What is Seattle Washington like?

Question

Im curious 2 know what seattle washington is like. Climate, traffic, rent, gas prices, trucking jobs, restaurants, people, clubs.... I really liked it from what i seen on t.v.

Answer 1

Climate is often rainy. Temp is between 30-80. Rarely snows, rarely gets hot enough to sweet. Weather doesn't support poisonous bugs, tornado's or hurricanes.

Traffic is bad. Most people who live here work and live in surrounding cities to avoid traffic and go to Seattle for fun.

Gas is about 2.99 for the cheap stuff at the moment for some comparison.

The truck company "Yellow" is in Auburn (could be Kent, Auburn is a nice place about 30 minutes drive from Seattle). They are pretty big. There are more but that's the only one I know of.

Rent in Auburn is about $600 for a nice place. Traffic there is pretty good. Rent in Seattle in the decent parts (no druggies living on your stoop) is in the $1,300 range (double check, that's just the last I looked).

We have one of the top restaurants in the US (Canlis). There are the usual Ma and Pa type joint's on nearly every corner. The Space Needle it self has food. There isn't a city that has less than one restaurant.

As for the people, I live here so it must be great. Just playing. Some are good, some are not. On the most part they are cool.

Clubs-there is 3 of every type. Take your pick.

PS ignore AM-viator's answer, most of it is BS. Seattle is known for partying and clubs. Not as much as LA or NY but it is up there.

Answer 2

Seattle is what I call a "surface city". Everything looks good on the surface but once you live there you start to see all the things wrong with it. It looks like a beautiful city and offers many things to do. There are many cities to explore nearby. I happen to live near Tacoma which is about 45 mins south of Seattle. I thought it was a beautiful city and it truly is. I thought the people were nice and they are ...only on the surface. Once you live here you begin to feel the "Seattle Freeze". It is the feeling you get when you sit next to your coworker for a year and never be invited to hang out with them in their home. It is the feeling you get when you make plans with someone to go hiking only for them to stand you up. It is the feeling of meeting a man for a coffee date only to find that he has bought coffee for himself and not for you. It is the feeling you get from crying your eyes out to a stranger in a bar about how lonely it is here and how hard it is to meet friends, and then they invite you to celebrate their brother's birthday at a club, only for you to show up and they not answer their phone. It is the feeling you get when you have been through all this and then express your true feelings of how you dislike it here only for people to get all sensitive as if you just personally attacked them. This is how people in the Seattle/Tacoma areas are. This is why this is the most miserable lonely place in America. It is because the people here suck. They suck at keeping their word. They suck at inviting people over to their home. They suck at being man enough to buy their date a coffee. They suck at being a good friend. That is the truth and everything I just shared truly happened. I've been here a little over a year and cannot wait to get away from these selfish, boring people.

Answer 3

OK, so I don't live there, but my sister did, and I have visited, so I think I have a good idea of what it's like. The climate is very rainy in the winter. Seattle actually only gets an average of 36 inches a year, but it is usually overcast with light drizzle or mist. Temps in winter hover in the 30s and 40s, and some palm trees can be grown there. Summer is mild with an average high of 75 in July. Few people have air conditioning. Heat waves can happen though. Very little rain in summer. Traffic is horrible. Interstate 5 is often clogged during rush hour. There is a lack of public transport to the suburbs. Gas prices are high, just like in Oregon and Cali. Probably in the mid $3 range currently. Rent is expensive, as is the coast of living. My sister couldn't afford any place downtown. Her apartment was about 850 a month. Trucking jobs I'm not sure. Restaurants are good. Seattle has a large ethnic diversity, and you can find any cusine your looking for. Pike Place Market in the downtown has tons of awesome food (scones, Rainier Cherries, etc...). Clubs? Not sure about that either, sorry.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Seattle is...Seattle. I've been here for almost four years (I'm a native Washingtonian, though) and I haven't fallen in love with it yet. BUT it's not a bad place to live.

If you're into the music scene (Modest Mouse, Death Cab, etc.) Seattle will be a wonderland of creative, independent musicians, great shows and the like.

