What's not to love about the place of my birth? Beautiful, clean, not too big or crowded, nice people, and the entire state of Washington is beautiful.

Oops, I forgot...Cow Chip Cookies!!!!

New: Have to amend this one a little because everybody knows that Seattle was founded in the early 1990's by Seattle Mariner, Ken Griffey, Jr.

Original: Founded by pilgrims and the guy on the cover of the Quaker Oats box, Seattle obviously gets a 4.  Good fish n chips and a nice ride on the water taxi to West Seattle were enough for me :) 

Very nice and clean city. People here are surprisingly very friendly and outgoing. Downside is the rain during the winter time. But ignore that, and you'll enjoy Seattle.

I LOVE Seattle!  This is home for me.  People like to stereotype Seattle as a "rainy" and boring city.  It's actually a vibrant city with a lot of life equivalent to that of NYC or LA.  It all depends on your opinions though.  The folks here are very friendly and outgoing.  I'm currently living in the midwest (Indiana) and the peeps here are very dull, boring, have no emotions and are conservative.  Don't get me wrong, I'm conservative on many issues.  But I just love Seattle and the people and the layout of the city and the resources.   Seattle deserves a 5 star!!!

Amazing. I love it. Space Needle is one of the best skyscrapers in the nation, an architectural wonder. SafeCo field is nice too.

Seattle is beautiful. I can't wait to go visit my friend Alexis :-)

Its a nice city, but, it rains to much.

Just doesn't get any better than Seattle. This city has it all, an impressive skyline, great places to work, beautiful surroundings with mountains, ocean, trees and activities. A rare world class city that only needs a larger public transportation system of expanded lightrail or elevated trains to move more people around so the highways aren't always so packed. Nonetheless, I've been all over the world and Seattle is truly a world class city which should be proud of it's location, the green city it's becoming, it's recycling standards that are second to none and the companies that call it home.

I grew up mostly in Seattle. Its beautiful in the Summer but pretty depressing in the Winter. Seattle has gone downhill in the people department. Too many snobs!

Just thought I'd comment on the homeless problem. One can't possibly "do away" with homelessness; unless, of course, we do away with our slavery to money. It's obvious that these homeless, potential vagabonds had no work-ethic, and they probably hadn't had that great a time with social interaction. Therefore, in order to stop the homelessness, One must first "do away" with the cruelties and imperfections of this world. There is far more information pertaining to this subject, but I feel the significance is absent. As far as Seattle Washington goes, seems like a great place, and I know that it's home to wonderful career opportunities -- such as, underwater welding schools.

the homeless problem is at an all time high. We have city officials all over the u.s. trying to penalize the homeless when we should be coming up with ways to do away with it.

Portland is much better...

I love Seattle 1.) Seattle is the most educated and literate big city in the country, 2.) According to a number of national publications Seattle has consistently been ranked in the top five of fittest cities, 3.) City is in the top 10 greenest in the country, 4.) Ranked number one for big cities(1/2 million to a million) in the top 15 for running/jogging cities, travel/leisure magazines rate it in their top 10, and 5.) Seattle is in the top 3 in terms of progressive politics for minorities and women second behind San Francisco in terms of gay and lesbians per capita, and is well known for its liberal and accepting attitude towards interracial couples. Also of note Seattle had an African American mayor, Norm Rice, from 88-96. Ron Sims, another African American man, is King County Executive. For those who don't know, Seattle is the county seat of King County, and the only Chinese-American Governor in the history of this country, Gary Locke was from the Seattle area. He was Governor for two terms. Seattle is a world class/global city. Only a handful of cities in this country have had the kind of impact of a Seattle with such companies as Boeing, Microsoft, Costco, etc... By the way 3 of 10 richest people on this planet make their home in the Seattle area Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer. Seattle may not be the most "welcoming" of cities especially in comparison to the midwest or deep south but then again no one is going to comment stop and gawk/glare at an interracial couple a gay couple holding hands in public, or a person with half his/hers hair shaved off with a bone in their nose. We are a city that welcomes all from every walk of life and won't pass judgement or tell someone how to live. In regards to Seattle weather yeah expect consistent rain/grey days (70%) from the late fall to early spring in the average year. This past year due to global warming was abnormal especially in November when we received the most rain ever in the recorded history of the city. Sunbreaks do occur during the winter. Late spring April to October the weather is picturesque with temperatures ranging between 60-80 degrees on average. No doubt Seattle is a damp city and I'm glad it rains to put it simply rain=green, clean, beautiful,and clean breathable air while no rain=equals brown, dirty,and polluted air i.e. most major cities in Socal, Phoenix and Vegas. An abundance of rain also means fresh drinking water and enough snow pack in the mountains so we won't have to ration water like other places in the west. Yes we do get many partly sunny/coudy days within a year but one can be out in these conditions without worrying about getting sun burned/skin cancer/ or sweating like a hog. Seattle is not for everyone it is for the cutting edge, intelligent, socially, progressive, environmentally conscience, creative, cultured-Seattle can hold its own against any city in this country culturally, people who love clean fresh breathable air, love a beautiful natural setting i.e. greenery, mountains, water, & hills. Seattle is not for the ignorant narrow minded conservative self-righteous bigots and a-holes who want to tell people how to live there lives, shallow, superficial, fake people who want to live in fake cookie-cutter suburbs eat at some chain restaraunt and go to a mall i.e. Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan types, These I need sun everyday people who could care less about breathing clean air, having clean water to drink or who don't give a crap about water shortages and the environment i.e. Socal, Phoenix,and Vegas, and the stupid and uneducated.

