Fantastic idea! You ll be broadening your horizons, improving the quality of your life, and living among one of the best educated, most tolerant, most progressive populations of people anywhere in the country. And as for the weather, that person who claimed it rains nearly every day is about as dishonest as they come! It might rain several days in a row in the winter (often followed by several sunny days in a row) and summers are absolutely gorgeous. (Seattle recently went many weeks in a row--during the summer--without a drop of rain!) The weather will be more diverse and interesting than it is in Riverside--but it doesn t sound like that issue plays in at all to your thought process. Good for you!
Well it will be an adjustment from almost no rain to rain nearly every single day... it is beautiful up there but it is much more expensive than Riverside... I recommend visiting first for a few days to see if you would like it... but it is just to be a student... I don t see where a few years would hurt... I certainly would hate moving there! But to each their own...
If you re single, seattle is a great place for it. I m gonna visit up there in 2weeks. I ve lived in 5 states in the last 5years, and visited over 15 states in that time. Counting vegas, san diego, new york, panama city beach, miami... and seattle was one of the most fun places i had.
Until you establish residency, out-of-state tuition will kill you.The UW has several excellent programs. A move such as you suggest depends heavily on what you wish to study.