Got one today too. Put on a Gore tex coat and stood under the shower, on cold, for a half an hour, and decided that Seattle is probably not to my liking outside of, say, late July.
The true seasons we experience in Seattle provide me [and I hear this from pals in tech.] with refreshment, mental health benefits. Or, what some consider the negative aspects of cold rain becomes fresh snow an hour outside of Seattle.
Also prefer to build products in Seattle winters; celebrate releases in the spring and summer.
Eight months of the year it's drizzle every day. But the other four months, well they almost make up for it. I spent a couple of really great summers in Seattle.
Plus, no snow unless you want it- then you drive to the mountains.
An ex-manager (who was from Microsoft) told me that's how they cheated interns. 4 months of great views and weather, the intern is hooked, and when they join full-time they discover the other 8 months.
I found myself just living for summers and then trying to grasp them like a fist full of sand as they slipped away all too quickly, leaving me to contemplate all the things I wished I'd been able to do, while staring out at the relentless gray sameness outside as another long winter arrived.
The first time I visited Seattle was the middle of July. The weather was warm and sunny. I recall going swimming in Lake Washington. Everyone was really, really happy and joyful, to the extent that I wondered if I had been lied to all my life about Seattle.
The PNW west of the Cascades is glorious in summer. Blue skies, clean air, no humidity, warm temperatures but not too warm. But the long, drizzly, gray winters are hell for those of us who like sunlight.
If you want to move to the area, visit in November or March or something to get an idea of what it's really like.
January and February. That's where I always start to break down in misery. It's been cloudy for ages. The days are starting to get longer but they're still short. And I start wondering if moving back home to New Orleans would be all that bad. Surely that wouldn't coincide with a hurricane trashing the place twice in my lifetime, would it?
Im in Beaverton and you nailed it. Although last summer was pretty hot its still not bad. PNW is just amazing. Guess it takes a certain someone who can deal with the rain and bad drivers that go along with it for the rest of the year.