Moving to Seattle

[Hawkbit]

We have been planning a move from Ohio to Seatte, WA for about a year.  It took a LONG time for my wife's bar application to be processed.  She is being flown out next week for a second interview.  It looks like she has a pretty fair shot at getting the position, and as long as the money is good, we will be moving soon.  She will stay with friends while I stay behind to sell the house. 

Anyone from Seattle have any advice about the city? 

I won't work for the first year or so because I'm finishing my degree, so work isn't a huge priority for me.  We've got school info for my daughter and we've started doing initial searches for apartments on Craigslist and another site, though we are trying to stay away from anything Windermere.  We're trying to stick to living in West Seattle, hoping to get the kid into Schmitz Park or Alki elementaries. 

I think we've got all the big moving issues under control, but I guess I'm just wondering if there's anything I should know about Seattle that isn't really well known by outsiders or "newcomer" guides.  Thanks!

[Salamok]

We have been planning a move from Ohio to Seatte, WA for about a year.  It took a LONG time for my wife's bar application to be processed.  She is being flown out next week for a second interview.  It looks like she has a pretty fair shot at getting the position, and as long as the money is good, we will be moving soon.  She will stay with friends while I stay behind to sell the house. 

Anyone from Seattle have any advice about the city? 

I won't work for the first year or so because I'm finishing my degree, so work isn't a huge priority for me.  We've got school info for my daughter and we've started doing initial searches for apartments on Craigslist and another site, though we are trying to stay away from anything Windermere.  We're trying to stick to living in West Seattle, hoping to get the kid into Schmitz Park or Alki elementaries. 

I think we've got all the big moving issues under control, but I guess I'm just wondering if there's anything I should know about Seattle that isn't really well known by outsiders or "newcomer" guides.  Thanks!

Say good bye to the sun.

[Hawkbit]

We're okay with that.  They've had it pretty cool this summer, my buddy says.  I was bitching about it hitting 100+ and humid as a sauna here in Ohio last month, and he was bitching about how it only got to 80 once or twice.  Told him I'm okay with that, but I'm done with this crap Ohio weather.

[Slyfeind]

This summer has been mercifully cloudy. Last summer we beat Texas heat for at least a few days.

People are grumpy and friendly at the same time, and drivers drive like ass. The beer is excellent. The streets are safe as long as you don't wander alleys in the middle of the night. Also I think the state's broke, and unemployment is...average for the country, but it feels like it's worse. (I'm sure every place feels that way though.)

[Engels]

Check out public transportation routes wherever you're looking to get a home, since to be honest, traffic here is such ass, you'll find that even 'wealthy' people prefer to ride public transport to avoid the stress of traffic.

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/

I sincerely recommend buying some 'natural light' lighting, since you will, no if ands or buts about it, get far less sunlight than you're used to. Do not underestimate the possible effects, SAD is real. Vitamin D supplements are your friend.

Other than that, outside of the clubbing culture downtown, Seattle is just another bland suburban American middle class mire. So, be ready to be bored.

[Bunk]

Oh come now, Seattle is great - it's only a two hour drive to Vancouver!

[Salamok]

Other than that, outside of the clubbing culture downtown, Seattle is just another bland suburban American middle class mire. So, be ready to be bored.

The seafood is outstanding and while it is not Colorado or Lake Tahoe the skiing is not bad at all.  Skiing in heavy fog is  .

[Hawkbit]

We've been suburban for 10 years and we're done with it.  Both of us want back in the city.  I'm hoping to dump my car and do public transport and local bike when possible.  With some of the bus route mapping features on smartphones these days, it's just too easy.  We've visited friends out there three times in the last year, and each time we maneuvered the city fairly painlessly by bus.  

I've heard the advice on Vitamin D and SAD - we have that info in our plan already.  I don't get hit by it much, but my wife does.  I think we're going to stay away from buying property while we're out there, just renting.  So we can pack up and leave if things don't quite fit.  I have to figure, though, between the national parks, the ocean and a brand new city to explore, we have at least a few years before wearing it all out.  

