RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I am not from Washington, but have visited a couple times. From what I have seen it is one of the most beautiful states we have. I have thought about moving there, but don't know if I could handle so many gray & misty rainy days. I have read where people say is is damp, cold, and dreary, except for about 3 months of the year. These 3 months seem so short, while having to sit through another 9 months of dreary weather.

Weather aside, Washington has so much to love, from the mountains, the city, the Puget Sound, that I tell myself that I just might be able to take on the 9 month challenge. I never got to see Olympia, which people have said was one of the nicer places. I did get to see Port Townsend, Bellingham, Leavenworth, Annacortes, Seattle, and some less than attractive areas like Arlington, and Everett,

The things that I remember most from my observation were the homes look so close together, often over top another one below on the hills. The I-5 seemed packed, but getting into Seattle was simple. It sits right there next to I-5, just exit and in seconds you are right in the middle of downtown. It seemed like a Starbucks was everywhere, and everyone was carrying coffee in one hand, umbrella in the other, and had a backpack on. The city is very hilly, and plenty of places to see the Puget Sound waterfront.

I don't know how it would be to live there, but from a brief experience from a tourist, it was a very nice area. I think I could live there. Then again, I need time to rethink the weather....

I have to agree with the posters commenting on the snobbery of Wasningtonians, at least in the Puget Sound area: it's both real and appalling. I lived there for one year & got the hell out.

One telling observation: The local news really is local, and barely acknowledges the fact that the rest of the nation exists east of the Cascades. When the rest of the country is mentioned at all, it's usually in the context of "Seattle/Tacoma/Washington was rated #1 in terms of yaddayaddayadda..." Another interesting factoid is that KING ran (probably still does run) its own variant of SNL, called "Almost Live". Not a bad show, but so locally focused that you have to have been a life-long resident to get all the jokes.

Overall, the natives of this area are as self-centered, insensitive and conceited as geoducks. Perhaps those things should be adopted as the state mascot, since these animals are also unaware of how ugly they really are.

I love Washington State. It has the ocean, mountains, prairie, lakes and rivers. Wages are high there and has good worker's rights. Over the years a lot of not so great people have moved there though. I guess nothing is perfect.

Far enough from California to be holding its own. No income tax gets it a 4. Washingtonians must beware getting californicated.

Read alot of the reviews and most people are rating Washington State based on the Seattle area which is not only unfair but doesn't give justice to the state as a whole. Western Washington is as different from Eastern Washington from a people stand point and climate stand point than any other region of the country. Washington is a very diverse state in more ways than what people realize. Western Washington along with Western Oregon is the most naturally beautiful region of the country hands down. From a people standpoint, 3/4 of all people live in Western Washington along the I-5 corridor and its to hard to judge an entire state based on the people. So my rating is based on the natural features and physical attributes which are second to none in terms of natural beauty and diversity.

From a scenic point of view and variety of parks and outdoor beauty it's a 5 star rating. For traffic and poorly planned transportation it's a 2. You can go from the mountains, to the desert and to the ocean within a days driving like a lotta places in California in that sense except not as much crime and pollution which is nice. I haven't been but to 5 other states so I am only speaking on this state alone not comparing it as better or more beautiful than others. But a great state if you like the outdoors and fairly decent driving distances between places.

I currently live in Washington now. The pudget sound and scenic views in Washington are superb. However, like the rest of this country the people and the land is dead. Seattle is just another overpriced city with the population of those "making it" and "not making it" not even close to equilibrium. Grunge and art is dead here and now the only ok places to go are the waterfront pier and the Seattle center. South of Seattle is all cookie cutter suburbs and retail thieves. North of Seattle is property crime capital of America, where the drones and druggies come out and steal your fifty dollar stereo (like they did to mine just a few weeks ago causing 1,000 worth of damage.) so they can get their next fix. Everyone is still begging for a job here in Washington and the only jobs that are open are industrial jobs like a forklifter. People here are friendly somewhat friendly, but most are very afraid and timid. East of Seattle is all the unprogressives. Sadly Microsoft won't be able to save the problems that hinder this state.

