<p>I am still questioning whether I should attend college in Seattle. So I thought I’d get advice on aspects of Seattle, from any parent or anyone who has been there or visited. So far I’ve heard it is way prettier/nicer than SoCal, but it can get gloomy.
So what are some great or bad things about living in Seattle?</p>
<p>I really like the people who live in Seattle. They tend toward liberal, tolerant, outdoorsy. It’s full of foodies, techies, artsy people. I’ve heard one primary criticism of the people, though: there’s a certain Scandinavian-type reserve, which really bothers some outsiders. People are really polite, but maybe not as friendly and open as people from other parts of the country.</p>
<p>Physically it’s gorgeous. Water. Mountains. Green everywhere. But it’s often overcast or drizzling, so you may crave sun during the winter and yearn to get away.</p>
<p>There’s everything to do in Seattle, except loll about on a beach. Great theatre, restaurants, music scene. Tons of outdoor opportunities. </p>
<p>Traffic and a pretty high cost of living are the worst things about Seattle.</p>
<p>I live in a small suburban town outside Seattle. I like it a lot, except for the long, rainy spells we get in the winter. Our weather is “streaky” here, so you get long stretches of lovely and long stretches of gloomy gray. </p>
<p>It’s relatively safe and peaceful and tolerant here. Lots of fun things to do in Seattle, theater, touring productions, restaurants, festivals. We do have beaches, and I do think people loll about on them in the summer. (But not like in CA…)</p>
<p>I have known students from all three colleges in Seattle, and all liked their respective schools. UW is huge though, if that is where you are considering and they are having big-time budget troubles. Huge introductory science classes and hard to finish in four years.</p>
<p>My DH & I both grew up in OC and one of my DDs attended university in SoCal.</p>
<p>DD hated SoCal, discovered she is a crunchy-granola, cool weather, not a blonde Newport Beach girl. She adores the PNW.</p>
<p>We did not want to head this way initially, copious amounts of whinging from three teen daughter, DH told every one it would be great, ironically, every likes it here, but him. He finds the gray days a difficult adjustment, the clouds pressing down make him feel a bit claustrophobic.</p>
<p>My girls, who all grew up in NorCal, love it here, the animals(bald eagles, blue herons, etc) & trees & sheer beauty are amazing if you are a personality who appreciates that.<br>
There is water everywhere and it is much more a part of everyday life than for people in SoCal where you either are wealthy enough to live at the beach or you go to the beach for a day in the sun. </p>
<p>I was amazed and almost felt dizzy by the way the length of the days changes every day- light maybe from 8AM-4PM in December, light from 4 or 5AM- 9 or 10 PM in June, and the days get a little bit longer each day Dec-June and then a little bit shorter each day June-Dec. I like it.</p>
<p>I do feel it is never quite hot enough in the summer, every one complains at a week of 75-85 and I feel that summer has just begun, but I no longer think it has to be 100+ or even 90+ to be summer.</p>
<p>I learned after leaving SoCal, that I really enjoy the 4 seasons, so the smattering of snow you get on the coast of WA is fun.</p>
<p>It really depends on you personally and what you think you will enjoy or be able to put up with if you discover it is not really your thing</p>
<p>Have you visited there? It only gives you a snapshot but it’ll give you a better idea. You can assume that the majority of people who live there will respond positively to the question of living there since most made the decision to live there. </p>
<p>I’ve been there only for brief visits. The area is pretty and green as only a lot of rain can permit. There are lots of trees, and mountains and skiing aren’t too far away. It is, however, overcast, drizzly, and cool for much of the year. Some people like this and some don’t. Personally, I much prefer an area like San Diego but then that’s why I live here rather than there or elsewhere. I do know of a recently graduated transplant from here to there and he’s definitely not enjoying the difference in climate and from what I’ve heard is fairly tired of all the gray. OTOH there are other transplants from southern cal to there who seem to like it there.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is visit if you haven’t already and try to extrapolate whether you can either enjoy or reasonably tolerate 4 years there.</p>
