Hi Cathryn,

The burbs of Seattle are a wonderful place to live and very ethnically diverse. I lived there for five years and those were some of my best lifetime years. Despite what they say about rain, all the rain does not come in the winter, but is spread around during the summer with thunder storms, which I love. It does get about two weeks of snow, but certainly not difficult.

Education is very high on the list of concerns there and every child going to every school has a school bus free of charge. You don't have to buy a thing for them when they go to school either, which is so opposite of CA. And Microsoft has made computers totally abundant for all ages.

Though its not as inexpensive as it used to be, its at least one third less than the SF Bay Area. You will always find new places to adventure to as each city in the area has something to offer with special events from springtime to fall. You are very close to water and only one hour away to ski resorts.

I never felt a single earthquake the entire time I lived there. Mind you, that's not a guarantee, but they are not so frequent as they are around here. If I had a choice to move back, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Petra