Seattle has definitely changed. The crime rate now is half of what it was in the 70s and 80s. That's a *good* thing.
Ian | Seattle, WA | Report Abuse

I couldn't agree more with Paxton. I too grew up in Seattle, and the Mayberry comment may be a stretch, but it was a a wonderful city in which to come of age. Today it is simply a carbon copy of PDX, SFO and LAX; all "left coast sh*t hole cities." All I might add are lead by anti-law leftist democrats. Bartell (local drugstore chain much like CVS, and Walgreen) and Macy's are leaving downtown Seattle. Management has stated that they experience too much theft, and disgruntled (good) customers who must step over pools of urine and fece deposits just to enter their stores. Property crime is out of hand and the police have been told by the city leaders to look the other way. There is no law and order. Cost of living is out of sight, but so are earning. A home you can be proud of in a good neighborhood; figure $800K to well over a million dollars. Child care; (my business) infants $2700 per month, four year old pre-k's $2000 per month. Before you give any consideration to moving here, my I suggest you go to YouTube and watch "Seattle is Dying."
Roger | Kirkland, WA | Report Abuse

First off, its a bit disappointing (although not surprising) that the majority of this conversation is focusing on the usual partisan/ideological tribalism based horse crap that is so pervasive as well as damaging to THIS, ANY and ALL narratives. Enough already. From BOTH sides. FFS. If you are looking for a sleepy small town south of the Mason Dixon with a bumbling sheriff's deputy and nothing but God Fearing Caucasians, you should not be looking at any big city for relocation. Period. Second....Seattle is a rapidly growing city that is not going to have it all figured out. Housing is expensive. Why? There isn't enough of it. Simple market supply and demand. Traffic is a huge issue as the roads were designed for 1960's/1970's Seattle while still having many topographic challenges. There is also a very highly educated workforce who are relatively young and perhaps not always concerned with much past their own interests. The "Brogrammers", as they are and most of them are transients/transplants. They do not have as much of a vested interest in the city as much as the opportunity the city offers. Their high salaries create a fairly substantial skewing of the market and fosters inequity. It upon you to look past that. There is still plenty of offerings here for those that like to get outdoors. The summers here are second to NONE. On planet EARTH. There is plenty of night life. There is plenty of basically whatever piques any particular interest. The pizza is not going to be a good as NYC and the BBQ is not worthy of Dallas but that is almost a non starter. There are some headwinds to be sure, but any major city is going to have its issues. Even in the bastion of Conservatism that is Texas. Even there, in the big metros such as Dallas FW, Houston, and especially Austin....not everyone is going to have the same points of view. Part of the challenge of living in a big city is you are going to encounter diversity and not everyone is going to agree, be friends or have it 100% their way every day. Thats just life. Still, there has to be a mutual bit of respect and perhaps some thicker skins as well. If you are not up to such a challenge and you can earn a good living in the small towns in the Heartland or even rural areas outside the "Blue" urban areas than by all means have at it. It would be a shame to resort to passing on opportunity in order to live such an insular existence. Seattle is a great city, and as it matures it will get even better. Not without some growing pains, however. Probably most of you need to check out Texas, and see if the grass is really greener or not.
Todd | Bremerton, WA | Report Abuse