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DH dreams of moving to Seattle...I'm not so sure

3K views 52 replies 29 participants last post by  philomom 
#1 ·
I'll try to keep this short.

DH spent two summers in college interning in Redmond and LOVED it. Love, love, love. He has been talking and dreaming about moving there ever since college (8 years ago). We are originally from Texas, but now live on the East Coast. My family is in TX. His sister is about to move to Kent, but his parents live in the deep south. We aren't particularly close with his sister, but I suppose we could be eventually.

I'm scared of the Seattle weather - esp. with two boys that need to be outside. How do you manage playing outside in the on/off drizzle?

How does one balance your own desires with those of your spouse? I would like to be in TX, but he hates the weather there. Cost of living in Seattle would be about the same as it is here, but he would probably move to a higher-paying job.

I'm just so torn. Should I just so "okay, let's give it a try" and hope for the best?
 
#2 ·
Yes! You should give it a try. I'm a native Texan and I love it here. It's actually easier to be outside most of the time than in the South. There's a lot to do outside and temperatures are never extreme. The only people who ever use umbrellas are newcomers and visitors. It just becomes part of the day and you don't even think about it.
 
#3 ·
Also, there are lots of things to do indoors...coffee places with play areas, indoor pools, museums, the aquarium, etc etc. And there are more sunny days than you'd expect! I'm from Florida, and moved here in February. I thought I'd feel the same...then I realized that in Florida, it's so hot and humid most of the year that you aren't outside as much as you think you are any way ha ha. I'd imagine TX is similar. I feel like the whole stereotype of Seattle being nasty all the time is kind of overdone. Of course, the cold weather DID last a long time this year, but this week in the 70's and 80's has been PERFECT and cemented my love for Seattle.
 
#4 ·
I'm from back east and have lived here for 9 months. I think if you lived here, you would fall in love with it. It seems like the winters vary from year to year, same with the spring. You can't beat the city, the mountains, the beauty. I never thought I would love Seattle so much.
 
#5 ·
I moved to Seattle from Boston 3 years ago. My child is only a few months old, so I don't know about playing outside etc. yet. But I can compare with the East Coast. The climate here is way better than Boston, in my opinion. Boston was really cold and then humid/warm. Here, the summers can get rainy, but when it's nice it feels like heaven. The rainy, dark winters, I have to admit, really get to me, but that's no different than Boston.

What I miss about the East Coast: the ocean beaches where you can swim (the water is too cold here!); I miss the subway system in Boston, and being able to walk about the city more easily--Seattle, like all West coast cities, is more car-oriented, although there are certainly still some neighborhoods you can walk to the grocery store, post office, coffee shop etc.

What I love about Seattle: the sheer beauty--snow-capped mountains in the distance, water everywhere, GREEN year-round. Also, people here are much more friendly and laid-back than in Boston (although maybe not as friendly as Texans
 
#6 ·
I've moved somewhere I didn't want to be because he wanted to, and his job was there. We have moved because I wanted to, and he could get a transfer. Neither of those worked out in the sense that we were both happy where we lived. Now we moved somewhere we both want to be, and it's finally great.

Take your concerns seriously. You both need to be happy where you live. I spent over 10 years plotting to try and get us out of a city because I didn't want to live there. That is no way to live. Sure we were financially in great shape and it was good for his career but I wasn't happy.

I've been to Seattle. It's beautiful. But they act like it's the end of the world if it hits 80 degrees. I remember being there in August and it barely hit 80 and I wearing a sweater and they are all dying of heat LMAO. I hope you like cool and wet. Me I'd rather have hot and wet.
 
#7 ·
I think downtown Seattle is very walkable. On Walkscore.com, it says most Seattle neighborhoods have a walkscore above 70. The neighborhood I'm about to move into, I can walk to 3 parks, a library, a yoga studio, various coffee shops and cafes, 4 different grocery stores, including 2 natural health food stores, etc etc. Then again, I'm from a town in North Florida where we couldn't walk to anything!
 
#9 ·
Definitely plan a visit. I am originally from southern California and I love sun so the Seattle weather really gets to me sometimes. Neither me nor DH plan on living here forever because it is just not our cup of tea. That said, there are lots of great things about living up here. It is, in general, really crunchy and kid friendly. I know lots of cloth diapering, toddler nursing, baby wearing mamas up here. There are some really great co-op preschools around. The libraries are great.

As far as taking the kids out in the drizzle, you get used to it. The kids don't mind. You just learn to be ok with being wet and a little bit cold and just keep doing the things you normally do in good weather. There are also lots of indoor playgrounds open during the winters. They can be great for letting the kids get the wiggles out when you don't feel like braving the rain.
 
