Seattle now decade’s fastest-growing big city in the U.S.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/114000-more-people-seattle-now-this-decades-fastest-growing-big-city-in-all-of-united-states/

by spking • 8 years ago

57 53 8 years ago

seattletimes.com

jseliger• 8 years ago

It's fast-growing, but the land-use policy is still oddly parochial in may ways: https://jakeseliger.com/2015/09/24/do-millennials-have-a-fut....

The vast majority of the city is still zoned for single-family housing: https://www.theurbanist.org/2017/10/23/the-path-to-eliminate.... Just allowing multi-family housing and eliminating property requirements would do a huge amount to alleviate affordability and income inequality problems.

taurath5• 8 years ago

Its REALLY intense living here - I lived in the bay from 2004-2014, and moved up here for better COL. I'm riding the wave now, but its getting ever higher and my income needs to increase by the same amount. I'm a developer, but not a superstar - I make more than the median dev income, but that is not enough to afford any sort of permanent housing much of city limits.

I am hoping for an economic shock at this point - anything to shake loose all the people holding onto their investment houses while the values are going up, and maybe then all the brand new apartment buildings that wouldn't be able to find tenants might convert to condo's. Supply is desperately needed - even renting is a bloodsport (far more than NYC or even the SF bay, if a little cheaper).

Its literally my #1 concern about the area. If the wave rises to the point that I can never achieve housing stability without a 1.5 hour commute, I'll move (just as so many of my friends here have). Colorado and Portland are next, but even there the whispers of NIMBYism are getting louder. I'm beginning to think at this point that the economy is out to get everyone who's under 35 - the only place there are jobs that pay well enough to afford anything are vastly more expensive.

doublerebel3• 8 years ago

We're still more affordable per sqft than most top international cities and many US cities -- I think the mentality of needing a large sqft unit, or yard, or single-family home in Seattle needs to change. We have a ton of parks if anyone needs space. For the quality of life, I still think Seattle is very affordable.

That being said, I completely agree that zoning needs to be overhauled.

AFNobody• 8 years ago

Its literally my #1 concern about the area. If the wave rises to the point that I can never achieve housing stability without a 1.5 hour commute, I'll move (just as so many of my friends here have). Colorado and Portland are next, but even there the whispers of NIMBYism are getting louder. I'm beginning to think at this point that the economy is out to get everyone who's under 35 - the only place there are jobs that pay well enough to afford anything are vastly more expensive.

I'd suggest the Southeast if you can. $300k houses are quite viable with 30 minute commutes.

driverdan2• 8 years ago

I make more than the median dev income, but that is not enough to afford any sort of permanent housing much of city limits.

If you have a large, single income family perhaps not but for most people it should be plenty to buy.

maxharris2• 8 years ago

It won't be for long! Taxes and spending in Seattle have shot way, way up, far in excess of the recent population growth.

Analemma_2• 8 years ago

The insistence that Americans migrate away from high-tax areas doesn't seem to be supported by the facts. Connecticut and the Bay Area are losing population, but so are heartland states like Kansas. Seattle is the fastest-growing area in the country, but close behind is Texas. I don't think partisans on either side of this question have an empirical leg to stand on.

maxharris2• 8 years ago

I lived in Seattle for three years, and I just moved away two months ago.

kevinrpope• 8 years ago

I tend to agree with you, but Seattle is in a state with 0% income tax, so just because the city’s taxes are rising doesn’t mean they’re net higher than other large cities.

adventured2• 8 years ago

Kansas isn't losing population and neither is the heartland. Both have been growing slowly and non-stop since the mid 1960s. Kansas hasn't had a single population decline, year over year, in about 50 years.

Kansas:

2000: 2,694,000

2010: 2,859,000

2017: 2,913,000

These are all consistently increasing year after year:

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio.

Illinois is hit or miss, however it's up a million people over 20 years.

Michigan is the only one that has particularly struggled. Its population remains above where it was 20 years ago; it's about 50k people (~0.5%) below its 2004 record high.

Connecticut is definitely struggling, they've seen zero growth over seven or eight years, and comparatively little growth over 40 years despite being an affluent state.

forapurpose2• 8 years ago

It won't be for long! Taxes and spending in Seattle have shot way, way up

There's an argument that places with lower taxes and lower government investment attract and are better for businesses. The evidence in the U.S. seems to be overwhelmingly otherwise.

The states with the lowest taxes and investment are the poorest; all the great American industries, from automobiles to finance to IT to education to many others, started in high tax/investment locals, boomed there, and remain there. Perhaps investment is a good way to yield returns.

seehafer• 8 years ago

Texas would beg to differ with this assessment

slm_HN• 8 years ago

At this point Seattle is a fairly crummy city in a fairly nice location. The region and climate are nice but the traffic is hell, the crime is bad and the housing costs are astronomical. The tech salaries are high, but it doesn't make up for the otherwise poor quality of life.

dpark• 8 years ago

Poor quality of life? I guess my standards are low, because my quality of life here is great.

lackbeard• 8 years ago

I'm pretty sure crime is far lower in Seattle than other large US cities, especially violent crime.

dawnerd• 8 years ago

People say the same about crime in Portland too and really it's just property theft/drugs.

jotux2• 8 years ago

Why speculate when there's data[1].

    City        Violent Crime/100k   Property Crime/100k
    Los Angeles        16                         60
    San Francisco      90                        711
    DC                 79                        672
    Chicago            33                        108
    NYC                7                          18
    Houston            42                        193
    Seattle            88                        808
    Portland           77                        850

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_b...

toweringgoat• 8 years ago

It's far higher than SF at least, in fact I'd say it's higher than most US cities. Plus the traffic is less of an issue with the light-rail expansion (assuming you live close enough to light rail).

But still far lower than most of the rest of the world.

Camillo• 8 years ago

Is the climate actually nice? I could not live in a place where it's cloudy most of the year.

influx• 8 years ago

Nope, it’s rains here all the time, go to California instead. Much better weather there. :)

remarkEon• 8 years ago

If you’re considering moving here, think hard about it. It does rain for most of the year, meaning that there’s lots of “green” all over the place (if that’s your thing). Also, in the summers it’s basically 60-70 straight days of 70s and sunny. Not a lot of variety imo.

anonymous5133• 8 years ago

Seattle has the highest amount of rainfall per year of any mainland region.

aaronbrethorst• 8 years ago

The winters here can be really rough. For me, owning a SAD lamp is pretty much a requirement.

Seattle now decade’s fastest-growing big city in the U.S.

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