The place is clean, I'll give it that, but that's primarily because it rains so much they don't need to wash anything that's outdoors. Grey, dour and drizzle invested, with a Starbucks every twenty feet (and mightily bad coffee that is, but don't get me started) this is a place full of mildew. Such might explain their professional sports franchises, which always seem to show so much promise before wilting under pressure.

What I really don't like about Seattle: Natives complaining about Californians and others moving in and messing up their beloved Seattle. And thank god the smoking ban is here to stay. I got so sick of grungy, pasty kids crammed in a bar or restaurant smoking cigarette after cigarette thinking they're so cool and hip stinking up the place. What I do like: People moving here from all over North America and beyond bringing in some sort of sophistication. Seattle is definately changing from just 6 or 7 years ago. With an influx of new people comes new restaurants, clubs, shopping and nightlife. Some of my favorite annual Seattle events I love: NW Flower & Garden Show, 2nd largest in the U.S. behind Philadelphia, Earshot Jazz Festival, Seafair, The Bite of Seattle, Christmas Parade, Fremont Festival and the Greek Festival. Plus you can't ignore the breathtaking natural beauty.

I've lived in Seattle for over ten years and I am glad to be moving away from it.


Seattle is a very clean city, has fresh air, little crime, and the people are polite. However, IMHO Seattle is a boring place to live
and although people are polite they tend to keep themselves to themselves and I would descrive them as "politely unsociable".

It is VERY difficult to get into any social circles here. Most people I've talked to only have, at most, two friends outside
their family unit. Most socialization is within the family unit and rarely extends outside of this.


Where I grew up I knew all the people down my street. You could wave to them and say good morning and they would wave back.
However, if you try and do that in Seattle, they would think you're crazy and give you a strange look and speculate what criminal motive
you have. Seattlites are extremly paranoid and afraid of eachother.

Seattle drivers are bad. They never seem to bother to indicate which direction they want to go and expect you to yield for them. Seattle drivers, when they see an amber traffic light
slam on the gas and hope to beat the red light. In bad weather, when there is poor vision,
Seattle drivers actually drive faster, don't ask me why ??? Also in the busy rush hour traffic, if you are nice enough to let someone into your lane they rarely thank you.
This is the same behaviour everywhere. If you are in a mall and open a door for someone, most of the time Seattlites will walk straight through and will not thank you or even look at you.

Seattle predestrians are not that good either. They would walk right in front of oncoming traffic without first looking, with their heads bowed down.
Seattle predestrians say they have the right of way; and this may be so, but if you are run over by a car you could end up dead.

Overall Seattle is full of arrogant, self-absorbed, inconsiderate people.

In summary, if someone was to ask me if I would recommend Seattle as a place to live I would say NO. Seattle is only good if you are unsociable in nature and and want to live the life of a hermit.

If you are looking to make new friends in Seattle, you might as well give up now (yes, it is that hard).

I have family living in Seattle and have visited there. It's too wet and drizzly for this Floridian, but the mountains are beautiful when you can see them.

I just moved to the Seattle area three months ago. I had the impression that there would be alot of gloomy skys and rain, but I didn't suspect such a thuggish culture. The area had seemed nice in the travel books with pike place and the aquarium but upon arrival here I realized, WOW this is not a nice place. The roads in Seattle are poorly designed and in not that great of shape. Traffic is awful as suspected and the overall appearance of this city comes off as pretty from a distance but yucky and depressing up close. Pioneer square is filled with homeless people. In fact so many homeless people that they had to recently cut down all the trees to discourage crime. Chinatown is not impressive. Downtown is but just another financial center corporate house. Avenues are filled with bars and shops advertising 50% off sales. The merchants at Pike place market look bored and depressed. It is obvious that the grunge trend here has been dying a slow death to make way for big corporations taking over leases and has in return created a druggie and thief culture here. The divide between the rich and those in poverty is EXTREMELY evident here. It is not rare to see a homeless man nesting in a car next to a $500,000 condo. The only places to go here if you do not drink or attend dark underground music venues is the Aquarium and Seattle Center (which are not cheap). The surrounding areas of Seattle are not much better. Car theft is very high and 80s crimes are rampant here (bank robbery, beast behavior, petty crimes, rape). The best areas are Whidbey Island, Bellvue, Mulkilteo, and a few other areas are ok. I have had over $1,000 in property damage to my vehicle since moving here. My only wish now is to make it out in one peace without my car being stolen.

