Living In Seattle, WA – What You Need To Know Before You Go

Living in Seattle, WA – What’s it really like? If you’re thinking about moving to the Seattle area and want to know more about what it’s like to live in the Pacific Northwest, you’re in the right place. From Summer Festivals like SeaFair – replete with pirates, hydroplane racing, and the Blue Angels Navy display flights, to fireworks on the Fourth (and New Years), boating, waterskiing, fishing and hiking outside, and cross-country and downhill skiing in the winter – there is a LOT to do when you’re living in Seattle.

We are known as an area many people come to from out of state, and even out of the country.  Only about 30% of Seattlelites are natives to the area!

What brings so many people here?

For many – it is JOBS.  We have a diversity of employers and high-paying jobs.

The “Greater Seattle Area” which stretches from Everett/Marysville to the North, Bellevue the East, and South to Tacoma  – has 9 of the State’s 12 largest employers.

• These include the Boeing Airplane manufacturing company with locations in Everett and Renton.
• Microsoft – Bill Gates’ alma mater… well his company – in Redmond, his Alma Mater high school is Lakeside in Seattle, where I also attended – and they have a math/science building named after him.
• There’s Amazon, which has 75,000 employees in the Seattle region, at last check.  As well as large office for google and facebook.
• Swedish Hospital in Issaquah
• The UW Medical Center on Lake Washington, just north of downtown Seattle.
• And also Virginia Mason and Harborview hospitals.
• There’s also the port of Seattle, which includes our Seattle International Airport and the port where huge container ships come in from China, trains and trucks carry the cargo out from here.

SCHOOLS

There are also a number of Universities in the area, including the state’s largest public University, The University of Washington, with 50,000 students.  Go Huskies.  There’s also Bellevue College, Seattle U, and about 8 other community colleges and smaller schools.

The good thing about having so many employers in the area is that if you lose your job or an industry falters, there are other employers who can absorb the extra labor.

EVENTS:

When it comes to defining the culture of an area, some of the things that make the biggest impact are what kinds of events and entertainments are in the area.

In the 90’s we were known for grunge bands and skateboarding.  We had Bumbershoot – the big summer music festival and The Taste of Seattle.

Now some of those events have been curtailed, but there’s still a lot for folks living in Seattle, WA to do. Every weekend I publish a list of some of the ones that I think will be fun – based on what I and my family like to do – we include free and paid activities, highlight local businesses and select multi-generational activities as much as possible.  If you would like to see what this looks like – connect with us at Let’s Go Seattle – I’ll put a link in the comments/description below.