Fueling the City

in and launch their careers with only a car full of belongings and lofty aspirations. 

When they look for a new city, the most critical ingredient is to find a place with lots of growing companies ready to hire. Neuman, now a web design coordinator for Sesame Communications in Renton, followed such a scenario. Seattle's reputation has long been connected to the coffee shops on every corner, the 30-plus inches of rainfall per year, the alternative music scene and the claim to fame as home to either Dr. Frasier Crane or Dr. McDreamy (depending on which generation you belong to). Over the past few years, that reputation has been overtaken by Seattle's real-world dynamism, where-if you have the talent-you can succeed, and by extension, so can the businesses for which you work. There's a reason technology leaders like Microsoft, Amazon.com and PopCap Games are successful.

Neuman says he and his wife very seriously considered moving to Portland or San Francisco, but in the end, realized that the jobs he wanted were here. "We liked the creative culture here, the Jewish population, the arts and entertainment scene, and the urban lifestyle of Seattle," he explains.

Taking the Plunge

For 23-year-old Andra Wooton, the decision was rather impulsive. The Michigan native graduated from Ferris State University and found a job at Thermo Fisher Scientific. But after she fell victim to the research company's round of layoffs, she realized nothing was keeping her in Michigan. When her best friend planted the idea of moving to Seattle, Wooton told her she was crazy. But they were already aware of the city's reputation, and crazy soon turned into reality.

"We spent three months job searching before we came out here," Wooton says. While her friend went on job interviews, Wooton visited several apartments and sought the help of Ajilon, a job agency in Seattle. Ajilon set up an interview with Filter, a staffing agency that connects creative professionals with work. It was the only job Wooton applied for and, miraculously, she landed it. Wooton's been living in the Capitol Hill area since August while, ironically, her friend returned to Michigan after she was unable to find a position.

Many observers note the tendency of the current generation of 20-somethings to job hop. "Generation Y-ers don't expect to stay in a job, or even a career, for too long-they've seen the scandals that imploded Enron and Arthur Andersen, and they're skeptical when it comes to such concepts as employee loyalty," says Bruce Tulgan, co-author of Managing Generation Y.

Graphic designer Thomas Ryun made the pilgrimage west from New York to