Microsoft just loves Seattle as a place to set up new offices. Combined with employees who joined through the Redmond company's acquisition of aQuantive Inc., the company expects to have nearly 1,400 employees in seven locations in the city this spring. That includes more than 500 employees recently set up in the South Lake Union and Pioneer Square neighborhoods.

Why the love for the Emerald City? It has to do with culture and traffic, says Chris Owens, general manager for the company's global real estate facilities. "There's a sort of talent submarket in Seattle that's different than in the eastside, and we wanted to provide better access to some folks who just don't want to do the [Highway 520] bridge. They're Seattleites, and they simply don't want to deal with the commute." They also don't necessarily want to move to the burbs.