<p>I haven’t lived in Seattle exactly, but I am a Washington state native and lived in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon) for many years. And like ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, I much prefer living in San Diego. Basically, in the PNW the sun disappears behind the overcast and rain clouds in early October and doesn’t reappear until some time in late April. Also, I suffered mightily from hay fever each Spring when I lived there. When I moved to southern California my hay fever disappeared. The pollen count is much lower here.</p>
<p>Of course all this is personal preference. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>If you are just coming here for four years of college, really the weather isn’t that big of a deal unless you just love CA sunshine and don’t want to leave (and then you wouldn’t be asking). And we do have some nice days between Oct. and April! It was sunny and about 70 on Sat. Daffodils and lots of other flowers and trees are in bloom. (Pollen…yes.)</p>
<p>My eldest S, now 32(yikes- how did that happen?!) lives on a houseboat in Seattle- where else can you do that? He grew up in Rochester, NY, went to college in Southern Vermont, and lived in Las Vegas for several years too (which he hated). He adores Seattle, the climate, the city life, the culture (they have great symphony and opera company). And he really likes the varied educational opportunities too as he seems to be a perpetual student! I don’t think he’ll ever leave…</p>
<p>D was born and raised in So. Cal and now is a sophomore in Seattle. She loves it! FauxNom hit all the key points in her post above. </p>
<p>Seattle is very different from So. Cal but it’s possible to love both.</p>
<p>Pros:</p>
<ol>
<li>Very clean air</li>
<li>Educated, mellow, outgoing, friendly population</li>
<li>Tech companies galore. Tech ranges in sizes from 2-person startups using Starbucks free wifi as their office to Microsofts and Amgens</li>
<li>Beautiful scenery - mountains, streams, the Sound, lots of greenery</li>
<li>The city’s neighborhoods have lots of character</li>
<li>Vibrant culture with plenty of things to do: shows, theater, restaurants, movies, night clubs, opera, ballet, major league soccer, and so on…</li>
<li>If you like to garden, you can garden year round</li>
<li>If you like the great outdoors, you can enjoy the nature year round as well (skiing, camping, kayaking, hiking, etc.) </li>
<li><p>Relaxed dress code. The downtown lawyers can get away with wearing khakis and polo shirts almost every day (I have seen lawyers wearing North Face and cargo pants to work :)); however, it can easily turn into a “con” - Stacy and Clinton will have no problem finding a makeover candidate for their show within seconds of stepping off the plane.
Cons:</p></li>
<li><p>Traffic can be really bad</p></li>
<li><p>High price of real estate</p></li>
<li><p>Something is always blooming which can be bad for people with allergies</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The infamous rain - I do not notice it much. Usually, it is just a drizzle that does not require an umbrella. People who cannot get used to it leave within a year of moving here. If you last more than a year, you stop noticing the droplets coming down from the sky.</p>
<p>I’m a Seattle-area native, but for the longest time I didn’t really like Seattle itself. Now that I live away from it, I begin to understand and appreciate it more. </p>
<p>People- I definitely understand the “Scandinavian Reserve” FauxNom mentioned. The PNW has a lot of Scandinavian heritage which shows in its culture. I personally feel that I can be more honest (ie if I’m having a bad day) with a random stranger in Seattle than I could in other cities. Seattle tends to be very liberal and tolerant of differences. I have seen Seattle described as a cross between San Francisco and Vancouver, BC (denoting BC is often a giveaway that you’re talking to someone from the PNW, btw) and is a larger. less European version of Portland, Oregon, but with sales tax. We also have close ties with Alaska, right down to our hometown airline being Alaska Airlines.</p>
<p>Eating, Shopping, Music/Theatre,- Seattle has some really good restaurants (especially seafood) and lots of ethnic cuisines, particularly many varieties of Asian and Mexican food. As for stores, we have pretty much everything you’d expect for a big city. Seattle does have a large theatre scene, apparently the 3rd largest in the US. There is also a good amount of nightlife and music venues. IIRC, you want to attend UW. If you do, you can get a regional transit pass for something like $25 a quarter. It is a great deal as public transit is readily available and goes almost anywhere you’d want to go and many places you don’t. When you turn 21, there is a great amount of local wines and micro-brews available.</p>
<p>Lifestyle-People are generally outdoorsy and like co-op type things. The very relaxed dress code of the PNW is really nice as you can basically wear whatever feels comfortable. People can be guilty of wearing socks with sandals, shorts when it’s 50 degrees outside and raining, and may sometimes look like Paul Bunyan, but you get used to it. Rain is not an issue to people.</p>
