temperet climate, four distinct seasons, accessible “outdoors”, strong local economy, politically liberal.

Where is “here” for you? Eastern or Western? I’m a big fan of the Seattle area (and Western Washington in general), but Eastern Washington is boring as all else.

Good question. Where do you live in WA? Why do you hate it specifically? I flew to and from Los Angeles, CA yesterday and had a variation of this conversation with Josh about what each of us likes/dislikes about LA, California as a whole and Seattle.

For me, I dig Washington and north of here as I’m from Alaska and the terrain and seasons are meaningful to me. But I’ve got many a friend who has moved from Seattle to get out of this climate. If it’s climate related, I totally understand. If it’s people related - that’s a whole other can of worms. Bring it on - what’s your gripe! I love this topic.

Have you lived anywhere else?

Everything’s relative. In your mind, Washington State may suck, but compared to Nebraska or Mississippi or North Dakota, it may look comparatively good.

Ten years ago I almost moved there—turned down a job offer in Kent because of an illness in our family made us want to stay in the Midwest. Still might like to try it someday.

Where do you live and what do you hate?

I live in Seattle, and there are a few things I love about being here:

• ready access to a great library system
• many movie theaters ranging from the hole in the wall art movie houses to downtown multiplexes
• lots of lovely trees and mountains around me.
• a veritable army of geeks, with whom I can discuss everything from favorite Red Dwarf episodes to the virtues of some obscure programming language¹

The mild weather is pretty nice too, although I do miss seasons every once in a while.

¹ I readily admit that this may not be so interesting for sane people.

People are just never satisfied, we’re just always looking for something else & something more. I would live up there, but only for a few months to a year. (I won’t be able to stand the rain.) But it is a beautiful place! Have you ever checked out the goldmyer hot spring? That might change your mind about WA. :)

Compare and contrast the great state of Kansas with Washington. You will notice subtle differences like a temperate climate, mountains, water, large technology sectors, and a less conservative slant that what Kansas has to offer.

I suppose the same question could be asked of anyplace else in the world. Seems to me it’s all a state of mind…and a lot has to do with one’s own attitude. Folks move oftentimes for all the wrong reasons…and still find themselves miserable but just in a different space…when I’m tempted to think the grass is greener on the other side, I just think of the song Kicks by Paul Revere and the Raiders especially the lyric, “Can’t you see no matter what you do, you’ll never run away from you…” and then try to find a way to make the area where I’m at a much better place…just for the record, I like Seattle as a place to visit, but I wouldn’t dream of living there. While bit cities are fun and exciting and full of opportunities, I’ve grown to appreciate what smaller communties have to offer as well…and I find my mind is more at ease in a smaller town or a rural area…and I’m less stressed making it easier to be more creative…of course YMMV

Like others have mentioned, Washington State is great for the four seasons and the locale. From Seattle you can reach the ocean, the desert, and the mountains all within a manageable driving distance.

I also like the people. I lived in Washington for 20 years and found that (in general) they are friendly to animals, other humans, AND the environment.

I recommend travel as a way to appreciate the beauty of Washington—when I was visiting this past autumn I had a blast driving around playing tourist and photographing things with “new eyes”.

I’m living in Scotland now, but if I had to pick somewhere else to live I would definitely move back to WA.

i lived in the seattle/tacoma area for a couple years and i kind of hated it too. reminded me of london in a less fashionable way. ever wonder why washington has such a high suicide rate?

because they have a high literacy rate.

go figure. ignorance is bliss.

everyone lives at different speeds, and every city has a speed.

“Why do so many people want to live here? i mean i live here and i kinda hate it.”

I can understand that. It certainly depends on where in Washington State you live; and the kind of weather, jobs, and activities you enjoy.

