Hi,

My wife and I may be relocating to either Seattle or San Diego from Chicago and have started doing research on both cities. We're looking for:

-Mild/warm weather
-Decent job market (Legal/IT fields)
-Affordable rent/housing close to the city
-Continuing education at good State University (Not a must, but good to have)

We're traveling to both cities in June to check them out, but would like to hear from those who have lived in either city for their thoughts. My understanding is that San Diego has a better job market, but Seattle has more affordable housing. Is that right? By the way, we're a childless couple in our early 30's.

I appreciate your help.
Thank you.

We have been looking at a beautiful upscale adult community in Henderson, NV for retirement. Can't tell you how many people we've met who relocated from San Diego due to the high cost of living there.

i'm not sure what the cost of living is in seattle but it is very high in san diego and i don't think the job market is that great right now. that being said, i lived there for 10 years and if you enjoy outdoor activities, it is wonderful. i couldn't stand all the dreary days in seattle but if you can handle the rain, i hear it's great too. i'm not sure the address but there is a website that you can put your income in and it will compare how far it will go in different cities.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp
http://houseandhome.msn.com/pickapla...arecities.aspx
http://www.bestplaces.net/html/col1.asp

HTH
S

Warm weather? In Seattle? You must be joking.

The weather IS mild here - though only in the sense that it doesn't get that cold in the winter (compared to the east coast or midwest) and doesn't get that warm in the summer (compared to anywhere in "the lower 48"). It is in no sense of the word a "warm" place to live.

Job market here (at the moment) stinks. The "tech wreck" and 9-11 hit Seattle hard.

Housing is no doubt more affordable than San Diego - but that's not saying much. House prices here are terrible.

Good continuing education here though.

Ken

Ditto what Ken said. Another drawback on the Seattle area is the traffic...it is worse than SD...at least there it moves. But as a positive there are so many wonderful outdoor things to do here, regardless of the time of year.

Since you are coming in June to see our area, don't be surprised if its rainy when you come. The rain lets up after the 4th of July usually.

One thing to bear in mind is that salaries in a given geographic area will be scaled to the cost of living in the area. I know that, when I was offered a job in NYC, the starting salary was quite a bit higher than what I was earning at the time here in southern CA-- reflecting the astronomical cost of living in that region (in my travels, ONLY housing and gas are markedly more expensive in CA than in other states), not my attractiveness as a potential employee (believe me, I know).

Besides, if you like where you live, you will adjust your expenses and find a way to live there. I know I could own a mansion in West Virginia for the price of my dinky condo here-- but this is where I choose to live, and I've learned to live in a small space as a tradeoff to having all the good things CA offers.

I happen to love San Diego, but I've never heard anything but wonderful words about Seattle (a city I've never visited, but want to). Wherever you connect better, choose there, and you'll manage to find a way to live comfortably.

The cost of housing is more or less the same, depending on your tastes and the 3 rules of real estate (which you probably know.)

The weather is very different, obviously. Both mild compared to Chicago; of the two Seattle wetter (but still less annual rainfall than Chicago) and SD warmer (but nothing like the midwest.)

Taxes are much higher in SD - no state income tax in Washington, sales tax rates more or less the same. Property taxes a little less in Calif., gas $.20 a gallon more expensive in SD.

The job market for IT is lousy up and down the west coast, probably no edge to either place. There's been a big shakeout in the legal biz in Seattle over the last few years, coinciding with the dot bomb and the de-Boeingization of Puget Sound. Can't speak for SD.

Good education facilities in both places.

For foreign excursions Seattle has Vancouver. San Diego has Tijuana.

The weather in Seattle isn't that bad. All of you who don't like it should MOVE! I'm sick of always seeing people bad mouth this wonderful place to live. Yes it rains, but that's what makes Washington the Evergreen State. The nice thing about Seattle is that we don't have bone chilling winters or swelltering humid summers. And Ken, we do have warm weather.
I'm not shure about the job market, as I don't have to work. We do have Microsoft.
If you go to rent.net they have a salary calculator. You input how much you make and your location and it will tell you how much you'll make in the city you're planning on going. If you're not set on living in Seattle, there are affordable places to live just outside the city.
In Seattle you have several colleges and univeristies such as Univ of Wa, Seattle Univ.
There is alot to do in Washington. You're only an hour from the mountian and two to three hours from the beach. In the winter there is skiing and in the summer you can go mountian biking. We're also the home of REI.
I've visited other places, but I love Washington and wouldn't move. After coming out here to look at the naval shipyard our friend from Maine moved out here because of all this wonderful state had to offer.

