My husband just found out he is being transferred to Seattle. We have lived in Phoenix for 18 years and have three children in elementary school and middle school. What are some of the best/worst things about living and working in Seattle?

We are excited about the move, but I’m also nervous. I will have to find a job (in education) when we get there, and I have no clue if Seattle is a good place to be for educators.
https://www.hellolanding.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-life-in-seattle/

Best: everything
Worst: insufferable tech bros and everything they bring with them

Public schools kinda stink

It’s beautiful here - even when gray. Mountains and magnificent trees. The most diverse flora. Over the last few months every week one or more new plants are blooming. You can be outside all year long and don’t have to cower inside to avoid enduring 100+ days for months on end. Yes there are grey days, but when the sun comes out seize the day and go for a walk.
Amazing dog parks. Hiking trails everywhere. Ocean and rivers.
It may take a while to make new friends. But school networks are great for that.

Oooooooof. Seasonal depression disorder gonna kick like a mule for you

I am in Seattle transplanted from NYC. IMO you need find a good bubble to live in around Seattle. East of city seems to be the most civilized areas, like Bellevue… might seem a bit sterile but if you watch local news a few nights, you’ll appreciate this more. Also Check out homes and communities around “Seattle Tennis Club”. It looks like a great area for families with children. The tennis club provides a bunch of activities to keep the attention of kids and also good social opportunities for adults and kids. Also, if you’re keeping your home in Phoenix, and looking for tenants let me know.

Best things: It’s a much prettier area than Phoenix. I loved seeing the city, mountains and water all at once. In nearly every direction, there are cool day trips to the coast, the various islands, Portland and Vancouver. Plus, it’s a more interesting city if you’re into art and music. And I was way into the weather. I adored it.

Bad things: Holy cow the cost. I hope your husband is getting a substantial COL increase. Housing in decent areas is still exorbitant. Making it worse, the city is failing in helping the sizable unhoused population. They just keep breaking up encampments and shooing them off to find a new neighborhood. I’ve never felt such a wide gap between rich and poor as I have in that city.

lol. I moved from Seattle to Phoenix and never looked back. The grey and people are rough. Not to mention the traffic is insane

Plenty of opportunities in education
Lots of fun things for kids
Best summers on the planet

Expensive
Very grey and wet winters

Harder to make friends (less fake happy / friendly up here) but once you find a group, friendships tend to run deeper

Seattle is gorgeous, just make sure to plan a few trips to sunny places in the winter months. Go to Bellingham and BC and the islands too, there's so much to explore in the area! I grew up in Seattle and moved away for college, but I love visiting and I think it's a great place to raise a family

I moved to Seattle from Los Angeles last year, and it has been a dream for both my spouse and myself. I wish we had moved here earlier.

For context, I grew up in Houston (24 years) and have also lived in Georgia, Tennessee, Turkey, and Bay Area.

All the things people are complaining about in this post are relative to their previous experiences. The traffic/homelessness here is virtually nil compared to LA and SF. The rain here is NOTHING compared to Houston, which gets ~20 inches more rain annually. And it isn't humid here.

There is virtually no rain in summer (June-October ish) which is hard on me. I love rain, less fond of direct sun.

Seattle area is a nature lover's paradise. Pacific Ocean, multiple islands by ferry or seaplane, mountains, forests, Lake Washington, three national parks, multiple state parks, and ~2-hour drive to Canada/Vancouver (longer if you go by ferry).

I live in north Seattle (Kenmore/Bothell) which is super suburban, very quiet and family-oriented. As a family with school-age children, you might consider Lynnwood as an alternative. Issaquah if you enjoy nature but want a more remote feel.

The commute from north Seattle into either Seattle downtown or Bellevue does take longer than I'd like (~30-40+ min rush hour by car, or 1 hour via public transportation), and we are far from the Sea-Tac airport.

You can live in nice, comfortable, family-oriented areas depending on where you need to commute for your jobs.

I personally have not experienced the Seattle Freeze, quite the opposite. I thought people were unusually friendly -- definitely warmer than in LA or Houston. My husband and I each joined hobby groups for our work and personal interests and found friends this way.

Happy to offer more advice as you nail down the details of your work/commute situation!

For housing, you need to figure out where you want to live. A 10 mile commute could be over 45mins so you pay with time or $$$.

Congrats and approximately, where is the new job?

I haven't lived in Seattle for years but one thing I hated was the rain. I just found it to rain far too often and it was always so depressing. I moved to the East coast and do not miss Seattle one bit lol.

Washington is my 9th state and I’m still having mixed feelings about my time here, even after 8 years.

I love the climate after spending the majority of my life in the Midwest and Northeast. I still laugh when they freak out about “cold” weather and snow. Needless to say, I have yet to wear a winter jacket since I moved here.

However, the drivers here are the worst I have ever experienced. They’re far too timid on the freeways and they don’t know what traffic signals or horns are. There’s also a lot of pretentious and passive aggressive people here. They’re why there’s a Wikipedia entry for Seattle Freeze. It’s absolutely a thing here.

That being said, I have found a lot to enjoy here. There’s a good stand up comedy scene here with clubs in both Seattle and Tacoma that attract talent from all over the country, there’s a lot of concert venues and two excellent fan conventions every year for the geeks in your family.

I won’t lie that it was a struggle for a while, but I have found my place here as well as my people. It may take some time, but give it a shot!

Best: nature, beauty, summers are amazing
Worst: mid fall-late spring weather, expensive, hard to make friends if you don’t already know people here or didn’t grow up here

FWIW, I know a lot of Arizona transplants who love it up here. They enjoy not having unbearable summers and can easily visit Arizona when needed. I agree that you’ll see a significant increase in cost of living but the overall city experience is more pleasant to me. There’s better public transport, milder weather, more lively of a city living, and safer roads generally speaking for your kids!

I loved living in Magnolia! It was so nice to be close to Discovery Park and such an easy commute downtown. So many things to love about Seattle. I got used to the rain and gray and loved the summers. That said, I moved to Utah and instantly fell in love with being back in a sunny climate. Safety and crime was a constant issue. We were packing a moving truck at 1 am on our very safe street. A homeless guy showed up and wouldn’t leave us alone. I police car was cruising by and ended up stopping and watching our truck while we loaded it so nothing was taken. I called 911 at least 5 times for drug related issues I witnessed.

Positives: beautiful mountains, water and trees with lots to do outdoors. Cons: very very liberal, a lot of rain and gray skies. People are not super friendly.

Look for work on the east side rather than in Seattle. You may want to live on the east side as well. Cities such as Bellevue Issaquah, Mercer Island, and others have some good school districts.

I love living in Seattle, and I lived a lot of places. It is just so gorgeous and we’ve found a nice community. We live in Ballard, which is in Seattle, but big enough to be its own city. And I think Seattle has a shortage of teachers, so that might be really good for you. Also a strong union.