Hi everyone,

I’m in the final rounds for a performing arts job interview process. It’s in the Kirkland/Seattle area and was just wondering if someone could tell me a bit about the area from this group? I applied because the job was incredibly intriguing, but I’ve never been to the Pacific Northwest. I’ve lived in New Jersey, Maryland, UK, Poland, Texas, DC, Massachusetts, and most recently Tennessee.

I come from an immigrant background (Polish parents), am an actor, director, devised, producer, teacher, and love hobbies like climbing, bike riding, hiking, working out, sitting in coffee shops, drinking wine/scotch/whiskey, traveling, international culture of theatre and cinema, and other stuff. I enjoy being around diverse cultural settings, being in urban areas with easy escapes to the country.

I’m trying to find something new after losing my previous job, but I don’t mean just work…and it’s tough to define. My current position was “dissolved” by my now-former employer. I was there for five years and felt betrayed and gutted by this place. Mainly because it was a place that said it supported the performing arts and lied to me time and again. It didn’t just promise more and more support, but eventually just settled for threatening my job security on three separate occasions for three straight years, and then just played really bizarre political games before pulling the trigger on getting rid of my position. I ALWAYS got great job reviews, and it was CLEAR in the end the defining factors for their decision making process was a mixture of desperation brought on by massive financial mismanagement and southern conservative Christian “morals”.

However, this is pretty endemic everywhere where I currently live. It’s an over-promising city where a lot of things are lacking professionalism, or a progressive viewpoint. Is Kirkland somewhere that is culturally rich enough? I know Seattle is nearby…but again I know very little. I’m assuming it is…but just wanted to hear some unvarnished takes.