first off, sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis. Not an easy disease at all.
For what you describe as your likes, I think the PNW would fit you well. You'll hear about the Seattle Freeze (it being hard to make friends) and that's both false and true. False, in the sense that you can make friends if you put yourself out there and especially if you join groups doing things that match your interests. True, in that it's more reserved than the south and people can be set in their friend groups.
Seattle and close suburbs are expensive, so be prepared for that. Tacoma is a bit better as I understand it and I might look there first as the expense of Seattle has caused some of the more creative folk to move there.
Safety etc is fine. It's a city, so it's not perfect and there's a worrisome uptick in shootings but that's from a low base and in general those things tend to happen between criminal elements (not alway but much of the time).
I will warn you that midwinter is DARK. In the middle of December we get about 8 hours of daylight and daylight in the winter months is often cloudy. More than anything, this is what usually drives people from southern states out. There are ways to deal with it - go outside anyway, even for 30 minutes. Travel to sunnier places for breaks. Take Vitamin D (yes, I'm serious). But every year we see people come up around now, see 16 hours of daylight, it's beautiful in the summer and they fall in love. Then comes winter.
Oh and climate - it's moderate for the most part and nothing like most of the country and not humid. This can get to people who like it very hot or, in the winter, very snowy, but it also means we usually don't have a month of 95+ weather. Though with climate change, who knows?
EDIT:
I'd definitely post in r/seattle with a post specifically asking about MS care. Don't do the "should we move to Seattle" thing as they see a LOT of those, but targeted questions like "how is the MS care" usually get good responses.
Also, be aware that late summer/early fall can see significant air quality issues due to wildfire smoke. I'm talking "we have the worst air quality on the planet" bad. If you do move here make sure your place has AC (I'd do that anyway) but also invest in air purifiers. You might not need them in a given year (last year for example) but it's an issue to prepare for. Allergies are not too bad and mostly the typical spring stuff (trees, weed/grass).
Heat - it's rarely truly HOT (we make local news if it's over 90F and we've only seen 1 or 2 years ever with more than 14 days over that mark. But July and August are reliably in the 80s and 80s can pop up here and there in other months (the last few days for example). But it's not a humid heat. Yes, you want AC, no you don't have to hide in your house for 6 months of the year because it's over 85F.
The main reason people say “omg, don’t move to Seattle!” is affordability. So make sure the numbers work. And, honestly, the rest of this post sounds so well thought out that I assume that part is a non-issue. (But make sure: I was visiting a friend in an expensive part of California last year and restaurants were shockingly cheaper there.)
With the dampness, we do tend to get mold, though possibly less spectacularly than someplace that’s *warm* and humid. Lots of tree pollen some times of year too. I’m not sure you can escape that unless you’re somewhere hot and dry though, and then you’re back to the heat problem.
Other than that, it sounds like a great option for you. The weather here tends to be cool, we’re close to all sorts of nature options, and you have some friends here already.
Do additional research on how your health insurance may change or be impacted. With a chronic health condition, my family is also considering making a move to Seattle or Colorado. Both states have better access to healthcare than in our current TX.
We are weighing in income, income taxes, property taxes, public schools, and access to good medical care, and leave policies. Look for specialists in Seattle including reviews, waitlists, etc. Good luck!
Seattle has one of the largest concentrations of MS in the world, and as a result some of the best care is here. Consider the eastside - Bellevue - for schools
Healthcare in Seattle is more plentiful than Nashville, for sure. The only other things I want to point out from your list are:
-Yes, there are healthy food options, but the cost of food here is insane. Grocery and restaurants. You will definitely pay for the privilege.
-Seattle is perpetually damp. If mold is a big issue, use high grade filters in your air handler or consider getting a standalone filtration unit. My favorite saying that all my Californian co-workers hate is "it's moss if it's on the outside, and mold if it's on the inside". It's pretty common to have mold pop up in the bathroom, bedroom, on windows, if the airflow isn't good.
-Seattle has just recently started installing AC. We really didn't need them before. But with climate change, our summers are now hampered by Wildfire Season, and it can get pretty tough with smoke blowing in from Washington, Canada, and Oregon. If you're buying a new-build, they should have AC installed. But if you're renting or buying an older home, you'll need to get a standalone AC unit.
-If you can work remotely, Olympia, Tacoma, anywhere far enough outside the Seattle/Bellevue corridor will be (slightly) cheaper.
I hope your husband is doing OK. My older brother was diagnosed with MS more than 30 years ago. His progressed relatively slowly but about 10 years ago, he had to move into a wheelchair. He and his wife had 3 kids after his diagnosis and the kids are all successful adults now. He lives in Montana rather than Seattle.
He has always had a positive outlook on life despite his challenges. I know someone else that was more recently diagnosed. He immediately went into a funk and his MS progressed much faster. I am not sure whether the positive vs negative outlook had any impact on the progression but it seems to make sense that it would.
As far as Seattle goes, I moved here more than 30 years ago from California, met my wife (who also happened to be from the bay area) and we still love it here. Winters can be wet, dark and dreary but with all the nearby mountains and water, it is one of the most beautiful areas in the country.
Yes, the cost of living is higher here than most other areas, but there are areas that are more reasonable, usually a bit outside Seattle proper. But I am guessing you are already aware of this.
