Sarah Szczypinski

Business Insider • 03/27/2025

We lived in Seattle for 12 years. Life looked good on paper, but in reality we were miserable.

We went with the best intentions; that's what we tell ourselves now.

In 2012, my husband and I made the sensible decision to move from Chicago to Seattle so he could design Microsoft's line of phones and tablets.

The job came with an eye-watering salary bump, a bonus, and stock options we had seen only in the movies.

Both of us had moved to Chicago soon after graduating from college. We loved the city and didn't want to leave, but we questioned whether an offer like this would ever come again...

Fatherly • 09/28/2023

Experts Are Worried This Will Be The Next Drug Crisis For Teens

Back in July, science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer interviewed Danielle Dick, Ph.D. in her popular parenting newsletter, Is My Kid The Asshole? Dick, a neuroscientist and director of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center in New Jersey, covered the risks of teenage substance abuse and shared a growing fear for youths among the scientific community: cannabis use.

"That's honestly the thing that those of us who study substance use and adolescents are most worried about," Dick said. "Right now i

The Seattle Times • 05/12/2023

How to create your own built-in box frames

The concept of home satisfaction has been difficult to reconcile since the days of COVID lockdowns. Like many other families, we were cooped up inside with a toddler for more than two years. Although life has improved after a few rounds of vaccines and boosters, several scientific studies have shown that shaking off the psychological effects of isolation isn’t as simple as a walk in the park. As we entered the final leg of the latest dreary winter, the walls that once offered comfort and securit

The Seattle Times • 03/24/2023

How Washington retirees swapped mortgages for a life untethered

Some refer to themselves as “senior nomads.” Diede Janel, a retired office manager who has primarily lived out of a Toyota Sienna minivan for the last six years, likes to think of her nomadic lifestyle as “no sticks and bricks.”

CNET • 10/02/2021

Growing your own food at home when you don't have a lot of space

It was just one week before the US descended into COVID-19 lockdown early last year when my plant obsession began. Stuck at home with a recently broken leg and a 4-year-old whose Seattle preschool had closed, I bought a lemon tree that we could tend together -- something to keep us occupied and out in the sunshine. By the time we heard of one of the first American COVID-19 deaths, in the hospital where my son was born, our garden grew with a crop of Yukon gold potatoes in a planter box.

The New York Times • 09/03/2020

Rising Shingles Cases in Adults Put Unvaccinated Children at Risk

The death of a 30-year-old Texas man made headlines in July when he got infected with the coronavirus after attending a “Covid-19 party.” According to the chief medical officer at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, the man said he attended a gathering with an infected person to test whether the coronavirus was real and to gain immunity from it.

This isn’t the first time Americans have signed up for intentional virus exposure in the hopes of achieving immunity. Before the chickenpox vaccine beca

The Seattle Times • 01/10/2020

Jobs outlook Seattle-area job seekers are ‘still in the driver’s seat’ | Produced by Seattle Times Marketing

After another year of employment stability, Washington economists predict more of the same in 2020.

“We’ve continued to see pretty consistent growth and strong momentum, particularly in the Seattle metropolitan area,” says Anneliese Vance-Sherman, a regional labor economist with the state’s Employment Security Department.

The Washington Post • 09/25/2019

Quality child care is maddeningly hard to find. Here’s how to do it.

I thought I understood what it takes to raise a child. Like many first-time parents, I did my homework in the months leading up to my son’s birth, feeling confident in my pursuit of a well-laid plan. And then came the search for child care.

The Seattle Times • 09/25/2019

Why it’s so hard to stay happy at work — and what Seattle therapists say you can do about it

A CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey published in April found that while 85% of the 8,664 professionals polled nationally said they were somewhat or very satisfied in their jobs, 30% had also considered quitting within the past three months.

“There’s less contradiction in this statement than you would think,” says Chris Rebholz, a licensed clinical psychologist in Kirkland who has a doctorate in psychology. “It’s quite possible to be happy in your career — because fundamentally, you love what you do — bu

The Seattle Times • 07/09/2019

Why your to-do list is all wrong — and how to better manage your time

I spent the majority of my 20s running late. On paper, I was working my way up the career ladder as a writer, but I felt constant pressure to perform. I worked 12-hour days, weekends and late nights. I also used a fair amount of sick days to recover from the inevitable burnout.

I was smart and dedicated, but I could never conquer my to-do list.

The Seattle Times • 05/02/2019

Education requirements for advanced nursing are evolving

When registered nurse Joan Ching went back to school for a doctorate in her early 50s, she was eager to return to the classroom.

“I really believe in lifelong learning, and nurses are kind of an odd bunch of people in that our education is never done,” she says. “I went back to school … once I realized that the DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) was going to be a return on investment for me.”

The Washington Post • 03/07/2019

Kids deserve privacy. As parents, we need to give it to them — online and IRL.

It was the night before my eighth-grade trip to Washington. I’d been looking forward to this trip for months, but it wouldn’t be the teenage years without a little humiliation. A mere 12 hours before I was scheduled to board the plane, I got my first period. What my mother did next still bothers me. After tearfully handing me a box of pads, she retreated to her bedroom while I finished packing.