My family and I moved to western wastington in 1999, and we deeply regret it. The landscape is quite beautiful, but what ruins Washington state is the Washingtonians. So here is my message to locals, you people who are originally from here: We are so, so sorry that we invaded your state in the 90's. the thing is, the fact that I am from somewhere else does not give you a right to be rude. "Cockiness" or pride in your state does not justify your snobbery. Maybe you should try opening up to the rest of the USA. You might frown a little less. You might enjoy your lives a little more. So please get over yourselves. You snub people just because they are not from here. Its absolutely unbelievable. We are very sorry that we moved here, as I have said. But we have been punished enough. We have wasted half a decade waiting to make friends. We assumed that all western american states, but we were very, very wrong. People in teh rest of the country have no idea how stuck up you people are; but hopefully word is getting out and no more people will make the same mistake my family made. I hope someday people in the rest of the country realize how tremendously uncool washingtonians are. It is the reputation that you have earned for yourselves.

I don't think people give Washington a chance. All you have to do to love this place is to go to the coast (the real cost, not seattle) See the olympic rainforest, Go see seattle, drive the cascades, and see the largest volcanic plateau in the world. We are a state of diversity. Currently I'm living in the North Sound, about 30 min. from the border to Canada, but I have lived in the South Sound (seattle area) and North Central Washington (the start of the plateau) and it all has it's beauty in it's own way. The cost line is goregous, even when it's stormy (which it is alot, admitingly) seattle is a wondefull city, the cascades are breathtaking, and the plateau has many natual rock formations and farming land. Washatonians are seen as being cocky about being from washington, but that's because in the 90's we had a huge influx of people due to the Grunge movement (which btw isn't dead in washington, just the rest of the country) We like Washington, when you live here for so long you fall in love with it. Yes, it rains, alot. But you have to deal with that sometimes. The summers are beautifull, and it doesn't rain nearly as much in the east. In fact it's a high desert with 300+ days of sun a year. We have some of the best public universities arround. Most are relitively small compared to other public universities, and all have wonderfull programs. I'm proud to be getting my education in Washington (at a school that has been rated as second in masters-granting (non-phd granting) schools west of the mississippi for the last three years) If you don't like washington, you can go ahead and stay out, we don't want you here

I live in Olympia, Washington, and I'm probably the only Republican in the city. So I like eastern WA because it doesn't seem to support abortions or let off sex-offenders easily like many politicians from the Western half. But other than that, I hate eastern WA. Western WA is awesome because 1) it rains like crazy 2) there's Seattle 3) beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches and 4) great sports (yeah...I said they're great, and I mean it). Washington also has the most beautiful mountain in the U.S.: Mt. Rainier.

Washington is a state of great natural beauty. The thing that kills me about this place is that the population is very, very xenophobic. I have lived here for 6 years, and in different parts of teh state; Port Angeles near the Olympic National Forest, Spokane, and Tacoma. As much as these people seem to think that the western and eastern halves have irreconcilable differences, they do have one trait in common; an intense dislike of outsiders. Washingtonians come in three flavors: Redneck lumberjacks on the peninsula who dont want to talk to you because you are not originally from washington state, Seattle Area Snobs who wont talk to you for the same reason, and Eastern Washingtonians who dont like you because you don't go to the right kind of church in addition to not being from Washington. They find out very quickly if you are not local. A horde of out of state people moved here in the 90's because it was the cool thing to do (me included), and now the locals must find out if you are one of them. They will ask you where you went to highschool. This is a common question anywhere, but in WA state it is of supreme importance. An incorrect answer, which is any answer indicating you are not originally from Washington, will garner you the quickest social rebuff you have ever experienced. On some occasions, this has manifested itself as open rudeness. Washingtonians don't travel much outside of their state, and are wholly ignorant of the rest of the USA; they think the rest of us are chair throwing hicks like they see on Jerry Springer. Dont ever, ever try to move here. You will cry angry hot tears and gnash your teeth until you go back home.

The region west of the cascades rates 3plus- this would include Seattle, Tacoma and the state capital at Olympia. Also the wonderful Olympic ranges and the national park- the region to the east of the Cascades barely rates more then a 1.

Washington is a gorgeous state with maginficent scenery. Everyone knows that. It's got great National Parks like Mt. Ranier and Olympic National Park with some of the most impressive coastal and mountain scenery anywhere. The most beautiful trees and forests are here and all the greenery is very complimenting. Springtime in western Washington is simply spectacular with a gradual bloom, flowering cherry trees, lots of tulips blooming, and countless shades of green everywhere you look. The weather really aint that bad and people need to get over that. Seattle has a stunning setting and an awesome skyline. The San Juan Islands are magnificent. These islands are a beautiful archepeligo with densely forested hills and mountains poking right out of the sea and very charming little towns. Aside from these physical superlatives Washington reminds me of the midwest with nice scenery. I mean that in the way of outside of Seattle and a handful of towns like Port Townsend and Friday Harbor, the state is full of depressing towns and cities. No quaintness, just basic archetecture and the timber industries that have left grose looking places like Aberdeen, Centralia, and Tacoma. Eastern Washington is quite nasty as well with one ugly town after another. The suburbs in the Seattle-Tacoma area leave a lot to be desired. Endless cookie cutter devlopment and strip malls. Here they build duplicate housing with little to no yards. Issaquah is a perfect example of this and it is such an eyesore. It is such a shame as this area has beautiful scenery in the foothills of the Cascades with dense forest and is now being dominated by rancid development. If I were to move to the suburbs and dropping a 1/2 million dollars on a house I would expect a fairly decent sized yard where kids can play and ride bicycles on the streets. These suburbs are not condusive to this kind of activity instead you get a house in plastic neighborhoods with your neighbor 15 feet away and Real Esate around there gets 1/2 million dollars and up for these places. Seattle is a beautiful city with a gorgeous skyline. It has the most scenic location for a metropolitan area that is wedged between water and mountains with lots of beautiful trees. Destinations like the San Juan Islands are awesome and the Cascade mountains are stunning to look at. Unfortunately it seems a good deal of the state is being ruined by poor development and much of is scarred by the timber industry either having left depressing ugly towns or cleacuts that look awful. Otherwise it's natural features are fantastic and is a good healthy state to live in, for now.........

Washington, like Microsoft, is evil. Very pretty, though.

Washinton owes much of its persona to Seattle, and Olympia and the corridor west of the cascades.

I love Seattle and Olympia- the rest of the state is not so good.

Washington is state with 1 epicenter and that is Seattle and the state capital at Olympia. The remainder of the state to the east is conservative and regressive.

I enjoyed Seattle and Olympia, in the many times i have been to Washington. The Olympic ranges are wonderful. What brings me problem to this state are the region are the areas east of the cascade range. Rather right wing- conservative.

The west side of the Cascades which includes Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia rate 3.5- the state on the dry side of the Cascades rates a 1.

Never been there but just looking at the pictures makes me wanna go soon. Of course it's the home of the late Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and many others. Actually Peter Buck of REM lives in Seattle.

Seattle is an iconic city with great beauty and a cosmo aura that is very appealing. The Olympic penisula and mountains offer a temperate rainforest and great beauty. The 'dry plateau' region east of the Cascade range is very undiserable.

Washington is an ok state- however Seattle is the main diamond. Followed by the state capital Olympia. The state east of the cascades is mainly reactionary far right-which downgrades the states rating IMO.

Washington west of the cascades is wonderful- the region to the east is much less desirable.

A great state with lots of trees, clean water, and environmentally-sensitive people. It's a great state to live in unlike the lame states of the South.

Easily the most overrated state in the country. Its reputation for rain is not an exaggeration. The people are very snobbish (esp. Seattleites). They think theyre better than everyone, that every other place in the world is inferior to Washington. You are almost guaranteed to get caught in a traffic jam regardless of the time of day. High unemployment rate. Highest minimum wage in the country means people can get a living wage at McDonalds with no motivation to get a better job. The sports scene is also bad. Ive got to wonder why the Sonics have not relocated, having played in the NBAs worst arena for ten years. The Mariners have the absolute worst radio announcers- Seattle has the best fans, best ballpark, beat grounds crew, best everything, in their mind. And of course, as we just learned, the voting system is horribly flawed. I moved here from Colorado and quickly came to regret it. As far as the characteristics Washingtonians most like to brag about- many places have lakes and rivers, many places have trees, and many places have mountains. There is nothing unique about Washington that you cant find anywhere else.