Far from perfect, but close to my heart.

I live in nearby Vancouver and whenever I go down to Seattle I always have a great time. It's truly a great modern city. There's plenty to see and do. The skyline is as impressive as any other city going, if not more, and the surrounding natural setting matches that of the best in the world. The downtown is quite walkable, there's plenty of good shopping to be done, great food, nice views, and cool attractions like Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and Experience Music Project. Coming from Vancouver with similar weather, Seattle also has an agreeable temperate climate. Not so cold in the winter that you'd have to be stuck with snow for months, but cold enough that you could at least experience snow for a day or two most winters and warm enough in the summer to not be sweating uncomfortably for months but hot enough that you could walk around in nothing but a bathing suit and go swimming outdoors. The only downside to the Pacific Northwest weather is the excessive rain in the winter but they say it does wonders for your complexion ;) . The only downsides to the city that I could see as a visitor are I guess the rain in the winter, the number of bums which I found to be surprising, and perhaps the lack of rapid public transport. The bums weren't that bad though. I was just surprised last time I was down how many I saw. I mean compared to Vancouver it's no big deal but I guess I wasn't expecting so many in Seattle. It was really probably no worse than most major cities though. Also being just a tourist there, the transportation isn't so bad assuming you're just around downtown cause it is pretty walkable and the bus system seems not too bad especially considering the fare is free downtown. I guess I just feel bad for the commuters. The monorail is kind of cool but really just seems to be more of a gimmick for the tourists. I think it only has 2 stations, one at each end of it's fairly short track (although I'm not positive about this). I've heard they might be expanding it anyways so that would be good. Anyways, I'm no expert on Seattle but either way you're sure to have a good time when you go there.

I was born and raised in seattle i am now 21 and acn finaly go to the bars and clubs around here but they all suck. see to really understand seattle you need to know about the neigherberhoods and downtown and such. I live in the Central Dist about 7 blocks from downtown and pay almost no rent this is a more inpovrished area like rainearr or becon hill its good to live here or lake city even though there is crime. I just think its colorfull and anyway that keeps the rich basterds out. Next point places like magnolia or leschi are VERY STUPID the normal people are ok but the ones who go outside to hang out and walk dogs are lik gronolie flease wearing rich people who are vacent, lot of those everywhere, so every neighberhood in seattle has a compleatly diffrent feel and stores of its own alot of people i know will throught the actual skyscraper downtown less then once a month. Almost everyone knows everyone within groups and age ranges like i will go to a house party where i know noone and meet 3 or 4 people who know my friends. Most of the kids in seattle like to kick it in parks or peoples basements and we tend to drink alot of PBR and smoke Alot of cigerets and p*t. The clubs are all lame but sometimes we go to stripclubs arcades or bilards places i will admit if you are not from here you will probly think it is boring for a big town. Alot of people around here who arent part of the yuppy type think all that shit is dumb. For example almost every night of the week during the summer there are big groups of people hanging out at alki or golden gardens having bonfires and pertys like groups of 30 to 50 and in my opnion that is better then some dumb bar. The traffic sucks like dont take the freeway at the wrong hours there are weird routs connecting winding arterals that will get you aROUnd faster at rush hour (35 Mph is making good time in this town) i said f**k it and got myself a moped becouse i NEVER need to use I5 mby 99 the buses are such a annoyance for anyone trying to drive or on the bus itself, suffice to say they suck. The politics dont really represent anyone these days they just like to be super liberas and throw money away, WE STILL PAY for a monorail that has benn canceled for monts and we will continue to pay hella on our tabs for about a year for something that no groung got broke for. We have 2 brand new stadums and a brand new LIBUARY (huge and covered in glass many millions of $$) while All of our raised sections of road are from the 40s and 50s and the viaduct is sinking and listing twords the water. The goverment of seattle has HIGHLY misplaced prioritys. However through it all the city kicks ass and after being to many citys like la portland ny miami and the like i would take seattle. Shure everyone is deperssed and likes to kill themselfs and drink till they die but there are so many more real people in the hood around that it makes up for it. I would live in the CD or lake city for the rest of my life but every few years i go crazy from it all and go down someplace quiet like redway or brookings

