<laughing> Just watch...we're ALL going to hit the snow question first.
It doesn't really snow here. A light dusting (half an inch to an inch) for a day or two is the norm...we had 18 inches for a whole week this winter!!! Yay. Regardless though, the city shuts down when it snows...too many hills...the cars can't get up and down them. We have two mountain passes half an hour to an hour away (Steven's & Snoqualamie)for skiing/snowboarding...and literally dozens of other places to hit the slopes (Whistler being the most popular, but SunPeaks is better for families).
Having moved here from Pensacola (actually I came to visit family and have been officially "stuck" here now for 8 years), I have to warn you the weather is bizarre. (Ohhhhh...I'm so going to get slammed for that remark...but it's true). The temp bounces ALL OVER THE PLACE. It can literally be 65, 79, 57, 84, 92, 65...all in one week. There's no gradual climb up or down, the temp just slams into you, so it usually feels hotter or colder than it actually is because your body hasn't been given a chance to aclimate. Most of the year though, it's in the 40's-70's. Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall...40's-70's. It will dip for a week or two in the winter below freezing, and ditto for the summer it will climb into the 80's and MAYBE low 90's for a couple weeks. The topography just doesn't allow for long stretches of good weather OR cold weather. My first year back "home", though, I never put on a pair of shorts. Brrrrr.
To continue on the weather bent for just a second...it nearly never rains here, ahem, as you would think of rain. It's overcast from september to may, and very very DAMP nearly all of the time...but not actual rain very often. Instead it's drizzles, showers, mist, and more drizzles. You'll very very rarely see an umbrella in seattle. Most of us don't even own one. Half the time the water's blowing sideways anyway. A gortex jacket though, is invaluable.
Schools are okay. 'Fairly mediocre but not bad' is the standard throughout the region. People who have never left western washington think they're fantastic. As someone else said, Seattle Schools have a lottery system that makes them fairly ridiculous, although it is POSSIBLE (just not guaranteed) that you can go to your neighborhood school. Northshore has the best reputation (deserved), Bellevue & Seattle run a fairly close second. Shoreline school district is better to avoid (but, it's still not "bad", just on the very lower range of mediocre...their highschool curriculum in upper elementary/middle school curriculum anywhere else in the country...as far as college entrance they're in the bottom 1/5th...so a 4.0 is equal to a 3.0 at a higher ranked school, and a 2.7 for schools in the highest rank. The other districts usually fall in the 3rd -middle- ranking). There are some fantastic private schools (aren't there always?), all have scholarships, some have sliding scale.
Nearly every school is "safe", as are most neighborhoods. A few in South Seattle/White Center aren't...but we have nearly ZERO gang activity in this city and if you're from anywhere in FL that does...you'll see what I mean. A white chick can walk alone in the middle of the night through any neighborhood and be fine, which says a lot. There are some wannabe asian gangbangers...but they don't amount to much of anything...especially not if you're used to the real thing.
3 bedroom apartments are another RARE thing in this area. (Lord knows why). Actually, so are 3 bedroom houses. Most houses in Seattle at least started off as 2bedroom 1bath bungalows, and many of those have stayed that way, so maybe that's why...but still...it baffles me. 3 bedroom apts DO exist (nearly every complex has a couple), but they're pricey. A 2 bedroom 2 bath easily runs over 1000 anywhere in the city (Seattle, bellevue/eastside, northend, southend), and quite frankly 2 bedroom 1 bath student family housing (subsidized through the UW) is 1400 for 700 square feet. Ugh. www.forrent.com is a pretty good judge of what you can get for what. It's usually less expensive to rent a house than it is to rent an apartment, if you're looking for anything above 1000' square feet. Expect 1500-2500 as the median whether you're looking at a house OR an apartment...although you can always find something for more or for less. Water tends to be about 50 bucks, garbage 50, electricity about 150. First, last, & a deposit of up to about 1000...are pretty typical.
A smattering of other daily prices...things that quite frankly still give ME stickershock: A 2litre of coke is 2 bucks, gas is about 3 bucks, non store brand bread is 4 bucks, 1/2 gallon of milk is 2-4, lunch meat is 8-10 p/lb, chicken 3.50lb, beef 7-10, fish 10-25. Pullups are about 20 dollars per package, and a big thing of laundry detergent is 16-20. If you smoke (the kiss of death in Seattle Middle Class -although common in both the upper class and lower class-) cigarettes are 7-8. Daycare starts off at about 10 dollars an hour. 1600 a month is what's the norm for infant care, ###-###-#### p/m for a child who's potty trained. ((Actually, most of the SAHMs I know stay at home because they can't afford the childcare to work))
Of course, along with higher rents & prices, income is usually a leeetle higher, but seattle duels with SF & NY as which city is the most overpriced for housing/living. Minimum wage is $8.55. So between 8.55-12.50 is the most common generally speaking for random job wages. Medical admin tends to be 2200 a month, nurses make 40-60k, doctors are always well paid ;), and firefighters start off at about 55k. Tech-wise; software developers/ designers/ architects /etc. make between 40k & 150k. Professors about 60k & Lawyers average 250 an hour....although you'll find some for as low as 150 and as high as 450 and up.
Area-wise, we all have our favorites :) "Seattle" is really a collection of about 100 different little towns, and especially for transplants includes a lot more then the city limits. General geography follows Lake Washington. You've got
- the Northend (around the north end of the lake...about half is not "technically" Seattle, but never-no-mind, it includes the University District/ Ravenna/ Freemont/ Wallingford/ Ballard/ Northgate/ LakeCity/ Shoreline/ Edmonds/ LakeForestPark/ Bothell/ Juanita).
- the Eastside (east of Lake Washington...including Kirkland/ Bellevue/ Redmond/ Issaquah/ Factoria/ & Mercer Island). None of the "eastside" is technically seattle, but realistically it's the same city. Bellevue has an entire highrise "downtown" though, so they get offended when they get lumped into seattle. Personally, I really like the eastside, even though I don't live there. It's generally clean and they have sidewalks.
- Central Seattle (downtown, madison, capitol hill, "pill hill" ((hospital district)), the central district, Queen Anne ((super posh)), Georgetown(("not just for hookers anymore")), & the warehouse/shipping/port district).
- South Seattle/Southend (really means south of the 190 bridge, which is one of 2 bridges crossing lake washington, this one empties out right by the sports arenas..., urban, the warehouse/shipping district, as well as Mt. Baker, Seward Park, Renton, & Boeing areas,)
- West Seattle (west of downtown seattle, it's nearly but not quite, an island...and includes West Seattle)
They ALL have SLIGHTLY different flavors, and we ALL get mighty particular about our favorites. Most of Seattle is suburbia sans cul-de-sacs...there's not a lot of actual difference in where we all live. It's mostly the water. There's SO MUCH of it (Lake Washington & the Puget Sound), that any "view" commands prices...so there isn't really one area that's posh...although there are a lot of areas that are poor...they're frequently sandwiched in between two posher or middle class areas.
Eastside is *regarded* as posh
The Southend is revitalizing
West Seattle is a combo of very posh/ & very poor
The Northend is artsy
Central Seattle is urban chic
www.lakere.com has my favorite housing/neighborhood maps (go to interactive search King/Sno county). And of course, mapquest has some great street views.
I realized I may have sounded kind of negative in some of this (the weather and I don't get along, but I love it here anyway)!
Good Luck, & Welcome!!