Also, yes.  Looking forward to the beer.  We simply don't have beer establishments here like Seattle does.  We went into Porterhouse in West Seattle and our waitress knew virtually their whole beer selection by taste.  Again, we just don't have people that into beer here.

[Ingmar]

I hope you like coffee.

[01101010]

I hope you like coffee.

And basketball...  no wait, I mean hockey...  well, they have the Seahawks right?  and the Mariners 

I keeed, I keeeed.... I only say that because I am jealous. Seattle has been in the back of my brain since the late 90s.  Never even visited.

[Soln]

great place to live.  neighbourhoods are actually unique, lots of parks and recreation.

fundamental advice: figure out your commute before anything else.  Once you know where you will work you can then figure out the best places to buy/rent.  Why?  Because of the geography.

There are only 2 bridges (and one is about to be tolled) over Lake Washington, and every entry point into Seattle can be jammed.  Work backwards and you can then locate better places to live, and maybe take the bus or bike (great trails).   Also, the farther East you go, the farther your dollar buys you more room, bigger domicile.

Cf.  http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle

[TheWalrus]

Have an automatic. Hills in Skedaddle will cook your clutch quick.

[shiznitz]

If it is rainy, who the hell wants to bike anywhere?  Dangerous and miserable.

[Engels]

That is great advice Soln.

Also, good tip on the automatic transmission. I have manual, and its bad downtown for that. In fact, I wore out a clutch within the first two years here.

I shouldn't be so down on Seattle. It has great food and amazing nature, a decent music scene, and some good museums.

As for biking in the rain, as long as you don't have a big downhill run, you get used to it. I ride my bike from Capitol Hill to the U District every day, but do have to skip rainy days because 24th downhill is nigh suicidal in the rain. Other areas, however, its fine. In fact, if you live and work anywhere near the Burke-Gilman trail, you can ride your bike every day to work, rain or shine pretty much.

[WayAbvPar]

If you are dead set on living in West Seattle, get a good security system, and learn quickly where the neighborhoods change from decent to extremely shady (it happens quite quickly in that area). Parking is exceptionally shitty over there too, so if you have more than 1 car, be prepared.

Spud's Fish and Chips and Alki Bakery are both must-visits (right near Alki Beach). Salty's (on the other side of the spit from Alki- faces back to Seattle across Elliott Bay has pretty decent seafood, good drinks, and a great patio on which to consume said drinks if you can find a decent day. Some good pubs and taverns up and down California Ave too- should have fun exploring!

[Slyfeind]

And basketball...  no wait, I mean hockey...  well, they have the Seahawks right?  and the Mariners 

Hey Mariners kicked some butt this year in a few games! 
Also there's the Sounders.... 

[Soln]

WAP is sadly right about security in W Seattle.  I have several colleagues that live there and have had problems.

If you are not working and schools are driving your location decision, be sure to check all the possibilities.  Seattle schools are under a lot of fire lately because of cut backs, and there are board elections coming up.  Bellevue and Mercer Island have great reputations for public schools, and hell, if your wife is working downtown, then check out Bainbridge Island.  Some of the best schools in the State are there.  It would be a quick commute for her from the terminal to downtown (~10mins).  I know people who do it.  FWIW, if Lianka wasn't planning to work somewhere, we'd be looking at Bainbridge Island.  Instead, we'll be looking at Mercer Island for elementary schools.  It's also top shelf, and while it's expensive to own there, the rents seem normal.

also, greatschools.org

[Segoris]

I moved from the mid-west to Seattle for a few years before, some of the things I learned:

-Public Trans is pretty awesome
-Pedestrians are dumbasses and have more self-entitlement issues than anywhere I've lived before. I'm all for rules to provide way for pedestrians and driving safely in their presence, but when ladies carrying babies commonly walk out in front of your car (not at a crosswalk or anything) without looking for any traffic while you're doing 40 in a 40mph zone 
-Buddha Rhuska for Thai food (in west Seattle) is the shit, go buy their Crispy Garlic Chicken. I still haven't found a Thai place back in the midwest that compares.
-As was mentioned, West Seattle can be shady for crime/safety in places, otherwise it's a pretty safe city imo
-during football season, avoid the U-dist (especially NE 45th st) on Saturdays if there are home games. There were days that would take me 2hours to drive what was normally a 10min commute. Public trans doesn't help at that time since all traffic is jammed and I didn't own a bike back then, though I did the next day.
- even if driving an automatic, use your emergency parking brake even on small hills, it does help you in the long run. A friend of mine is a mechanic and their shop makes mad bank on transmission service/rebuilds and that was one of the main tips he gave me.

