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About the
Seattle Area | 
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One thing we locals appreciate about our region is the myriad of outdoor activities at hand within a short distance (skiing, hiking, boating on fresh and salt water, fishing, camping, beachcombing on the Pacific Ocean even! Our climate is temperate; although we do have lots of gray rainy days, we rarely shovel snow, never hunker for hurricanes or tornadoes, and seldom even air-condition our homes because summers are neither sweltering, nor humid. We do have plenty of opportunity, however, to run around barefoot in shorts in summer. This season, due to El Nino, our first frost was in early December. Fuschias bloomed on my front porch through November! I won't represent to you that this is typical! But there is something special and invigorating about those fresh winds blowing in off the Pacific!
Another thing that makes this area pretty neat is that there are lots of opportunities to get cultural. Not only are there many, many galleries, professional theater groups and orchestras, fine museums, wonderful opera and ballet, but opportunities also abound for participation in amateur organizations. I'm told that we have more live theater per capita in this area than anywhere else in the nation.
Besides being the coffee mecca to the world, we're known for many other things! A high percentage of our residents are college-educated. Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo is world-class. We enjoyed Roberta Flack and others presenting open-air concerts there last summer. Most of our industry is of a non-polluting nature. Our air quality is one of the best, for a large metropolitan area. We have a sales tax, property tax, and assorted other taxes, but no state income tax. Many of our school districts are well-known for excellence. Our wineries and craft-breweries have been increasingly recognized nationally and internationally. We enjoy lots of fresh seafood here, and heaps of fabulous restaurants.
For information about any of these communities which are underlined, click on them above, or in the bottom frame on Puget Sound Info. (If you're from far away, it's pronounced "Pewjet", named for early explorer Captain Puget.) And by the way, word is just in that our region has ranked high in a survey done by a nationally known etiquette expert. This survey addressed good manners, and according to the executives responding, the Seattle area is in the top three nation-wide for courtesy, politeness, and kind behavior. I can't say that I was surprised!
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