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I lived in Seattle, and if it weren't for my family being here, I would move there immediately. It is such a great, diverse place. And, the weather is so NOT a factor. You can do anything outside nearly anytime you want, as it is so tempurate. I do think it is slightly more expensive then, say where I am from. But, since you are already in Cali, it shouldn't be a sticker shock. As to 'safe' neighborhoods...I haven't lived there since 1991, so, I don't know.
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I asked my dad for his opinion on some of the nice safer neighborhoods in Seattle. He listed:
West Seattle (around Alki) - North End - Shoreline - Wallingford - North Ballard
(Wallingford is one of my favorite parts of Seattle :D)
IMO, the biggest draw back to living in Seattle/greater Seattle area is the traffic. It's awful (I don't know what part of Cali you're from, but maybe if you live near LA you're used to that ;)).
Anyway, I got together some photos of Seattle & Western Washington...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...9/fa8a3de2.jpg
here's some of the traffic ;)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...4/fa8a497e.jpg
downtown
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...0/fa8a4b66.jpg
heading towards the Sound
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...0/fa8a4be0.jpg
the Needle
(I'll post some more in another post)
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some photos from places outside Seattle...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...b/fc191b7c.jpg
this is on Mt. Baker (a couple hours noth of Seattle - worth the drive!)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...b/fc191be7.jpg
also on Mt. Baker
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...1/fbc69bb3.jpg
this is looking towards downtown Everett from a beach not far from my house
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...b/fbcc5ecb.jpg
the same beach - looking towards Whidbey Island w/ the Olympics faintly in the background
and a few photos of Puget Sound...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...3/fb1829ee.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...7/fb182b43.jpg
it has a couple resident orca pods :)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...f/fb18342e.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...1/fb18343d.jpg
If you'd like more, I'll gladly post some :D
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I lived two years in Olympia/Tumwater, Washington. I absolutely loved it there and would relocate in a heartbeat if given the chance. Definitely a good place to be. I'm hoping to go back and visit this year. I learned to scuba dive in the Puget Sound. BRRR.....
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My best friend lives in Kenmore, which I think is just a little Northwest of the city. I know she loves living there. She said sometimes the rain gets to you, but for the most part the weather is great because it's so temperate - never gets really cold or never gets really hot. I've only been to visit her once, and thought the area was beautiful. Having access to so many great hiking areas is really cool.
As for Mt St Helens, it's almost 200 miles away so I really don't think it's too much of a factor to the actual city of Seattle.
As for safe neighborhoods, find out where Bill Gates lives and I think you'll be in a pretty safe neighborhood. ;) :D I know my friend pointed in his direction when I was there, but I don't remember the name of the suburb and I think it's on the East side of Lake Sammamish....I think....
Oh, and they do have earthquakes there, but I'm sure you're familiary with those. My friend works on the 7th story of a 10 story building and that's where she was a few years back when they got a pretty good earthquake. Before that she had only been in real real minor ones, but this one was pretty big and it freaked her out a little being on the 7th floor. But she's taken classes from the Red Cross (I believe) in disaster management, so she was all calm cool and collected - at least on the outside. ;)
Sounds like you're thinking about moving there, so if you are, I don't think you'll regret it. Lots of traffic, just like any big city, but I think it really has a lot to offer.....as long as the World Trade Organization doesn't have any more meetings there. ;) :p :D
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I lived 32 of my 42 years in the Skagit valley (last 10 here in Montana ) Conway and Fir Island have a great bunch of small home based stores . I also loved Orcas Island the resident (J) pod of Orcas used to go by my brothers house(hey where was the picture taken) I miss the ocean and whales but love it here more. If you have questions e mail me i can tell you a lot about Skagit county a little cheaper to live than seattle area but still reduclas . Thats why I klike it here.
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Here in the good ol' Pac NW, jobs are still pretty scarce and the traffic in Seattle can be horendous. Portland is sort of a Seattle wanna-be - a little smaller, more temperate climate, and still lots of great stuff as far as recreation is concerned.
That being said, if you don't mind the rain and the overcast weather, Seattle can be beautiful.
Oh - and PCB - I remember the day Mt. St. Helen's lost her top. It is actually close to Portland, not Seattle - you can see it here on clear days. Its interesting to see from a distance, a mountain with a flat-top.:eek: We didn't get the ash fall out from the first blow, but did get it when it blew again the next week. It was eerie - like it was snowing, but snowing ash. Also, it didn't just blow over night. There were tiny earthquakes and we knew for several weeks that it could blow. While the blast was bigger than expected, the majority of people that were killed were those who didn't heed the warnings and clear out in time.
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