Aaron Said:

Can you live comfortably as a Physical therapy assistant?

We Answered:

As a PTA you can be well off by yourself, i mean.. you only have to go to school 2 years and get your associates. I asked the same question yesterday, and got few answers. So i went and talked to my teachers at my technical school and they told me, (since i also have a girlfriend that i would like to be able to spend money on rather than living paycheck to paycheck) My teachers told me that i should consider being an RN (registered nurse) because you make like $70,000 starting out and it only gets more and more.. if you choose to go back to school for RN you can choose to specialize in a specific area, then you get paid $95,000. Im having such trouble too, i know your situation except i have a girlfriend that i would like to take care of, ya know? So im still deciding hopefully you take my word of advice. Just so you know, hospitals pay you more as opposed to a professional office. I think the benefits from the job as PTA will totally allow you to be a single girl

Tyrone Said:

Income question: I am 25 yrs old with a double major from a major University, and 2 years of work experience.

We Answered:

If you are searching for a job in PT and have passed your boards, the west coast tends to pay higher than the rest of the country. In 2005, PT advance magazine revealed that new grads earned about $43,000 a year...I would expect this to be closer to $50-55,000 a year for you as a rough guess (I am not on the west coast). Your previous experience in an internet business will not influence your salary. If you have not worked as a PT yet, you will be considered as a new grad.

It will also depend on the area in which you hope to work. Your highest salaries will be through staffing agencies, home health and nursing homes.

Jimmy Said:

I live is Saint Louis, Mo and am seriously considering relocating to Seattle, WA. How is Seattle?

We Answered:

In my opinion, Seattle is the most beautiful city in the US . . . in summer. Seattle itself is a scenic wonder with the ferries cruising the Puget Sound with the Olympic Mountains in the background, Mt. Rainier to the south, not-to-many-but-enough sky scrapers, and, of course, the iconic Space Needle. When the weather's nice there isn't anywhere else I'd want to be, and I live in Honolulu so that's saying a lot! There is tons to do, especially if you're into outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, camping, etc. There's also Pike Place Market (where they throw the fish, the first Starbucks is here also), Seattle Center, Seattle Aquarium, Pioneer Square, Bell Town, and the water front. Some of the biggest and most successful companies started in and around Seattle (Microsoft, Boeing, Costco, Nordstroms, Seattle's Best Coffee).

Now the only problem is when the weather is not so great - like most of the fall, all of the winter, and most of the spring. During that time you get a total grey cloud cover most days. And when it rains it drizzles steadily all day long. There are breaks in between, but expect this time of year to be wet and grey (and cold). It rarely rains hard. In fact you hardly even need an umbrella because it's mostly a slow drizzle. If you can handle the late fall/winter/early spring weather than you'll be just fine.

If you ski, snow board, snow shoe, or snow mobile you might have a different outlook on the winter weather as I did growing up there. I grew up skiing and snow boarding, so I didn't mind the rain because I knew it was snowing in the mountains. Washington has some great skiing/snow boarding spots such as Crystal Mountain, Mt. Baker, Stevens Pass, White Pass, Snoqualmie, and others. There's also my personal "heaven on earth", Whistler/Black Comb around 5 hours to the north in British Columbia.

Weather in the summer is typically in the low 80's and high 70's, with around two weeks or so where it gets in the 90's. Winter is typically in the 50's and 40's but will have a couple weeks in the 30's and even as low as the 20's (rarely).

Not many people know this, but about half of Washington state is desert, so-to-speak. Not sand dunes or anything, but dry, arid land. Central and Eastern Washington are like this and are great areas for camping, hunting, fishing, etc. If you want extreme hot and cold weather than go here. Western Washington has mostly mild weather. So Washington has beaches, deserts, mountains, and rain forests.

As far as the people go, Seattle is (or was) ranked as one of the most educated cities in America. People tend to be ambitious and innovative. You also have the more "colorful" side - punk rock goth type people can be found all over as well. I suppose there are low-life lazy people too, but they don't stick out like how you describe people in St. Louis do. I can tell you this, St. Louis has nothing on Hawaii as far as lazy people go. I think Hawaii invented lazy :-)

To sum it up: Seattle is beautiful, especially in the summer. If you can handle the wet and grey winters then you'll be fine. There is tons to do in the entire state all year round.

Scott Said:

Seattle areas to relocate to? Creative hubs? More reasonably priced areas?

We Answered:

A great place to live is Lynnwood, Edmonds, or Shoreline. They are very affordable and are about 20 minutes away from Seattle. Seattle doesn't rain as much as people think it does...or maybe I'm just used to it..but the weather is pretty OK. In the summer it gets at a good temperature.

Wanda Said:

Can you live comfortably off of a $30-45,000 salary?

We Answered:

that's not going to be "Comfortable" in SC and a better choice in Seattle; but any big city is going to be expensive.