I moved from San Diego to Seattle to SF Bay Area.

I didn’t live in the “downtown” areas, but what you find problematic about SF is also very prevalent in Seattle, only with rain from October through June. If you get out of downtown Seattle, you’ll find some great neighborhoods and great parks, but the grey, cloudy, rainy winter is inescapable. I should add that I lived in upstate NY as a kid too.

I didn’t ride my bike much up there and mostly ran. Great trail running nearby. After the 5th winter, I couldn’t do it anymore, tried to get back to southern CA, and found, at the time, all the jobs for my wife were in the Bay Area. I’ve loved it here so far. We still contemplate moving to SoCal, but I think the variety of riding is better in NorCal.

Anyway, Seattle - I always suggest going in January or February to understand the winters, if thinking of moving there. If you go between July to October, it’s about as beautiful as any place can be for an outdoors enthusiast. Postcard beautiful everywhere you look. Fun place to explore.

Just don't visit in August or September. Huge bait and switch - days are glorious, produce and berries and crab a plenty. You get mesmerized, and then the other 10 months arrive and you find yourself going ***?????????? If you don't get out though before the end of the next July, you get caught again in the cycle.... again and again and again ; )

Now that's partly in jest but... I wouldn't ever come here for the road riding, and I live on Bainbridge Island where it is better than most places but its a small island after awhile. If you don't mind putting your bike in the car or riding 15-20 miles to get to the good stuff, then Seattle proper has a lot of other things going for it. And given the recent exhibits of the impacts of climate change around the country, as much as I hate, yes hate, the weather here, I do appreciate that we have it better than most places.

Where would I go in the Pacific NW as other options: Portland for a biggish City, although it too has many of the Seattle symptoms. Bellingham, Corvallis, Eugene, maybe Ashland, Bend if you like hotter, dryer, fly fishing, mountain biking and more brew pubs and food trucks than you know what to do with. If serious about Seattle and road riding - maybe out around Issaquah/Fall City, north around Edmonds/Mulkiteo and take ferry to Whidbey Island on a regular basis in summer; parts of the Peninsula are ok - Bainbridge, Poulsbo, Port Townsend. The trade off is that if you like to take advantage of city life, the driving is hell.

Spokane is a great town. Spent some time there as a little kid.
There was a fesitval at Riverfront Park every summer there - good memories...

I should mention that work is 100% remote for me, but my S/O is a clinical researcher so will be tied to a large medical campus for work. Portland is definitely on the prospective list, but I think a larger city is required, no matter what.

While we both drive, our only car is a stick shift and she hates it. I barely use the thing and we both prefer walking/transit/bike. I'll use my Ducati in a pinch if I need to get somewhere without carrying cargo.

With regards to CoL, we're not hurting by any means, but it does suck when you dump $3400/month into rent for a place with no backyard, storage, or garage and a quick glance at certain areas in Seattle (Ballard, West Seattle, etc) shows listings for entire homes for less. Ultimately, the 4 year plan is to bank until we can put a fat ass downpayment on a place of our own, so less waste on rent is better.

Seattle geography is very neighborhood dependent. We lived in Ballard for three years and it was one of the best places I’ve ever lived. Ballard has the advantage of very gradual hills (other than climbing up from the water), whereas neighborhoods like Queen Anne or Magnolia can mean you live on a 15% street.

I never felt that there was any lack of road riding—or riding of any type—and my friends and I rode year round. Yes, it gets wet but generally it’s pretty light rain and it doesn’t get that cold (I moved there from Denver, which is also a great place to ride but definitely can present more winter obstacles). Road rides around Mercer Island are awesome; gravel rides on the Olympic peninsula; MTB at Tiger…there’s so much riding.

If I was moving to the area I would strongly consider Bellingham.

3400 is pretty insane sounds like you might be overpaying to be honest. I can’t comment on Seattle but I’m from Oakland/Richmond and can tell you the East bay is much better when it comes to prices, space and overall crime

You can probably find a rental in El Cerrito/Albany/Berkeley for $2500-3000 no problem depending on your needs. Lower end of the scale would be a 2/1 apartment. Upper end would be a small home.

