Be cautious before moving here
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3/8/2018
Like most of the W coast, this is a big-time liberal mecca. If you are a conservative, you need to heed this advice and re-think your decision to move here. We have lived in several different areas of the country. We had no idea how unpleasant it would be living here because of the politics. You don’t dare put any kind of conservative sticker on your car. We tried that when we first moved here—the sticker was ripped off our car, torn into little pieces, and thrown on top of our trunk. So much for free speech. You’d better not even open your mouth about your conservative views here. We were harassed and continue to be in our workplaces as others learn we are not liberals. We do not even engage with others in talking about the subject, but somehow they find out.
After four years, we have had enough. We plan to go back to the Midwest soon.
You’d better already have a job when you move here. Trying to get one once you move is difficult unless you already know someone in a company. Techie people make decent salaries here. A lot of other people do not. Salaries and the cost of living are very disproportionate.
While the scenery is lush and green, it’s just not enough for us. The cost of living goes up weekly, and it is now right on track with living in expensive cities in CA. Traffic everywhere in the metro area is pretty much a nightmare all the time. The area did not plan properly years ago, and there is no light rail or other transportation besides cars and buses (except a very short train route N/S by Seattle).
Seriously, you need to visit for a week or two in winter before you move here—really, before you move. Winters are long, very dark and dreary. There is rain, but the thing that bothers most people is the lack of sunshine for weeks at a time. The cloud cover is like nothing you have seen. It is like dusk a lot of the days—during daytime. At least in other areas when you have snow, you get sunshine on the other winter days.
You need to listen to these reviews if you really want to live here.
Anony | Seattle, WA