This is my opinion... Seattle is not bad--specially for outdoor activities. We were fortunate that it didn't rain while we were in Seattle/Portland area. I have a friend who did his MBA from U. Washington. He took us there to see the cherry blossom. Many tourists were there with their cameras. If you need any help about the university then I can definitely direct your concerns/questions to him. He is been living in Seattle for almost 6-7 years and another friend has been living for 10 or so years. Now about the surroundings... I think Portland is also beautiful and is only about 3 hrs of drive. You will like Portland if you are not that much of a big city person, and love outdoors. Its green... Portland seemed to be lil relaxed and laid back compared to Seattle. But above all, Vancouver, BC took my breath away with both Ocean and mountains. Very vibrant city and very nice atmosphere. I think infront of Vancouver, Seattle would be lil relaxed. Vancouver, however is an expensive city and is also one of the best cities in the world along with Zurich. Vancouver has about 400 Nepalese and for the first time Mukti Shakya (all the way from Spain) of Mukti and Revival will be performing live in Beautiful British Columbia. --Short Circuit--so you can email me via Sajha and like I said --can direct your concerns to a friend of mine who did his grad studies from the university. ---Oh by the way--Seattle do have other big companies including Starbucks. I was surprised to see small headquarter of Amazon.com.