Very Interesting

Seattle area is unique. You don't find it anywhere else in the US. World class city, pleasant climate, unsurpassed natural beauty so close to the city. Skiing in winter, hiking in summer, 3 National Parks around, you can start in the morning, drive there, hike and be back in your home for night. There is a reason for upscale companies to be here: Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, Amazon and many other research facilities connected to medicine. If I did not live here, I would be in Europe.

"So interesting that we sit here and wish to be there and they sit over there and wish to be here"

A couple years ago we came into Florence airport and got a cab to our B & B. I thought our driver, Graziano, was going to hug me when I told him I was originally from Los Angeles. 'I want to live in Santa Monica'-he said it several times. When I told him I was born at UCLA Hospital I thought he was gonna kiss me! The concept of being from California was as fantastic to him as the scene at the Duomo was that night for us.

Tony,

Isn't it always the case where the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

this is one of the reasons i travel is to see how others live and to appreciate (more) what i have. I dont dwell as much on what i dont have, since i know that there are way more others that have less. I know that there are people all over the world that havent left their village/city/town and will probably die there. Im just happy that i can afford to travel every year and i will continue to do so until i cant.

Also the part where Virginia comments abouts the southern part of italy being more layed back and how she misses that sometimes. I can see her point since where i live i see the same thing and how our city has changed. For some its what they want and others not so, but in the end our city will change.

happy trails.

My experience is similar, in that I have lived in both the U.S. and Italy almost half of my life in each), except I'm older and I have lived in the US longer than Virginia.

The reality is that when you are an expatriate you live with one foot in each place and you are never satisfied with either place. When you are in a place, you miss the things you had in the other and vice versa. I could come up with as many things wrong with on one country as I could of the other.

Bureaucracy is something that always bothered me in Italy, but a few months ago I renewed my Italian passport at the Italian Consulate in SF. They do everything on the spot (digital fingerprints and all) and to my surprise I had my brand new Italian passport in my hands after 15 minutes from the time I had walked inside. Wow! It actually took longer to find parking for my car in that area of Pacific Heights. Since renewing my US passport definitely takes longer than 10 minutes, maybe I will need to revisit the myth that the Italian bureaucracy is much more inefficient than the American one.

Ilja -- Shhhh, don't tell them about Seattle! They'll all want to come live in the Northwest! Keep them distracted with Europe! :-)

Dick,
oops! Secret is out!

Be Careful you don't romanticize reality

Ilja, I agree, Seattle is the greatest place to live in the world. I grew up there (High School, College, early twenties). Hated to leave.

BTW, those companies didn't locate there, they started there. Boeing was in Seattle long before any of us were born.

But, all things considered, Colorado is not a bad 2nd place - outdoor sports, greatest skiing in the world, sunny, less rain.

Yes, Lee,
before I came to Seattle 24 years ago I was also thinking about Boulder, CO, but then it seemed too dry to me and I decided for Seattle and don't regret it.

A lot of it is "greener grass" as Ray says. I grew up in Chicago and never thought of it as a great place to live (still don't), but I have a wonderful time being a tourist there when I go back to see friends and family. There is a huge difference between being a tourist and day-to-day living.

I lived for 8 years in the Bay Area and thought it was just about perfect. The weather was great on the Peninsula, I didn't have or need AC or central heating at home, it only rained in the winter and not that much (okay, right now it's bad but El Nino only comes about once in a decade - and then aren't the spring wildflowers gorgeous!), and tons and tons of things to see and do, places within driving distance for a weekend or a week, but most of the people I knew mostly stayed around home all the time, like most people everywhere.

People who are interested in different cultures (like those of us who frequent this website) are always fascinated by what they don't have back home, and that's a good thing. I spent four months studying in Maine and I loved it - it was so different from anything I knew in Europe: the nature (I got to see it in the autumn and winter, both seasons which were really something to behold), the people, the way of life, etc. My parents came to visit while I was there and they came via Montreal - my mother told me how strange (in a good way) it was to visit a city with so many skyscrapers. Now I am settled here in France for good but back then (1999) I could really see myself living in New England for ever. The white clapboard houses, the rugged coastline, the vast forests, the small industrial towns... oh and the accent which in my opinion almost veered towards the Australian one! "I'm going to pahk my cah, bud!".