Seattle so uniquely awful it's almost hard to know where to begin. If you've read some of the other posts, both good and bad, you'll see the word "traffic" comes up often. If you live in or visit Seattle, you'll quickly realize that it's nearly impossible to get anywhere on time. An outdated and poorly planned highway and street system combined with over population and a utter lack of effective public transportation make even the smallest journey a textbook study in frustration. There are left lane on and off ramps on the highways in some of the busiest areas, rendering the concept of passing lanes and merging extinct. On the side streets there are inexplicable one way roads, dead ends, and meandering arterials that look like they were designed by an epileptic four year old with a city map and a crayon. The experience of riding the busses range from uncomfortable to downright disgusting. If you're not waiting out in the cold for a bus that's late than your sitting in one that's running late, enjoying a range of smells that includes but is not limited to body odor, cheap cologne/perfume, cold cuts, and vomit. In the downtown area, the busses double as rolling homeless shelters, and actually do more to snarl traffic than allieviate it. The one way express lanes on the highway run out of the city in the evening which seems to make sense unless you want to actually go do something on a friday night! Nothing says weekend fun like sitting in a traffic jam like you already did twice that day going to and from work. This leads us to the next topic... Seattle nightlife. Long gone are the days of going to a smokey hole in the wall bar and catching a soon to be legendary band in the raw. They are being replaced by overpriced faux cultured cafes, chain restaurants, and gigantic sterile sports grills that cater to families. Not to say that these establishments don't have their fans, but if they exist in lieu of once historic watering holes than I have a hard time believing that this is a city or a populace that values a diverse range of entertainment options. There seems to be a puritanical battle between the haves and the have nots reguarding how the city defines it's nightlife and it's evident in the passing of petty noise violations, archaic liquor laws, and the strictest smoking ban in the country. In addition, though most of the bars and clubs close at two a.m.,the fun seems to wind down at midnight, leaving those with the late night gene let down and wanting more. Your best bet is just to make friends with like-minded folks and hang out at each others places, which you can do anywhere in the country thereby making doing it in Seattle irrelevant. Finally, the weather. I'm going to preface my comments by saying that I work in the construction field, so I am exposed to the elements more than your average barista or software employee, but seriously, it's miserable. There are only two seasons here, summer and winter. The winter starts in mid October and wraps up anywhere between mid June to the forth of July. When everyone else is enjoying a warm spring, the citizens of Seattle plod along with their daily routines wistfully glancing at the sky in hopes of a "sunbreak". There's something in the constant pissing rain, grey clouds, and ho hum temperatures that that make massive chunks of time just blend into itself. For the first few years you'll wonder how people can stand it, but you'll soon find that folks either take several vacations in the winter or they're on anti-depressnats. There's mud everywhere, you're always cold and wet, and the already horrid traffic becomes even worse with the slightest drop of rain. I will say however, that it never seems to rain in August, and the city and surrounding mountains and water look stunning, and for that month alone I'll give Seattle a star. So come and visit in August, but for your own sake, I suggest moving anywhere else but here.

Lived here for over 30 years. LOVE IT. It rains alot and when it's not raining, it's kinda gray and gloomy. But I like that I guess. I couldn't live where the sun shines all the time. I get really bored in CA and HI - seriously!!! Our traffic does suck I must admit. Our housing is expensive, but we're used to it. We have a boat and that is most excellent. We're out on the water from April til December. Just wear lots of layers. August is awesome. We dry out in August. Best boating! We drive our convertibles with the top down in February if the sun is shining . . . we're an awesome, tough bunch up here in the NW corner. Skiing isn't that great here though - serious folks go to Vancouver BC or Oregon. We have FABULOUS food. Seafood out of this world. Ahi tuna, crab, mussels, oysters - I love it all - cooked or raw! Great beer too . . . and coffee!!! Good libraries. People are pretty nice from what I've seen in other towns. Although Puerto Rico folks are quite nice. Beats Cleveland! (bet I hear about that one! Hahaha) I guess I like it best here because "it's easy to be lucky in Seattle." What I mean is, if you keep your head straight, get a decent job and watch your finances, you can have a very good life in Seattle. People are nice but a bit hard to really get to know. But once you're in, you're in for life. And people here are interesting - we do lots of stuff, sailing, hiking, camping, fishing, skiing, travel, fine dining, reading, movies, etc. Never a shortage of interesting, fun things to do. And fun, interesting people to meet. If you can take the weather! Well, take care (see how nice we are) and come visit us. Just remember if you come in August, you will be getting a very skewed picture of the weather. Come October, you could be crying in your blown-out umbrella. Oh, that reminds me. Hardly anyone uses an umbrella here. And we all have at least three pairs of sunglasses - and we use them anytime the sun just peaks out between the gray clouds, even for a second! We're a funny, tough bunch. But I love it here in case you can't tell. Take care!

