Reasons I love living in the Seattle Area/The PNW

     I have lived in the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest my entire life.  I'd love to live here for the rest of my life as well.  Besides the familiarity, there are a lot of reasons why I hope that will be the case, and I'm going to share them with you.  
    First, we have (I think) the best weather in the country.  Sure, there's southern California and Florida and Arizona, but they can have unbearably hot summers and not enough cool days in the year.  We have one or two unbearably hot days all year.  Our winters can be cold for those who aren't used to it, but once you've lived here a while, they become extremely mild and tolerable.  It's why winter is my favorite season.  Oddly, we get a lot of precipitation in the winter months but not that much snow.  But on the rare times that we do get snow, it's beautiful.  I don't know if I'd change a single thing about our climate.  I wouldn't even change the rain, which helps make our area so green.  And you can't beat our springs and falls, both beautiful in different ways.
    Another thing I love is our sports teams.  The Mariners ended their playoff drought and are and have been a very likable team for years.  The Seahawks are among the Top 10 NFL franchises regarding ownership, success, stadium, and fans.  We also have a few other teams that I enjoy following, including the Sounders, Kraken, Storm, and Huskies, all of whom have had at least a modicum of recent success in various sports.  Not one of our franchises is unlikable.  The only negative thing is we are still without an NBA team, something that hopefully changes soon.  Once we have the Sonics back, our sports scene will be one of the best in the country.  Our stadiums are consistently ranked in the top half of stadiums in their league, and there's no bad place to catch a sports game in the Seattle area.
    As I've gotten older, I've realized that I'd much prefer to live in a blue state and a Democratic market.  Fortunately, that's the case now.  That's the reason I wouldn't be happy in Florida or Texas.  Washington is one of the bluest states in the country.  Unfortunately, we have that weird cousin we call Eastern Washington that leans more right, but hopefully, over time, that'll at least become purple-ish (mix red and blue).  I enjoy being on the left, where women have control over their bodies and everyone has equal rights.  Imagine living in a red state where they try to restrict what kids learn because they think they will be "indoctrinated".  
    One thing I love about our area is how many people and companies have ties to the Pacific Northwest.  We're home to Starbucks, Microsoft, and Amazon, and Nintendo of America.  We have been the home to Chris Pratt, Rainn Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kenny G.  Outside of perhaps Silicon Valley, the Seattle area is arguably the largest tech center in the world.  So many video game companies (outside of Microsoft and Nintendo) have been located around here, including Bungie and Humongous Entertainment.  I love hearing about ties to our area, knowing virtually every other city pales in comparison.
    We have great food options as well, with most national chains having plenty of locations here to choose from.  In the past decade or so, we got Chick-Fil-A.  Perhaps someday we will get In-N-Out, but we have our own version, "Dicks Drive-In".  Not to mention there are tons of locally owned and operated restaurants that are among some of the best in the nation.  A lot of southern chains have not made their way up here, which is a bit of a shame.  The thing the Seattle food scene is lacking is good southern options.  But we're one of the best in the country in selections for steak, seafood, Asian cuisines, and in my opinion, Hispanic foods.  
    The biggest downside to living around here is the housing market and how costly it is.  We have one of the highest costs of living in the country and about the fewest amount of on-the-market homes available.  A lot of people, myself and my family included, keep moving further and further away from Seattle/Bellevue.  But I still can't imagine living in another state.  I could maybe see myself in Oregon, but that would be only if a job or opportunity presented itself there.  
    If anyone was thinking of moving here, I would highly recommend it.  Granted, I am biased, but I think we have one of the "homiest" places in the country.  You'll want to live here, start a family, and enjoy everything Washington has to offer.  I know I want to.  

All of the Careers I have ever considered and why I haven't done them

Right now, I am at a point in my life where I need to figure out what I want to do for a career.  I currently work at Safeway as a food clerk, but I can't work there forever (unless I decided I wanted to be a manager there).  One of the things I get from my mother is not knowing what I want to do with my life for a career.  She got a job as an 18 year old with a telephone company (Pacific Northwest Bell which became US-West which became Qwest which became Century Link).  She worked there for about 30 years.  I know I don't wanna be stuck in the same job for 30 years, and I do plan on going back to school, but what for?  Here's a look at what I've considered for careers, in (somewhat) chronological order:

- Fireman
As a kid, I never really expressed it to anyone, but I wanted to be a fireman.  I heard once my dad almost became a fireman but didn't because of his horrible vision, so I wanted to maybe do what he didn't.  However, I was always short for my age and I felt a good firefighter is someone who can lift and carry the average sized man, which I can not.  Maybe I"ll get in shape and become a volunteer firefighter someday.  That would fulfill this passion.  But I don't think I could ever become a full-time fireman.

