Seattle is evolving into a world-class walkable city. SoundTransit’s light rail line connects the city to the airport and express bus lines mean that the neighborhoods are increasingly attractive for those working downtown or in Bellevue and Redmond.

Seattle’s bigger employers are tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, but the region is also home to coffee giant Starbucks, dozens of smaller forward thinking interactive design shops, and a handful of companies who make top notch outdoor gear. It’s not all tech and coffee, there are offices in Seattle for retailers like Nordstrom and Brooks running shoes.

Seattle has been called the Jet City – it’s the birthplace of Boeing, The Emerald City – it’s green, alright, and The Rain City because, yes, it does rain. That doesn’t keep Seattle residents from getting outside. The Olympic Range sits across Puget Sound to the West and the Cascades, where there’s winter skiing, are on the sunrise side to the east. There’s water everywhere, from park lined Puget Sound to the two city lakes, Lake Washington and smaller Lake Union in the heart of the city.