Born and raised here. Beautiful city. Of course I don't want anyone else to live here because we have enough traffic as it is. I never use the freeway unless I go to the casino ;) then I have no choice but back roads do exist still in Seattle. Lots of small and large parks. People were cooler back in the late 80's but too many yuppies and Californians now for my blood. Pretty soon this city will be all upper class with the rate of the cost of living and rent so on etc etc. Very much a closed at midnight kinda town still a few late places to score hooch...thats liquor for you country folk...All and all a great place that makes you still feel like you can get away to the country in a short drive so open spaces are nearby. Peace from Seatown.

I live an hour south of Seattle, and I have to say it is the most AWESOME city in the Pacific Northwest....I mean, its practically the only city in the PNW. (Portland is lame). How can people complain about the rain, sports, and Starbucks? Those are some of the best things about Seattle. The rain makes this place beautiful, the Seahawks are going to win Superbowl XL, and Starbucks keeps everyone fed and caffeinated. Personally, I could live off their caramel frappacinos. And it really doesn't matter that the traffic in Seattle sucks, 'cuz when you get where you want to get you have a great time. My favorite spots in Seattle is the Ivars on the boardwalk (where seagulls will practically sit down with you and eat your fries), the Pike Place market, and the International Fountain at Seattle Center. Seattle has great entertainment...Death Cab for Cutie. Beautiful sights...Space needle, Mt. Rainier. And the best atmosphere...independent but fun-loving people. If it didn't cost so much I'd be living in Seattle right now. SEATTLE ROCKS!....literally, it has great alternative rock bands.

Seattle, quite simply, sucks. Let's start with the weather. It's crappy from October to the forth of July. And it's a mundane kind of crappy if that makes any kind of sense. A slow pissing rain with an endless grey cloud cover that makes you feel like there's a retractable roof in the sky that's constantly closed. It usually doesn't doesn't drop below freezing, but you'll still feel cold from the rain and the wind if you spend enough time outside. If you like winter sports you can drive to the mountains, but the snow is heavy and wet, and when the winters are too warm the ski resort openings are sporadic at best. Next, there's the traffic. It's almost impossible to get anywhere on time. If you leave extra early for your destination you may have a chance, but nine times out of ten being a few minutes late can turn into being forty-five minutes late. I cannot stress this enough...almost every aspect of commuting in Seattle is frustrating and outdated. Crowded highways, one way streets, left lane on and off ramps, poorly times stop lights, six(?!) way intersections, inept drivers, poorly placed signs, etc. All that and afformentioned dark and wet conditions. The public transportation consists of an ageing bus fleet which seems to add more to the problem rather than fix it due to the design of their routes and the layout of the city. Local politics are a joke. There seems to be more intrest in generating commercial real estate projects in the downtown area and allowing townhomes to proliferate the suburbs(which only adds to the traffic problems) than to doing anything to allieviate the suffering of the local commuter. Parking is almost nonexistent, and not just in downtown, but in some of the more popular burbs too. Parking tickets and moving violations are expensive and given out at a vicious pace...don't ever expect to get "just a warning" if you ever get pulled over for anything. Violent crime is low, but you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't had their car broken into, stolen, or vandalized most likely due to a thriving heroin and meth community. Socially, the local population is slow to warm up to new faces, and it takes a longer time to establish a friend base here than in other cities I've lived in. Can't really blame them there though...the population explosion of primarily wealthy, opinionated transplants and the city's absolute lack of ability to accomplish anything other than to find new ways to collect money would leave anyone more than a little wary. The nightlife is pretty good but on the decline. The combination of an attempt to close down loud music venues and a new smoking ban that is stricter than the state of Utah(?!) is just begining to root out the history of diversity in the bar scene. If you like well-lit faux cultured sterile breweries and cafes, then you'll have a blast! The food is pretty good here, lots of choices of ethnic dining which is ironic since this is just about the whitest city you'll ever see. The glaring exception would be pizza...a good slice just does not exist in Seattle. There's lot's of places to get coffee, and that's good because you're gonna need it with the weather and the two and a half hours you'll spend per day in your car. All in all, Seattle just blows. Come and visit in August, but for the sake of your own sanity, live somewhere else. Oh yeah, the mountains are real pretty in the summer.

