I live in Austin, TX and I am contemplating moving to Seattle, WA. I
am looking for some information on what I might (and might not) expect
as far as differences between the two places, as well as some general
information about Seattle.

A bit of background: I have lived in Austin for the past 6 years;
before that I lived in Seattle twice, as a summer intern. I really
love the outdoors: hiking, camping, biking, rafting, skiing; I had a
wonderful time doing all these things (and more) in the two past
summers I spent in Seattle, and this is one of the main reasons why I
am thinking about moving to Seattle. That being said, I know that
Seattle in the summer is quite different from Seattle in the fall and
winter, mostly because of the rain. Another reason why I am
considering this move is that Austin strikes me as a smaller, more
provincial town, and I like bigger cities, with a more vibrant
cultural and city life (whether it be museums, opera, ballet, etc.).
Last but not least, I love being near the ocean and the mountains.

What worries me about Seattle is the rain and the traffic. Austin has
almost 230 sunny days every year, while Seattle has 130 (according to
http://www.bestplaces.net/city/ccclim.aspx?Lcity=4805000&Rcity=5363000&);
I have lived in cities in the past (such as Boston) where it is
overcast for long periods at a time durign the winter, but I am still
concerned that this might be a bit of a drastic change for me. As for
the traffic, I currently have a 30 minute daily commute, and I have
heard some horror stories about Seattle, especially across the 520 and
90 bridges.

Beyond the rain and traffic, I would appreciate any other general
insights about life in Seattle, especially in recent years. I have
come across some pretty negative websites (such as
http://www.seattlesucks.com/) that make it seem like life in Seattle
is drastically worse these days than it was in the mid-to-late 90's,
and I am curious how much truth there is to that.

Antiriad --

Subjective issues like this are the toughest to answer.  However,
after running into Seattle Weekly's "best of Seattle" issue this
afternoon at the library, I thought that I'd take a crack at answering
this question.  Inasmuch as I might hit your prime concerns -- or not
-- I'll recommend upfront that you make a clarification request if I
miss anything key.


SOME SEATTLE RESOURCES
=========================

First, some excellent resources for a flavor of Seattle, staring with
Seattle Weekly.  It does an excellent job of tracking what's going on
in entertainment and lifestyle in the CITY.  It does a poor job of
covering areas outside King County, including Snohomish County, Tacoma
and Island County.  However, I think that a read through the "best of
the city" would give you an idea if it has all that you want. 
Culturally, this isn't an Austin or Chicago but it's an interesting
city with a door to the Orient, one that is anchored by a major
university, like Austin:
Seattle Weekly
http://www.seattleweekly.com/

On Thursdays both of the Seattle daily newspapers have started
assembling very good Northwest living sections.  Fridays, as in most
cities, the magazine sections are devoted to movies and nightlife.
Seattle Times
Outdoors & Travel
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/traveloutdoors/

Seattle P-I
Getaways
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/

Being smaller, neither the Tacoma News Tribune nor the Everett Herald
do quite as good a job, but I've linked them here.  Note that these
two cities, at opposite end of the Puget Sound metropolitan area, are
smaller but very dynamic -- with their own convention centers;
professional baseball and hockey teams; and large ports.

Tacoma News-Tribune
http://www.tribnet.com/

Everett Herald
Travel & Leisure
http://www.heraldnet.com/travel/



THE CLIMATE
============

Whether or not the climate is agreeable will largely be a matter of
personal taste.  Here are some of the characteristics of the area:
Beautiful Seattle
Annual Summaries, 1998-2002
http://www.beautifulseattle.com/clisumy.htm

I've lived here for more than 10 years, having been many places in the
U.S. and abroad before coming here.  As the Beautiful Seattle summary
notes, these are some common characteristics of the area:
?	rainfall of about 40" per year, similar to Chicago
?	rainfall rarely exceeds ½" per day -- a 1" rainfall is unusual
?	climate is a marine climate, affected by the water surrounding the
city.  Frequent fogs, low clouds, mist but rarely a thunderstorm.
?	Winter-time temperatures can drop below freezing but it tends to be
rare and last for no more than several days.  Surrounding water
moderates the temperature swings.
?	Summers will rarely see days in the 90s and few homes have air conditioning.
?	Skiing is easily accessible in winter in the nearby mountains,
though the moderate temperatures make a lot of what's called locally
"Cascade cement," due to the wet, heavy snow.
?	Days are often cloudy, with low clouds burning off only late in the
afternoon.  The estimated 230 days of clouds are accurate and it has
many affects on locals, from increased latte consumption to
seasonally-afftected disorder (SAD).
?	hard freezes and snow happen for possibly a week each winter.  Being
hilly, the city's drivers don't handle it well.
?	Being rainy, you'd think the locals could handle driving in rain
easily.  They don't.

What do locals do to find the sunshine when needed?  Many just head
across the mountains to Wenatchee, Twisp or other areas on the lee
side of the Cascades.  Some choose areas in the Olympic Mountain rain
shadow to catch more sun.  The rain shadow extends into Island and
Snohomish counties, though it's best known for its impact on the
American and Canadian San Juan islands:
Google Answers
"Reference, Meteorology," (Omnivorous-GA, Oct. 30, 2002)
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=93878

Other popular strategies are vacationing in Baja California, Hawaii or
Arizona (especially during spring training for the Mariners).