I agree ladyjess. The weather here is not as bad as it is often exaggerated. Chicago and New York both average more yearly rainfall than Seattle, in addition to their harsher winters and summers, yet those cities don't get a bad weather rap. If someone moves here, they shouldn't expect warm, dry weather 365 days per year, but neither are we all running around like rain soaked rats either. And during the winter, I'll take rain over snow any day.

Also, I think it gets plenty warm here during the summer months. I think that temps above 80 degrees nearly everday for nearly three months qualify as a hot summer. Maybe it's the area that I live in(Eastside). I've noticed it's often 10-15 degrees hotter over here than it is in Seattle during the summer. Sea-Tac may not get many official 90 degree days, but we get a lot of high 80s/low-mid 90s days over here from July-September. Come the end of July, I'm wishing for a fast forward button to mid-September. I can't imagine living anywhere where it's hot all the time, but to each their own.

I don't own a car, and believe me, if Seattle weather was all that bad, I would not have lasted here as a pedestrian for the past 17 years.

I have never lived in Seattle but it looks very pretty. My thoughts are if it rains so much how can people enjoy outside activities? I was raised in San Diego, and it has always been a tough job market. I think it would be dependant on your fields and how available the market is for your specific work. I would need to know that before making a major change to San Diego. Especially with unemployment up 6% and as I recall Seattle had the highest unemployment of all cities.

There's a reason there's a roof over Safeco Field and not over PETCO Park: rain. If Seattle is like Portland, it generally comes in small doses over prolonged periods of time......like October through April, when the gray cloud cover seems almost a permanent fixture.

Just to clarify...I was not complaining about the rain...just stating that it is wet here. Born and raised in the PNW so know it well...lived all over the country though (military) and finally got back to Seattle a few years ago. Although many places get more rain than we do...we have more "gray" days or days with even just light rain than most.

Well, Seahawk stadium is open air. Then again, it's not like the Seahawks play the whole season, so... *shrug*.

mms:

You're right about the light rain. Most of the stuff that we get is that annoying misty stuff. Kind of like being hit by the wind blowing sprinkler water from 10 feet away. I'm hardly ever compelled to use my umbrella. As for clouds, I don't mind them. In the winter, they make the mornings less cold and if it's a cloudy summer day, then it alleviates some of the heat. I appreciate a pretty sky, but walking to the bus stop on a clear winter's morning gives me the shivers just to think about.

Seriously, though. Weather is one of those things that's like city vs. country living. It all boils down to personal preference. I'm not bothered by rain or clouds, so I don't see the big deal. The only things that do bother me weatherwise are extreme heat and snow, hence, I'll never live in the midwest. For some people though, HOT weather in the summer and snow in the winter are ideal. As long as someone doesn't come here expecting Hawaii, they should be fine.

I also keep perspective. The company that I work for owns a TV station in Anchorage and when some of the employees come down here during the winter months, they're in shirtsleeves and shorts because they say that our 40 degree December weather is warm. We could have it worse.

Does anyplace exist where the low temps are in the 50s year round and the highs don't go above 70? That would be the perfect place for me. I don't like being too hot nor too cold.

I'm sorry folks, but there is NO way that Seattle can be called warm. Compare Seattle to almost ANY city in the country.... here's the link to weather.com -

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/98168

Go ahead, click on "Averages and Records". The warmest the Seattle "Average" high ever gets is 77 degrees in late July/early August. Of course it gets warmer than that, but on average, it's not that warm around here. Sometimes we get a warm summer and a fair amount of 80+ degree days, other years we get very few. July and August have an almost equal chance for a high in the 60's as in the 80's. Don't believe me? Check the historical record on Wunderground.com.

Yes, it can get warm here in the summer... but it can also be very chilly. That's why our averages are not that high. Seattle has a "Marine" climate. By definition, that climate is generally cloudy and cool. Remember, 77 degrees is the warmest our average ever gets. That's not my opinion, that's a statistical fact. So for every 80+ degree day, you're looking at another with a high of no more than 74. Even Bismarck North Dakota and Portland Maine have summer averages warmer than that. Don't believe me, take a look -

http://www.weather.com/weather/clima...nthly/USND0037

http://www.weather.com/weather/clima...nthly/USME0328

The fact is - there are very few major cities in the lower 48 states that have cooler summers than Seattle. The fact that some folks like it cooler is merely a personal preference.... not an objective fact. If we get three 80 degree days in a row, folks around here are sweltering. I got news for you people, elsewhere in the country, that's not that hot. People around here are not acclimated to the heat because we just don't get that much of it.

And yes, I know it is warmer on the east side. I lived in Bellevue for 10 years before moving to the Sea-Tac area, and the summer highs there are 5-10 degree warmer than Sea-Tac. But that is the very warmest part of the Seattle area. Most places around the city don't get as warm.