Seattle is toilet...a seemingly clean and welcoming toilet, but a toilet nontheless. I'll start with the traffic. Worst I've ever seen. The roads and highways are about ten years outdated with left lane on and off ramps, random merge lanes in congested areas,and poor signage that leads to confusing arterials and dead end/one way streets. Throw in constant drizzle and the inability for anyone to comprehend the concept of merging and you've got a recipe for disaster. In addition, the city seems to believe that a half electric half diesel bus system is an effective form of public transportation under these conditions. Prepare yourself for the frustration of sitting through an exceedingly long red light and then not being able to go on green because a forty foot accordian bus decides to park in the middle of the intersection. Or, you can watch with amusement and pity as a bus flies down the street smashing off the mirrors on parked cars. If you ride the bus downtown you can immerse yourself in the progressive idea known as the rolling homeless shelter. When you finally find a side and/or scenic road, you'll encounter what is appearently a non stop training session for the Tour De France. Don't be fooled into thinking that these are environmentally aware citizens trying to do their part to alliviate traffic. There are some, but most seem to be retired upperclass types who pay three grand for their bikes and Spiderman outfits, ride in pairs in the middle of the road, and blow through stop signs knowing that if you hit them you'll be screwed. There is quite a bit of crime here contrary to popular belief. Not so much of the the violent variety, but you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't had either their car broken into or something stolen out of their yard. I guess that can be chalked up to rampant drug use and the rapid gentrification of the city itself. The actual locals are generaly pretty nice, if not a little reserved. It takes a little while longer to establish a social network than in other places I've lived. I suppose that's what happens when your city gets hijacked by big money transplants who attempt to mold the city the way they seem fit. Maybe it's the weather. There are only two seasons...and the crappy raining one lasts a long,long time. The two and a half months that are summer are beautiful and almost make you forget about the rest of the year. But when it's June and it's still chilly and misty it's easy to be envious of the rest of the country knowing that they are already enjoying warmth and sunshine. The nightlife is fair, nothing special. If you like hanging out in smokey dive bars you're outta luck due to the strictest smoking ban in the country. You're also gonna pay dearly for those habits as Washington state loves repeatedly taxing gas,liquor, and tobacco. The liquor stores are all state-run and the prices are outrageous. You'll also spend hundreds of dollars a year to register your car to pay for public transportation pipe dreams that never materialize. You'll think about that alot when your stuck in traffic behind one of the busses I mentioned before. All in all, Seattle pretty much sucks. Make friends with someone who lives here and come visit once and a while in late August. That's about as good as it gets.

Seattle is a great city with a good lifestyle...healthy lifestyle..lots of outdoor activities,...a great education experience with a lot of colleges and research facilities in this city. Coffee...I could care less about it since I don't drink coffee. The people here are very open-minded, and friendly than other big cities I've visited in the US. The downside...it's cloudy...somewhat depressing making it difficult for me to get up in the mornings. Seriously..there were several occassions where I went to work late because I got up an hour late!! Traffic is getting worse here....as there is no decent mass transit system. Nevertheless, the beautiful air..fresh air!!..the sceneries...the people...all take the cake for an excellent city!!

Not much to say, I have lived in Seattle 7 years. It is between Ok and bad. People seem so pushy, and some of the worst and inconsiderate drivers I have seen and way too much traffic, way overpriced and expensive to lived. With all that said, great if you love crowds, inconsiderate people, terrible drivers and traffic.

There are positive aspects to living in Seattle (outdoor sporting activities nearby, a generally tolerant, liberal populace, lack of extreme winters, etc.) and certainly it's a livable place compared to many other areas of the U.S. but overall, after seven years here I have to say that the reality of life here hasn't lived up to all the Seattle hype. Seattle's two biggest weaknesses in my opinion are 1)The cliquich, extremely introverted social scene and 2)The lack of decent public transit. First, the social. A few moments of Googling online will reveal the tremendous dissatisfaction here with the social scene in Seattle... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/soundoff/comment.asp? articleID=246818 Using certain objective criteria such as number of singles and number of coffee-houses Seattle would seem to be a great city for dating, and the survey cited in the above link used criteria such as that. The problem could be typified by my visit to a Starbucks last week where it was full of young people, each sitting at a table alone, each with their laptop and each with the ever-present I-Pod headphones stuck in their ears to drown out the outside world. I think to really get a balanced view of the singles scene here you need to get the opinion of someone who has lived in at least one other city for some length of time and preferably has travelled to other cities regularly as well. Having lived most of my life in the Los Angeles area and having travelled to San Francisco, Portland Oregon, New York, Prague, Athens Greece, etc. I call say with confidence that the social scene is noticeably more introverted and closed here than elsewhere. It's been chocked up to various factors including the weather but since I have found Portland Oregon to be one of the MOST friendly cities I think it must go beyond just weather. I think a big part is that in other places (especially New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco) people are more upfront and verbal about their feelings and desires. I had an awful, painful breakup a year ago with my best friend here in Seattle who I found out after two years of friendship actually had a deep, deep, irreversable romantic attachment to me. This had all been conveyed via indirect comments, vague hints, a book on a nightstand all of which I was supposed to read as "I want to have a relationship with you but I'm too timid to just say it." What to me had merely been cute, affectionate acknowledgement of some physical attraction on his part covered a hugh tank of roiling emotions that were left unspoken. The friendship dissolved, apparantly forever. I see this sort of vague, understated, indirect communication as a real negative. In New York, people may sometimes seem rude to "polite" Seattleites but at least you know exactly where you stand. As Seattle women are apt to say, when a guy asks them out they're never quite sure whether it's a "date date" or just a "let's be friends" invitation. The public transit here is arguably the second worst of any major city on the West Coast. I say second because Los Angeles now has a suway system however, although getting around sans car in Seattle is a pain, the city IS more compact than Los Angeles which is an advantage. Smaller Portland three hours south of here has a model of public transportation (light rail) while Seattle at present must rely on a rusting, graffiti covered system of archaic buses. One example...if someone is disabled and needs to get around the city via wheelchair. In Portland, the MAX/light rail line pulls up to the curb, a little ramp shoots out, the person rolls on and the doors close, all in less than 10 seconds. In Seattle the bus must hydrolically lower the entire right side of the bus down, a mechanical chair lift slowly lowers to the ground, the wheelchair bound person rolls on, the ramp slowly lifts up into the bus, they must then roll back to one of two specially designed wheelchair spots, the bus driver gets up and must come back and buckle the person in with special seatbelts. Repeat entire process in reverse when the person wants to get off. It all takes a good 2-3 minutes. This is just outrageously unacceptable in a modern city that touts itself for it's quality of life. What would take ten minutes in car such as a drive from Capitol Hill to Greenlake can take an hour or more with multiple bus transfers. Seattle is an OK city but Portland, San Francisco and New York seem to offer a better deal, especially if you're single and carless.

