10 Reasons People Move to Seattle (in no particular order)

By Boris on February 22, 2008

We do a lot of recruiting in the Seattle marketplace along with the Bay Area and Los Angeles. And although we have great reach into each of those individual communities, we are making it a big priority this year to focus on the synergies that may exist between these three markets. We’ve noticed that ever since we’ve been asking about our candidate’s mobility and willingness to relocate to these cities, we were pleasantly suprised by the large number of those who are interested in moving to and from these three major tech hubs. I became motivated to build this list of top 10 reasons to move to Seattle after Glenn Kelman of Redfin and Michael Arrington of Techcrunch sounded off about the pluses and minuses of Seattle compared to the Silicon Valley. Although my heart is in neither the Bay Area or Seattle (I love LA), I thought that Michael’s point of view was a bit arrogant and narrow-minded. Apparently in his opinion, entrepreneurs shouldn’t bother even existing if they plan to live outside of the Silicon Valley. No doubt Silicon Valley is the biggest star in the technology universe, but by no means is it the only one. If anybody wants to debate these reasons or has some additional reasons that people considering Seattle should know about, I’d love it if you posted a comment and continued the thread.

1. No State Income Tax – According to the IRS, Washington State, along with 8 other states, has no state income tax.

2. Nature – Seattle is located in the Puget Sound and is in close proximity to a lot of outdoor activities. Close to Mt. Ranier and the Cascade Mountain Range, you can be sitting on the beach at Golden Gardens Park and look over and see snow capped mountains (Mt. Ranier pictured to right). For more information on all the activities found in Seattle visit The Seattle Weekenders Guide.

3. Job – Industry is booming, startup companies are sprouting everywhere.

4. City Life – Seattle is a small city but has all the making and activities associated with a major city. The Greater Seattle InfoGuide sums that up pretty well:

To some, the city may seem filled with contradictions, but the Greater Seattle area welcomes and encourages these diverse lifestyles. This is a place that balances big business and a healthy environment, sports and the arts, family and single-living, individualism and a deep sense of community pride. With quality schooling, affordable health care and a low incidence of crime, Seattle offers a life that balances favorable working and living conditions.

5. People – People in Seattle are nice and polite, like living in a small town. The was a post on Yelp that talked about all the great things about Seattle. The openness and friendliness of Seattleites was brought up quite a few times.

Seattle is a laid back town of practical folks that enjoy a good cup of coffee and a warm slice of freshly baked bread. But what I really love about Seattle is, that even if you don’t enjoy these things you’ll still be embraced by the people of Seattle with the same amount of hospitality and love as if you did. And how could you not love a town filled with those kinds of people?

6. Public Transportation – Seattle has a great public transportation system, so if you live and work in the city, you can almost get away without having a car (I said almost ). The City offers many options to get you moving from where you are to where you want to go. Whether you take the new Seattle StreetCar system, The Metro Transit system, The Rail Transit, or the Washington State Ferries you will be sure to get around town with no hassle.

7. Big Name Software companies – Microsoft, Google, Amazon all have a large presence in the area causing a boom in the software job market. If you want to get a good look at all the software companies in Seattle take a look at this map put together on Google Maps.

8. Good Schools – Named one of the Smartest City’s in the nation by MSNBC. The University of Washington is just one of the top schools the Seattle area has to offer.

9. Weather – The weather doesn’t get too hot or too cold. Contrary to popular belief Seattle is not the city with the most rain according to a article on MSNBC. They are not even in the top 10. According to Wikipedia they only get 37.1 inches per year.

10. Coffee – What else is Seattle known for—their Coffee of course. There is some sort of coffe shop on every corner. If you feel like Starbucks, Tully’s, Peets, or Seattle’s Best you will be sure to have no trouble finding one. You will even find small Mom and Pop coffeehouses all over. According to an article on Market Watch there are 2.5 coffee shops for every 10,000 people in Seattle.