I absolutely agree about the positive aspects of Seattle. Pike's Place is not only unique but fantastic, true unlike any other place of that type. good museums, good subway system going from Sea-Tac to downtown, interesting Chinatown, weather is not extreme, you don't bake in the summer, and although it can get downright cold, literally below freezing, say 27F in the morning, it's not totally unbearable, plus a walking city.. Easy to fly to from SFO or take Amtrac.

Fred, you could be describing San Francisco! In fact, maybe you are, since Seattle lacks a subway and SF has BART. You may be thinking of the light rail that runs mostly on the surface and takes a long time between SeaTac and downtown. :-)

Yes, San Francisco is a gorgeous city and may even surpass Seattle if we consider just cities. But once we talk about areas then not a chance.

No offense to our neighbors to the north, but I hope everyone goes to Seattle and leaves us alone in Portland. On a train trip to Vienna one year the opposing bench was filled by some Italians. When they heard we were from America all they could do was talk about their visit here and how much they would like to move. While I enjoy other cultures and would like to stay longer than a month in some, I don't have any desire to leave Oregon.

Although I've noticed more exchange booths posing as ATMs, I still don't have any problem finding a bank ATM in an airport.

This topic really makes me smile; it's almost become a Seattle Appreciation thread. I was just down to Pike Place Market over the weekend for some Christmas shopping. When I was in Egypt in the late 90's an Egyptian gentleman asked where I was from and when I said Seattle, he had no idea where that was. "Near New York?" "Near LA?" I smiled and told him Seattle was a bit north of LA and was beautiful and I hoped he could visit some day. Too late, Ray--some of us have discovered Portland already and sneak down there from time to time ;-)

@ Dick...That light rail linking SeaTac to downtown leading directly up to Macy's is way superior to BART. "Light rail" is a better description than subway...granted. In that regard Seattle with its light rail reminds me of European cities, BART does not.

Looks like Seattle is the winner of places to live. Only time I was there was many years ago to catch a ship to Japan. I did live in Europe two different times and loved it there both times. First time was 3 years and second time was 18 months. Both times, I enjoyed it very much, but was ready to come home both times. Only hear good things about Seattle. Always heard it rained all the time but don't think that is the case. May have to come up from one of the R/S travel weekends. I love Nashville and it is a great place to live, but have found after living in over 10 states plus Europe and Japan, I can live and enjoy almost anywhere. Won't go there on bad places to live so not to upset anyone, but there are lots of those places also.

I was a third-generation Californian and most of my family still lives there. But I left after college and moved north. I have lived in Germany, Alaska, and Idaho, but have been in Seattle longer than anyplace else---26 years now. We have nice recreational hiking just 20 minutes from our door, and beautiful alpine hiking another hour beyond, in the North Cascades and at Mt. Rainier. The closest world-class skiing is a bit farther, at Whistler, but still only a half-day drive. But in spring Nd early summer Mt. Rainier and the cascades offer great backcountry skiing and boarding, both very popular here. My husband keeps his rowing shell in our garage and can be out on the lake within 20 minutes when the water is flat ( mostly early morning). We have no lake or mountain views from our house, but we see them from the road above each time we come home. As for rain---yesterday was a gorgeous blue-sky day. Today is also dry, with a few clouds here and there. Makes me wonder what I am doing inside right now! (Lunch, actually).

We do travel a lot but are always happy to come home. And my husband has asked me to promise that we can stay home ALL of August some year. Too late for 2015, but I did promise for 2016.

I love Seattle to visit, have been there several times, but never wanted to live there. It's gotten too crowded, too expensive and too much traffic (not for everyone, just for me). I can drive there in about 5 hrs so I can go whenever I feel like it. I felt the same way about Denver after 6 yrs, loved the location hated the crowds and traffic. Guess that's why I opted for a smaller town this time.

I do wish I could afford to live in Europe, at least for a year or two, but that opportunity has passed. The best I can do is visit as often and as long as I can without putting myself in the poor house. Ha ha.

Tony, - about rain in Seattle we have this joke: How can you recognize that it is summer in Seattle?
Rain is warmer.
Of course this is an exaggeration. 3 summer months are sunny and steady.
Lola, yes world class skiing is half day drive away. But good skiing is 1 to 2 hours away: Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass, Crystal Mountain.