i find the people in seattle are in two different catogories.1 snobs 2 scary. not ever being racist i feel like a manority. homeless everywhere and the people who work in the public. ie busdrivers , librarians , etc are rude and plain unfriendly. although beautiful to look at , i would never buy a ugly house for 300.000.00 its ridiculous. i moved in a nice building to find out its a home to drug dealers. there isnt alot to do with my son, and for a city you would think there would be more option for children. im terrified to place my child in school here. the south side of seattle is like a place for the criminals or people who cannot afford a billion dollar home. thats my commplaints.. sorry if it sounds ugly, but i though moving here would be great ,, turns out after all the touristy stuff and greenry, its scary snobby and boring.

Beautiful Scenery - Bad Drivers. Bad traffic which will only get worst, because they won't spend the money to improve it. People are courteous, but only on the surface. Actually Try to get to know someone and you will find that they only have time for themselves. Crappy sports town - they are VERY fair-weather fans. At a baseball game, no body cheers at the game, if you stand and yell to support the team, they will give you dirty looks and some will actually tell you to sit down. And College Sports - Forget about it, there is no tradition here. Downtown shuts down at night. The only place to go for nightlife is Pioneer Square, which has a bum on ever corner. Seattle has to be one of the top cities for Bums because they are everywhere. I think that are more people here from somewhere else then from seattle. There is no idenity for this city - Grunge is Dead, Dot Com is bust, Boeing and Microsoft have already moved some divisions out, the only thing left is Starbucks. Maybe that is it's idenity, a City addicted to the new cocaine - Coffee. There are good things - The summers are beautiful and very long days. Excellent Salmon fishing and Crab Potting. Awesome hiking, but it takes 2 to 3 hours(or longer depending on traffic) to get to it. Beautiful Scenery. Rarely gets below freezing. Rains alot, but that what keeps it so green. This would be a great city of wasn't for people that live here.

I love this city. However I have so many mixed feelings about it I don't know where to begin. Lets start with it's setting. It is by far the most spectacular setting for a major city I've seen anywhere. Mountain ranges are on both sides of the city which make for beautiful surises and sunsets. Mt. Rainier sits like a centerpiece with it's glacier covered flanks dominating the southern horizon. There is lots of scenic waterfront and is a boaters heaven and if you don't have a boat a ferry ride is a cheap thrill and nice way to get out on the water. Seattle is a beautiful city with lots of hills, plentiful trees, magnificent views and a gorgeous skyline. I can't say everything is rosy here though. The city seems to be lacking in archetecture and they build with too much concrete here. As for the weather it aint as bad as you may have heard. It's temperate never too hot or cold and it doesn't accumulate as much rain as most cities back east. It's those endless strings of overcast days that can get on your nerves. My complaint about the weather here is it's downright boring!!! This is the last metropolitan area left that still hasn't figured out to how build mass transit. They say a light rail and monorail is coming but I'll believe it when I see it. Even Portland has light rail for god's sake and they're 1/2 the size of Seattle. Politics here are weird but that being said the poeple here are too. People in Seattle appear friendly if your a visitor but don't be mistaken, Seattle is a polite city not a friendly one and quite often they can be very passive agressive. They dress like slobs here and there is too much counter culturalism. Remember grunge from way back in the day? It still exists here, very strange but maybe being isolated up in the northwest does that. Seattle has a really bad homeless problem and in some neighborhoods it's hard to walk 1 block without being hit by panhandlers many of which are kids on the street. I can't knock all the people here as I'm trying to be fair. Seattle is a welcoming place and people here generally are tollerant and don't make judgements. People in general get along here. It is becoming a prosperous area and real estate here is certainly reflecting that, luckily though rent here is still reasonable. If you love coffee then this is heaven on earth (and I don't mean Starbucks). There are coffee hangouts all over town each with a little atmosphere of their own. The food here is ok, a little on the overpriced side but if you like Thai food this is your city. For some reason there are so many Thai restaurants scattered all over town (I suggest Thai Toms in the U-district - awesome food). Speaking of food the best thing about downtown Seattle is Pike Market. I've travelled all over and I've never seen a city market as good as this one. There is a huge selection a fresh seafood, flowers, art, good produce and atmosphere to boot. Seattle is a great place to visit and live. Seattle does have it's misgivings like any place but I think it ranks among the best in the USA.

