

Answer 7

Seattle is a great city but too cold for me, I rather stay here in sunny Florida..☺

Answer 8

The answer directly above me, totally nailed it!!!

Answer 9

The only way to find out is move there. Period. If you don't like it, move away.

Answer 10

go to http://www.seattle.gov