Living & Nursing in Seattle, Washington
More than just coffee, the Space Needle, Bill Gates, Jimmy Hendrix, grunge rock or Eddie Bauer-Seattle is a fantastic place to live and practice. Nicknamed the Emerald City, it’s a fairly “young” city, with the average age of it’s half million or so population falling at roughly 35 years of age. (No. Actually, that’s probably younger than your parents!) If you consider the entire metropolitan area with suburbs etcetera, it’s closer to four million. No worries, you’ll fit right in and you’ll love everything Seattle has to offer, and that’s a lot!
If you haven’t visited or researched the city, we’ll give you a quick impression and a Web site or two that will give you much more.
Sandwiched between Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east, Seattle’s landlocked harbor is one of the United States’ major ports. It’s near proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade Mountain range, the Olympic Mountain range, the Olympic Rainforest and Canada make for a very unique location with a larger variety of outdoor recreational opportunities than you’ll find almost anywhere else in the U.S. The city was first settled in 1851 and named after a friendly Suquamish Indian chief. Granted it’s a loose translation, but their intentions were good, and doesn’t it make you feel all “woodsy” and “outdoorsy”? (Doesn’t Columbia Sportswear have a parka named after that tribe?) Don’t particularly like the outdoors? More the hip, urban, high tech type? Seattle has something for you, too. It’s a leading center for advanced technology in aerospace, computer software, bioinformatics, genomics, telemedicine, electronics, medical equipment, and environmental engineering. Does that get your pulse pumping?
Incorporated as a city in 1869, the business district was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1889. Hardy Seattle townsfolk simply rebuilt over the burned out downtown, and today you can tour the underground city to see the old roadways, storefronts, and other remains of the first Seattle. When the railroad came to town in 1893, the city bustled.
In 1897, when the Alaskan Gold Rush began- it boomed! It’s continually prospered as a major Pacific port of entry. Seattle is a regional hub for commerce and transportation.
Major industries include aircraft, lumber and forest products, fishing, high technology, food processing, boat building, machinery, fabricated metals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and apparel.
Why is a city or area’s industry important to you as a nurse searching for the perfect location to practice? Because that industry and its diversification mean available and consistent employment for the people you will soon be caring for. It’s great to work in a locale like a winter ski resort-but what happens to the patients in summer? They go home, and you might have to also! After you’ve accumulated enough junk, you’ll learn to hate moving. Pick a city that suits your lifestyle and that can support you year round. You’ll earn enough to vacation at the ski resort, and you’ll probably find that’s the best way to enjoy it.
The Defense Department is among the largest employers in the Puget Sound area. Major facilities include an Army Base, a Naval Shipyard and a Submarine Base, and an Air Force Base.
Livability in Seattle ranks among the best of America’s cities. It features a relatively mild climate ranging from 40 degrees in January to 65 degrees in July, affordable housing, a full range of arts, cultural and sporting events, an abundance of trendy shops and fantastic restaurants, over 400 city-owned parks and recreation areas and almost immediate access to a myriad of outdoor recreational activities throughout the year.
All this, combined with the fine medical facilities available for your practice, make the “Emerald City” of Seattle just what the Wizard and you ordered for a great place to live and practice nursing.
For more information on Seattle, visit:
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Major medical facilities in the area include:
University of Washington Medical Center
Swedish Medical Center
Virginia Mason Medical Center
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center
Northwest Hospital
Good Samaritan Community Healthcare
Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound
Valley Medical Center
That’s just a few of the many fine hospitals available in the metro Seattle area. For a complete list, you can contact the Washington State Hospital Association.
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