Originally Posted by mcoomer
Seriously, I've always said that when it's nice in Seattle there is no place nicer. The summers are nearly perfect and winter gives you the opportunity to take in several area ski mountains.
Shhhhh! You'll give away the secret that Seattle isn't a perpetual grey-skied rain magnet!
I moved here last year from Cincinnati, and I love it here. The winters may be grey and damp from October to April (or May,) but it's hardly ever a pouring rain like I was used to in the midwest. The cycling is good year 'round, even though there's the guarantee that sooner (not later) it will be damp. Raingear is a must, but it's just something that you get used to for half the year.
The summer is beautiful. The rain holds off and saves it all up for the winter, I think. Temperatures (except for this year) are not very hot except for a couple weeks in August or September.
My favourite thing about the Seattle area is how close a variety of activities are. There's cycling year 'round. Kayaking (if your into cold water) year 'round. Yet, you can drive 40 to 90 minutes from downtown and be up in any of a large selection of mountain areas for skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing all winter. There's low elevation hiking trails for year 'round use if you're not into the snow, and there's 6000 footers a-plenty if you're into alpine climbing.
Housing in Seattle is pricey to buy unless you want to live at least a 30 mile commute from anything. Nothing like living close to SF, (from what I've heard through friends,) though. As with the Bay Area, you can find reasonable apartments if you look hard enough. Not everything in Seattle and the East Side is a $2.75/sq.ft. monthly cost, and the less expensive places don't mean you'll live in a rat-hole, either. (Although, you do have to check around because we have our fair share of cheap apartments that are really cheap for a reason!) Most of the time, apartments will be less expensive because you're not in a "prime" location: a.k.a. On the same block as the mall.
My vote's with Seattle, but mostly because I've been to SF and I'm just not a "California" kind of person. However, I agree with everyone that's said to take a bike tour of both areas and make your own decision based on that. What better 'excuse' for a bike tour than an *actual reason* to take one?