Seattle vs SF Bay Area

[Beacon]

Need some input here: we live in the SF Bay Area. Recently my DH is evaluating a job in Seattle. I've never been there. Would I be crazy to move? Anyone have some thoughts? We own our home here in the Bay Area and the costs are not stressing us. But Seattle looks so much less expensive and they don't even have state tax, which is pretty cool cause Cali tax is sky high.

Anyone have a thought on Seattle? Is it lonely or isolated? Traffic bad?

 

[LLJsmom]

Love his question because if I didn't live in SF the only other two cities I would want to live in within the continental US is Seattle or Boston. To me, Seattle is a really chill place with cool little neighborhoods, and a beautiful scenic landscape. What a great option for you!!

 

[ericad]

We moved from SF (East Bay, born and raised) to Seattle 13 years ago and love it! I have never regretted it. Now, granted, I live about an hour from Seattle, but in CA I lived about an hour from San Francisco too, so it's apples to apples. For the same price as a small townhome in San Ramon with just a patio yard, I have a 4500 sq ft custom home on 5 acres in Gig Harbor.

But besides that, we really do love it here. It's smaller, friendlier, less materialistic, and scenically spectacular. BUT there will be times when the weather seems more than you can bear. For the past 3 years we've had great summers and mild winters, but before that we had a stretch of 2-3 years of awful short and rainy summers and crazy winters, and I was going out of my mind! So now we simply plan a trip somewhere warm every winter to break things up, and it works great.

There are LOTS of CA transplants up here - generally people love it or hate it. I love it, DH I think preferred CA, my brother tried living here and hated it (he's in Phoenix now and loves it), my parents moved here and my dad preferred CA but my mom loves WA. So it totally depends.

I would suggest renting something up here for a year or two and maybe renting out your CA house so that it's easier to go back if you find you don't like it.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[SMC]

I was born in the Bay Area and lived in Belmont. My parents currently live in Millbrae. I've been living in Seattle for the past 3 years. If you like consistent good weather, then Seattle is not for you. It's true that the past couple of winters have been mild and the summers here are spectacular, but it's hard to ignore the fact that the weather is pretty bad 9 months of the year. I don't think that the cold gets to me (I've lived in Chicago for 2 years, Boston for 4, and NYC for 6) but it's the darkness that I don't like - in the winter, the sun sets at like 4:30pm and it doesn't rise until like 8am (and then it's overcast).

It is a lot cheaper to live here that the Bay Area, but since you mentioned that you weren't bothered by the costs of Bay Area living, so I don't think that money should be a reason to move to Seattle.

I think traffic can get pretty bad here, but I don't remember the traffic being particular good in the bay either, so it's a wash there.

What I do like about Seattle is that it's not as spread out as it is in Cali. Everything seems closer together and easier to get to.

Erica's suggestion of renting here is a good one. Don't sell your Bay Area home just yet.

 

[TooPatient]

LOVE it in the Seattle area!

We have everything from city to super rural and everything in between. We live about 20-30 minutes from Seattle (in Sammamish). If we drive 20 minutes one way we are in the city and 20 minutes the other way and we're out in the country. You can do as city or country or lower cost or landscaped/gated/upscale as you want.

Lots of amazing hiking, camping, snow shoeing, boating, rafting, skiing, etc
Lots of amazing music (check out the UW (among others!) for world class performers of all sorts), great international food, shopping, etc
Some of the best schools and best medical centers around.
Boeing, Microsoft, Nintendo, Amazon, Google, Starbucks, etc!
Rainforest (look up Ho Rainforest), desert, mountains, ocean, lakes, rivers.

If you're looking for a certain feel, let us know and a bunch of us here can suggest great areas to look at.

Oh --- and come up for a visit!!!!
There is so much to see and do around here.


DH is from the Bay area and says traffic is SO much better here. He also loves the weather and how there is EVERYTHING you could ever want right around us.

 

[Gypsy]

I hope you don't have season affectedness disorder. I had the same offer, to move to Seattle. We decided against it. The lack of sunny days, after living here was too potentially problematic for us.

 

[Sky56]

I used to live in Seattle and it wasn't a good fit for me. I found it grey, crowded, too much traffic, hard to break into social circles. Google "Seattle Freeze." I have family that lives there and they love it. I enjoy visiting it very much.

It does has its beauty, and it's nice for a big city. I can't live in big cities. I get anxious and frazzled if I live in them.