Observations about Seattle from a Florida transplant (Vancouver, George: transplants, sale)

[Rcsligar]

I have been here for a week now and this is what I have observed so far:

Positives:
Abundance of eclectic neighborhoods with their own flavor
Thriving music scene
Emphasis on the arts
Manageability (size, public transit, convenience, general day to day living)
Non intrusive/non abrasive culture
Strong Market for STEM jobs, low unemployment rate
The skyline
Phenomenal outdoor aesthetics
Less emphasis on superficiality and the joneses
Food, food, food
Number of low key bars per capita
Distance to Vancouver and Tokyo by plane
People are judged with less scrutiny
Blue collar roots (hope this can be maintained)
Less Provincialism
The Georgetown neighborhood
Cleanliness

Negatives:
Attractive women have a superiority complex (I believe this is due to the fact that Seattle attracts more women who place less emphasis on appearance, as well as eccentric counter culture types.)
People can be unreceptive at times
The territorial attitude in certain neighborhoods
Certain establishments are extremely pretentious in a haughty, "ahead of the game" kind of way
The liberal ambience can be very predictable, certain people are not very open minded about listening to different viewpoints
Gentrification
Cost of living is a bit over the top, but that can be said for almost any desirable city
Stupid washington state laws (no liquor in strip clubs, teen dance ordinance, etc)
Nightlife could bring more to the table. I love the laid back culture, but every so often I feel as if my neighborhood could use a little more "pzazz," for lack of a better word
Cliqueish attitudes
Lack of a vibrant interracial dating scene (aside from asians)
Hipsters
Radical feminists

That's all I have so far, I still love the city and couldn't see myself living anywhere else; but I also take the good with the bad. Is this list a good synopsis or did I forget some things?
Thoughts/Opinions?

[ladderoflocus]

It's hard finding reasonably priced casual eateries than sell healthy and tasty food. If you want say a decent sale with local ingredients, you have to expect to pay around 12 bucks plus tax plus tip. I just end up eating at the mediocre salad and hot food bar at Whole Foods and end up paying 6 to 7 bucks for a decent sized somewhat healthy meal.

[mamainfl]

Have you relocated? Are you a single male? Do you already have a job, or did you move with one already in place? What field are you in? Did you bring a car with you or are you using public transportation? If public transportation, how is that?

I sure appreciate these kinds of posts.

[tobester]

OMG - no liquor in strip clubs? The travesty ... I need to move out of this town!

[beautifulseattlehomes]

I love that you posted the positives first and followed them with your observations about the negatives...I think the experience of moving here is very dependent on where you are in life...single, married, divorced with kids, without kids etc and that the city feels really different depending on where you fall on that spectrum because what you want out of it shifts. I remember many a moon ago being single here and thinking..hmmm, much better back home to be single but then I met my Floridian husband and here I stayed...got married and started a family...This is a great place to raise a family! Seattle is a kid friendly town...

I will say that I think there are so many more single people here than when I moved here 14 years ago and they are coming from all over so I think the flavor of the city is evolving and changing to reflect that. The natives don't outnumber the transplants anymore..at least it feels that way to me and the restaurants are hopping with a buzz and vibrancy that is refreshing!

What part of the city did you move to?

[Rcsligar]

Originally Posted by mamainfl

Have you relocated? Are you a single male? Do you already have a job, or did you move with one already in place? What field are you in? Did you bring a car with you or are you using public transportation? If public transportation, how is that?

I sure appreciate these kinds of posts.

I've relocated to the capitol hill neighborhood of Seattle to study journalism. I hope to feel out my job prospects over the next couple years and hopefully secure something by attending various internships. I have no complaints about public transit. I use the king county trip planner to get wherever I need to go by bus.

Metro's Online Trip Planner

I am a single male and I am skeptical about the dating scene but I am also opened minded. I will have to see how things go over the next couple months.

Good luck with your potential relocation.

[Rcsligar]

Originally Posted by ladderoflocus

It's hard finding reasonably priced casual eateries than sell healthy and tasty food. If you want say a decent sale with local ingredients, you have to expect to pay around 12 bucks plus tax plus tip. I just end up eating at the mediocre salad and hot food bar at Whole Foods and end up paying 6 to 7 bucks for a decent sized somewhat healthy meal.

I guess now that I think about it, a lot of the dives I've eaten at so far that are affordable, while good, could very well give me a heart attack, lol. Especially the fried foods.

[Rcsligar]

Originally Posted by beautifulseattlehomes

I love that you posted the positives first and followed them with your observations about the negatives...I think the experience of moving here is very dependent on where you are in life...single, married, divorced with kids, without kids etc and that the city feels really different depending on where you fall on that spectrum because what you want out of it shifts. I remember many a moon ago being single here and thinking..hmmm, much better back home to be single but then I met my Floridian husband and here I stayed...got married and started a family...This is a great place to raise a family! Seattle is a kid friendly town...

I will say that I think there are so many more single people here than when I moved here 14 years ago and they are coming from all over so I think the flavor of the city is evolving and changing to reflect that. The natives don't outnumber the transplants anymore..at least it feels that way to me and the restaurants are hopping with a buzz and vibrancy that is refreshing!

What part of the city did you move to?

I am currently in the capitol hill neighborhood at Seattle University. Very convenient; it takes me just over five minutes to walk down to pike and pine and scout out all the music venues and neighborhood bars. However, I do feel like some establishments can be pretentious and cliquey, although if you dig around enough you can find some real gems. Regarding the single life specifically, I am not too sold on it yet although I am open minded. I like the city for the cultural attractions but I wasn't expecting an NYC or Chicago dating scene. For now I'm pretty much doing my own thing, frequenting the northwest film forum and platinum records downtown, where I met a good guy who knows everything about producing electronic music. I'll see how things go over the next few months as I get to be more well established.

[GatsbyGatz]

I just moved from Southern California and hold the same views as the OP. Welcome to Seattle, brother!

[riles4]

It was great to read this thread as I'm a native Floridian who is currently working on transferring within my company to Seattle. The wheels are in motion so with any luck, I'll be in the Emerald City by next summer.

All of your pros are pretty much which is drawing me to the area, particularly the eclectic neighborhoods, manageability, outdoor aesthetics, and less superficiality. Having spent my entire life in Florida, I'm very much looking forward to living somewhere with a varied landscape (vs. flat everywhere you turn) and where you don't have to drive absolutely anywhere you want to go.

Out of curiosity, where in Florida are you from?