Lots of beautiful scenery (forest and beaches). Seattle is an awesome city. I especially liked Pike Place Market. However, that Seattle Sunshine gets old really fast..

The Seattle area is fantastic- Port Townsend is a great place to retire- The Cascades and Olympic peninsula are incredible. Seattle is a cosmopolitan city with much to offer- The rest of the state east of the Cascades is a rather featureless dry plateau.

I don't know, seattle and spokane are the two cities there, never been to spokane, but seattle was a little too wierd, i liked how it was almost completely surrounded by water though, i dont think i would ever want to live there

i love my birth state.

I live here and like it. Nice change from overheated, smoggy Phoenix. I have been here 4 years - no plans to leave. Beautiful state see the pics on my website. http://www.ch5066.com

One of the prettiest states in the Union, Seattle is a great city im not saying its the best State but its one of the best!

I moved here by choice from New Mexico BECAUSE of the coller, rainier weather. Nothing against New Mexico, but I enjoy colors that go beyond 17 shades of brown. It is so comfortable around here (in western WA specifically). It's true that the drivers and traffic problems are awful. The state's political inclinations amuse me--60% of the state will always vote for cutting taxes and at least 60% for more government services. This means at least 20% are seriously mathematically challenged (no wonder we use the lottery so successfully...) Still, the people ARE friendly and I enjoy it here. I'm amazed at one thing though--how often I've noticed Washingtonians love to berate their own state. If it s*cks so bad, why do they stay?

Washington is beautiful, the Pacific Ocean, the Puget Sound, the many, many lakes and rivers, the endless forests (until the gov't lets them cut all the trees down anyway), mountains that tickle the clouds in the sky, deserts, plains, apple orchards, wheat fields, cattle, horses, small rural towns, large cities, Canada to the north, Oregon to the south, Hawaii a 5 hour flight away, what more could one ask for? It has it's problems, what state doesn't? But, aside from the odd earthquake (WA is on several major, California type series of faults) and a forest fire, it is a good place to live, taxes are way too high for services rendered, don't know why, and the ocean is way to cold to swim in without all sorts of top notch wet suits, but it is pretty to sit and watch, and smell and walk your dog along the beaches. Does tend to be cloudy a lot, but hey, that is the colder ocean off the coast, so at least you don't have to worry about hurricanes!

Moved here a couple of years ago from the east coast. Breathtakenly beautiful with lots of outdoor stuff to do. Seattle though expensive is the only place I would ever live in this state. If you have any kind of cosmopolitan in you Seattle is the only place to be. Being a minority Spokane was totally out for me. Enjoy visiting Mount Rainer and the Olympics, but always glad to come home to Seattle. Not the most sophisticated city but its by far the best city in Washington for culture, sports, the arts, shopping and good restaurants. The rest of the state is pretty nice to visit.

A poster here was complaining about one specific area in Washington. Not a fair review I would say. I do agree that someone moving to Seattle is not intelligent. Its expensive, Its huge, its overpriced, the traffic is bad, and there are a lot gangs. Not a good thing. But Washington is a big state people. Go further south down near the Oregon border. its beautiful. Also , in the middle of Washington its pretty dead. The tri-cities area supposedly has a lot of gangs as well. Its ugly there anyway. The EAst coast of Washington is AWSOME. Spokane has anything you would need and is surrounded by suburbs and rural communities. Its affordable! Its perfect. Its a river city and I love river cities. Riverfront park is nice if your bored and there are a few nice restaurants around it too. Its only 45 minutes from Couer d'alene Idaho which has a beautiful huge lake and is mountains and pine forest. Beautiful. Theres winter sports there too and its a 4 season area......a full snowy winter, a hot dry summer and the spring and fall are pleaseant.

Washington rules. It has a great climate, great scenery, and great people.You can do more things outdoors here than in any other state.

Rains too much up there but there's beautiful countryside everywhere. And you gotta love a state that produced all those great grunge bands.

