I'm thinking about moving to Seattle, Washington for the following reasons:
1. No income tax in Washington. In Illinois, it's 3%.
2. More Java jobs in Seattle than in Chicago according to Craig's List.
3. Slightly lower cost of living according to BankRate.com's Cost of Living Comparison Calculator. (http://bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp)
Chicago has Chicago Card Plus (http://chicago-card.com) that allows employers to pay for unlimited bus and train rides for $75 per month. Seattle has something similar at Metro Online (http://transit.metrokc.gov)
Seattle is pretty. Nice photos:
http://flickr.com/search/?q=Seattle
Seattle and rain:
"Despite being on the margin of the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, the city has a reputation for frequent rain. Despite its relatively frequent rainfall, the so-called "rainy city" receives a smaller quantity of actual precipitation annually, at 37.1 inches (94 cm), than New York City, Atlanta, Houston, and most cities of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Seattle was also not listed in a study that revealed the 10 Rainiest Cities in the continental United States. Seattle's reputation for rain derives from this frequency of precipitation as well as the fact that it is cloudy an average of 226 days per year (cf. 132 in New York City). Most of the precipitation falls as drizzle or light rain, with only occasional downpours. Spring, late fall, and winter are filled with days when it does not rain but looks as if it might because of cloudy, overcast skies." - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle,_Washington)
Seattle, #2 Most Literate U.S. City:
http://www.livescience.com/health/071227-literate-cities.html
Seattle, #1 Most "Wired-less" City:
http://www.livescience.com/technology/ap_050607_wireless_cities.html