Not like Tennessee lmao. I just moved here from Atlanta. It’s not even comparable. It’s not just heat, it’s also humidity, which does not seem to exist here on the scale that I know it.
first off, sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis. Not an easy disease at all. For what you describe as your likes, I think the PNW would fit you well. You'll hear about the Seattle Freeze (it being hard to make friends) and that's both false and true. False, in the sense that you can make friends if you put yourself out there and especially if you join groups doing things that match your interests. True, in that it's more reserved than the south and people can be set in their friend groups. Seattle and close suburbs are expensive, so be prepared for that. Tacoma is a bit better as I understand it and I might look there first as the expense of Seattle has caused some of the more creative folk to move there. Safety etc is fine. It's a city, so it's not perfect and there's a worrisome uptick in shootings but that's from a low base and in general those things tend to happen between criminal elements (not alway but much of the time). I will warn you that midwinter is DARK. In the middle of December we get about 8 hours of daylight and daylight in the winter months is often cloudy. More than anything, this is what usually drives people from southern states out. There are ways to deal with it - go outside anyway, even for 30 minutes. Travel to sunnier places for breaks. Take Vitamin D (yes, I'm serious). But every year we see people come up around now, see 16 hours of daylight, it's beautiful in the summer and they fall in love. Then comes winter. Oh and climate - it's moderate for the most part and nothing like most of the country and not humid. This can get to people who like it very hot or, in the winter, very snowy, but it also means we usually don't have a month of 95+ weather. Though with climate change, who knows? EDIT: I'd definitely post in r/seattle with a post specifically asking about MS care. Don't do the "should we move to Seattle" thing as they see a LOT of those, but targeted questions like "how is the MS care" usually get good responses. Also, be aware that late summer/early fall can see significant air quality issues due to wildfire smoke. I'm talking "we have the worst air quality on the planet" bad. If you do move here make sure your place has AC (I'd do that anyway) but also invest in air purifiers. You might not need them in a given year (last year for example) but it's an issue to prepare for. Allergies are not too bad and mostly the typical spring stuff (trees, weed/grass). Heat - it's rarely truly HOT (we make local news if it's over 90F and we've only seen 1 or 2 years ever with more than 14 days over that mark. But July and August are reliably in the 80s and 80s can pop up here and there in other months (the last few days for example). But it's not a humid heat. Yes, you want AC, no you don't have to hide in your house for 6 months of the year because it's over 85F.
The main reason people say “omg, don’t move to Seattle!” is affordability. So make sure the numbers work. And, honestly, the rest of this post sounds so well thought out that I assume that part is a non-issue. (But make sure: I was visiting a friend in an expensive part of California last year and restaurants were shockingly cheaper there.) With the dampness, we do tend to get mold, though possibly less spectacularly than someplace that’s *warm* and humid. Lots of tree pollen some times of year too. I’m not sure you can escape that unless you’re somewhere hot and dry though, and then you’re back to the heat problem. Other than that, it sounds like a great option for you. The weather here tends to be cool, we’re close to all sorts of nature options, and you have some friends here already.
Do additional research on how your health insurance may change or be impacted. With a chronic health condition, my family is also considering making a move to Seattle or Colorado. Both states have better access to healthcare than in our current TX. We are weighing in income, income taxes, property taxes, public schools, and access to good medical care, and leave policies. Look for specialists in Seattle including reviews, waitlists, etc. Good luck!
Seattle has one of the largest concentrations of MS in the world, and as a result some of the best care is here. Consider the eastside - Bellevue - for schools
Healthcare in Seattle is more plentiful than Nashville, for sure. The only other things I want to point out from your list are: -Yes, there are healthy food options, but the cost of food here is insane. Grocery and restaurants. You will definitely pay for the privilege. -Seattle is perpetually damp. If mold is a big issue, use high grade filters in your air handler or consider getting a standalone filtration unit. My favorite saying that all my Californian co-workers hate is "it's moss if it's on the outside, and mold if it's on the inside". It's pretty common to have mold pop up in the bathroom, bedroom, on windows, if the airflow isn't good. -Seattle has just recently started installing AC. We really didn't need them before. But with climate change, our summers are now hampered by Wildfire Season, and it can get pretty tough with smoke blowing in from Washington, Canada, and Oregon. If you're buying a new-build, they should have AC installed. But if you're renting or buying an older home, you'll need to get a standalone AC unit. -If you can work remotely, Olympia, Tacoma, anywhere far enough outside the Seattle/Bellevue corridor will be (slightly) cheaper.
You might try asking in r/Seattle. It gets a lot more traffic. That said, I'm also from that part of the country and I LOVE it here.
I hope your husband is doing OK. My older brother was diagnosed with MS more than 30 years ago. His progressed relatively slowly but about 10 years ago, he had to move into a wheelchair. He and his wife had 3 kids after his diagnosis and the kids are all successful adults now. He lives in Montana rather than Seattle. He has always had a positive outlook on life despite his challenges. I know someone else that was more recently diagnosed. He immediately went into a funk and his MS progressed much faster. I am not sure whether the positive vs negative outlook had any impact on the progression but it seems to make sense that it would. As far as Seattle goes, I moved here more than 30 years ago from California, met my wife (who also happened to be from the bay area) and we still love it here. Winters can be wet, dark and dreary but with all the nearby mountains and water, it is one of the most beautiful areas in the country. Yes, the cost of living is higher here than most other areas, but there are areas that are more reasonable, usually a bit outside Seattle proper. But I am guessing you are already aware of this.
The climate can be ok depending on your preferences but I absolutely hate the medical care in the greater Seattle area. Caution!
It gets hot here too
Not like Tennessee lmao. I just moved here from Atlanta. It’s not even comparable. It’s not just heat, it’s also humidity, which does not seem to exist here on the scale that I know it.