I'm outta here as soon as I finish my doctorate. While I love the scenery and being near the water, etc., there is no way I'd spend $200,000+ for a little craftsman cottage here in North Seattle (if they don't burn down the neighborhood first). The traffic is terrible and the city has a long way to go before it gets a handle on public transportation as it's understood on the east coast.
That said, with the Boeing layoffs and dotcom bust, the rental market has taken a dive and I've had reductions in my rent each year.
I thought I was a tough gal, w/10 years in Philly and 6 months working in NYC, but downtown Seattle unnerves me. I don't like going down there at all, though maybe it's a function of age. My son goes to the clubs and seems to like it well enough. However, neither one of us likes Belltown or anyplace down there well enough to want to live down there, new buildings and deals on rent notwithstanding, which is too bad, because I generally consider myself a city person.
In Seattle's defense tho, I must say that the people are generally friendly (especially coming from the east coast where people get angry if you look at them the wrong way), I feel pretty safe (if I don't go downtown), and am glad I picked Seattle over some of the college towns I could be doing time in.
The only place in "Sea Town" that I would feel unsafe in are certain blocks in the Rainier Valley or Central District at 3AM. I did enjoy living in Brooklyn more than living in Belltown, though.