Judging a city only on politics is getting stale
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12/21/2019
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, plus "Seattle" isn't just the downtown. The metro area is very dynamic. 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. Otherwise you can find whatever you enjoy in abundance.
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. and not everything is going to be perfect. 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. That's just life. Still, there has to be a mutual bit of respect and perhaps some thicker skins as well. The more Conservative minded people choosing to flee rather than contribute does nothing constructive. 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 also means valuable perspectives towards problem solving are lost. 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. Find whatever greener pastures you want but there is always going to be compromise.
Todd | Bremerton, WA