Seattle, named the Emerald City for the large, evergreen forests that surround it, is the Northwest’s crown jewel. Amongst its forests are bright blue channels of sea and spanning bridges.
Beyond its natural beauty, Seattle is a massive center for industry, home to one of the nation’s busiest ports and a number of technology stalwarts. It has also proven vital to American culture as the birthplace to grunge music, numerous jazz artists, and numerous coffee businesses.
Scroll down to learn about the pros and cons of Seattle…
Geography of Seattle
Seattle is located on the Puget Sound, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean and which splinters off into a number of narrows throughout the geographic area. On the other side of Seattle is Lake Washington. In the larger surrounding areas, numerous snow-peaked mountains can be seen, including Mount Rainier and Mount Olympus.
Seattle is part of a larger metropolitan area that includes the nearby cities of Tacoma and Bellevue. The metro is home to roughly 3.3 million people.
Why to Move to Seattle
- Industry – Seattle is home to a few major technological industries: airplanes (Boeing), communications (T-Mobile) and Internet (Amazon.com). Additionally, it spawned a number of coffee chains, with coffee kingpin Starbucks headquartered here, and it is a vital port for the logging and fishing industries.
- Education – Seattle is home to the University of Washington, Seattle University, University of Puget Sound, and a number of highly-regarded community colleges.
- Nature & Beauty – Seattle boasts fantastic hiking, boating and skiing opportunities. Additionally, even its man-made structures are aesthetically pleasing. Its bridges and ferries provide beautiful views for commuters.
- Culture – Seattle has a thriving music scene, which includes a number of music fests each year, including Decibel and nearby Sasquatch. Seattle also has a strong sports culture with the Mariners (baseball) and Seahawks (football) and the Washington Huskies’ college teams.
Why NOT to Move to Seattle
- Rain & Clouds – Seattle gets decimated by rain in the winter time. Though numbers show that the city itself gets less rain per year than other major cities, the larger area ranks as the rainiest and cloudiest place in the states, with almost 300 days of total or partial cloud cover per year.
- Traffic – Seattle has a strong public transit system, which includes ferries, and the city itself is very walkable. However, the inescapable reality is that the area relies heavily on bridges, making traffic a nightmare for those who can’t avoid driving.
- Earthquakes – Seattle is located on the ring of fire, making it prone to earthquakes.
- Isolation – Seattle isn’t far from Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, B.C., but it’s thousands of mile from most other U.S. cities.
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