Living in Seattle: 5 Reasons NOT to move here 

I own a home in Ballard. I don’t care much about natural disasters, I’m worried about the crime. Seattle has a major drug, crime and homeless problem.

If you're rich af and like to stay home all the time reading books and/or playing video games then Seattle could be the place for you.

Also mold in older homes, very common due to water intrusion which sellers often lie about.

I moved here from south Florda 25 years ago. I grew up dealing with hurricanes, the storms are much worse now and surburan flooding is as well. Wherver you live there are going to be POTENTIAL natural disasters. I take the PNW problems any day!

I would put the weather as a factor. If you love the sun and not cloudy weather. Then I would not move there also. I coworker of mine as a programmer with me in a company in orange county california. He told about his plans to move to seattle. As a company had made him a offer on a job. I told my experience of being stationed up there in the airforce and seeing the cloudy weather up there. It was a few years later and I was shopping at a store and I ran into him. I asked him if he was back to visit family. He said 'no'. He couldn't stand the cloudy weather and move back.

Washington state's population in 1990 was 3 million less than it is today. The states geography and economics limits people to living in a very small area of the state compared to its total land mass of 71,362 sg miles. Ohio's land mass is 44,825 sg miles but with a population 4 million greater, yet Washington state is far more congested. The state is not naturally designed for high density living. The population is largely squeezed between mountains and ocean. An adequate car centric road system is unaffordable, so Seattle is often ranked in the ten worst cities for traffic congestion. It relies heavily on H1-B visas in its tech sector, so the area is transient for high paying positions which has an outsized impact on cost of living in the area. Strict restrictions on growth did not stop the influx of people moving to the area and the lack of rent controls was a contributor to explosive growth in housing costs. Of the approximate one million housing units in King County only 57% are owner occupied. Real Estate is about investment opportunities not housing in the Puget Sound corridor. Seattle has many of the same problems as San Francisco and for similar reasons. Very difficult to live in either city if you are not wealthy or comfortable with the consequences of poverty. Not middle class friendly. My prediction. People under thirty will start leaving expensive Mega Cities for rural areas and college towns. Quality of life will replace the cool/excitement factor.

I'm still moving to Seattle regardless, it's the most underrated city and it's my dream to be there. 💯

I remember the 2001 earthquake. I was outside, and I remember I was getting sick, and it felt like it was wakes. It eas crazy to see the glass wave. Every place has natural disaster areas. Hawaii had active volcanoes, and they get hundreds of earthquakes a day. I. Hate seattle because housing market is unaffordable and the homelessness issues that are making crime rates go up. If you want to live on the Eastside good luck. A 3 bdrm home is $800.000 on the low end. Alot of them aren't even updated and need renovation. Its ridiculous.

I was SO nervous to click on this video because Seattle has Always been the goal for me and I was worried this would be a huge deterrent, but these are all things we keep in mind up in Anchorage so I feel a lot less worried now! Thank you for sharing, Monica:)

One way of learning about being more prepared in a natural disaster is to take a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course.

Thanks so much for creating this video and getting the word out about natural disasters. Also, remember that it’s important to consider a sewer back water valve to prevent against sewer flooding. It’s like a little door that’s installed on your sewer line that automatically closes in the event that the public sewer is full and surcharging.

I grew up here, I live here still and we can't wait to move from here.

I lived in Seattle since my childhood in the 70's, and I sold my house in North Seattle and moved out in 2020. Why to not move to Seattle: 1. Homeless camps everywhere, including parks, greenbelts (one across the street from me), freeway easements, etc. (and I do get into Seattle almost weekly now, and I've noticed there has been some push-back by city authorities in this area.) 2. Gang graffiti everywhere. All unoccupied buildings. Solid along I-5 retaining walls, especially from downtown going south. 3. Derelict RV's with homeless all over the place. They're allowed to stay in one place, move, and move back, and it never ends. 4. Prostitution all up and down Aurora Ave. Now that loitering for drug dealing and prostitution are legal as of 2020. (Drug dealing and prostitution aren't legal per se, but loitering to solicit those activities is.) 5. Unique neighborhood charms are almost gone. Stack 'em and pack 'em apartment buildings are packed in wherever they can be. 6. Mentally ill all over the place in public. You've got to watch your back and carry pepper spray or you're very naïve. 7. Shoplifting is de facto legal. Supermarkets are bleeding out untold amounts of money. 8. The south end of downtown Seattle is an open air zombie mental asylum, where the mentally ill outnumber the normals. 9. Everything is expensive. Restaurants/cafe's prices just going up and up. 10. The small businesses that can make it mostly cater to addictions. Weed, espresso, boutique wine and beer, vape, smokes, etc. 11. Confiscatory property taxes. I was paying about $500 a month on my house. 12. Law and order declining and police are quitting. Political leadership seems to hate police. 13. Property crime skyrocketing. Got a catalytic converter on your car? Is it parked outside? Better check. 14. Seattle is a political cult. You'd better be "progressive" or you don't fit in. Whenever some political event that outrages progressives happens, several thousand all over the city will appear on street corners and in business districts with signs screaming about it. It's like that movie "they live" where a large segment of the population seem totally hypnotized and under control of mass media. 15. And, much of this amazingly vanishes just as you cross the incorporated Seattle city limits. I live twenty minutes north, and it's like night and day.

