Pros: Diverse areas of distinct culture/cuisine/architecture, with much history built into the foundations of the city. Each neighborhood has its own identity so it doesn't always feel like a huge metropolis. The sports teams are good enough to get people's hopes up, but not good enough to actually win anything recently. If you make good money, it's a wonderful city. If you don't...
Cons: Expensive city. Not every apartment is $2k+/month but more and more of them are. When tech expands, it pushes out locals and prices out many from living good/comfortable lives. When tech contracts, it affects local businesses, especially downtown or in other areas built to support tech and tech workers. Either way, it's not as cool as it used to be to say you work in tech within some circles.
It's a mixed bag and I certainly wouldn't argue if someone said it wasn't for them, but for me, it's the best place in the world I could be. I'm close to family, friends, and great career opportunities (plus I like the rain, and the incredible summers no one talks about)
My dad lived in Seattle in the late 60s/early 70s, back then same problems, just instead of tech it was mostly Boeing (who he worked for before the big "will the last person to leave seattle turn out the lights" bust).
> Either way, it's not as cool as it used to be to say you work in tech within some circles.
It was actually probably never cool, even in the 90s. Almost Live's 1992 skit called "Studs from Microsoft" [1] should tell you about everything you need to know.
Pros: Diverse areas of distinct culture/cuisine/architecture, with much history built into the foundations of the city. Each neighborhood has its own identity so it doesn't always feel like a huge metropolis. The sports teams are good enough to get people's hopes up, but not good enough to actually win anything recently. If you make good money, it's a wonderful city. If you don't...
Cons: Expensive city. Not every apartment is $2k+/month but more and more of them are. When tech expands, it pushes out locals and prices out many from living good/comfortable lives. When tech contracts, it affects local businesses, especially downtown or in other areas built to support tech and tech workers. Either way, it's not as cool as it used to be to say you work in tech within some circles.
It's a mixed bag and I certainly wouldn't argue if someone said it wasn't for them, but for me, it's the best place in the world I could be. I'm close to family, friends, and great career opportunities (plus I like the rain, and the incredible summers no one talks about)