| Here goes... Seattle is a fantastic town, water everywhere, gorgeous vistas and when the weather cooperates (August) there's no better place (I've found) in the entie-ree world. That said, I just moved my teensy company from Seattle to Austin (after nearly, gulp, three decades in the SEA). Ms. Rich's article reads like the 'impressions' of one who's never, umm, started a company in Seattle. 5 reasons I left (and won't be headed back): - traffic is abysmal. Not NYC/LA abysmal, but for a town of its size, truly awful. - weather is grey/overcast and misty (most years) for 10 months. - it's hard to attract/keep talent with families -- home prices near good schools, within short commute of downtown (or eastside) core are high. Wages are somewhat high, but get eaten up fast if you buy a home. - business taxes, fees. State/county government is bloated and seems very willing to sacrifice job creation for revenue (read: more taxes on the way). - did I mention the weather? Went back for thanksgiving - culture shock. Weather was overcast and I was struck by how dark it is. Light at 9am-ish and starts to get dark at 3:30. There's a reason Seattle runs on caffeine. (edit: thought I had this bulleted list thing down - alas, no) |