THE WEATHER THE WEATHER THE WEATHER THE WEATHER THE WEATHER

Thank you for making this video Monica. Great information. Look forward for to additional content like this.

Um kinda forgetting the ACTUAL top 2 reasons....The Crime and Homeless.

Landslides are a huge issue in the area. Last year there was a home in magnolia that landslided and the community really came together for them. It’s tough 😢

I wish they could do something regarding the homelessness in the area. When I first moved here 25 years ago there weren't the encampments and it was much less.

Super interesting video, Monica. It would be interesting to see the whole greater Seattle area, too. BTW, two different words: “Liquification is the act of becoming liquid as in condensation from a gas or the melting of a solid. Liquifaction refers to soil acting like a liquid. It happens during earthquake.”

I recently took a course on natural disasters and being from Vancouver, we read case studies about events in Washington like the Oso earthquake and have the same hazards.

Monica!! Love the videos, as always, I wish Michigan offered s website to look at potential things to look at in areas for real estate. But I also just have to say your hair looks AMAZING!!!!

Your hair looks so good!

This was a great video, very informative!

We appreciate your honesty. Some agents would never mention the cons of living somewhere. Is this mainly Seattle and other parts of WA not as affected?

Please nobody else move here!!

Flooding in Ballard is a high risk because of the high concentration of tweekers. It's rumored that they're tunneling under the city and it's dangerously close to Ballard locks and it could collapse at any moment . Haha idk for real tho but probably has something to do with the Ballard locks idk

I was born here and I sure don't like how much it's changed. Crime, etc. But we haven't had an earthquake worth talking about in 20 years. The best thing to know is NOT to run outside during the middle of one.

Monica's the only real estate agent using this sort of title and having it NOT be total clickbait

Love the use of the storymap!

Great video and topic! ❤

Good stuff Monica!

awesome info!!

This was a super interesting educational video! Do you ever venture outside of the city? I’m in a suburb on the Eastside and it would be fun to see you highlight areas like Bothell, Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah, etc. Show people that you can still get the benefits of “city” living (lots to see and do) but in a quieter and more affordable setting. Seattle/Bellevue and the surrounding cities are so unique compared to most cities. People think of these super large cities but we’re so small 😅

I'm really surprised you've never talked about the Seattle Underground Tour. If you haven't gone, you really need to.

Moving there next month, so this was really reassuring to open RU-vid to 😅

Super informative!

We forgot about volcanoes lol i didn’t know there’s so many surrounding Seattle before moving here 😂 and yes the crime and homelessness is bad. Got my car almost stolen after 4 months of living here. Police don’t come for little crime like that sadly

Thanks for posting this!

Honestly all of these one offs are nothing comparing to the consistent humid cold and forecast and shortest summers that are never enough unless you happen to love it when it’s freezing cold and rainy gray most of the year

I can understand why someone would live in Seattle, Portland or SF if that's where they grew up and all they know. But what completely blows my mind is that adults actually choose to move to those PNW cities in our current era.

This doesn't really have to do with what you talk about in your video but, there's a lot of homeless people that live in the Seattle area.

Thanks for the great information

Next vid: 5 reasons to MOVE from Seattle 😊 cuz I’m interested

Born and raised here. I can give you several reasons.......😪

Hazard map needs to include the drug addicts and homeless population for the times you’re walking the city.

This comment is unrelated but PLEASE remind me the name of the hotel deals website you or Shelby promoted? I’m leaving next week and I can’t find the video. You took a trip to Hawaii

I remember the 2001 earthquake, I was in middle school during that time.

Hey what camera do you use

I still would live in Seattle anytime before Florida

Interesting topic! Imagine living in a country where close to a third of its surface is below sea level, as low 22 feet :) What about wildfires?

