Hello, 

I'm a native Houstonian looking to move to either Seattle or Chicago
(or anywhere else for that matter) with my fiancee. I've lived for a
number of years in New York with my fiancee and we are ready for a
change. We like the city, but it's too expensive and is way too
crowded for me. We are seeking a city that's a little less hectic, but
still cosmopolitan. I keep dreaming of a city that's one-third Austin
and two-thirds New York.

We love walking, jogging, biking, and hiking. Most of all, we love to
hate our cars. The more walkable the city the better.  If there exists
a great urban city where there's tons of shopping and lots of museums,
but where we can still get a cheap taco and cerveza every once in a
while - we're there.

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 02 Jun 2005 16:28 PDT

Hello largetexas-ga,

Here's a list of the Top 10 Walking Cities of 2005. Seattle is on the
list but Chicago isn't. Is this sufficient information for you?
Thanks.

~ czh ~

http://walking.about.com/od/trails/tp/walkcity2005.htm
Top 10 Walking Cities of 2005

1) Arlington, Virginia
2) San Francisco, California
3) Seattle, Washington
4) Portland, Oregon
5) Boston, Massachusetts
6) Washington, DC
7) New York City, New York
8) Eugene, Oregon
9) Jersey City, New Jersey
10) Denver, Colorado

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 19 Jun 2005 03:23 PDT

Hi largetexas,

I am living in Seattle now. I was born and raised here, although I did
decide I needed some sun, and I lived in Las Vegas for 6 years. I
moved back 3 years ago, and I'll be here till I die.

I know nothing about Chicago, but what would you like to know about Seattle?

I could get you a great selection of links, describe the different
neighborhoods tell you all about the inner-city Burke-Gilman Trail,
the best 'walkabouts,' the weather, the tone and ambiance of the
city.... etc.

Seattle is a wonderful place to live. Hills, lakes, colorful homes and
gardens, no brick wall fences, NONE!! Wood and chain link, but no
planned communities surrounded by ugly cement walls. The coffee is
to-die-for, the views breathtaking, it's overcast too much, and we are
called "America's Wet Dream." There is so much green. So much life. So
many --and varied cultures, old and new, co-existing here. I know a
Korean woman, that was dating a Mexican man, it was hilarious to watch
them talk...

~~Cynthia

Seattle is a very rainy and somewhat "dark" city. Chicago has one of
the best public transportation systems invented. You can walk anywhere
and most people in the heart of Chicago only own a car to get to the
suburbs or a "getaway". It doesn't appear crowded because it is spread
out; unlike New York but is still very cosmopolitan. You can choose to
live on a residential street within the city which can be quieter or
live right on a row of stores and restaraunts. There are so many areas
in Chicago, similar to the districts in New York. I recommend a visit.
Here's a link to a very popular website which includes the various
sections of Chicago: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com

Good luck and feel free to ask questions!

My personal impression of Chicago is that it's a whole lotta New York
and very little Austin. Given a choice between Chicago and Seattle,
I'd pick Seattle in a heartbeat.

I lived in Seattle for the first 21 years of my life :-).  You need to
know that by moving northward on the earth you loose light.  It is
often rainy and it feels perpetually gray.  Summers are very nice, but
short.  Porland Oregon has a very good public transportation system
and its citizens seem to support mass transit in a more positive way
than other cities.  Portland often pops up on the top ten places to
live in the US.  This address gives you a lot of information about
Seattle http://www.city-data.com/city/Seattle-Washington.html

Go to their home page and you can look at any city you like.  Best of
luck on your decision.  Personally I would stay where it was sunny!

Since we're so far north of everything else in the country (New York
is a whole state South of us), it does get dark at 4.00pm in december,
but most people don't realize that Portland (and many many other
cities) gets more rain that Seattle yearly. This year is a notable
exception. We've had lots of spring and summer rain.

But most importantly to me, nowhere in the U.S. is nicer in the Spring
and Summer than Seattle. And the Fall is very nice too. For the same
reason that it gets dark so early in the winter, the city is light
until almost 11.00 pm in June.

Spend some time here and see what you think. I'm originally from
Dallas (22 years there, 12 here), and I think Seattle is 2 parts
Austin, 1 part San Francisco.

there are no jobs in Seattle.  if you don't have a job in Seattle,
then forget about going there.  it can be a rather long time between
jobs.