A lot more “suburban” which is what you seem to be looking for.

The entire west coast is a growing dumpster fire.

If you're considering Seattle: https://www.instagram.com/seattle.looks.like.shxt/

LOL; that’s literally every city. Good stuff and bad stuff.

I hope you're right, in the long term. Right now, my in-laws have seen skyrocketing prices for rent and food costs while on a fixed income. Seems utterly unsustainable for Spokane-area wages. Increased housing supply would help a lot, and Spokane has the room to expand as needed.

Sorry, we're getting farther OT here.

Sorry to hear it's not working out for you two. In terms of grocery stores, I dunno how far out in the avenues you are, but Balboa Produce by Hockey Haven ain't terrible (37th Ave), neither is Richmond Produce Market (20th). And if you're willing to cross GGP, Noriega Produce (now Gus's) really isn't that far away on bike. We'll usually bike down Great Highway, swing by Noriega Produce, then go back up via 41st into the park and back home.

But yeah, if you ain't feeling it, don't force it.

Those IG accounts are run by disgruntled …ummm, people of a certain socio-political persuasion.. anxious to paint west coast cities as dumpster fires of failed progressive policies..

Every major city in the country and most the world over are suffering from the effects of unfettered capitalism. Drugs, mental illness, homelessness, inequality. Is what it is. There’s still a lot of beauty and promise and community out there worth engaging with, atmo. And opportunities to help improve things within your capacity to do so.

Portland is a wonderful place to ride bikes and run, and it seems you have the means to pick a nicer close-in area to land that would largely avoid the issues you’re trying to escape from SF while still being close to the larger hospitals and/or medical campuses. DM me for specific info if it’s a serious consideration.

I’d caution though against setting unrealistic rental expectations based on perusing Craigslist or Zillow. There are parts of Ballard and West Seattle that are highly sketchy - and parts that are super nice. You kind of have to visit to know what you’d be getting and for how much, and where.

I followed my wife to the Bay Area at the beginning of Covid, our long transition took several long years living on opposite coasts. As I didn't know what my employment was going to be, we were non-committal in terms of location while she looked for a house to buy. The process involved several good real estate agents, mostly in East Bay but we got good advice about a large geographic range from Richmond to Fremont, East as far as Concord and Pleasanton. We kept an open mind over a year of searching, and eventually settled on a property in San Leandro, just S of Oakland, which may be a "sleeper" option for the OP to consider. The city has a wide range of housing, including some sketchy areas but also some nice, safe and (relatively- it's still Bay Area!) affordable neighborhoods if you're looking to buy- certainly less expensive than equivalents in Berkley or Oakland. The main downside is a dearth of cool restaurants and good grocery markets, but they're not too far away if we're willing to drive a few minutes. The business district of San Leandro feels more small town than Berkley-eclectic, but I like the mix of working class, seniors and young professionals that nearby more expensive areas lack. I'm a 5 min. bike ride away from Chabot park with a big network of trails to tear up on my CX bike with lots of options for daily 1-3hr rides or trail runs, I don't bother with road riding except at low traffic times, but access to the usual East Bay roadie routes is easy from my front door. Plus the micro-climate here, compared to other parts of East Bay, is warmer in Winter, cooler in Summer than parts further East, less foggy than Oakland/Alameda, and definitely more sunshine than SF. I have mixed opinions about the Bay Area in general, but San Leandro is worth a look if you're going to live in the area. And FWIW, investing in a home and "paying yourself" through a mortgage rather than rent ASAP is generally a smart move if you're going to stay in one place long enough to recover the fees. Talk to some real estate agents- the good ones are super valuable allies, know their communities inside and out and can find the best combination of things you're looking for.

As others have said, Portland might strike a nice balance for you. I’ve been here going on 30 years, moved away a few times, always came back, won’t move again unless it’s abroad. My wife’s a realtor so we’re pretty tuned into local neighborhoods and housing. If you ever want to chat about it in depth, feel free to message me.


I have bad ideas…

Errr.. tell this old fart what levels of 'sketch' means...:)

I'm guessing he means high levels of human feces on the sidewalks. And other stuff like that.