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I lived in Seattle for over 45 years and left four years ago to a small farm in central KY I purchased 6 years ago. I have three adult daughters that live in Seattle. Two Downtown and one near lake city way near I-5.

Reasons I left:
1. Politics. You really give up your freedom to live there. And they ignore the will of the people. Even when there is a referendum (People voted to put Kingdome by southcenter. City put it south of downtown anyway. People voted to not build Safeco field. City built it anyway. Etcetera.)
2. Traffic. This is the biggie. I’ve had two separate friends visit and they both said the same thing: It looks like the city expands retail and living quarters and then says, “Gosh, should we build some wider roads? Naw, People will get used to it”.

You have to plan outings around traffic seven days a week.

I bicycle commuted in Seattle for a couple of decades but stopped because texting drivers made it too dangerous.

And one other thing, and a person from New York summed this one up really well. The people in Seattle seem friendly but that is not what it is. They are not “Friendly”. They are “polite”.

Now the positive: IT is a truly beautiful area and there are some great parks. One Christmas day my wife and I went to the tip of the Alki Beach area and watched Killer whales just offshore. There are some awesome little neighborhood communities. We liked to go Downtown at 6:00 on Saturday mornings and watch the Pike Place Market open up and see the people getting and setting up their booths. We’d walk around the Westlake park area and enjoy a Starbucks or Tully’s coffee as we walked around. We would leave before nine so we didn’t have to pay for parking or fight any crowds.

And Freemont is a fun place. There is a place called the White Rabbit. On monday nights the Michael Shrieve band plays there. Michael was the drummer for Santana at Woodstock. The most amazing clip from the movie is his drum solo. He’s gotten better his whole life and his band matches him. They are a serious treat - assuming they are still doing it.

The red hook brewery is also west of Freemont. It’s fun.

Oh, and south lake union has become totally Amazon territory. I think they hire a lot of cheap young people that populate all the apartments in that area. It’s very “hip” there. But at my age (61) I’ve been there, done that. I like to watch the subtle young professional pompousness as a sort of comedic side show. They think they are so “smart and worldly” that it really is kinda fun to watch. Like a living Woody Allen movie.

And then there is the stuff outside of Seattle. Hiking, biking trails, etc. But I ramble.

Frankly, I like Kentucky even more, but if you are young and really want to soak in the urban life and what it has to offer, Seattle is one of your best choices. I like Louisville better but that is because I like its size. Frankly, Knoxville TN might be even better. But both are “just right”. I like to say that, size wise, louisville is to seattle what seattle is to chicago what chicago is to new york.

But the key is that Louisville really doesn’t have the traffic issues (It has them, as do all cities, but not much) and the government is MUCH less intrusive than it is in Seattle.

Oh, and there is no income tax in Seattle, but the sales tax is over 10%.

You have to plan outings around traffic seven days a week.

I bicycle commuted in Seattle for a couple of decades but stopped because texting drivers made it too dangerous.

And one other thing, and a person from New York summed this one up really well. The people in Seattle seem friendly but that is not what it is. They are not “Friendly”. They are “polite”.

The red hook brewery is also west of Freemont. It’s fun.

And then there is the stuff outside of Seattle. Hiking, biking trails, etc. But I ramble.

But the key is that Louisville really doesn’t have the traffic issues (It has them, as do all cities, but not much) and the government is MUCH less intrusive than it is in Seattle.

Oh, and there is no income tax in Seattle, but the sales tax is over 10%.

Wow very informative. Daughter hates traffic....really hates it, but many of her peers have opted to live “downtown” (Chicago), and I don’t think they even have cars. What you say about the government there meshes with some of what I have read. Very disappointing. No income tax, but 10% sales tax—wow. Like you, I am gravitating towards a smaller city—less stress. Have one in the south right now, so it is tempting to consider retirement down there. I lived in Knoxville years ago and liked it very much :)