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.  

The 2018 Mariners Don't Inspire Much Optimism

Spring training for the 2018 MLB season is just around the corner, and I gotta say, I can't remember a time feeling less optimistic about the Mariners season.  The Mariners didn't make any particularly notable moves in the offseason and they aren't coming off a winning or even positive season.  They ended the 2017 season on a sour note, falling out of the playoff race alarmingly fast.  With the Buffalo Bills in the NFL having made the playoffs, the Mariners now own the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports.  I hate to say it, but I think that drought will continue because these Mariners just aren't good enough and play in too tough of a division.

The Mariners had a relatively quiet offseason.  They acquired Dee Gordon from the Marlins and Ryon Healy from the Athletics.  Their pitching staff didn't get a huge upgrade, just depth in Juan Nicalsio.  These moves to me to scream the typical Band-Aid type job the Mariners usually get, which never results in anything great.  They just sign or trade for who they can, constantly hoping the new guys they acquire will be able to lift a team to the playoffs.  It hasn't worked before, so I have very little hope or reason to believe it can happen this year.

But for me, the biggest reason to not be optimistic about this season is the strength of the division the Mariners play in, the AL West.  The Houston Astros are the reigning World Series champs and will no doubt be a great team again.  The Los Angeles Angels made the biggest move of the offseason and acquired Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani.  The Mariners were in the running but lost out to their division rival, something I know will haunt us for years to come.  The Angels expect to be improved and since they just missed the playoffs themselves last year, they'll be in the running again more than likely.  The Texas Rangers still boast a ton of talent and could win a bunch of games.  And the A's always have the ability to surprise and win games when no one expects them to.  If I had to pick right now where I expect the Mariners to finish, I would say fourth, not because I think they'll lose a lot of games, but because their division is just that tough.

But for some reason I think the Mariners could fly under the radar.  Felix will be desperate to prove his career is not over.  Paxton will want to prove he can be a front of the line ace and pitch an entire season.  Iwakuma still wants to pitch and should be healthy.  The bullpen should be better, and Edwin Diaz should have better control.  And that's just the pitching.  The lineup could be one of the better ones in the American League.  There's speed (Gordon, Gamel), power (Cano, Cruz, Seager), and contact hitting (Cano, Segura).  The dominoes have to fall just right for this team.  They certainly did not last year.  But if the rotation can stay healthy, and the hitters can have productive seasons, the Mariners have a shot.  But it's a slim shot, and no Mariner fan in their right mind should hold their breath over this team.  Give them a month or two to prove themselves, because I think we will learn by May what kind of team the Mariners will be in 2018.  I'm tempering my excitement, because this time the Mariners have to earn my excitement for the team.