Most of the tech the rest of the rest of the world uses and enjoys is developed in the US. Also, what price would you like to put on Japan taking over the Pacific in WWII if the US had of just kept out of it? And later becoming a super power and a pretty big deterrent to governments that dont care so much for the general population having any sort of freedom? If the US pulled out of every war tomorrow, packed up and went home, how well do you think that might work out for everyone else? Probably not very good at all. Yes everyone likes to point out what the US does wrong to make them selves feel a bit better. You're welcome.

Alaska aint short on natural gas, while Prudhoe Bay might be mostly tapped out of oil now, there is enough natural gas up there to warrant interest in building a gas pipeline parallel to the current oil pipeline or through Canada to Calgary, where it'll become available to US and Canadian markets.

Dont live in King County and dont try and drive to work and avoid using buses. Option one: There are a couple ferry options west to Kitsap County, some people I work with do this. Option two: Sounder train south (provided your office isnt too far from King St station (mine isnt)). We (wife, 2 year old daughter and I) relocated to Seattle just over a year ago for a senior desktop support job. We bought a nice house in Puyallup for around $210k on a nice quiet street street. My commute is a little on the long side, but my employer subsidized Orca card means I pay $15 a month total and the train is fairly comfortable and rarely late.