Washington Real Estate & Relocation Guide

Seattle, Washington

Population: 563,374

Located in King County

Seattle, the largest city in Washington, is located 100 miles south of Canada in the western part of the state, on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington. A major seaport and an active, forward-looking community, Seattle goes by many nicknames: the "Queen City," the "Emerald City," the "Rain City" and the Gateway to Alaska.

We are home to six Fortune 500 companies that shape the way Americans live today, including Amazon.com, Starbucks, and Nordstrom. Microsoft and Nintendo of America are located in neighboring Redmond, and Boeing, although it has moved its headquarters to Chicago, still houses its largest division in nearby Renton. Seattle has consistently been ranked among the best cities for new businesses, and we are expanding in biotech and communications. Employment is Seattle has taken a downturn recently, but we are relatively stable even in this difficult time for the nation.

Seattle is a city of more than 80 neighborhoods and districts, many of them marked with colorful names and welcoming signs. In the North End you'll find Sunset Hill, Maple Leaf and Cedar Park, as well as the golf-centered Highlands, a large gated community. In the Central City, urbanites live in Magnolia and Cherry Hill, and the downtown districts of Pioneer Square and the famous Pike-Market neighborhood. To the south and west, Beacon Hill, Ranier Beach and Hillman City combine thriving business districts with beach parks and a variety of housing opportunities. Seattle is a walkable city; the web site Walk Score calls Seattle the 6th most walkable city in the United States, and estimates that only 14% of Seattleites live in "car-dependent" neighborhoods. Whatever your dream home is in terms of style or price, you will find it in Seattle—and experience shows that home will hold its value.

Seattle's natural beauty inspires even the most committed couch potatoes. The best in urban recreation is at your toes and at your fingertips around Seattle--spectacularly scenic golf, kayaking and canoeing, fishing and clamming, hiking, urban parks including Discovery Park (in the Magnolia neighborhood), Seward Park (at Lake Washington) and Woodland Park Zoo and Rose Gardens. A short drive out of the city leads to skiing, snowboarding, river rafting, hiking and some of the most scenic parks around: Mt. Rainier National Park, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park and Rainforest, and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

Astrologers say that Seattle is a Scorpio town, fluid, enigmatic and defined by water. To the west lies saltwater Puget Sound; to the east, freshwater Lake Washington; in the middle, Lake Union. Everywhere, the focus is water, from our heritage to our future. We are proud of Odyssey, the Maritime Discovery Center, the Seattle Aquarium on the downtown waterfront, the Center for Wooden Boats, our waterfront parks, and the waterfall fountains of Harbor Steps linking the waterfront to First Avenue just above. Seattle's robust maritime heritage began when the Klondike Gold Rush established it as a major Pacific port in the 1890s, and it is still going strong. Fisherman's Terminal is a working commercial fishing port, the Port of Seattle is vital to marine trade, and the urban waterfront is booming with commercial, retail and tourist ventures. Ferries crossing Puget Sound and seaplanes lifting off from Lake Union support an island culture in the San Juans, on Vashon and Bainbridge, and two floating bridges spanning Lake Washington carry travelers east to west.

A coastal city equidistant from Tokyo and London, Seattle is truly a cultural melting pot, particularly shaped by the Pacific Rim in everything from architecture to art to the eclectic Seattle cuisine. Unlike major cities who might have a formal Chinatown or Japantown, we have the International District (we call it the "ID"), populated by residents of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Laotian and Cambodian descent. Uwajimaya Village, a large Japanese and Asian grocery store and shopping center, is located in the heart of the ID. We have an active community of Pacific Islanders, and the city's deep Scandinavian roots are evident. Seattle's namesake Chief Sealth, is memorialized with statues and plaques around town at Seattle Center, in Pioneer Square and in West Seattle.

Seattle is truly a city with a vibrant past and an exciting future ahead. From espresso to grunge, from airplanes to bicycles, from whales to the Space Needle, we have made this city and our way of life our own. Come visit Seattle and see why we call ourselves a "Metronatural" city. We think you'll want to stay.