So I'm thinking of moving to Seattle...good idea or bad idea?

[The Blue Flower]

7. I left Seattle last summer after 16 years

Rents and housing prices have gone through the roof. Many long-timers from my sweet little neighborhood have been forced out by development that only the high-paid techies can afford. The number of homeless has doubled in the last 2-3 years because affordable housing is going away. Traffic congestion has worsened considerably. I loved it there for a long time, and loved my community. What the city planners are after is "densification", which is meant to prevent urban sprawl. But, geographically, there is no place to sprawl to. High housing costs have forced average working folks out to Puyallup and other urban centers, which means they have to commute farther to get to work. So that's another reason traffic has become so difficult.

If you want to move to the NW, and I definitely understand why you would, I suggest you try Portland. It's a terrific city and more affordable.