Seattle has a reputation as one of the most livable cities in the United States. It is the cultural and business center for the greater Puget Sound metropolitan area with a rich and diverse social fabric and many cultural opportunities. Seattle has most of the amenities and advantages one expects of a major city, including excellent public transportation, restaurants, symphony, opera, theater, and three major-league sports teams, without the crushing problems of pollution and decay that plague many urban centers. Seattle has some of the best bicycle paths of any major city, and the UW is near the mid-point of the Burke-Gilman trail, an abandoned-railway easement asphalt trail which runs from Puget Sound east to the UW on the western shore of Lake Washington, and then north all the way up around the end of Lake Washington ( approx 20 miles long total) where it connects with the Samamish River Trail for another 15 miles of car(e)free bike-riding and skating. The stunning physical setting of Seattle overlooks Puget Sound, an inland arm of the Pacific Ocean reaching 80 miles southward from the Strait of Juan de Fuca into sheltered inlets and coves. Winters in Seattle are mild, gray and wet; summers are warm, sunny and dry. Annual precipitation (about 38 inches) in Seattle is definitely greater than in Tucson or Los Angeles, but less than in Boston or Dallas.

The Pacific Northwest owes much of its physiographic diversity to glaciation and volcanism: geological processes that are active even today. This is a region of legendary scenic beauty, but its singularity probably lies in a coastal fringe where the great northwestern coniferous forest meets the Pacific Ocean. Just as the culture of the Northwest Coast Indians was shaped by wood and water, the timber and fishing industries are still important, though progressively less pivotal in today's economic mélange. Northwesterners are outdoor people who have long appreciated the need for protection and preservation of their natural environment. Recreational opportunities abound and are close at hand. From the campus building, practice-rock-climbing, sailing, and flat-water kayaking are ten minutes away; salt water fishing, sea kayaking, hiking, and mountain biking all start at just thirty minutes away; and skiing (nordic, alpine, & telemark), backpacking, mountain climbing, and whitewater kayaking are all only one to two hours away. Clam digging requires a two-hour trip, while walking on wilderness beaches in Olympic National Park or hiking the slopes of Mt Rainier (14410 ft) is only a three-hour drive away.