Dancien Graves

So my family and I (Just the Democrats I live with) are thinking of leaving the state of Texas as our "Are you fucking serious?" meters have broken.

So we've narrowed it down to two areas. The Sea-Tac area of Washington or Virginia (near DC)

As I've never lived in either of these areas I am looking for pros and cons of both so I can make an informed decision.

Thanks.

Darnk Yun

Can't really help as I've never lived in those areas, but good luck if you do decide to move.

__________________
Ahaha, such a simpleton. It'z so much fun playing jokez on you. I waz only here to see how she waz doing, but I had fun while I waz at it. So long, Sere, au revoir, mon ami! Pleaze dream of moi every night! Oui! ~ Harle

http://leechmouth.deviantart.com/

Wrong Weatherwax

Lived in both and I'd take Seattle in a heart beat. I would say that the DC area will offer you more in the way of really top-notch cultural attractions, with great theater, museums, etc, etc.... However, urban blight is pretty horrific near DC. With Sea-Tac, you get much of the same kinds of services, cultural attractions, but the living conditions are phenomenally better. The expense of living in either area is going to be terrible, however, if you don't mind moving a bit away from (or rather more towards the outskirts of Tacoma) you are going to get a much better deal. I like to visit DC but I'd rather LIVE in Washington.

__________________
An education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on. -Terry Pratchett

Eunoli Rain

Pacific Northwest for the win. Mild weather, liberal politics and everyone thinks that flannel shirts and jeans are the height of dressing up.

Also: amazing seafood, everyone is green to extremes (this can also be a negative when it starts to annoy you) and the biggest negative - too much rain in winter.

Casey Pelous

Wut.... "The banana slug is our state bird" is a JOKE, honest. And the state gem is NOT rust!

__________________
"I am not more than a lossy Human being, and think that we all are equals..." - Wasted Engineer

"Casey, I've already established that you have no idea what you are talking about." - Perphides

TorturedPolygon

Seatac is a pisshole. Washington state is great if you love high taxes (especially on your liquor now). There are some affordable places in the area if you don't mind a bit of a commute for higher wages. Be prepared as people can not drive. They can't drive in rain. They can't drive in snow. And they really can't drive even in sun. Oh and meth is HUGE in some of the sticks.

The weather is pretty mild but does take getting use to if you are from a mostly sunny climate. There are a variety of things to do and different climates within a few hours drive.

__________________
Seriously. . .poking and prodding just makes a bitch even bitchier. ~Maelstrom Eyre

Casey Pelous

Gotta agree on SeaTac. Unless Dancien's looking for hookers ....

On taxes, remember we have no state income tax - does Texas?

And .... yes, Puget Sound drivers are probably the worst this side of Memphis. Pitiful AND aggressive.

Wrong Weatherwax

Oh man, banana slugs! I have a fridge magnet that's made to look like a banana slug which always gets visitors asking what the hell it is.....

Then I show them a Youtube video of a slug rappel....

Not quite as funny as two girls, one cup, but close.

And Tortured is right about the driving, but man, I think Texas is worse... only Maryland drivers rate worse in my book than Texas drivers.

Darnk Yun

Off topic of original post!


Seeing people in texas(really any state that doesn't get snow often) trying to drive in snow of any height is hilarious.

And i'm under the assumption now that no one REALLY knows how to drive, just look like they know how!

And don't get me started on people who think 75 is too cold!

hibit

Stay away from Seattle. Between the rain, the active volcanos, and the san andreas fault runs right through the region. Try Portland instead.

Tess Whitcroft

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles south of Seattle, Washington and 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon.

Washington's "dry side" (most of the state by area and east of the Cascade Mountains) is VERY redneck conservative Republican.

Active KKK groups in Virginia

Abingdon: Knight Riders Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

Powhatan: Knights of the Southern Cross Soldiers of the Ku Klux Klan, Rebel Brigade Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

Martinsville: Rebel Brigade Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, True Invisible Empire Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, United Knights Of Tennessee Order Of The Ku Klux Klan

Dungannon: Virgil's White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

Your call...

Tess

__________________
Studies have shown that people who have more birthdays live longer

Eunoli Rain

I'll agree with the Portland over Seattle recommendation, though not the reasons given. Portland has all the culture and rain of Seattle - plus no sales tax at all in Oregon. Plus, Portland has the best food trucks in the US, hands down.

Vivianne Draper

I have never been to Seattle. I live in the DC area though and have spent the majority of my life here.

There are active KKK groups everywhere. That is spin worthy of Fox news. They aren't marching through the streets of DC or anywhere in northern VA regularly. As a matter of fact I didn't even know they existed until I read that post. Martinsburg is in W. VA. I don't even know where those other areas are that Tess mentioned. Probably some boohick redneck town in southwestern VA and several hours away from the DC area.

The weather in the DC area is generally mild winters and generally hot and humid summers. Spring and Fall are spectacular usually. We freak out if we get any snow at all here. And by freak out I mean close down the city and stay home. Before we do that we clean out the local grocery stores of all bread, milk and bottled water. That's just the way we roll here. It also can take days to get the roads cleared of snow because for some reason, even though it snows every year, we think we are in the south and it doesn't snow here. Summers are OMG hot and humid. However our bugs are normal sized bugs and there are no scorpions. It also is cooler than Texas. But the humidity is a killer. Many of us just go from air conditioning to air conditioning in the summer and come back outside in the fall.

The DC area is comprised of Maryland, Northern VA, and DC. Also many people commute into town from West VA and PA. People commute into DC from as far away as Fredericksburg, VA; Waldor, MD; Martinsburg WV; Hagerstown, MD; Baltimore, MD; and Gettysburg, PA. So check those areas out on a map -- you'll see the wide swath of area that is the DC metro area.

The reason its such a large area is that there are jobs here. I'm not saying we didn't get hit by the jobs recession and its about to get worse as the federal government lays off people -- but we were hit MUCH less worse than other parts of the country. The federal government permeates everything here. Most jobs here are either government, government contractors, or the businesses that serve government and government contractors. There are a ton of technical jobs -- Mae East is here and because of this, and the feds, its kind of like silicon valley east. Its actually kind of called that.

Most of the jobs are in VA and DC. Which doesn't mean there aren't a lot of jobs in MD but VA is friendlier to businesses tax wise and the feds are mostly in DC.

We have the worst traffic in the nation. Keep that in mind when picking a place to live. Commutes of 1-3 hours one way are not uncommon. Actually they are not only uncommon -- they are common. Most people who live here have such a commute. We can have traffic jams in the middle of the night for no reason. The other night I went to dinner with friends and even though I only lived 30 miles away from the restaurant, and it was 10 pm, there was a major traffic jam on 66W due to construction and it took me an hour and a half to get home. This is a fact of life here and you can take steps to mitigate it but you will be running smack dab into our traffic problem if you move here.

Our traffic problems are directly related to growth. The DC metro area has grown exponentially in the last 20 years. The subway system was good but is totally inadequate for the growth. It is being expanded out west -- where much of the growth is -- but that construction takes a toll on the roads. The roads themselves have not kept up with the growth because building roads is expensive. Also Potomac River. Maryland owns the river but wants DC and VA to help pay for roads and bridges. This hasn't ended well at all. Hence there are like 3 bridges to get over the Potomac.

Culture. We has it. DC is an awesome place for music and art. First we have the Smithsonian complex of museums -- all of which are free. From the Native American museum to the National Gallery of Art to the Air and Space museum (where you can get up close and personal with both the Enola Gay and the space shuttle) the Smithsonian complex is spectacular. Add to that the normal array of cool, privately owned museums (Spy museum, crime and punishment museum, news museum, etc) and we've got the museum scene covered. One of the world's foremost Shakespeare companies is located here in DC. We probably have more regional and off Broadway theatre anywhere in the US outside of NYC. Its a great area for music. Little known fact about the DC area -- we are one of the major areas for bluegrass music. Also jazz. The Kennedy Center is here so we get oogobs of good classical stuffs. Also there are the usual array of music in bars, large music concerts, and free concerts. We also have the Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts. Also during the spring, summer, and fall there is an abundance of art/craft/artisan shows with everything from two separate renn fairs to wine and celtic festivals. There's also a lot of kink events if that's your thing. Gaming is strong here -- from LARP to boards and everything in between and I can hook you into those communities if you end up here.

Politics. Well Eric Cantor is from VA. So that should tell you something. VA is weird. Northern Virginia is pretty liberal and has all the people and money. So you would think we would rule. But we don't. The capitol of the state is down in Richmond and the further south you go the more conservative you get. And you'd think, since we have all the people, that we'd have the most representation. But since we are so concentrated, our representation is almost always in the minority. Hence assholes like Cantor. However you can carry a loaded non-automatic gun down the streets of VA legally. I don't know if that's a pro or a con for you lol. However our conservativeness pales in comparison to Texas. We aren't trying to legislate thinking out of existence and shit like that.

DC -- very liberal but no congressional representation. We they have a representative but not a full congressional delegation because it isn't a state. And no senators. Also, and this is completely fucked up, Congress controls the DC budget. About half the space in DC is owned by the federal government. And of course there's all the protests. You'd think the feds would pay for clean up and police for those things but no -- it falls on DC. Do they get adequately reimbursed? Of course not. But, like gay marriage is legal in DC. As is gay adoption. Not so much for either in VA.

MD -- another liberal state. Gay marriage will probably be legal there real soon now. Its on the ballot for November -- it is legal but the usual suspects are trying to overturn it and put it on the ballot.

The DC area is pretty much at the center of the east coast as far as going anywhere you'd want to go here. New England is a day's drive. New York is five hours. Philly is three hours. Baltimore is 2 hours. Atlanta is a day. It makes east coast vacations attractive and affordable.

The area is one of the top 5 most expensive places to live in the US.