Now, having ranted and raved, let me add that summers here are generally very pleasant. Though we can be humid here, it rarely happens with high temperatures so you do not have to deal with the humid, sweltering days that much of the country has. Most of our humidity comes with cooler temps. It may sometimes be hot, and it may sometimes be humid - but it rarely happens at the same time.

Also, it really doesn't rain as much here as people think. Our rainfall amounts are comparable to places like Chicago and New York. We do however, get a lot more cloudy days and often our rain is in the form of drizzle instead of heavy downpours, so that rain is spread out over a lot more days (usually over the course of 9 months). July-Sept are usually nearly rain free.

...and when you DO have a sunny day here, there are few places (no major cities in the US) that are more beautiful.

Ken

try San Diego, Kostroma...

LordBalfor:

Hi.

I'm not arguing that Seattle gets as hot as the rest of the country during the summer. I spent half my childhood in Charleston, SC and I remember those 100+ degree days well. We moved here during the summer and it was 75 degrees here when we arrived. I remember being freezing cold that day, so I understand perfectly that if someone is from a warmer climate, then they will scoff when I say that I consider Seattle to be a hot place in the summer. However, now that it's been almost 20 years and I'm acclimated, I consider anything above 65 pleasantly warm and 75 degrees+ downright hot and that's why when someone says that it doesn't get hot here, I don't feel that's true. That totally depends on heat tolerance, of which I don't have much. I'm extremely uncomfortable when it goes over the mid-70s. To me, that *is* hot.

Believe me, when it's hot here and I complain, I am still grateful that I'm not down south or in the midwest. I couldn't handle it. Perhaps I can convince my boss to send me to our Anchorage location during the summer.

Thank all of you for replying and sharing your thoughts. I've come to realize that there will be no perfect city that meets all of our criteria. As with everything else in life, there will be trade-offs... Yes, I heard it's beautiful in Seattle, but you get many gray days. San Diego probably has the best weather in the country, but you pay for it with housing, etc...

We almost ruled out Seattle thinking that it might not be warm enough, but it sounds like we might be OK if we live in the east side?

Anyway, I've changed my mind between Seattle and San Diego about a hundred times now. Hopefully our June trips will tip the scale one way or the other. If you have any additional information, I would love to hear.
Thanks again!

Hi chrisj.

I'm sorry for hijacking your thread and turning it into the Weather Channel.
None of our opinions really matter though, because ultimately, the only people who can decide about the weather aspect of your question are you and your wife. The below is just my personal experience.

If you want to live somewhere that's warm year round, then this area is not for you. We get four distinct seasons with the requisite temperature variations.

We do get a lot of cloudy days, but I think that there are more clear days than the averages say. Also, clouds do not always equate to rain. I think there's a big difference between a cloudy sky that's blue with clouds of the fluffy white variety and a gray day. However, if you need to see a clear blue sky every single day to be happy, then living here is not a good idea.

Spring tends to be the wettest time of the year. Temps tend to hover around the high 40s in March and usually reaches the high 50s/low 60s by the end of April.

Seattle is very stubborn about changing seasons. When you get here in June, you'll be witnessing the annual struggle between spring and summer, so be prepared for anything from low 60s and showers to high 60s/low 70s and sunshine.

The rainfall here is spread out over the course of the year, but summer is very dry(IMO). I live in a semi-rural area. There's a produce farm across the street from my apartment that's lush green now, but by August, it always looks like a wheat field.

Fall is pleasant. Comfortable days in the 50s to 60s, but very cool nights.

Winter doesn't get as cold when compared to other places of comparable latitude. The temps are usually in the 30s or 40s and it rarely snows.

Weather is not predictable in Seattle at all. As LordBalfor and I have pointed out, the weather here can vary greatly even from city to city. I don't know if you saw Conan O'Brien's wedding photos. He got married in Seattle last summer and it was pouring by the church. That day, it was 75 without a drop of rain by my place(I live 20 miles away from DT Seattle). You have to expect the unexpected.

I love the Eastside, but it's a pricey area as far as housing. I don't think that it's San Diego pricey, but the housing prices can cause sticker shock. However, I live quite comfortably on $40,000 per year as a single woman, so it greatly depends on lifestyle. Your not having children helps in that regard.

I haven't been on the job market in several years. I'm fortunate in that the position that I have is pretty much a retire or die type deal. However, we do have the highest unemployment rate in the country. On top of that, IT is struggling everywhere. Microsoft is still hiring, but I hear that it's very ccompetitive. I'm not sure at all about opportunities in the legal field.

Colleges abound in this area, so you'd have no trouble finding good continuing education courses.

I hope that I've been of some help.

Kostromo -

Check for webbing between your toes. Sounds like you've become a native



Ken