Share and Enjoy:

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Posted in Most Popular, Top Lists

Boris

21 responses to “10 Reasons People Move to Seattle (in no particular order)”

Debra Sinick
February 23, 2008 at 11:01 am | Permalink

11. Great theater
12. Great dining.
13. Great hiking, biking, boating, skiing.
14. Unique neighborhoods.

Public transportation may be great in the heart of the city, but not county-wide. It’s a huge bone of contention with a lot of people.
Nocturne
February 25, 2008 at 11:28 am | Permalink

As someone whose a Chicago transplant and has been here over 2 years, I agree with most of these items. I think Debra’s additions could be included in #4 with a revised title of City Life

Regarding #9
I think some clarity needs to be made about the weather. Yes, we’re not getting the most rain, but we don’t get a lot of vitamin-D either (my doctor recently put me on supplements to get them back up to normal levels). July is the only month where we average 10 hours of sunlight… http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT001470
New York, Chicago and San Francisco have much more sunshine than Seattle, and it DOES psychologically impact people.

And on that note, I disagree with #5 in that it isn’t like a small town. Small town people invite guests in to homes, to events or even to just hang out. We have what is called the Seattle Freeze (Google it), where yes people are polite and nice on the surface, but that’s where it ends. It’s really hard building meaningful relationships here – especially if you don’t drink, aren’t a sports fan or have/want kids.

Don’t get me wrong, Chicago’s tundra weather, New Yorkers’ negative ‘tude and San Francisco’s cost of living make it clear that no city is perfect – Seattle offers a different mix, which my wife and I are enjoying – for now.
The Top 10 Reasons to Live in Seattle or on The Eastside « Eastside Real Estate Buzz
February 25, 2008 at 12:04 pm | Permalink

[...] to live in the Seattle or on the Eastside? What are your fave 10? I read a post this morning about the Ten Reasons People Move to Seattle from the BINC blog. Pretty interesting list. I think most of the reasons listed in the post fit [...]
Boris
February 26, 2008 at 6:18 pm | Permalink

Thanks for all of your comments and perspectives on Seattle life. This is very helpful information for anybody considering a move to the city.

I was just speaking with one of my candidates and he mentioned moving to Seattle for the more reasonable home prices. He did caveot that statement by saying that home prices have grown over the recent years and are not as great of a draw as they used to be. But I believe they are still more reasonable than in the Bay Area.

I also received some pushback regarding the strength of Seattle’s public transportation system. It turns out that public transportation is managable if your life revolves around the city but becomes much less of a convenience if one needs to venture outside of city limits.

Boris Epstein
Depressed in Seattle
February 27, 2008 at 9:20 am | Permalink

“Seattle is not the city with the most rain according to a article on MSNBC. They are not even in the top 10. According to Wikipedia they only get 37.1 inches per year.”

Maybe. But it is cloudy, overcast, and GRAY most of the time.
missing seattle
February 28, 2008 at 9:48 pm | Permalink

Oh man, going to school out of town and this made me miss my city!

What about all the awesome cultural things to do (large asian and multicultural disctricts)!
Or the plethora of entertainment sources (theater, sports, movies, symphony…)
kcwebgirl
March 18, 2008 at 7:48 pm | Permalink

I am so glad to see the responses here. I’m planning a relocation to Seattle and wanted to get a well-rounded feel of the city. I spent 2 weeks there a few years ago and fell in love. But I’m a single black woman who wants to get married and start a family soon, so I need to know that I can meet someone and fall in love. haha. But also that I will be able to start a network of friends, colleagues and what not. This post really helped!
Anthony Woody
February 24, 2009 at 1:10 am | Permalink

Ten Reasons people leave Seattle …
1) elitist attitudes
2) extraordinarily high cost of living
3) lack of nightlife
4) Femi-nazis run the city
5) Crappy weather (I love hearing Seattleites try to plan down the rain)
6) Too many hippies (Seattle is trying to re-live 1960’s San Francisco)
7) High level of depression/suicide & mental illness
It’s not as open as residents of Seattle would make it out to be
9) Politicians with no back-bone
10) Californians have taken over
murfster
May 17, 2009 at 3:19 pm | Permalink