Great city in every way!

Great city with nice people but all that rain limits what you can do outdoors which is a shame because it's a nice looking city. Traffic is bad, not sure i could deal with that every day.

I really liked Seattle. It is a beautiful City with many things to see and do.

People all seem to justify their affection for Seattle by its scenery or natural splendor, almost as an excuse to defend its many shortcomings. This strikes me as peculiar because although Seattle has scenery on its side, it's far less beautifully situated than Vancouver, British Columbia. Moreover, Vancouver ALSO has all qualities Seattle lacks. Having grown up in Seattle, the things that drove me nuts the most: arrogant Seattle attitude that the city is the best, as if people had never visited elsewhere; the slowest automobile driving I have ever witnessed in the world; general lack of pride in homes/gardens; introverted attitude, people rarely socialize; early to bed, early to rise mentality; pathetic nightlife; downtown that rolls its sidewalks up at 5:00 p.m.; generally unfriendly attitudes between neighbors (there are exceptions); unremarkable architecture yet, again, a blind faith in the superiority of Seattle; a population's complete unwillingness to move forward progressively with transportation alternatives; obsessed with baseball and pro-sports generally--building TWO new sports facilities when the one there was just fine, not great, and letting the Alaskan Way Viaduct stand ready to kill many people in the next big earthquake...need I say more?

The weather is really really bad, as is the traffic. It really is a nice city, but I just cannot stand the winter days that seem so short and dark, and dreary. If I lived in the Northwest I'd rather live in Portland. Portland is more accessible to the high desert region, which is important if you want to escape the rain on occassion. Seattle has a bit more to do culturally, but it isn't a real city.

Seattle is the most laid back city I have ever visited.Once I arrived it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.It puts you in a different frame of mind.Its as if you go into slow motion.The clean crisp Northwest air is very pleasing to the senses.Despite its dismal weather,when the sun is out,Seatlle is a sight to behold.Between the magnificent skyline and and the gorgeous mountains to the multitudes of enormous well nourished trees.Seattle is very safe.I never once felt threatend walking around for hours on end.

Good city. Clean and green. I can do without Starbucks coffee, though.

If you havnt been here, come here

I live in Seattle and it is the best city I have lived in. There is all sorts of people and everyone fits into some sort of group. So much cleaner than places like Chicago, Detroit, and Miami. A beautiful place.

What an awesome city. It's very green due to all the rain fall. I enjoyed the food, the cheap housing, the great public school systems and the cleanliness of the city. People also tend to drive with courtesy, as opposed to other cities I've been to. The downside....traffic and to a point government issues. But all in all...a five-star city!

You know when you watch the McDonald's commercials on TV with the real attractive employees and you think to yourself Riigghhht. Well these employees do exist and will work for $6 an hour in Seattle. All the girls were attractive. I was also impressed at the cleanliness of the city, and how easy it was to get around. The football and baseball stadiums are very cool. People are pretty chill. The climate is dreary and can get you down but is pretty moderate. The air is clean and you feel pretty healthy up there. Also the radio stations are the best I've ever heard.

The worst city to drive in America all because the people there don't want to widen the streets, and those damn diamond lanes. City is a tax hell, which means more money for wastefull government spending, and less money for people who live there.

The rain and mist sucks during the winter time, and it' colder than the southern states. However, I love the clean atmosphere here, the friendly people, location near Canada and the outdoor lifestyle in Washington State. Thinking of coming back home one day.

Seattle is the bomb! I love the clean conservative look to the city. Although it rains (though it doesn't rain everyday!), it makes the city look green. I'm going back to Seattle in the near future.

People here are as wierd as those in the bay area. Pretty to look at, but the people make you want to run back to the red states.