<p>Moving to any new place is going to take some adjustment and you may not end up liking the place you chose. I feel that one of the most important things people should do however, is to visit and possibly live in other places to get a better view of how our world is interconnected. If anything, you will gain the experience of having lived in another place. No place is perfect, you just either learn to live with and respect the flaws, work to change the flaws, or move to another place.</p>
<p>I think SEA tide summed it up best. That being said, remember that you’ll be in the classroom most of the time, so don’t expect to be downtown at the Symphony or Seattle Center that often. You have to think about what most 18 to 22 year olds do in any urban environment. Like in most urban areas, you probably shouldn’t go to downtown bars alone after 10pm. Avoid Pioneer Square (the original skid row, though it’s full of expensive apartments and galleries now) and Belltown.</p>
<p>What’s beautiful is the pedestrian path along Lake Washington Boulevard on a sunny day, particularly below the Mt. Baker neighborhood. The cross country team from Franklin High School may still use it for training. Some parks are gorgeous. I like Discovery park and the U of W Arboretum.</p>
<p>Yes, overcast skies and drizzle are common in the fall and spring, and at times in July too. Winters are mild but in the last two years there has been record snow and ice, power outages etc. and no bus service (all those hills). Again, as a college student you would hardly notice. What you want to know is…how are the campuses?</p>
<p>Generally folks are friendly in the Great Northwest, but a critical mass of transplants, many from California, have begun to transform the place. Everynow and then you hear whispers of ‘Manhattanization’ and ‘Sea Angeles.’ And yes, our Scandanavian brethern…Thor and Dar, the Stewarts, Ringstads, Torvesons, Svensons, Johnsons [YAWN SOWN], Jacksons [YACK SOWN] can be a bit palid. Lutefish anyone?</p>
<p>No joke, in high school I knew kids named Thor and Dar.</p>
<p>I have met people here in the Seattle area named Gudrun, Ingun, Haaken, and Kjell (and he’s a commercial fisherman).</p>
<p>Winters are mild but in the last two years there has been record snow and ice, power outages etc.</p>
<p>Actually this year was balmy.</p>
<p>From Cliff Mass’s blog
</p>
<p>[Cliff</a> Mass Weather Blog: February 2010](<a href=“http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html]Cliff”>Cliff Mass Weather Blog: February 2010)</p>
<p>The man who ran the international computer program at my daughters high school is named Kjell.
I used to have a boyfriend ( who worked a tugboat to Hawaii) named Lars.
;)</p>
<p>I also live in * Ballard- a Scandinavian neighborhood*. When we moved here, there were Scandinavian restaurants, Scandinavian delis, bakeries etc.</p>
<p>Now just a Scandinavian bakery, and a bar that serves Scandinavian food ( which is new- I don’t go to bars enough to know of others), we do have a dive restaurant that serves lingonberry pancakes, where we have been going for almost thirty years.</p>
<p>You still can hear Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages being spoken in my neighborhood, but more often it is now Spanish or Vietnamese.</p>
<p>But of course we have the Nordic Heritage Museum, where my daughter took Swedish
[Nordic</a> Heritage Museum: Home](<a href=“http://www.nordicmuseum.org/]Nordic”>http://www.nordicmuseum.org/)</p>
<p>But apparently pouring all week-warm- but very , very wet.</p>
<p>One thing that can happen to people who move to the PNW from sunnier (and more southerly) climes is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). We lived in the Puget Sound area for 10 years, and my wife has a bad case of SAD, so she was glad to move (to NJ even!). The northern latitude makes winter daylight hours very short, and the solid cloud deck for most of October - April can make winter and a good part of fall and spring clinically depressing for some folks. An artificial sun lamp can help a lot, but it is still no fun.</p>
<p>One thing that can happen to people who move to the PNW from sunnier (and more southerly) climes is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)</p>
<p>Good pointdadx3
Even those who were born here have it & * everyone* has a vitamin D deficiency at this latitude. Even I did and as a landscaper, I am outside most of the time.</p>
<p>However, for someone who is deciding- ( and I don’t know what you are deciding between), there are ways to get around the disadvantages.</p>
<p>If I was coming from another area- I would want to be thinking about-
Can I deal with the relative lack of diversity compared to some other urban regions?