TRANSPORTATION
================

When you're miserable, sitting in traffic on I-405 or the 520 bridge,
or when you're seeking an excuse for moving Boeing headquarters to
Chicago, congestion gets the blame.  Thus, when the University of
Texas Transportation Institute issued its report called the delays in
Seattle the second-worst in the country, it hit a chord here:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"New report: Seattle's traffic second worst in nation, " (Foster, May 7, 2001)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/21902_congestweb.shtml

The Census Bureau analyzed the data differently and noted early this
year that Seattle average commute-times are below the national average
and well below those for Chicago and New York:
Puget Sound Business Journal
"Seattle commute time below national average," (Feb. 25, 2004)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2004/02/23/daily21.html

The problem in Seattle matches that of other metro areas: commuting
during peak times commonly adds 50% to the length of the trip and at
its worst doubles the commute time.  This city may be worse at the
extremes because major routes are restricted by water, so there are
few alternate options when things are jammed up.  Additionally,
Seattle has only just started working on a rail/light rail system.

Note that the Washington DOT has some excellent resources for helping
"manage" the pain, including cameras on key routes and this page,
which lists 'typical' commutes:
Washington DOT
" Central Puget Sound Average Travel Times," (2004)
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/pugetsoundtraffic/traveltimes/commutes/


HOUSING COSTS
===============

The major fixed cost that all of us face is housing.  King County is
the most-expensive and 2004 numbers show that it's rising faster, but
living in the county obviously reduces commute times if you're going
to the city.  These numbers from the 2000 Census are somewhat dated
but I've included them because of the completeness and the excellent
graphical display of data:
Seattle Times
"How we live: homes, commutes, education, " (May 8, 2002)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/census2000/charts/howwelive08.html


SOME STRATEGIES
=================

1.	Visit and assess the commute.  I've done 2 hours drives to the
Microsoft campus 17 miles away and avoid I-405 like the plague during
rush hours.  I now avoid a commute and my beloved has a 25-minute
"reverse" commute against the prevailing traffic.

2.	Before moving, you might want to spend a week or more here in the
months of November-February.  In terms of outdoor life, we all try to
be out-and-about running or cycling during those months -- but always
prepared for rain.

3.	Assess schools carefully before selecting a neighborhood if you
have or are planning to have children.

4.	Consider outlying areas if you can avoid or manage the painful
commute.  There's excellent ferry service from the islands and acreage
in Snohomish, Pierce and Island counties.

And finally, ignore the nay-sayers.  We all take a civic pledge here
to tell people how rainy and miserable the weather is.  But that's
just to keep the Californians out!


Google search strategy:
Seattle climate
Seattle transportation 
Seattle commute
Seattle housing costs

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA
Mukilteo, WA

---

Request for Answer Clarification by antiriad-ga on 08 Aug 2004 20:20 PDT

This is a great answer, thank you very much for all the detail! A few
clarifications:

1. When you said "Culturally, this isn't an Austin or Chicago but it's
an interesting city with a door to the Orient", did you mean to say
"Austin" or something else? I feel like, culturall, Seattle is far
richer than Austin, partly from hearsay partly from limited personal
experience (in Seattle).

2. When you said "The estimated 230 days of clouds ...", does this
mean completely overcast or partly overcast? I don't mind a cloudy day
if there are patches of blue sky occasionally. Before Austin, I lived
in Boston, where the winters tend to be pretty cloudy as well for the
most part, and I handled it well.

Thanks again.

---

Clarification of Answer by omnivorous-ga on 09 Aug 2004 07:06 PDT

Antiriad --

CULTURE: It's been 3 or 4 years since I was last in Austin.  It was
dynamic and growing when I was there, spreading through the hill
country.  Its music scene on 6th Street is unique, with perhaps only
Nashville having the kind of concentration that Austin has in the
bars, patios and streets of that district.

Seattle -- though known for Hendrix, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden -- has
a pretty diffuse music scene.  Some notable investments have been made
recently, including the gawdy Experience Music Project and new venues
like the Triple Door ( http://www.thetripledoor.net/default.aspx ) but
it's diffuse.

Nor is this a community with large and diverse ethnic groups like
Chicago or San Francisco.

WEATHER: It's a marine environment, so often even the crystal blue
days start with a little fog.  In the wintertime people will wait with
anticipation for a thick cloud layer to burn off.  At 3:30 or 4 p.m.
they'll flock to the windows of their offices to see that patch of
sunshine . . . then watch the sun set at 4:30 or 5 p.m. and have the
clouds re-envelope the city.  But, as I mentioned, there are
strategies for finding sunshine, some of which (go E on I-90 until you
see sunshine) are not very expensive.

ANOTHER RESOURCE: If you want an active outdoors life, this is the
place to be.  It's between two great mountain ranges; it has an
enormous marine resource in the greater Puget Sound and San Juan
islands; the Pacific Coast west of here is unique and rugged; and it's
a gateway to British Columbia and Alaska.

The best resources in our house are The Mountaineers' books, including:
"Bicycling the Backroads Around Puget Sound," Woods
"The San Juan Islands, Afoot & Afloat," Mueller
"Best Short Hikes" series, which covers different areas
"Olympic Mountains Trail Guide," Wood

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA