I lived nearly a decade on the outskirts of Seattle. Enjoyed the mountains, hiking, fishing, hunting, camping. I’d go downtown maybe once a month for shopping and people watching. I use “people” very loosely here. Whatever they were, it was very entertaining at times and made me appreciate the mountains even more.
I spent about a month in Seattle back in the late 1980s. Even back then, it was a nice place to visit and nowhere I would ever want to live.
Drop a few neutron bombs and it might be livable.
I lived for 14 months in Tacoma (1980s). For the recreational crowd, this region of the US is probably one of the more enjoyable areas. Beaches, national parks, lakes, camping, and hiking....all five-star. In two hours, you can be across the border into Oregon and ride along the coast. Mount Hood draws thousands every weekend.
But you said...the ‘people’ were an issue. My impression was that around 10-percent should have been institutionalized (they weren’t sane, or they were hyped up on some drug constantly). I don’t know if this was just long-term marijuana usage or just mental issues.
I would readily move back there in a heartbeat, but there’s no way that I’d live around Seattle, Portland, Olympia...they are all lost causes.