Feel free to PM me if there's anything else I can tell you about this area that I've missed.

__________________

Vivi's real life jewelry shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NaturalTreasuresbyDe
AND
http://www.naturaltreasuresbydeb.com

Void

having lived in texas, it'll also depend on WHERE you lived there, which state you'd rather go to.... if you lived outside of austin, then outside of seatac is probably more your style (portland even moreso).... outside of dallas, and virgina starts to look better. san antonio and you'll feel more at home in virgina.

weather either way is likely to be milder than most of texas except the coast, it runs colder in virgina, and much more humid in pacific northwest.

if you want to be in driving distance of other places, virginia is a better bet, although cost of living up that way is higher, the alternative is much more spread out.

__________________
- These eyes can do more than see

Dancien Graves

I'm not very worried about a state tax (We don't have one here in Texas but did in California). Traffic is not a huge issue. I learned to drive in Los Angeles, my mom learned to drive in Chicago. And here in Texas we have some of the worst drivers on the face of the planet. Seriously yielding boils down to who drives the bigger vehicle at 90mph.

The weather doesn't really bug me. I'd like to see what Seasons look like here in North Texas we have "Holy fuck it's cold" and "THE SUN IS TRYING TO KILL ME" with 2-3 weeks of decent weather inbetween.

As far as the San Andreas fault and volcanoes I actually kind of miss earthquakes and will take them over tornadoes.

Also another factor is the education system as my nephew will be coming with me although at this point homeschooling him by letting him watch tv all day would be better than what Texas is offering.

This move probably won't happen anytime soon as I need to get employed in Texas first so I can take care of some legal issues and begin saving money.

Support network is kind of an issue. SeaTac = No family but quite a lot of friends who live up there, Virginia = No friends but 3 family members in North Carolina.

Casey Pelous

AND Powell's Books! Plus awesome public transit and the annual Naked Bike Ride.

There's a lot of Austin to Portland, including signs that say "Keep Portland Weird."

Oregon has no sales tax but does have state income tax.

Yes, there are active volcanoes near Seattle and Portland - just don't live on the rivers where the lahar is going to go..... other than that, you should be fine unless you're a vulcanologist. Besides, no volcanoes, no scenery like this:



For the unique feel of Portland, see a few episodes of Portlandia. It's comedy ----- but it's true!

Aliselia Aeon

Just don't come to Michigan. The winters are horrible, and the government is getting worse by the second.

__________________
"Push 100cc of Social Skills, stat!" ~Casey Pelous

Sredni Eel

Also, you're within driving distance of the most phenomenal bookstore on the planet, which is somewhere in Portland. Three stories. Of books. Excuse me while I salivate.

__________________

http://avatarbizarre.wordpress.com

Sredni Eel

Oregon also has faultlines and volcanoes. But the likelihood of any of said areas erupting/breaking loose are pretty slim.

I've lived within a mile of the San Andreas fault most of my life, and now live about 1/4 mile from the Hayward fault, and in over 40 years I have been in only three major quakes. And by major, I mean things fell off shelves or caused damage somewhere other than my own neighborhood.

As long as the area is built on bedrock (not IN Bedrock), you're usually pretty safe in a quake. It's just those landfill areas you have to watch out for.

Casey Pelous

Oh, the three stories of Powell's Books is just the start. Then there's the Powell's Technical Bookstore ... and the Powell's Travel Bookstore .....

Lordfly Digeridoo

Nonsense - ignore SE Michigan. Once you hit Ann Arbor and anything NW of that, it's a beautiful state.

Just don't come for a job. We don't have those.

__________________
http://www.lordfly.com/

Eff

Do not move here. Driving in Texas was a joy compared to this place.

Somewhere in Canada,

Eff

__________________
Lady Picture Show

Amy: Ooh, we've gone all medieval
Rory: I'm not sure about that.
Amy: Really? Medieval expert are you?
Rory: No, it's just that I can hear Dusty Springfield.

NukeMom

Check out upstate NY. North of Albany, between Albany and Canada. Great place to bring up kids.That's why we live here

bronxelf

Having spent quite a bit of time in both places, I'm going to cast a provisional vote for Sea-Tac *DEPENDING* on where you wind up. It's variable in terms of what/where along that corridor. It is however, very pretty, with reasonably mild weather year round. Yes, it rains, but it's not the pouring, OMG get a fucking ark rain you're used to. It's a light rain, that happens for a little bit every day, then stops. Lots of good high tech going on up there. Liberal politics. Good seafood, and if you're someone who enjoys outdoor activities, it's really a great place for that- people up there tend to be outdoorsy.

I love DC, (and Vivianne outlined it very well) but you have to *really love* major urban centers to deal with some of the frustrations of living there (traffic, high costs of housing, and lack of real governmental representation, amongst other normal big city problems.) Immediately outside of DC you're dealing with NoVA and MD. Ain't no power on Earth could get me to live in VA. Ever. MD is better, but I'm a "within city limits" kind of person, so I sort of stick to DC proper.

__________________