Washington, home of the morons... W A S H I N G T O N S _ C K S ! ! ! Washington has one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation. Originally it was stated that this area would not recover until the middle or end of 2004. Now they are saying they do not expect it to recover until 2005!! What a wonderful place to live, wouldn't you say!!! Only a moron would to want to live in or around the Seattle area, or anywhere in Washington for that matter!! This place S_CKS!!!! The people are rude, selfish and completely stuck on themselves (not sure why, as they are NOT very nice looking)... not to mention complete morons. They do not know how to drive... they will scare the sh_t right out of you. I used to love to drive until I move up here. I hate to drive now! Actually, one of the major problems is that you do not get the opportunity to drive! The majority of the time you sit in your car creeping along at a snails pace!!! I certainly would not call that driving, you Morons!!! The traffic is worse than anyone could ever imagine!! It takes 1 1/2 hours for a 12 miles commute. So, if you happen to be one of the fortunate people who still has a job... 3 hours out of everyday you work, you can kiss the hell goodbye. I do not know about you, but I know I do not have enough time in a day to waste 3 hours sitting in traffic! I guess the morons here do not have anything better to do!! There are only 23 FM radio stations to choose from here. None of which are any good. I used to love to listen to the radio while driving. Now, most of the time I do not even turn the radio on. If you like the sunshine, even a tiny little bit... do not move here. Here are some averages taken from NOAA: Annual rainfall: 38.27 inches Precipitation days: 155 days Cloudy days: 226 days Partly cloudy days: 82 days Clear days: A WHOPPING 57 DAYS!! Seattle ranked the 9th highest metropolitan area for auto theft in the nation. Washington ranked the 2nd highest taxed state in the nation. Paying taxes in Washington is like flushing money down the toilet. Washington state has the distinction of being one of the worst states in the union in the area of tax fairness because the system is so regressive. The lowest 20% of taxpayers contribute nearly 18% of family income to state taxes, while the top 1% contribute less than 4% of family income, and the next 4% contribute less than 6% of family income to state taxes. The system relies vary heavily on excise taxes and property taxes. There is no income tax, there is no tax on intangibles. Even those taxes which are levied suffer from a narrowing of the tax base due to many exemptions and deductions. Wealthy citizens retire to Washington State where their taxes are among the lowest in the country while business and the poorer people pay more than their fair share. Nevertheless, it does work -- at least it raises enough money to limp along. Everyone pays something towards the services we all need, including the poorest. Need I continue? Do yourself a favor.... really think about it before packing up all of your belongings and moving up here. WASHINGTON S_CKS!!

In 3 hours, you can travel from the beach, to the mountains, to the plains and meet some pretty amazing people and sights.

Its a great state. Lots of things to do outdoors.

Eh. . .too far for me to want to travel there, although I do admit to wanting to travel along the Columbia River and through the Valley. Seattle recently had an earthquake, didn't they? And it rains a lot up there in Seattle, too. Not only that, but too many people have moved there, and I really don't want to be where things are trendy, like California, or Georgia, or North Carolina, etc. I agree with Washingtonians when they don't want Californians or other outsiders moving there. I'll oblige them by visiting, but not staying.

Very beautiful state with a great climate. One of the most amazing sights is flying over Washington state and looking down upon the Cascade Mountains, just unbelievable. The San Juan islands are a great places to visit on day trips or over-nighters. The last time I was there my cousin ,who was a pilot in training, took us up in a little cessna and we flew up over the San Juans and landed for the day for a quick walkabout. We also flew up into the edges of the Cascades, whichw as pretty incredible seeing them at eye level as opposed to from the ground or 30,000 feet above in a commercial airliner. Seattle is a fun city, clean, attractive. The only negative I can think of about a place like Seattle is that it's become so much of a boom town that it has become too crowded for my tastes.

Great hiking in the North Cascades -- incredibly beautiful, and it's possible to walk for weeks without seeing a road. The Olympic peninsula, too, is wonderful -- it's a rainforest, and things grow so fast there that despite heavy use, many of the trails are permanently covered with moss. Needless to say, bring good raingear.

Washington is the Best because it is so beautiful.