I agree, people in Seattle are pretty fricking unfriendly. I used to live in Vancouver BC, and it’s been a somewhat lonely experience since I left 6 years ago
Aly C.
June 2, 2009 at 8:26 pm | Permalink

This article hits on many true points, but don’t be fooled by Seattle prop…
Yes, there is no state income tax. On the surface this seems wonderful, but many people move to Seattle for its ‘liberal’ polcies and viewpoints. One could definately argue it odd that such a liberal city dismisses taxes. Take it as a signifier that most of Seattle’s liberalism is, for the most part, talk.
Diverse lifestyles? Quite simply, not a chance. Seattle is heavily one, big monoculture. Further, if you don’t fit in to this monoculture Seattleites have very little use for you.
Friendly people. Unfortunately, this too, is skin deep. Seattleites are actually heavily criticized for being elitist, exclusive and passive aggressive. Try typing ‘Seattle Freeze’ into your web browser.
Public transportation system. Yes, it is true, Seattle has one. Unfortunately it only consists of buses that run infrequently, on limited lines, with very few passengers. Most citizens and commuters still are forced to opt for personal cars.
Education. One type of statistic carries Seattle’s reign on the country’s smartest city: the number of citizens of with a degree. It is important to consider that an educated status does not automatically equal wisdom and intelligence or vise versa. It is even more important to consider a populations’ level of need and accessibilty to a an education before labeling them as unintelligent because they do not have one. For example Seattle’s largely caucasion, upper-middle class culture and type of job market varies drastically with the culture, level of diversity and population of a city like New York, which, by the way, doesn’t even lag that far behind Seattle.
Not trying to completely bash Seattle here. Just trying to be honest.
Miketr
June 3, 2009 at 6:10 pm | Permalink

Just left Seattle Monday and would definitely like to make it “home”. I currently reside in Orlando and would be more than happy to trade 6 months of 91 degrees w/ 100% humidity for any amount of rain! Other than Alki Beach what is a nice area to live in?? Any advice is appreciated…
isabella
June 16, 2009 at 10:25 am | Permalink

Unfriendly is an understatement. Uptightly laid back with an etiquette handicap would be my description. Seattle is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, the people are not, both inside and out. For such an overly educated bunch, most of them never learned to smile.
jchuck
June 19, 2009 at 3:23 pm | Permalink

I think it’s tougher for people who don’t experience as much sunlight to be as “bright and cheery.” I am from LA and I would say that most people don’t smile here either, but it is nice to be thankful for sunny days more often than not. Are the people really that clammy and snobby in Seattle? Does anyone know what the adjustment to lifestyle would be like for a LA born and raised grad student moving to Seattle?
Why not Seattle?
June 19, 2009 at 5:56 pm | Permalink

I read this blog and have mixed reviews about it. I can deal with the Seattle Freeze. I am from NY/NJ, I do not smile alot myself; so I understand. I currently live in Florida and I DO NOT LIKE IT. I need to live in a place that combines some city life without the NY city price,change in seasons and different cultures. If Seattle is this place I can see me living there. I am visiting Seattle in a few weeks, this blog sort of help.
twong
June 27, 2009 at 3:31 pm | Permalink

I used to live in Seattle and I’ll be moving back in 2010 when my job contract is completed. I love its natural beauty. I agree with just about everything in this article except that the people in Seattle are not as friendly as they would want outsiders to believe. I find them cold, patronizing and if one doesn’t think the way they do, there’s no way into a circle. Oh well, you can’t have it all.
Brandon
July 4, 2009 at 1:17 pm | Permalink

Seattle is the happiest place on earth. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I lived there (or at least in the area) up until 1993 when my parents dragged me into Indiana. I HATE INDIANA! I hope to move back soon because Seattle is the perfect town to start a software company. As for the people, they’ve always been great to me. I don’t see what gives it a bad rep, oh well, humans fear and criticize what they don’t understand…
Rachel
July 17, 2009 at 7:58 am | Permalink

I mean where on earth can you truly find a bunch of friendly folks. If there is, it probably be in a small town when they are not too opened with diversity.

