4 ms·

The challenge with Seattle isn't the amount of rain. It's the amount of days of precipitation. It's the angst of not knowing what the weather will be, making pl

The challenge with Seattle isn't the amount of rain. It's the amount of days of precipitation. It's the angst of not knowing what the weather will be, making planning difficult for some outdoor activities. It's that our weather people use the term "sun breaks." Sun. Breaks. Yeesh. I have spent 12 years in Seattle, 7 on this go round. I hate the weather here. You are wet and cold all winter. The mountains get snow, but sometimes rain, which freezes the snow, or makes the snow go away, negating the snow possibilities. The fact that you are surprised by how low the sun is on the horizon on a rare sunny day in winter, because you so rarely see the sun in the winter, is certainly entertaining. Let's also not forget the sun rises at 8:30A and sets at 4P in the winter. The 2 months of sunny weather from July 5th are amazing. When the sun is out, this place is absolutely beautiful. But, for reference, I went for an early morning training ride yesterday and it was 44 degrees at 5:30A. In June. June! Insofar as cost of living, this place is cheaper for housing, though the market is tight in the mid-market range for houses. Public schools are reasonably good depending on the district. Tech employers are not as voluminous as the articles would have you believe. IME, the Valley has way more tech opportunity, and less concentration in a a very small handful of large employers.

brightsize 12y ago
I grew up in New England and lived for many years in the Boston area before moving to Seattle in the 90s. I lived in the greater Puget Sound area (including Seattle and as far out as North Bend) for 13 years. Sun-breaks, yeah. Hard to believe that those are a thing, but Seattle people get really excited about them. No mosquitoes was a huge win over New England. Aside from the tech, the mountains and the water are what brought me there. I got there just when the first wave of anti-Californian sentiment was getting going and R.E. prices were on the uptick. Among the things that led me to leave were the absolutely horrific traffic situation in the city and eastside. It got so when I left the house to drive somewhere, it didn't matter what day or what time of day/night it was, I faced very high odds of encountering a stop & go backup along the way. I became convinced that part of this was due to the region apparently having the most timid drivers I'd seen anywhere. The slightest roadside anomaly, the most minor unexpected sight would result in brakes being slammed on and a mile-long stop&go forming. On 128/90/495 in MA we drove bumper-to-bumper at 70mph and got where we were going. Speaking of the highways, the sight that completely blew my mind in Seattle (again, as a New Englander) was that of people abandoning their cars on the interstate highways when a few inches of snow fell. Not just stopping, but getting out and walking away. Regarding the weather, the summers are glorious but very short. The weather is probably starting to clear up about now, but winter will be back in October. The gray is what got to me, and in the winter the gray combined with cold (30s-40sF) drizzle made it all feel much more miserable to me than 20F, blue skies and sun on blinding white snow, which, by the way, is just what we get here in Spokane. Speaking of that, Spokane weather is remarkably like New England - four seasons, fall foliage, cold+snowy winters and hot (but not humid -- very dry) summers. Alas, there's no significant software tech scene and the cultural scene is awful. Washington has a half dozen or so dramatically different climates, it's an amazing place to live.

brightsize 12y ago

I grew up in New England and lived for many years in the Boston area before moving to Seattle in the 90s. I lived in the greater Puget Sound area (including Seattle and as far out as North Bend) for 13 years. Sun-breaks, yeah. Hard to believe that those are a thing, but Seattle people get really excited about them. No mosquitoes was a huge win over New England. Aside from the tech, the mountains and the water are what brought me there. I got there just when the first wave of anti-Californian sentiment was getting going and R.E. prices were on the uptick. Among the things that led me to leave were the absolutely horrific traffic situation in the city and eastside. It got so when I left the house to drive somewhere, it didn't matter what day or what time of day/night it was, I faced very high odds of encountering a stop & go backup along the way. I became convinced that part of this was due to the region apparently having the most timid drivers I'd seen anywhere. The slightest roadside anomaly, the most minor unexpected sight would result in brakes being slammed on and a mile-long stop&go forming. On 128/90/495 in MA we drove bumper-to-bumper at 70mph and got where we were going. Speaking of the highways, the sight that completely blew my mind in Seattle (again, as a New Englander) was that of people abandoning their cars on the interstate highways when a few inches of snow fell. Not just stopping, but getting out and walking away. Regarding the weather, the summers are glorious but very short. The weather is probably starting to clear up about now, but winter will be back in October. The gray is what got to me, and in the winter the gray combined with cold (30s-40sF) drizzle made it all feel much more miserable to me than 20F, blue skies and sun on blinding white snow, which, by the way, is just what we get here in Spokane. Speaking of that, Spokane weather is remarkably like New England - four seasons, fall foliage, cold+snowy winters and hot (but not humid -- very dry) summers. Alas, there's no significant software tech scene and the cultural scene is awful. Washington has a half dozen or so dramatically different climates, it's an amazing place to live.