I didn’t much like the area when I was a kid, but now that I am much older and have been a lot of places here are some of the reasons why I like living in Washington State and the Seattle area in particular:

1. Parks and Gardens – Seattle has almost 450 parks, gardens, zoo, playfields, boat ramps, golf courses, and tennis centers covering nearly 7000 acres
2. Theaters, Galleries, Museums, public art and Music – everything from the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Repertory Theatre. Seattle International Film Festival and Seattle Art Museum to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Presidents of US, Quincy Jones, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Deems Tsutakawa, Diane Shur,and Heart
3. Weather – mild – not too hot in the summer, not too cold in the winter – on a clear day you can see Mt. Rainier
4. Diversity of people that enriches our food, festivals, and cultural experiences as evidenced by the various participating communities and organizations in SeaFair each summer
5. Professional, college and high school sports – golfers, tennis players, Olympians, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey,
6. Food and Wine – great restaurants, burger joints, fish and chips, wineries, microbrews, coffee, and organic markets
7. Seattle has been named the most educated city in the US, 90% HS grad, 51% college degree
8. Outdoor activities galore – walking trails, kayaking, bicycling, kite flying, lakes, rivers, mountains and Puget Sound
9. Indoor activities abound – poetry slams, museums, great libraries, quilt shows
10. It’s never boring here. Whether it’s a book reading or a political protest, there’s always something going on.

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/parklist.htm
http://www.seattle.gov/html/VISITOR/culture.htm
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?zone=waz508&county=wac033&wfo=sew&dgtl=1&lat=47.60639&lon=-122.33083
http://www.seafair.com/
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com
http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/locations/index.html
http://www.komotv.com/news/story_m.asp?ID=42861
http://www.mountaineers.org/
http://www.nordicmuseum.org/
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/home/

Having been born and raised in LA with its short-sleeve/shorts weather Winters and having spent significant amounts of time in many other parts of the US and the World on extended business trips, I personally find this place (Western Washington US) to be one of the best places on the planet. Granted, it has its issues… but so does everywhere else. Each place has its own set of unique issues.

What makes Western Washington great to me is that its very moderate climate. The fact that the weather is never obnoxiously cold or obnoxiously hot. There are two very distinct “time of the year” (summer/winter) with a nice spring and a nice fall.

The most wonderful season here is Summer… its warm, generally sunny with really nice long days of sunlight. (Growing up in LA, I never got an appreciation for warm weather… it was simply always hot, or it just seemed that way.) Since moving here 18 years ago I have gained a wonderful appreciation for both the warm summers and the cold dark winters. Both moderate. I find that I long for the warmth of summer come March… and the cold of winter come September.

Combine this enjoyment of the climate with the lovely countryside and the accessibility of outdoor recreation… The lovely views on my drive to work (where I see the snow capped Olympic mountains in the morning and the snow capped Cascades in the evening), the generally good disposition of the people who live here, and you have one of the best places.

But, it comes down to what you need. Each place we love, we love for a reason. It fits us for any number of reasons. Be it social, be it climate, be it aesthetic, or be it some other reason. The key to find your favorite place is to know what connects you to a place. If you hate the weather here but love the people… look for a place with similar people but different climate. (Though, I suspect that its partly the climate that creates the social environment here in Western Wa.)

Oh, if you base your dislikes on simple the Seattle area… do know that Western Wa is many different places. Bellingham is different from Seattle as is Olympia as is Tacoma as is Port Angeles. There are variations in the weather and the people. There are places that the people would be right at home in Kansas and there are places where the people would hate Kansas but love Santa Cruz CA. Sometimes all it can take is a small move from say the Liberal Republican Eastside of the Seattle metro to the Yuppie Revisionist Leftist People’s Republic of Freemont.

So, before you move away… know what you’re looking for…

I grew up in Washington (mostly central, and a short bout in Olympia) my whole life up until I was about 22. I always hated it there. Then I moved down here to L.A. L.A. has some awesome stuff here. But it’s a big difference. Every place has it’s offerings. I miss it very much up there. I miss having 4 seasons, having nature within a 30 min drive, the pretty lakes in the summer, and having Seattle 2 hours away. And most importantly, I miss my family up there.

Love the Olympic Peninsula – mountains, lakes, hot springs, rain forests, ocean, Dungeness River – and especially love the weather in Sequim.

Not as geeked on Seattle or Tacoma or Spokane, though I think they’re okay.

I once had a guy try to get me to work for an agency in Houston. I said I wasn’t interested because it was in Houston.

He said, “Houston isn’t that bad.”

Seattle certainly has its faults (we can’t build any transit quickly to save our lives), but it’s certainly better than “isn’t that bad….”