I'm thinking of moving to Washington state.

[Genius J]

I'd need to find a good IT job there, first. Who are the big players in the area where I could start looking for open positions? I know of Boeing, T-Mobile, Group Health. Anything else?

I'm looking at the western half of the state.

[Brendan]

Why Washington State. I've been here 8 years and I can't wait to get out.

[Genius J]

I grew up there, and I miss it. Why don't you like it?

[alexlannin]

I love the Northwest.
There's this tiny company called Microsoft...
I'd look up tech headhunters, they'll find you something.

[Genius J]

I've submitted to Microsoft, but I'm sure my resume is one of thousands they get every day. It's a pretty cold, impersonal process to submit through their site.

[Merle, Son of Boobah]

good luck bro.

[Brendan]

I grew up there, and I miss it. Why don't you like it?

Outrageous real estate prices. Not the worst in the nation, no, but no way are you getting what you pay for.

Crime is getting worse. It wasn't great when I moved here, but it has gotten steadily worse over the years. If you're one of the yuppies you can afford to get into the nicer neighborhoods, I suppose.

Worst traffic in the nation. And it's getting worse. Urban planning here is a joke.

Don't get me wrong. There are some very nice spots in Washington, but the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia/Everett metro area ain't one of 'em. I hate it here.

"Living in Seattle is like being married to a beautiful woman who is always sick." --- G.M. Ford

[Ashton]

Outrageous real estate prices. Not the worst in the nation, no, but no way are you getting what you pay for.

Crime is getting worse. It wasn't great when I moved here, but it has gotten steadily worse over the years. If you're one of the yuppies you can afford to get into the nicer neighborhoods, I suppose.

Worst traffic in the nation. And it's getting worse. Urban planning here is a joke.

Don't get me wrong. There are some very nice spots in Washington, but the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia/Everett metro area ain't one of 'em. I hate it here.

"Living in Seattle is like being married to a beautiful woman who is always sick." --- G.M. Ford

I agree with all of this. I've lived here for about 6 years and I have nothing good to say about this state.

[alexlannin]

I agree with all of this. I've lived here for about 6 years and I have nothing good to say about this state.
Wow...I don't live there, but I don't see it as that bad.

[Ashton]

Wow...I don't live there, but I don't see it as that bad.

it takes a while to notice the suckiness of this state, but once you live here for a while you will notice. I've had two friends move back to Portland after living here for a couple of years. its not the worst state to live in, there are job opportunities which is why I'm still here. but I don't encourage friends or relatives in moving here.

[Brendan]

it takes a while to notice the suckiness of this state, but once you live here for a while you will notice. I've had two friends move back to Portland after living here for a couple of years. its not the worst state to live in, there are job opportunities which is why I'm still here. but I don't encourage friends or relatives in moving here.

Exactly.

If you really want to live in a city in the Pacific NW, I'd say go for Portland. It's a much nicer city.

If you can get through all the immigration hoops, Vancouver, BC ain't bad, and Victoria is freakin' awesome.

But unless you are rich, I would avoid the Seattle/Tacoma area like the plague. And if you're rich, your money would be better spent elsewhere. As soon as Rainier goes, most of Seattle and Tacoma are going to be under a steaming pile of mud anyway.

I've lived just north of Tacoma and worked just south of Seattle for over 8 years now. I hate it. I really, really HATE it.

[Genius J]

Wow.

I grew up on the eastside of Lake Washington (Carnation, then Kirkland) and absolutely loved it. But this was back when the biggest thing in Redmond was a feed store. Now I realize the area is a big urban sprawl, but is it really THAT bad?

The peninsula is still nice.

I would love to live on Bainbridge Island. A quick ferry ride into Seattle for work. Doesn't sound so bad to me...

[Corwin: Bear Fighter]

I love WA, but I lived near Vancouver, not the northern part of the state.

[Brendan]

Wow.

I grew up on the eastside of Lake Washington (Carnation, then Kirkland) and absolutely loved it. But this was back when the biggest thing in Redmond was a feed store. Now I realize the area is a big urban sprawl, but is it really THAT bad?

The peninsula is still nice.

I would love to live on Bainbridge Island. A quick ferry ride into Seattle for work. Doesn't sound so bad to me...

I haven't been out to Carnation in a few years, but last time I was there it was nice. Kirkland is bloody awful. Urban sprawl at its worst. Redmond is yuppie-ville. Even places like North Bend and Sammamish, which were still small towns 3 years ago, are now strip mall after housing development after strip mall.

The peninsula is still very nice, especially places like Port Townsend and Port Angeles. Still over-priced beyond all reason, but very nice.

Gig Harbor was nice a few years ago, but with the Narrows Bridge expansion, it's going to be lower-Tacoma in a year or two.

If you're seriously thinking about coming back, you owe it to yourself to take a trip first. I think you'll be shocked at how much has changed.

[Genius J]

I take a trip about every other year. And yeah, I went back to Kirkland and almost cried at how my childhood home town had exploded into this ugly mess.

But I still love the area. The trick is finding a balance between a nice area to live in while not being so far away from a good job that I'd spend two hours in the car every day.

[WAKKAJAWAKKA]

Submit To Google And Amazon. I Plan On Moving There In About A Year-Ish.

Wayno.