Thinking about moving to Seattle or SF Bay area from Washington, DC, any suggestion?

Question

I and my girl have been thinking about living in Seattle for a while and now contemplating our choices between Seattle and Bay area but leaning towards Seattle, what do you think about this?

Pros:
- Great job opportunities in IT (for myself)
- I love outdoors -- hiking, biking and snowboarding (The legendary Mt Baker and Whistler)
- I don't really mind overcast sky, we like cool temperature.
- I love books and coffee.
- I am really into photography -- heard that Seatte area in summer is like heaven.
- Close to Vancouver and Portland -- another two great cities.

Cons:
- Traffic is bad (but I really wonder will it be worse than the beltway in DC area?)
- Housing is expensive (again, I don't think it beat DC area just yet)
- Mostly overcast sky (although I don't think it will bother me that much but I just don't know yet..)
- What about job in accounting field (for my girl)?

really like SF Bay area too, but way too pricey

Answer 1

Go Bay Area! It is most beautiful area in the north america.

More outdoors activities there, see http://www.bayareavisit.com

Answer 2

If you hate summer heat, then seattle is the way to go. There is at most 2 months of heat, 4-5 months of beautiful weather, and around 6 months of light grey sky, rain, and cold. Just to warn you.. very little houses here (and apartments) have air conditioners. So you will be sweaty for the 2 months of summer heat. But at least thats better than the Blazing summer heat in san fransisco. My cousins use to live there and hated the scorching heat.

There are a lot of hills here.. steep hills (especially in the seattle city area). So driving a manual car may be scary.

Outdoors is really good in seattle.. its better than San Fran.

I've been to both Vancouver and Portland, and loved it. I want to visit more, but don't have time. But if I lived in San Fran, then Las Vegas, Los Angelas, and San Diego would be closer. The californian coast must have some awesome beaches, especially in San Diego.

I think trafiic is worse in Seattle and won't get any better. Cheaper housing can be found further away from seattle. So if you want to buy a cheap house, then you can expect to have long drive to work every morning.

Yes, IT employees are sought after in seattle. Every state needs an accountant, so that shouldnt be any trouble.


Overall, I prefer Seattle because it's cooler than SF. I really hate being hot.

Answer 3

There are many accounting jobs. There are many jobs in general especially in the technology field.

The traffic can be avoided. Most of the new places are leaving Seattle and going to sub-cities because they hate the traffic.

Rent is still decent in some area's. Seattle it self is spendy but in Kent you can get a one bedroom for $500. Since the min. wage here is at $8 something an hour and IT get's paid at least $5 more an hour that should be reasonable. This is one of the few areas that house prices are still rising so there's still a chance to invest.

The area is beautiful. There's good hiking trails around nearly every block.

Hope that helps. If you want some pictures I can try to send you some. Just e-mail me.

Answer 4

I live in the Seattle area and I moved here from Pasadena, CA. Best move I could have made! Though it is pretty rainy, the weather is very mild and we get nice long summers! The rain brings so much color that changes with the seasons, right now it's brown, orange, yellow and green.
The air is really clean. Job market's great. The people are really nice and very outdoorsy despite the rain. What else do I need to say?! Good luck with your move!

Answer 5

If you have section 8 you sure can't afford Hawaii. It is a very expensive place to live, far more expensive than our good old Bay area. Seattle would win for rain, and it is far less expensive to live there.