Also, if you're outdoorsy and you enjoy hiking, camping, watersports (during summer), snowboarding, it's also a great place to be. Weather-wise, Seattle has a milder climate, besides the rain. Yes, it rains here, but it's normally just a light drizzle, except in winter when it pours, and gets cold and windy. Summers in Seattle are glorious with temps. usually in the 80s. We have about a week or two per summer with higher temps, but they don't last long and it makes you appreciate the rest of summer all the more.

There isn't much of a nightlife, really. Sure, there are bars all over and a few clubs, but my California friends call Seattle an "early to bed" city because things kind of die down around 10 or 11pm (clubs close at 2am, I believe).

As for housing--expensive. I have three roommates in a three-bedroom townhouse about 10 minutes from downtown (I live on First Hill) and we rent for a $1800/month, which is a steal.

For reference, I pay $530/month for my ROOM, while my sister's APARTMENT (just outside Portland) runs $640 and has 2beds/2baths.

Traffic, as people have said, is pretty bad. I've been wanting a car, but the only places I'd drive are places I don't WANT to drive to (i.e., downtown or shopping centers to the north and south). Parking is hard to find and expensive.

Answer 6

Traffic is among the worst in the country. The weather is almost perfect year round: Not to hot and not to cold. The restaurant choices are awesome especially if you like fresh seafood. Gas is a little above the average in other cities. Rent prices are pretty pricey for what you get, but everything is relative since you get paid more money for most professions. Jobs are plentiful especially in the medical field. Overall Seattle is a very beautiful city with lots to offer. Flew there in January to check it out and fell in love with everything except the traffic, can't wait to move there.

Answer 7

PROS
- Seattle is a beautiful city, surrounded by by beautiful natural scenery - water, mountains, trees, etc.

-Weather - It's moderately warm here in the summer and moderately cold here in the winter, which is pretty great. No hot humid summers and not much snow or ice in the winter.

- No income tax - only sales tax.

- Diversity - lots of different cultures here.\

- Politics - Very progressive.

CONS:
- TRAFFIC - this is a big one (especially if you are considering truck driving for a living). Just as an example, I live 11 miles from work and it can take me over an hour to get home at night (and usually 30 minutes to get to work in the AM)

- HOUSING MARKET - Rental and housing prices have literally SOARED since I moved here in 2003. The apartment I was renting for $580 (a studio) is now renting for $875. And it's not even that nice.

- Salaries/Wages - despite having one of the highest minimum wages in the country ($8.07 as of January 1st), the salaries and wages of ordinary/middle-class folk haven't increased that much in the last 5 years, making the increased cost of living hard to swallow. Just for example - the price of rent increased in 5 years by 51%, the price of gas has increased by 80% and my wages have only increased by 18%.

It's my own opinion that this is a great place to live if you have the money to live here and the patience to sit in traffic for hours everyday. Otherwise, I'd go elsewhere.

This isn't the most livable city anymore, of that I can guarantee you.

Answer 8

I dont know a lot about it but I have been there before for business. Traffic honestly did not seem that bad. I am from Denver which is comparable to east coast traffic (I have lived in NYC) and Seattle was nice because I-5 just did not seem that bad. Cost of living seems to be higher then average but not too high. Weather wise, is not my favorite just cuz I am use to my 300+ days of sunshine in Denver and it just seemed cloudy and weary the entire time I was there. The people were very nice but the diversity of the people were not that great. It seems to be a mostly white city with an ok asian population. Very low african american population and hispanic population in my opinion! I love my diversity! In all, I wouldnt live there but im not you so.

Answer 9

Climate is pretty mild. Winter is 50s, summer is 70s/80s. Traffic is horrible. Gas is expensive. I'm just going to go ahead and say all costs of living is expensive.

It is a very educated city (highest in the country) with lots of diversity. Laid back. Not a really party/club scene, more of an outdoors, community scene.

But don't move here. We absolutely hate the fact that all these people keep moving here. We made the best city in the US, and you can't have it.

Answer 10

Seattle is amazingly beautiful. The city is surrounded by water and snow-capped mountains. It does stay cloudy alot- mostly in the winter. But July-October is beautiful It never gets too hot or too cold. Traffic is as bad as any big city. Restaurants are amazing and the people are totally beautiful and open-minded. Seattle is my all-time favorite place to live. There is nothing I don't like about it.