[FuzzieAlum]

I love Seattle BUT ...

There are NOT four seasons here. As a former Midwesterner I hate hate hate the winters here. Summers are mild and gorgeous (no humidity, no bugs), but winters are gray and rainy. At least in the Midwest the sun comes out between snowstorms. Two years ago we went 90 days without a sunny day. Really.

And Seattlites are some of the least friendly people I've met. Yes, they're nice and polite. But the people who grew up here are not the least bit interested in being friends with people who didn't. You move here, you'll spend all your time hanging out with other Midwestern transplants. Even down the road in Portland where they're sick of Californians they're more welcoming.

I'm the wrong person to ask about the music scene, but Seattle isn't a really hip-hoppy city I don't think. And the unemployment, yoinks, I'm one my few friends who actually has a job.

On the plus side, the food is fabulous - lots of ethnic restaurants from all over. I went to a great Himalayan place the other day. And this is a city that's liberals in politics (obviously not every person, of course) and in reality, too. For example, you'll see more mixed-race couples here than anywhere in the Midwest. People are laid back (although you might get sick of fleece and gore-tex after a while).

But I've come to the conclusion that there's no perfect city, so if Seattle's close enough, come on over!