Tell me what you want to know.  I moved up here November of 2002 to the Puget Sound (Tacoma/Seattle) area of Washington.

Along the coast expect lots of rain...but it is light enough that you can actually ride in it everyday as long as you don't mind getting a little wet.  In the mountains (Idaho and eastern Washington) you get more defined seasons (hotter summers, colder winters).

What type of work are you looking for?

www.seattle.gov
www.wa.gov

(above links have job listings and other basic information on the area).

Traffic is terrible in the area where I live and Seattle is rated as the MOST expensive city to live, in the US (based on a combo of property cost, job opportunities, job advancement, cost of living).  I think Seattle is 2nd or 3rd place for worst traffic in the US (mass transit is piss poor around here...but I use it when I can).

PRH111 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:11:


I've heard some of these things about Seattle from others, too.

What is Tacoma like?  Seems smaller with less industry.  And Olympia seems much smaller still even being the capital city.  Since you just moved there 2 years ago, what do you like about the area?

Thanks for the link.  I'll check it out.

Presently I have one interview in Portland with Aerotek.  I work in machinery automation and robotics.

now let me tell you about the "other" washington.

washington is split in two  by the cascade mountain range. this is both a political and geographicly (sp) split

i concur with what ph says about his side of the state.

on my side of the state it's a desert enviornment. with irrigated farmland, lots of sage and sand.
and mostly republican. the west side is mostly democrats. having said that still most of the states decisions are made by the voters of only 1 of the 39 counties. that being king county.  we too have access to mountain activities, but we have more in the way of sand dunes, lakes.  

while we have no state income tax, we are third  on the list of most taxed states in the country. a high sales tax. the b&O taxes are extremely high, workers comp taxs. all these add up to make owning a business a difficuilt task.

like the savage's we ride we tolorate the problems because the benifits outweigh them.  

if you draw and X acoss the state you will find my residence.  from my back yard i can see over 150 miles to a full view of mt rainer.


on the west side we have almost 300 miles of the most beautiful coastline the planet has to offer.100 miles inland (no it's not on the coast) is the seattle portland corridor.

i have lived in seattle, tacoma, spokane,  i perfer eastern washington.

hope this helps..

this is what i think the state motto should be.
NICE HAVING YOU VISIT, NOW GO HOME.

PRH111 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:11:


I'd heard that, but I wanted another opinion.  Higher crime rate there too.  Thanks.

Down from Dupont and Southwest towards Olympia are nice areas where the housing is much, much cheaper.  Dupont is near Ft. Lewis and roughly at the midpoint of Tacoma and Olympia.  You may also want to check out the Bremerton area (naval base up there with plenty of ship dock related work and naval contracts which may involve your line of work).  Bremerton is on the western side of the Puget Sound and there is a highway connecting Bremerton to Tacoma (hwy 16...heavy traffic though).

Quote:


The temps are not much unlike my area of Asheville with the exception of the rain...but we get a good amount of that too, in these mountains.

Quote:


Ours is 6.6% but we do have income tax and sales tax on groceries.  So that's $6.60 in tax for each $100 worth of groceries.  That might not be too bad, really.

Thanks.

greg,

actually max and i both are in moses lake, and have gotten together for a short day ride.

see the post  saw the bike now the rider for more info.

i guess i should have put a smiley beside the motto.

   I was born and raised in the Seattle area. I'm 51 years old, so I've been here a while. When I was a kid, Tacoma was a very smelly place. You practically had to hold yoyr nose when you drove by on the highway. Then about 15 years ago, it was a hangout for lots of gang members, especially in the "hilltop" area. But I have to tell you, they have really cleaned up the city. I really like Tacoma these days. The shut down the pulp mills and cleaned up those sites. They have seemed to got a handle on the gangs to where you don't even hear about them anymore. They have restored lots of old, historical buildings, and made it a much friendlier city, and the work in that direction is still going on. I can take my wife and daughter to my favorite club to hear live music on a Friday night without worry. And though the crowd is more of a blue collar working class than you might see at a club in Seattle, I have never had a problem with these people when I go out to hear some good blues music.
   I would not hesitate to buy a house in many areas of Tacoma, and I think the housing is much cheaper than in Seattle. My daughter goes to college at one of two really good univercitys, UPS (Univercity of Puget Sound), and PLU (Pacific Lutheran Univercity), and likes it very well. Her cousin came here from Kansas to go to school there also, and students come from all over the US.
   I live in a smaller town, Bonney Lake, about 35 miles from Seattle, where I work. I could not afford to live in Seattle, as house are flat out of sight.
   Portland is another possible city in the Pac. N. W. you might consider. Wages are less there, but, I imagin, living costs are less too?

   I mainly wanted to give my view of Tacoma here.
   We get lots of rain, but not much snow here on the west side of the mountains. The weather is mild. I have seen loads of people come here from the mid west etc, and they never go home. Then they bring their relatives out here and they never go home. That must say something about this area.

   Jon Neet

<<
I must say that I do prefer bars/clubs in Tacoma as the cost is much less.  I prefer places like Hell's Kitchen though... >>

   My favorite club in Tacoma is Jazzbones. Its near Hells Kitchen, and may be owned by the same people??
   Jon Neet