I would argue that the climate is actually quite nice.

It is, however, cloudy often. Even in the summer, you get a lot of overcast days and misty rain. Summer mornings are always cool: 13 to 16 C (high 50s F). Summer afternoons are usually sunny and hot: 23 to 28 C (high 70s F). Some people hate the lack of a "real" summer, but having experienced enough 37+ C/humid days for one lifetime, I don't take much out of that complaint.

Winters are mild, temperature-wise, but overcast. You'll only get about 10-20 hours of sun per week in the winter. For the plus side, if you look outside in the winter and it "looks" nice, it probably is (nice meaning 8-12 C). (On the East Coast, sunny usually means sub-freezing.)

It's not "always" raining but you'll probably get some rain on 2/3 of the days. Of course, some of those days are mostly sunny and have a misty rain for half an hour in the morning, and some are uniformly overcast.

It depends on what you like. If you're physically active, you might prefer it. (It's never too hot, or too cold, to run or bike.) Seattle has about the same climate as Paris, but the perceptions are totally different. In Paris, it's being compared to cloudier, colder places like Berlin and Warsaw, so it has the reputation of being a sunny, mild city. Seattle is being compared to San Francisco and Los Angeles so it has the reputation of being cold and cloudy. If you're from the East Coast or Europe, you won't mind it. I've heard plenty of Europeans move to Seattle and, because they've been told the weather is so dreadful, think they've won the lottery when they get what's actually an average winter (mild temperatures, not much sun but some, light rain).

Would living (a few hours?) away right on the pacific coast be an improvement in climate?

It would be even rainier, and it's the rain (not the temperatures) people complain about. However, if you go east, over the mountains, you get into a climate that's quite dry. One thing to keep in mind about Seattle's weather is that, if you want, you can drive 100 km and get winter sun in the desert, or drive into the mountains for snow and skiing. (Snow at sea level is rare in the Pac NW.) If you really don't like the 5-6 days per week of overcast in the winter, you can escape it on the weekends. On the other hand, if you want an actual bona fide rainforest, you can get to that as well.