I live in the northwest USA in the state of Washington in a small town called Redmond about 20 miles east of Seattle.

Beautifully situated in the Puget Sound, Seattle has a reputation of being outdoorsy...and wet. The rain (or mist or drizzle, depending on the day) produces lush vegetation that gives the place its name - The Emerald City. Besides grass, flowers and evergreens, major industry also flourishes in this region. Aerospace and high tech have spawned such corporate giants as Boeing and Microsoft, turning Seattle into one of the business capitals of the Pacific Rim. The city's indoor scene rivals the one outdoors: with all those inveterate coffee drinkers driven inside for stimulation, the city's residents have created a passel of fine restaurants and a vigorous art scene, which can be enjoyed sans duck boots. Oh by the way, Seattle is also the home to Starbucks and several bio tech companies.

On a sunny day in Seattle, one is likely to hear the natives remark, "The mountains are out today". Only when the sky is cleared of its usual grey, drippy haze can you see one of the cities greatest glories: the Olympic mountain range's snow capped peaks jutting in the west, the Cascades to the north and south and the king of them all, Mt Rainer, rising majestically on the horizon to an imposing 14,000 feet, all perfect frames for the sparkling, sometimes silver, sometimes green waters of Puget Sound. And when the sun shines in Seattle, there is no other more beautiful place on earth, with the exception of New Zealand where I used to live before moving here.

Surrounded by lakes, rivers, the Puget Sound and the mountains, Seattle is a recreation enthusiasts dream. In the summer, water sports are only 10 minutes away and winter sports, such as snow skiing are only 45 minutes away.

In the picture above one can see the Seattle skyline and in the foreground is the Seattle Space Needle and way back in the background is the omnipresent Mt Rainier. Home to 2.7 million people and Boeing, Microsoft, Nordstrom and Starbucks, Seattle is also known as the birthplace of recent crazes for grunge rock and espresso coffee. This area is the home of baseball's Ken Griffey Jr., Bill Gates, grunge's Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, saxophone magician Kenny G and Tim Robbins, just to mention a few.

Seattle is a coastal city situated on the Pacific Ocean. The Puget Sound (scramble for your kids' geography books), as it is known consists of many hundreds of small islands extending all the way up to Vancouver, Canada. Travel east from Seattle over the SR 520 or the Interstate 90 bridge (two of the world's longest floating bridges) brings you to the Eastside with communities such as Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, etc. The Eastside has an identity of its own and is one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. Home to many giant companies and start-up dot coms, the Eastside is also one of the most affluent communities in the United States