The Seattle Times • 01/11/2019

Jobs outlook: Seattle, state can expect ‘still strong’ growth this year | Produced by Seattle Times Marketing

“This is a very innovative workforce, and no one wants to miss the party,” says regional labor economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman.

After another year of employment stability, economists are optimistic about Washington’s job prospects in 2019.

“It is noteworthy that at this point in the recovery, all industries are seeing job growth,” says Anneliese Vance-Sherman, a regional labor economist with the state’s Employment Security Department.

The Washington Post • 12/13/2018

Disappointment can be good for kids. Here’s how parents can help them approach it.

The morning routine isn’t always smooth, but our 3-year-old is slowly learning to compromise and accept disappointment. Dave and I are, for the most part, an unwavering duo: We set boundaries and hold the line, hoping that our efforts will one day result in a reasonable teenager who won’t sulk or scream expletives when we say no to $300 sneakers or a 1 a.m. curfew.

The Washington Post • 11/05/2018

I used to judge parents who used weed. Then I tried it.

It was on the eve of my birthday a few weeks ago that my husband decided to bombard me with feel-good gifts: a weighted blanket, knitting supplies, chocolate and writers’ reference books. “There’s one more thing,” he said before disappearing to retrieve something from his car. Like a man with a dark secret, he returned with a sheepish look and a package clutched behind his back.

The Washington Post • 08/20/2018

Yes, an introverted parent can help an extroverted child thrive. Here’s how.

One might pass this off as the shenanigans of a precocious 3-year-old, but I have long suspected something else. At 6 months old, he spent the entirety of his first flight charming the attendants and surrounding travelers. At 8 months old, he was dubbed “Ralph Lauren baby” at day care, thanks to his penchant for posing for adults who gave him attention.

The Seattle Times • 08/10/2018

Why you shouldn’t blow off your first job (like this Seattle author did)

Paulette Perhach, whose new book aims to help aspiring writers start out, didn’t learn anything from her high school job at the skating rink. There are regrets.

Paulette Perhach didn’t learn anything from her high school job at the skating rink.

“It was awful,” she says. “I had to clean the bathrooms to the tunes of Shania Twain, which my boss just loved.”

The Seattle Times • 08/03/2018

Where MBAs fit at tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon

In 2018, 58 percent of the University of Washington’s MBA graduates accepted positions in tech from companies in Seattle’s own backyard.

In the booming, constantly changing tech industry, success relies on creative ideas and competitive execution. So it’s perhaps no surprise that MBAs are a growing presence in the industry.

The Seattle Times • 08/03/2018

Is an MBA worth it? Check the bottom line

Is the cost and effort a good investment? The overwhelming answer seems to be: It depends.

The long-held benefits of pursuing a Master of Business Administration are tempting: job security, higher pay, a chance to play a key role in company growth or even launch a new startup. That said, attending an MBA program at a top-tier school can cost upwards of $100,000, and a shifting job market doesn’t guarantee the same stability it once did.

The Seattle Times • 06/28/2018

Employee benefits: What you don’t know could cost you

When it comes to employment satisfaction, nothing quite measures up to a generous benefits package — including, for some, a higher salary.

One in five workers would choose more health benefits over increased wages, and more than four in 10 prefer work-life balance to a bump in salary.

The Seattle Times • 06/01/2018

Open office too distracting? How to find focus

The open-office workplace has become a staple in modern business — a taking down of walls in favor of cost-effective design and co-worker collaboration.

Indeed, about 70 percent of U.S. offices have some version of open floor plan, according to the International Facility Management Association, adopted en masse by tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook. So, is the shift going well?

The Seattle Times • 05/11/2018

How you can use a 529 plan for yourself — and when you’d want to

Tuition strategies for when your family has leftover funds in 529 college savings plans — or when you are planning ahead for your own professional development.

John Madison’s story isn’t typical. When the time came to pay for his daughters’ college education, the Virginia-based certified public accountant found himself with a surplus in their 529 plans. Assuming that his youngest child doesn’t use the remaining funds, Madison has his own plans.

The Washington Post • 05/04/2018

Abusive parenting styles can be inherited. Here are 5 ways to break the cycle.

As recently as the 1980s, the threat of spanking was a familiar refrain in American homes, a way to keep kids in their place. And as for the tongue-lashing that followed a lazily completed chore? Well, it was better than the belt, right? These parenting practices weren’t labeled as abuse, but scientific research tells another story.

The Washington Post • 03/28/2018

College left me in debt. Here’s how I’m making sure my son can get a degree — without loans.

I graduated from college in 2006 with $89,000 in student-loan debt. With no family help, I relied on a blend of federal and private loans to earn the journalism degree I desperately wanted. In those days, education debt was characterized as a casual nuisance. Like many of my peers, I signed on the dotted line without fully understanding the terms. The debt that followed consumed my thoughts and, for a long time, nearly half my income.