#10 ·
honestly I think that there are a lot of people who love Seattle... and don't want it be overcrowded- so they play up the rain and hope people stay away. lol.

I grew up in Seattle... and now that I have friends from other parts of the country, it seems like people in the Seattle area spend a lot more time outdoors than in other places. So it makes me laugh when people think it rains everyday and that you can't ever go outside.

The temperatures are so moderate year round and there is so much to do outside. I also think visiting would be a good idea.

I lived in Southern California for a couple years and thought it was too hot to do anything most of the time. Maybe it's all a matter of acclimatization.
 
#11 ·
Thank you all for your replies.

Yes, I have visited Seattle, but only once and during one of the summers that DH was there. He was there in March for business, but neither of us have been there in the fall/winter.

My SIL, who is moving to Kent, WA, just let her 4 DAY OLD baby CIO. So, not much to go on there in terms of a good friendship. Ugh.

Part of it is that I gave up my career and family to move to the East Coast for his career. We had an opportunity to move to Portland a few years ago and I was all aboard for it, but he turned the job down. So, I feel like I gave him a chance to move up to the Pacific NW.

I think people do get acclimated to the weather. Hot and humid doesn't bother me, but cold and rainy does.

Thanks again.
 
#12 ·
We lived there for almost 2 years and, for me, the winter gloom was a big deal. I get S.A.D. very easily so the drizzle just wore me down. It's very beautiful and there's a lot to do but I'm very happy not to be there anymore. It certainly seems to be an area people either really love or really hate, that's for sure!
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ladylove View Post
I'll try to keep this short.

DH spent two summers in college interning in Redmond and LOVED it. Love, love, love. He has been talking and dreaming about moving there ever since college (8 years ago). We are originally from Texas, but now live on the East Coast. My family is in TX. His sister is about to move to Kent, but his parents live in the deep south. We aren't particularly close with his sister, but I suppose we could be eventually.

I'm scared of the Seattle weather - esp. with two boys that need to be outside. How do you manage playing outside in the on/off drizzle?

How does one balance your own desires with those of your spouse? I would like to be in TX, but he hates the weather there. Cost of living in Seattle would be about the same as it is here, but he would probably move to a higher-paying job.

I'm just so torn. Should I just so "okay, let's give it a try" and hope for the best?
I live in Germany with a bunch of southerners. We are outside 340 days a year. Most of those days, the parks are empty.
It never ceases to amaze me that they just... act like nobody invented raincoats, galoshes, umbrellas, or ski clothes. LOL!

A much bigger hurdle than it being wet (we just go outside... it's wet, so what?) is the lack of sun. For dark-skinned or sun-sensitive people, seasonal affective disorder, vitamin D deficiencies, or other sunlight-related problems can raise their heads if they don't go out.

I don't know ANYONE who didn't like the weather who stayed, not here in Germany, and not in Seattle or PDX. It's just too much. So, I think that you are not being unreasonable. What about northern California? It's similar, but more sun. Or Colorado?

Good luck.
 
#14 ·
I grew up in southern New Mexico, so definately used to lots of sun. DH grew up in Texas, but spent some time in SE Alaska for geology studies. When I was finishing school, he said he wanted to move to Alaska. I HATE the cold, so I said NO WAY!!! But, I agreed to try to PNW and we landed just north of Portland. We've been here 10 years, and I'm NEVER going back.

Some people seem to be really bothered by the lack of sunshine, but the special lamps you can buy for S.A.D. really seem to help. However, I've only met a handful of people who suffer from it and most of them grew up here.
 
#15 ·
If you know that the gray sky and drizzle weather bother you, then you really should live somewhere else. Winters are long, gray, and damp. It doesn't REALLY rain very much at all, it just sort of oozes down in wet air.

Perhaps you can tell, I am a transplant that is not thriving here. Might just get one of those SAD lights this coming year and see if it makes a difference.

Tjej

ETA: and FWIW, I grew up in the midwest with long, cold, snowy winters and hot balmy summers. I miss both. It rarely gets truly hot here, it is awesome that there are very few bugs, and summers in general are gorgeous, it's the other three seasons here that kill me. The cold here is a cold that I find worse than real winter cold because it is so wet it is hard to get warm.
 