What about that huge volcano in the skyline

So how are the real-estate markets in the Seattle area in these trying times? I know that here in Idaho it's still a hot market and all you hear and see is people moving here from Seattle, Portland, and California. I honestly can't believe how many people have moved here we can't even build the infrastructure fast enough to keep up with the growth!

I romanticize about Seattle because of one of my favorite TV shows - Frasier. That family made me want to live with them in that nice big beautiful (fake) loft in Seattle. Lol. Oh I forgot to mention that I love rain (if I don’t have to be out in it).

You forgot volcanoes...

It's called SEATTLE FREEZEEEEEEEEEEEEE

How many homes have you sold there?

Earthquake insurance is not a little extra, it is a LOT extra. And they come with huge deductibles. Not $500, more like the first 10% of the damage, including any brickwork damage. Still if you $500,000 house that has a potential of total earthquake destruction, a $50K deductible is not so bad. The insurance pays the $450,000 remaining.

Been there done that...I know...😮

Seattle is getting out of control with the population! I’m born and raised in this beautiful city, and I can remember we didn’t have traffic like we do today. No offense people but we are full. I’m really sick and tired of the fact that it is becoming an over populated city 😢 with a pandemic hit it was awesome because everybody stayed their butts at home and the roads were clear like they used to be. Yes people stay away. Our city is crazy. We have lots of scary earthquakes and the homeless is just taking over. It is so gloom and doom. It’ll just rain all day. We don’t do fun things we’re all boring. The big ones coming, so stay away.

HOMELESS PEOPLES GALORE! It just gets worse every year.

This is a bad list. If you live in seattle, especially downtown seattle, crime & homelessness would be on your list unless youre blind

rain rain rain

How is the earthquakes compared to California?

Yeah, but FINISH THAT AIRSTREAM. Also this is the best real list of what is happening here.

People are the reason I live in the middle of nowhere in the mountains.

cheerful 🤣

The price of living in Seattle as a renter/home owner is mostly unaffordable to the middle class.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="248">4:08</a>... hee hee!!!

Homelessness everywhere, 3 months of awesome summer with 9 months of depression, way way overinflated real estate prices, not friendly to conservative ideas if you lean that way. Homelessness is worth mentioning twice, have you seen downtown Seattle lately?

1. The HORRIBLE weather. 2. Huge uptick in violent crime. 3. Huge uptick in regular crime. 4. Don’t be from California, locals HATE everyone/everything from California (except Disneyland). 5. Over 385 closed businesses downtown, gone forever. It’s a very sad downtown. …..and 6. Did I mention the depressing, cold, rainy, DEPRESSING, HORRIBLE weather?!?!

I thought this would be a much different video, then I saw the name of the channel lol boujee problems

:)

Natural disasters, really?? Florida would be laughing at this video, I agree with the comments, crime and homelessness is way worse than anything on this list.

licky what ?

These are the things you are worried about??!!!! 😆😆😆😆

You look exactly like another RU-vidr on here!

Natural disasters are certainly a reason but I’d point more to the endless gray days and antisocial weirdos

WOW. you can live with me! in Joshua Tree CA. I got 3 bedrooms. you take one and I get 1. Have 8 dogs too. 6 puppies and the mom and dad. I got cancer. I could use some company

I disagree with you. I have been living in Seattle, WA, for 24 years and love every minute of it. I have lived in West Seattle, Downtown Seattle, Kirkland, and Tukwila and didn't have no issues.

A lot ? you live there,earthquakes? i d k about this info i never flight to seattle now 😅 no sightseeing no Market Place,this video said come not to Seattle do you make a 5 reasons you must to come to Seattle too 🙃 One reason is i was never there second is cow (joke) ha ha.

How does she not mention the more immediate hazards of Seattle: communists in government, homelessness, crime, Antifa, etc?

Spent the summer there ; what a cesspool. If you have lot's of money to isolate yourself from the riff raff, it's OK, but didn't like the vibe there. It's a Marxist/ commie utopia. Shalom

Sump. Pump. Not a sump pump. A sump. Pump.

Or don't move here because we don't have the infrastructure and people that were born here can hardly afford to live thanks to this mass migration. I know this isn't the comment you want on this video but it is the reality.

Mon, you should be wearing your Engineer's hard hat in this video. The good news is Seattle has done its homework mapping the potential issues. Many cities don't do this. Very well-informed video. I like it. Can I use it on my Patreon site please? I would like to have a professional understanding, so I don't accidently do the wrong thing. 🪃🪃🦘🦘🤔🤔💥💥