- Computer Scientist/Technician
In my late high school years and early college years, I wanted to do something with computers.  I was fascinated by them.  So as my "major" at Bellevue Community College, I chose Computer Science.  My first Computer Science class, CS101, was a blast.  I did well and I had a great instructor.  However, my next Computer Science Class was nowhere near what I was expecting.  It involved a lot of programming (including Javascript and C++), something I couldn't get my mind to understand, no matter how hard I tried.  The instructor was not helpful and I ended up doing pretty poorly in the class, as well as not enjoying it.  After that class, I gave up on computers, because I don't think I'll ever be able to learn programming and coding.

- Math Teacher
Shortly after giving up Computer Science, I thought about teaching Math because I like math so much.  And BCC had an Associate's for Mathematical Education.  However, after some thinking, I decided not to do it.  I do like teaching, but I get easily frustrated when someone doesn't understand, and I'm still not good speaking in front of groups.  Plus, teachers have never been paid well (although they should be).

- Professional singer/entertainer/comedian
I never seriously considered these careers, but if I had the talent, I so would.  If I worked hard enough I could be a decent enough of a comedian, but not anyone real well-known.  I'd love to be a singer, but my vocal range is very limited (thanks puberty) and my lack of confidence can get to me at times.

- Sports marketing
I would love a career that has to do with sports, because sports is one of my passions.  So, I looked into it and I found a school (Full Sail) that offers a Sports Marketing Online degree.  I applied and even went through all of the enrollment processes and tasks, but I couldn't officially start, because my heart wasn't in it.  Why?  Because I just couldn't see myself in it.  I also realized that I didn't want to ever dislike sports.  I felt like if I got a job in sports marketing and I didn't like it for some reason, then I would start to dislike sports.  Sports are something that I can enjoy outside of my work and personal life and I want it to stay that way.

- Professional YouTuber/LP'er
One of the things I really think I could do is being a professional YouTuber.  Yeah, I know I harped on Google/YouTube in an earlier post, but I think I would certainly enjoy this and be good at it.  I've already put out some LP's (Let's Play's--You play through a game in hopes of having your viewers play along with you), but I would like to do other things, such as pranks, vlogs, and comedy/sketch videos.  And it is certainly possible to make a living off of YouTube.  One YouTuber I'm subscribed to, Jonathan Paula, makes a living solely off the views and subscribers he gets on YouTube.  It helps to have a show ("Is it a Good Idea to Microwave This?") that has a total amount of views over 20 million, but you get my point.  However, it's hard to get started and make enough money to support yourself.  Also, many would not see this as a smart or viable career choice.  It's not something that I've completely shut the book on like other career choices.  I'm thinking I'll just keep this as a hobby until one day I do an LP that gets me a boatload of subscribers.

- Writer
One of the more recent careers I've considered is writing.  Which type?  Hard to say.  I feel like I could write anything I needed to, whether it be newspaper/magazine articles, screenwriting, or even novelizations.  The thing that's kept me from pursuing this career is I read from a former writer that when he started writing for a newspaper that writing lost its interesting and became a chore more than a hobby.  You have to meet deadlines and you have to keep readers interested.  Much more stressful a career than it seems.  I've watched Californication on Showtime and the character of Hank Moody (played by David Duchovny) is a writer and he seems to hate it.  I think I can be a decent enough of a writer, but not so talented that it would get me through all the stress and deadlines.

One of my problems is that I've never striven to be extraordinary.  A huge part of me just wants to be ordinary.  I want an ordinary family, job, house, life, you name it.  I want a normal 9-5 job in a cubicle somewhere, if it'll be enough to get me by.  I do feel like I'll make a name for myself someday.  What I really want to be more than anything is to be an amazing father.  I want my kids to call me the best dad in the world.  I want to make them into really incredible people.  But in order to do that, I have to get a career where I can afford kids, so that is what I will work on.  I want to be a father more than anything, but unfortunately that job doesn't pay.  But it pays in terms of life fulfillment, which is something money can't buy.  I'll just have to wait until that day comes.