I've been living in NYC for about a year and a half, and I love it here. However, I was just offered a new job out in Seattle. It would be a good career move, and they would pay to move me out there. The problem being that I've never been to Seattle, and know no one there. Consequently, I don't know if Seattle is worth moving to, especially over New York. Thoughts?

awesome city.
but i could never do it because i hate rain.

sure sure, they say you get used to it, they say it's just a fine mist and not like rain on the east coast. But they are a lying to you. It's dark and dreary and i couln'd handle that for 10 months of the year.

it is not dark and dreary for 10 months of the year. c'mon. november through march/april.

seattle is a great city - a lot slower paced than NYC but it is one of my favorite cities.

also, i live in philly where it's never ever nice.
so don't listen to me.

I love Seattle and a huge contingent of the original PTC/UGA crew have moved out there so it would be a no brainer for me on the list of potential relocation cities.

Within driving distance, you pretty much have everything (except, for me, my family)

I would never encourage anyone to move out of New York.

i may live there some day - it is more expensive than here w/ worse traffic and even more rain but has 3 sports teams, is close to the Olympics, Ranier, and North Cascades Nat'l Parks, close to British Columbia, the san juans, etc.

of course it's no new york - which is good and bad.

I said yes without even reading the post. Simply put, it's my favorite city.

The raining thing is overemphasized. Every time I've been there it's been great weather. I've been there in all seasons, probably for a total of 30 days. I'll be going for a sixth time next month.

this is what troubles me; for all the other benefits of leaving, i can't help but feel like i would be a fool to leave this city so soon. my friends tell me i could always come back, but this hasn't proven to be very comforting.

it's in my list of places i'd move in the us with a good job offer. (of course, nyc's in that list too.)

it's been brutal weather this winter - maybe the worst I have ever seen and I am still alive. i think we've had rain for like 38 out of 40 days. wettest january ever or something - 11inches of rain.

do keep that in mind. when you come in the spring and see rivers, lakes, and 200 foot tall trees everywhere - keep in mind it takes a lot of water to keep that shit going.

I don't think weather will be the deciding factor. NYC is not known for it's nice weather. Personally, I think the weather is the worst thing about NY.

well yeah - it is usually no colder than 40 degrees in the winter and no hotter than 80 in the summer with no humidity.

i would love to live in nyc for awhile - maybe a year or so. wife would not agree - maybe when I retire.

that sounds great, actually. i've lived in rainy places before, and I don't mind. but not dealing with terrible cold or heat, that would be new...

if you want snow drive an hour intothe cascades and see 15-20 feet of it.

Has OPA! lived anywhere besides the east coast? Expand your world, Mr. NYC will ALWAYS be there.

Will you earn more out west? And where's the company located? You ought factor these variables in.

If that really is a reason to leave NY, then you don't truly like living here.

Grunge? Check.
Frasier? Check.
Most literate city in the US, as of January 1st? Check.

That's enough for me.

And this matters, how? There's nothing wrong with loving where you live.

i like seattle, but i've only been there once. i thought downtown was a little underwhelming, but other parts of town were great.

one time someone with new york plates drive up to me and asked for directions to downtown. i told them they were in it. they looked puzzled and drove away.

i'll make more money, and i'd probably work out of my apartment, meaning i could live wherever. the only caveat being that i'd have to occasionally be able to head out to a certain 'evil empire's' headquarters, as they would be one of my consulting clients. i suppose i'd have to get a car, which i really don't want to do. how's mass tran in seattle?

i disagree. i do "truly" like living here, and weather would hardly be a deciding factor in whether i move out there or not. i would look at better/different weather as more of a fringe benifit.

mass transit in seattle is not great - worse than portland's. they are trying to improve it but they are way behind.

You discourage folks from leaving NYC, right? This leads me to wonder if you've ever lived anywhere else outside the East Coast. I went to school back east and learned most of my peers slagged Kansas, my home terry-tory, bc they'd never been any place west of the Mississippi. There's nothing wrong with staying put, but it'd certainly do my head in if I weren't allowed to test out waters elsewhere.