Nice Homegrown plug.

San Francisco Bay Area is too expensive for starving artists. Great weather, but more happening here, by far, grassroots arts and culture-wise. Too bad TBT aren't playing when we will be there ... boo. That would have been fun.

Baci:  Exactly!!

Duluth beats both SF and Seattle on unemployment and (in my humble opinion) vibrant culture. Since one bedroom apartments aren't $3000 a month in Duluth, our economy is "different."

I did the Seattle thing from 90-95, with occasional forays into Tacoma and Bellingham.

The cost of living in terms of housing was, back then, outrageous. I was giving up close to a grand for a small (albeit fairly posh) studio apt near the PSC (Pacific Science Center). 

The food was another story. The Pike Market provided me with anything I needed for eats. Coffee and beer were plentiful ... unfortunately so was the competition for jobs. If you didn't pull down some serious coin, a housemate situation was pretty much your only option.