You cannot expect people to smile all the time. Since they are intellects, they tend to be more serious and low in their social skills.
rebecca
July 20, 2009 at 12:22 pm | Permalink

Hey guys , I am moving to seattle next year .. I really hope that the ppl in seattle are not unfriendly like was mentioned in the “seattle freeze” I am a very friendly and outgoing person and I love making friends … Pls feel free to add me on BBM , here’s my pin : 25753CA1
Ali Mooree
August 2, 2009 at 12:05 pm | Permalink

After retiring from “Howard Hughes” Hughes Aircraft , Los Angeles (23yrs)…. Boeing Aerospace moved me here in 1996.

Seattle is the cleanest city of the many of which I have lived. People here tend to be “Territorial” meaning people in community Magnolia, Ballard, Queen Ann, etc. do not know anything {or} very little about Capital Hill, Leschi, Mt. Baker, Madison Park, etc.

The most challenging experience that I had was getting direction from the locals, given their territorial nature. The second was {and} still is that it is hard to make friends.

I live in Leschi/Water Front of Lake Washington and have had many, many people over to my house for “Sea Fair Parties” but, in 13 years, I have never been invited to anyone home for dinner or a Sea Faair Party.

Finally, too many of the local will solicit your phone number or email address with no follow-through.

Yet, it is a magnificient city where there does not seem to be a coherent sense of a “Black Community” and one is challenged to see a black couple down town in the shopping areas 6th/Pine street.

Finally, Jerry Large/Seattle Time’s staff writer, wrote several years past “if you are a black woman, moving to Seattle and wishing to find/date a black man? You better bring your own.
Sandra
September 18, 2009 at 9:36 am | Permalink

I don’t like Seattle at all. It should be a very nice city but it only looks good on the outside. Once you get inside the city it looks dirty and quite run down. And the people tend to be moody, cold, immature and in some ways deranged. Hasn’t anyone ever heard of the rate of suicide up here? It really feels like another world up here, isolated and not a happy place. It’s beautiful but the beauty wears off fast because of the people. And the ugliest most run down houses I have ever seen. Too bad because as I said, it should be a very nice city but it isn’t. It really needs to be cleaned up and cleaned out.
Seattlelite(:
November 11, 2009 at 9:35 pm | Permalink

Seattle is amazing. While it is gray and wet majority of the year, its beauty is something that usually only a born and raised local can truly appreciate. I have lived here my entire life and it is absolutely incredible. Since I have lived here my entire life, I have obviously not experienced anything like the “Seattle freeze,” but can understand the concept. Seattlelites are much different from any other city dwellers. Intelligence is respected above all other attributes. Indeed, I must say, that people here do not tend to smile. The seriousness portrayed in this city is definitely sometimes comical, but it is also relieving to know that there is some place that actually values efficiency rather than procrastination. Realistically, the only way to make legitimate friends is to find your niche. Like any major city, Seattle has a little bit of everything. Join a sports team, church, or countless activities to find people to connect with. In addition, what I have noticed is that once a newcomer finds one friend, they usually latch on to that one friends group. Everything takes time and effort. Someone said something about Seattle being rundown and uncleanly, I disagree with that completely. Seattle is one of the cleanest cities in the nation. Walking around the city it is hard for the cleanliness to go unnoticed. There are some places, like every city, that are less modern and need some work, but really I see no real problems. Maybe if you are in the suburbs or neighborhoods with low income families, such as White Center or Rainier Beach. Every city has some trouble spots. Beauty is found everywhere in Seattle. Whether it is the incredible art throughout the city, or the cleanliness of the streets, or, most noticeably, its natural beauty. The puget sound encompassed by a sea of perfectly green grass and trees. The beauty is truly captivating.