My city is a cultural wasteland

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I see what's going on here. I've seen me some NC-17 films... But would I go to a theater for it...? I think I prefer the privacy of my home.

These days the nearest thing to an "electronics hobby store" is MicroCenter, which does sell some electronic parts in addition to its main business of selling computers.

There are still a few one-off, family-owned electronics stores selling tools and test equipment; but if I need to order a hundred 2N3904 transistors, I have to go on-line.

Leaving Houston sounds like a good idea.

But why move to Seattle, rather than any number of other possible cities you could conceivably move to?

I don't know if you're already aware of the following, but, in case you aren't:

One factor that should be considered by anyone contemplating a move to Seattle is the earthquake hazard. The Pacific Northwest does not have frequent earthquakes, but, when they do occur, they are extreme. The last earthquake occurred back in 1700, with estimated magnitude around 9.0.

Worst of all, the region's earthquake history wasn't even discovered until about 2005, and even then not widely known to the general public until 2015. Therefore, most buildings in the area were not built with even California-sized major earthquakes in mind, much less the far more gigantic earthquake that is expected to hit the Pacific Northwest, with accompanying mega-tsunami.

For more info:

- In 1700, the ‘really big one’ — a magnitude 9.0 earthquake — hit Western Washington, Seattle Times, Jan. 26, 2021; Updated Jan. 27, 2021
- Earthquake experts lay out latest outlook for the ‘Really Big One’ that’ll hit Seattle by Alan Boyle, GeekWire, February 15, 2020
- A Major Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest Looks Even Likelier by Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, August 11, 2016 -- includes some of the history of the discovery of the region's earthquake history.
- 1700 Cascadia earthquake (Wikipedia)
- With ‘big one’ coming, quake alert system launches in Oregon by Andrew Selsky, AP News, March 11, 2021 -- not that the alert system will likely do much good, given the current state of buildings in the area.

The average home price in Seattle is ~$800,000, and one must make $112,000/year to afford to live there—which I will never be able to do.

(in comparison, the average home price in Houston is just over $200,000)

Oh, sweet! Seattle is very Vancouver-like.. and it's on sale! lol different currency, but: "The aggregate price of a house in Vancouver is forecast to increase 9% to $1,262,600 in 2021, with two-storey home prices increasing 10% to $1,671,700, and the median price of a condo 3.5% to $684,300.Dec. 14, 2020"

Meanwhile, the average Household income in Vancouver is $72,622. HOUSEHOLD. People would have to earn a lot more than $112K to "afford," to live here.. which is why almost no one can afford to live here - BUT - people do, anyways. Millions of people. Yes, there's a growing number of homeless and people living in cars and RV's, buuuut, most people are managing to get by somehow. Roommates, smaller homes, 2nd jobs, a variety of lifestyle/financial sacrifices.. but people do in fact live in Vancouver and Seattle. They just rent vs. own and do all sorts of pretzel twisting budget manoeuvres to make it work.

So, while you may never be able to "afford," to live in Seattle.. it might be possible for you to live there, anyways, IF it's something you're set on doing & will make you happy.

My new mission in life is to shove New York, Seattle, and San Francisco values down the throats of all Americans.

Why?

Only San Francisco makes the top 14 least affordable cities in the world. New York & Seattle? Not so much. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/least- ... uy-a-home/

Both of my cousins in Seattle own homes in the 'burbs. Their household incomes are in line with the home prices. I have not asked what they paid.

I kind of hated San Francisco. I was there for Thanksgiving and there were soup kitchens running in every downtown alley. It was a homeless apocalypse. They congregated there from that whole part of state. Being a tourist in the middle of that wasn't fun. Everything else was pretty underwhelming as well, except perhaps Muir Woods and the drive to Yosemite.

Umm... Pass.

Meanwhile, this is what passes as culture in the southern U.S.:







1. Kirk Cameron, well-known right-wing extremist, produced God's Not Dead.

2. Rebecca St. James is trying to program people to be sexually frigid for life.

3. Pat Robertson's remarks only improved my opinion of Hugo Chavez.

In a nutshell, this is how conservatives watch TV:

Here is a snippet from the history section of the River Oaks Theater’s Wikipedia page:

This is proof of my statements about conservatives and indie films.

Last Tango in Paris wouldn't get made today and I would be surprised if anyone anywhere would exhibit it publicly. BTW the young woman who performed in that suffered serious psychological trauma, but you can research that yourself. I have no problem with porn per se but that film was something else. Mind boggling that it got awards in its day.

I have a serious recommendation for the OP. Consider Baltimore! I won't try to justify that suggestion except to advise him to go to the Baltimore subreddit and express his concerns. I think he'll get some negativity but much more positivity. I'll admit there are some folks who probably shouldn't live in Baltimore but I don't think he's one of them. I would steer clear of Seattle and Portland. Those places are overrun with Proud Boys and Oathkeepers. They know to steer clear of Baltimore.

^ I live in the general region. Baltimore is the butt of all jokes when it comes to the way it is run and the amount of violent crime there, especially murders.

The aquarium is nice though.

I was focused on the right-wing backlash it and other similar films got when they were originally released.

But you may be right.