I spent three days in Wichita this summer and did not get a great vibe. Probably just in the wrong parts of town.
Leaving Iowa
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I spent three days in Wichita this summer and did not get a great vibe. Probably just in the wrong parts of town.
I moved to Indianapolis. I don't know if it's bigger than Seatle, but it's certainly bigger than anything in Iowa.
Traffic here is not an issue. It can be slow moving occasionally, and there's construction a lot, but it's not Chicago or L.A. I doubt Seatle will be horrible, unless you get aggrivated by not being able to go faster than the speed limit at any time of the day. I've never had my car broken into, either, and I've been in the shadiest parts of Indy and drive a VW (not a great car, but it's still nice and in excellent condition with a CD player in it). Keep in mind that there's cities like Chicago, New York and L.A. and then there's cities like Seatle and Indianapolis. They are NOT the same as the BIG cities.
The only things I really miss are my family, ISU games and the Iowan people. You really won't meet any better people, and you'll realize that when you move.
I have a couple of friends that live in Seatle, and they belong to the ISU Alumni group there. They do stuff once a month or so, so that may be something to check out so you can even get a little taste of Iowa all the way on the west coast.
Good luck in your travels!
Traffic here is not an issue. It can be slow moving occasionally, and there's construction a lot, but it's not Chicago or L.A. I doubt Seatle will be horrible, unless you get aggrivated by not being able to go faster than the speed limit at any time of the day. I've never had my car broken into, either, and I've been in the shadiest parts of Indy and drive a VW (not a great car, but it's still nice and in excellent condition with a CD player in it). Keep in mind that there's cities like Chicago, New York and L.A. and then there's cities like Seatle and Indianapolis. They are NOT the same as the BIG cities.
The only things I really miss are my family, ISU games and the Iowan people. You really won't meet any better people, and you'll realize that when you move.
I have a couple of friends that live in Seatle, and they belong to the ISU Alumni group there. They do stuff once a month or so, so that may be something to check out so you can even get a little taste of Iowa all the way on the west coast.
Good luck in your travels!
Go for it! Sounds like an adventure.
But if you have concerns, let the wife know upfront. And let her know that you want to revisit the decision periodically. You can always move back or somewhere else...
But if you have concerns, let the wife know upfront. And let her know that you want to revisit the decision periodically. You can always move back or somewhere else...
Those big city girls wisk you to sin city as soon as they got the hook in you. I told you so.
Good luck!
Good luck!
I can't speak for LA, but I travel to both Chicago and Seattle several times a year on business. Seattle's traffic is very comparable to Chicago's.
Might have just been the parts you saw. It's a pretty polarized town.
We enjoyed Wichita and could have stayed there probably forever. We weren't looking to move at all. I was looking for a job for quite a while and never looked outside of Wichita. Then an opportunity knocked on my door and when I got the job, we couldn't pass it up.
Great adventure moving here though.
I've had quite a few adventures living in seven different states since I left Iowa. I have lived in a number of large cities and have also lived in rural areas. I would never consider living in another city regardless of the city or where it is located.
Moved to Houston from Ames about a month ago. Loving it so far, the kids are enjoying it as well. There are things to do here that can't be found in Iowa at all - museums, pro teams, international interactions, tons of food choices, etc.
Plus the beach is about 90 minutes away and a really good time.
Plus the beach is about 90 minutes away and a really good time.
I moved to Myrtle Beach to go to school after my sophomore year of college, I loved and hated it. I lived there for two years until I graduated and after awhile it got a little old. Having over 1,000,000 visitors annually go through there was a bit much. Everything was always busy, gridlock on the main highway into Myrtle was unbearable, and the tourists were mostly ********. Don't get me wrong, the area is beautiful and there are **** ton of golf courses, but it just got old. After graduating, I decided to look back here for jobs and landed a good one, so I left. I am now considering moving again, this time to AZ. In my business, its the place to be if you want to get ahead and I have an interview in Scottsdale in five days. Not sure how easy it will be living a city that large, but I guess I will have to deal with it.
You have never been to Seatle have you. Don't kid yourself Seatle has way more outdoor activity and overall better weather than Iowa could dream about. Traffic, what traffic? You want to talk open country side, Seatle can't be beat.
I've lived in Portland, Oregon and have spent quite a bit of time in Seattle.
Iowa gets more rain but no place has more overcast and dreary days than the Pacific Northwest (the portion close to the Pacific).
The geography around Seattle is spectacular. In addition, you can get in a car and not have to drive a million miles to find a more arid climate (eastern Washington).
You can read about it all you want but if you havn't experienced it, YOU REALLY DON"T KNOW. I will go on to say, for it's size Ames has some of the worst traffic trying to go through town. But what do I know. You read about it, I lived it.
- Mar 27, 2006
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I agree. I've traveled to a ton of different cities for work, and Seattle was always one of my favorites. I've done a lot of driving in that city, and never thought it was bad, compared with some of the really bad traffic cities out there like Newark/New York, Boston, Atlanta, Philly, and San Francisco.
Yea, there probably isn't much here that will wow you in three days, but its a great place to raise a family. I consider it similar to Des Moines, except you get an extra month of heat in the summer and one less month of cold in the winter. We moved here 30 years ago to see if we would like living this far from friends and family. Seems to have worked out OK!