Can I deal with the expense of rent?
Can I deal with Seattle’s inability to make a decision about anything in a timely fashion, let alone implementing it?</p>
<p>Will I be able to get out and enjoy the region? Do I like camping/hiking/skiing?
Will I appreciate everyone wearing The North Face jackets out to dinner?</p>
<p>I moved back to Seattle at 18 to go to the U after being away since I was 3. This was pre-Mt Saint Helen’s eruption so you know it has been a few years. I honestly don’t remember thinking too much about the weather. It’s like that scene in Twilight when they are at the beach surfing and it is freezing cold…people just deal and don’t let a little lousy weather get in the way of having fun. Overcast days didn’t keep us from water skiing. And if it was sunny…glorious! It used to be a little more insulated. When I moved there from the east we were wearing straight legged levi’s and painter paints. In Seattle all the kids we wearing really wide legged jeans and puffy ski coats. There were quite a few guys in clogs! That was a bit of a culture shock.<br>
I think that as a student Seattle is a great place to be. There is no shortage of activities outdoors or in. The food scene is great, lots of excellent, inexpensive restaurants. There is a definite chill vibe and a lot of people being creative in their various endeavors. It was so easy to get to downtown from the U district or anywhere for that matter by bus, I never had a car in college. I no longer live there but my son did apply to the U and was accepted…it’s just that the darn OOS price tag kept him closer to home. Always something to consider when choosing a school too!</p>
<p>Diversity? Depends on your point of view. Years ago on the east coast or in the southland when I began post bachelor’s studies and when later interviewing for a job, invariably some yokel would ask “I was in Seattle on business recently and didn’t see any minorities. Where’s the ghetto?” Naturally this was insulting. I heard it from professional people, whites and blacks. After counting to 10 I’d reply ‘Seattle isn’t Detroit, Cleveland or Los Angeles!’ There’s plenty of diversity but it’s different. I recall reading in a well known college guidebook that persons interested in the U of Washington were “warned” that they’d be surprised at the large number of Asian and pacific islanders among the student population. Visitors in the 1980s were often shocked to learn that some middle class parts of the Seattle area were relatively well integrated (beautiful Mt Baker and Madrona for example). I think that has changed somewhat, because of the tremendous increase in housing costs (thank you, Californians!) and the region’s rise as a technology center. Among other urban stress that is affecting the lifestyle in Seattle is the pressure to increase urban density. Some folks, like the intolerable commentator Dan Savage, want Seattle houses to look like San Francisco’s, or even worse, like the new hillside apartment condo towers of Vancouver, BC. Yuck. I don’t believe Dan Savage expects people of color or children with families to live in such towers.</p>
<p>OP - You’re not talking about moving there permanently - just attending college for the next 4 years and then figure out your next step after that. As one who much prefers San Diego to Seattle, if I was a recent HS grad planning to go to college for 4 years I wouldn’t hesitate heading to Seattle for it. Although I wouldn’t want to live there permanently it’d be a fine place to live for that period of time. There’s a value to experiencing someplace different and Seattle’s not a bad place to experience with plenty of things to do and see. There are even people who go to the NE or Midwest for college - imagine that! The weather in Seattle isn’t great compared to southern Cal but it beats the weather in most of the rest of the country (IMO).</p>
<p>OP - if you never visited and are curious to see what we washingtonians look like, check out these tongue-in-cheek “profiles”</p>
<p>[We</a> are a lot like you](<a href=“http://www.werealotlikeyou.com/]We”>http://www.werealotlikeyou.com/)</p>
<p>:)</p>