#16 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Arduinna View Post
I've been to Seattle. It's beautiful. But they act like it's the end of the world if it hits 80 degrees. I remember being there in August and it barely hit 80 and I wearing a sweater and they are all dying of heat LMAO. I hope you like cool and wet. Me I'd rather have hot and wet.
Hah.
Or when it snowed 2-6 inches last year (or was it the year before? I can't remember... our normal winters where I live can result in 8-foot snow burms on the side of your driveway after just a weekend). Most of the city was shut down for days, and it took my sister 3-4 hours to get to work by bus since everybody else decided to take the bus, too. Just one thing to be prepared about.

I know for myself, despite growing up in Washington, I could never happily settle down in Seattle. I've visited it lots, my sister has an apt there, etc. But ugh, the perpetual damp. As in, the entire week we were there, the towels the kids and I used never. got. dry. despite them hanging on hooks in the bathroom to dry. Now, granted, she's in a neighborhood where she's like 8 blocks from the water, but still. I have asthma, and higher humidity, regardless of the temperature, gets me. Maybe a bit farther south or north of Seattle as it seems the weather shifts a bit differently in those places, but still.
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie View Post
I don't know ANYONE who didn't like the weather who stayed, not here in Germany, and not in Seattle or PDX. It's just too much.
Well, that would be me! LOL We moved here for my DH's job. We said we'd give it 3 yrs and if we weren't happy, we'd move back to where we were. Well, the economy fell apart during that time, so it would have been financial suicide for DH to leave his terrific job and try to sell our house in the middle of this mess. So we're here for good, I guess (unless some miracle happens). I'm making the best of it, but I much prefer sunnier, drier weather and snow.

To the op: If your DH is itching to move, you might want to try one of those quizzes about your best place to live. Try googling something like "Best Places" or Sperling's Best places. Obviously if you need to be near some large body of water, you're limited. No place is perfect, but you know what you can tolerate and that's important.
 
#18 ·
Thank you all for such open and truthful responses. I think the area just isn't a one-size-fits-all place that so many people say it is.

DH will be there in about a month to help his sister so we'll see how that goes. A brand new house and probably the last few days of summer will seem like paradise compared to our tiny condo in hot, humid D.C.
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by NaturalMamma View Post
Well, that would be me! LOL We moved here for my DH's job. We said we'd give it 3 yrs and if we weren't happy, we'd move back to where we were. Well, the economy fell apart during that time, so it would have been financial suicide for DH to leave his terrific job and try to sell our house in the middle of this mess. So we're here for good, I guess (unless some miracle happens). I'm making the best of it, but I much prefer sunnier, drier weather and snow.

To the op: If your DH is itching to move, you might want to try one of those quizzes about your best place to live. Try googling something like "Best Places" or Sperling's Best places. Obviously if you need to be near some large body of water, you're limited. No place is perfect, but you know what you can tolerate and that's important.
Hah hah, I was thinking five-ten years. I should have added "who had the means or for whom it was realistic to leave". Sorry you're there until the miracle. We're in the military, so just think... could be worse!

OP, best of luck to your family!
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ladylove View Post
Thank you all for such open and truthful responses. I think the area just isn't a one-size-fits-all place that so many people say it is.

DH will be there in about a month to help his sister so we'll see how that goes. A brand new house and probably the last few days of summer will seem like paradise compared to our tiny condo in hot, humid D.C.
But he must not be deceived if it's sunny. It's almost too bad you aren't going in November or March, kwim? To get a better idea of what it is like.
 
#21 ·
I have lived up and down the western half of Washington all of my 41 years. I think there is nowhere more beautiful to live! Green year round, lakes/rivers/beaches, the mountains. Seattle is liberal and progressive. And we do have four seasons! I have pix of my kids in the snow; we rake leaves out of our yard in the fall, the bulbs I planted many years ago still come up every spring, and it has been hotter than I'd prefer for three weeks in a row! It is 80 degrees outside today and not a cloud in the sky. Hasn't rained in weeks.

Yes, it does rain - that is how we get to keep everything so gorgeous and green. I guess living here I am used to a bit of rain and don't even notice it. Maybe how some people deal with humidity in other parts of the country?

Honestly, I can't imagine living anywhere else - it is too great here!

How old are your kids? Is it a "good" time to transition to new schools?
 
#24 ·
It would be a good idea to visit in November to see if the cold, damp, dark days are something you could tolerate. We moved up here because of an aunt and uncle and a few other things, then found we couldn't really move without taking a big hit. By February I'm ready to hitchike south. :p
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tjej View Post
It's funny - every time someone bumps this thread up again it shows up in my User CP and I want to say -

Don't Do It! Winters are so GRAY - run away fast and FAR!


Tjej
I love it! Those are exactly my thoughts now. We can have a lovely summer vacation there every few years. Thank you!
 
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