Seattle is a great place to live for many reasons. One of the most important is how it embraces the diversity of its citizens, whether it’s celebrating each summer with a cornucopia of neighborhood festivals, or the opportunities of its everyday life. For example, there are many Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, Jewish synagogues, Buddhist temples and an Islamic mosque. Along with 10 daily and weekly English-language newspapers, there are publications in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Norwegian. Even in trade Seattle reflects its diversity by being a sister city to 20 other nations (the second largest program in the nation). As mentioned above, a great way to get to know the city is through its unique neighborhoods because each one has its own distinctive characteristics. (The city government even has a Department of Neighborhoods.)

Educational opportunities also enhance the quality of life in Seattle with more than 300 private and parochial schools in the Seattle elementary and secondary school system. In 1997 the public school system had 45,457 students; the highest in 17 years. The dropout rate for high school students dropped to its lowest rate since 1983. For the past three years the Seattle Public Schools have improved steadily its students’ scores on standardized tests. There are many public and private opportunities for post-secondary education. The state system includes the University of Washington, Western Washington University and a network of four community colleges located around the city. Private institutions include Seattle Pacific University and Seattle University. Their combined enrollment is more than 70,000 students. Seattle ranks second in the U.S. among adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (37.9%).

Seattle’s most recent economic growth spurt comes from the advanced technology industries of computer software, biotechnology, electronics, medical equipment, and environmental engineering. Biotechnology alone provides more than 5,000 jobs and Boeing, the area’s largest employer, has more than 12,000 employees. In 1994, there were nearly 1.2 million non-agricultural workers in our region; and we have had exceptional growth in the past four years. Of course everyone knows about Microsoft and Boeing, but we are also home to these nationally known companies -- Price Costco, Weyerhaeuser, Nordstrom, Safeco, McCaw Cellular, Airborne Freight, and Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI). One reason Seattle was voted the nation’s “Best City for Business” by Fortune (1992) was its geographic access to the growing Asian trade markets. In 1993 we hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference and the first NAFTA meeting in 1990. In 1992 Washington export value was twice the national average and the harbor handled 20 million metric tons of goods. The Port of Seattle is the fifth largest in the U.S.

This thriving economy benefits us all with 81.4% having a household income $30,000 or greater. The majority (34%) of Seattle-area jobs are in the service industry, followed by wholesale and retail trade (29%) and government (17%). From 1996 to 1997 unemployment dropped nearly 1% to 3.1%. Professional occupations are expected to grow 35% from 1995-2005.

But for all of its big city growth, Seattle remains a relatively safe place to live. The Seattle Police Department reports that overall crime is down 3.9% from 1994. Our biggest area of crime is non-residential burglary which last year rose 32.9%, offsetting a sharp decrease in auto theft (-8.5%), residential burglary (-9.96%), aggravated assault (-4.6%), robbery

(-11.3%) and murder (-19.6%).

When you are ready to relax, the ocean and mountains are right outside Seattle’s back door beckoning with a temperate climate and bountiful outdoor recreational opportunities. Sail and motor boating, fishing, hiking, mountain climbing, cycling, camping, hunting, water and snow skiing and snowboarding are all within an hour’s drive of the University. Seattle is the birthplace for hydroplane racing and it is a thrill to see these monster boats roar across the waters of Lake Washington each summer. Within the city there are 50 urban and 20 rural parks, 12 beaches, 7 golf courses, 89 tennis courts, 12 swimming pools, 20 playing fields, 42 athletic clubs and 5 maintained trails! For the sports fans there are professional football, baseball, basketball (all with new facilities), soccer and semi-pro hockey teams, as well as Pac-10 favorite UW Huskies!

For those in pursuit of cultural entertainment, Seattle hosts major musical performers from pop to hip-hop and theatrical productions from community theater to Broadway in its 80 companies, 13 of them professional. It supports its own Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera companies and dazzles the eye with classical, Northwest Native and Asian collections. We celebrate our cultural diversity with the summer-long Seafair Neighborhood Festivals, Northwest Folklife Festival and Bite of Seattle. As everyone knows, we are “Sleepless in Seattle” with “Frazier” and we are a frequent setting for television and movies. Our Seattle International Film Festival is world-renown. We boast a reputation of being one of the most well read cities with record per capita book sales and many nationally known authors in residence. There are 11 museums, including the Burke Memorial Museum and the Henry Art Gallery on the UW campus; 28 historic sites, 25 community centers, 25 public libraries and 27 performing arts centers, like the Moore Theater here on campus.

By now you must be thinking, “Toto, we certainly must be in Oz. This place is perfect!” Along with its fame for fish and coffee, Seattle is also known for its formidable commute and escalating housing costs. It is true that the population rush to Seattle over the past five years has really stretched the capacity of these two commodities. However, for the traffic there is hope. The Puget Sound citizens voted two years ago to approve and fund the 10-year regional transit plan - Sound Move - which is being developed by the Sound Transit Board. It is a comprehensive plan using new electric light rail, improved rededicated commuter rail, increased HOV expressways and regional express bus routes, and improved existing bus and freeway systems with a common fee and fare system. Last year the voters spoke again, passing an initiative to expand the monorail system, started over 30 years ago for the World’s Fair. Relief from the congestion seems in sight.

To be honest, housing prices have risen along with the astounding influx of new residents to the region. The median sales price of a single-family home in Seattle in 1996 was $164,600; topped only by San Diego, Boston and San Francisco. And the average rental cost of a 2-bedroom apartment is $755. However, this higher cost is offset by lower fuel, transportation and utility costs and a median family income of $55,100.

Would you like to know more about Seattle and all that it has to offer? Check out our favorite websites!