Seattle, WA Reviews

My move from Seattle to SoCal. - 7/6/2021
I lived in western Washington for the first 45 years of my life. Moving to Las Vegas May 2000 looking for gainful employment. Of which I found some for 6 Months, then the bottom fell outta that. I had to move again after 4 more months looking for work, which I had done for six Months searching before I got the 6 mo position. I was out of money, couldn't afford rent on the little UI I was getting from Nevada all alone, was fighting again with the ex. Life was going to hell in a handbaskit on an expeditious route, I had friends in SoCal, they told me to come on over. So, I packed up all my stuff and rode my Harley to Upland and then to Read More

Seeking a Happy Life? Stay Away - 7/1/2021
Seattle is home to what's known as the "Seattle Freeze" - it's difficult to meet people and make new friends because the majority of people are introverted, closed off, and rude. Not to mention we have the highest rate for depsression and suicide in the country. Terrible place for dating if you're between 18-30, besides it being hard to meet people, everyone's already been traumatized and has walls up so good luck. Cost of living is extremely high and it's difficult to get by if you don't have a high paying job in tech. Homeless problem is astronomical and it seems like nobody really wants to help them or do anything about it. Leaving politics out of this, you'll hate it here no matter which way you Read More

The Emerald City's downward slide - 5/28/2021
I moved to Seattle in 1986 from Chicago, and have lived in Seattle or its suburbs for 35 years. The Pacific Northwest is the most beautiful area in the country, and Seattle has had a booming economy with lots of high paying and family wage jobs. Some of the most brilliant people in the world live here. My family has prospered here, and I would be remiss if I failed to recognize the benefits we have received and the high quality of life we have lived. However, Seattle itself is in the midst of a horrific downward cycle which won't change until the voters of Seattle decide to elect politicians who care about safety, beauty, thriving businesses, and quality of life. Seattle had a homeless problem in 1986, but it has been allowed, actually encouraged, to flourish and spread throughout neighborhoods with incredibly poor and wasteful stewardship by city leaders. Several cities have found ways to assist the homeless population, providing them with services and means to better their lives, Read More

Yuck! - 5/5/2021
I've spent significant time in Washington over several decades. It was bad in the 70s aerospace bust, but that didn't spur the kind of decay that has ingrained itself in the city. What was a beautiful, vibrant downtown is now filthy. That's a polite description. The famous Pike's Place Market is just a tourist sham and not worth the time. Space Needle - same. Chihuly Garden is still worth a visit. Only do it during the day, and a nice one at that. The surroundings are full of nasty bums. What used to be a friendly place is much more sullen. It's like wasting your time in New York, not a city of the West. Don't bother visiting or working in this Read More

I loved it but I'm leaving - 3/1/2021
I moved to Seattle in 1990. It was just changing from a mid-sized town to a more cosmopolitan city.

Pros: Fast paced. Good for young professionals who want to have a high paying career. Close to Canada. Getting to Hawaii or California is easy. Natural beauty, with snow capped mountains overlooking wide blue water. It is green, with plant life everywhere. Orcas and Sea Lions. Great food. Great coffee. Rich artistic community. Liberal. Diverse. Accepting. Well-educated populace. Adequate (but overrated) healthcare. Many options to do what you like to do, many groups to join.

Cons: Traffic - if you want to take a hike just outside the city, you will be in traffic for about 3 hours total. Incredibly expensive housing and entertainment. No warm nights, you will always need a jacket. Even days rarely get hot. The waters are gorgeous, but too cold to swim in (exception is Lake Washington, which is tolerable but still chilly). People can be superficially friendly, Read More

BestPlaces got this recommendation totally WRONG! - 2/24/2021
You have not been to Seattle in the past few years if you are recommending it as top place in the country to retire (unless everywhere else just sucks) A city council that wants to defund the police says it all, crime, filth, homeless drug addicts everywhere and cost of living through the roof. This is not the Seattle I did love for 30 Read More

Seattle is no longer a beautiful city - 2/24/2021
I’ve lived in Seattle most of my life. It is no longer the city it was in the 1980s and 1990s. It started to go downhill around 2010, but in the fast few years has become a horrible place to live. It is no longer safe to visit our downtown core or tourist areas.

In the 1990s, when a flood of people moved to Seattle, I heard them call it ‘Mayberry with Skyscrapers’. It was referring to the fact that Seattle was a friendly place where people talked openly to one another.

Now in 2021 it is a place of crime. The liberals have ruined a beautiful city. The homeless need help, but most of them don’t want help. The ones who truly want off the streets find ways to get off the streets. For many of them, it is a lifestyle. Giving the homeless free reign with camping anywhere and everywhere, looting and stealing, and drugs is not a solution. It has though created unsafe streets, parks, freeways, and a downtown.

Allowing riots for months, freeway Read More

Disappointed in Seattle - 2/21/2021
My family moved to Seattle in 1978; my parents were both from this area. I have spent a total of 43 years living in Seattle. It used to be a wonderful city to reside in! I would have given Seattle 4 stars in the 1990s. At this point I would give it zero or 1/2 star if it was an option.
My husband and I moved back to Seattle in 2011 with our children. We purchased a home, and we have been shocked by the decline that has taken place over the last 10 years. The liberal city council is determined to ruin Seattle, and they are succeeding in their goal.
Seattle, fondly called Mayberry with Skyscrapers in the 1990s, is now a city with big city problems that are completely out of control. Crime has skyrocketed, the homeless tents are allowed to be in the parks and even on downtown Seattle sidewalks, safety is gone, looting is normal, and our house is going up for sale this spring.
I would not recommend Seattle as a decent place to live. I do Read More

Seattle has fallen - 2/6/2021
The publisher’s review of Seattle is completely incorrect as this place has turned into a hell hole. The comments and data he listed are in past tense, as a born and bred core of Seattle kid that was very intergrated into the city both socially and business I can tell you that this is a city on a downward trajectory and there is no stopping it until it does a complete crash. Thus many of us sadly (as we truly love this place) are leaving for locations that remind of what was Seattle which does not represent it today. I can tell that I love Seattle and that does not come close to my deep feelings for growing up here and my connection to the town’s growth, I am proud of that. However the change is due to the migration of people from CA, IL and NY that came here then changed it to suit their same lifestyle/politics they left. Emmett Watson had the right idea years back “Lesser Seattle”, people laughed at him for it, however what he said came true. Having a political party in place for 40 Read More

A place for the wealthy - 1/25/2021
I was born in Seattle, WA in 1963, our family moved to three more states in my youth. My parents moved back to Seattle in the late '80s, my brother moved to Montana, and my sister and I moved back to Seattle in 1991. It was pretty crowded in 1991 but was still a beautiful place to live, Seattle was the hip place, Bellevue was dull on a weekend. In roughly the last 5 years it has progressively become a place I would not recommend to come and visit. The last 2 years have been the worst I have ever witnessed, and to top it off the cost of living has skyrocketed.

The police want to help but have their hands tied, due to the City Council that is still for some odd reason still calling the shots. I will not go near downtown anymore, it is dangerous not to mention depressing as hell.

All along the city freeways, in the city, the outskirts, you will see RVs & tents, people walking around out of their minds on drugs, the will attack and have killed at random as Read More