[Hawkbit]

That's weird about West Seattle crime issues.  I have friends that live near the Zeke's pizza/Beveridge Place area (I think that's Fauntleroy and California) and they have absolutely no issues.  I have to imagine that more north in the Admiral district it might get a little shadier because of the beachy-feel.  Anyways, good to know.  Thanks. 

We're actually really looking hard at getting a place a block or two off Beach Dr.  We'll see.  It's expensive rent, but not much more than our mortgage here in Ohio.  I figure our first year will give us the lay of the land pretty well, so we can settle down from there and figure where we want to live for awhile.  It's tough to move cross-country and find the "perfect" place to rent.

We tried Salty's as our "expensive" dinner when we were out last.  It was by far the worst meal I had out there; all the pubs and such had much better food overall.  Just from my single experience, of course. 

Lots of good info.  Keep it coming!!

[Salamok]

Other than Vegas, Seattle is the only city I've went out for pitchers of beer at 6 am.  This may have also occurred in WI but if so I wasn't in a condition to remember it.

[01101010]

Other than Vegas, Seattle is the only city I've went out for pitchers of beer at 6 am.  This may have also occurred in WI but if so I wasn't in a condition to remember it.

New Orleans... oh the broken memories I have of that hole.

[Hawkbit]

Ha!  After my wife took the bar exam, I picked her up from the third day and we drove straight to New Orleans.  Somewhere around night two of our bender, at 4 or 5 in the morning, we figured that they had to kick us out sometime, right?  So I asked the bartender what time was last call and he just laughed and laughed.  I had a terrible, terrible next day.  Even keeping myself drunk wasn't enough.

[naum]

I only lived in Seattle for ~6 months, and lived and worked downtown, walking distance to office, right down the hill from Space Needle, and stones throw from water. An automobile was entirely unnecessary (and actually burdensome). Everything (bars, groceries, coffee, music, sports, restaurants, etc.…) was within walking distance or a short train/public transit ride. I loved this, maybe because living in Arizona, one must drive significant distances anywhere to do anything…

It rains a lot, but I believe Seattle actually receives less rainfall than NY -- it's just drizzly and overcast most of the time, and really not hindering of walking/biking other than just wearing hat/hood.

A number of folks I worked with lived way out east (which is a commuting nightmare, though many did the van pool thing) or ferried in from across the bay -- a lot of time traveling to/from work, but according to work mates, pristine deals were to be had there, for better and prettier unspoiled chunks of land.

Yes, there is hockey in Seattle.

[Engels]

I only lived in Seattle for ~6 months, and lived and worked downtown, walking distance to office, right down the hill from Space Needle,

what sort of fattened oligarch are you that you live downtown?

[naum]

I only lived in Seattle for ~6 months, and lived and worked downtown, walking distance to office, right down the hill from Space Needle,

what sort of fattened oligarch are you that you live downtown?

No oligarch, but did have my monthly suite bill reimbursed by client…

…apartments are not that expensive, seemed cheaper to me than San Francisco or New York or Boston.

[WayAbvPar]

Yes, there is hockey in Seattle.

They actually play in the 'burbs now (about 10 minutes from my house!), so they are no longer accessible by walking from Queen Anne.

[Engels]

…apartments are not that expensive, seemed cheaper to me than San Francisco or New York or Boston.

Its all relative, but ya, not as expensive as the three probably most popular cities in the US :)

I'm also curious about where in downtown you live that you have quick walking distance access to a supermarket, unless you mean the Whole Foods on Denny.

[Shaje]

I lived right by the Vashon ferry dock in West Seattle for a few years. I think the crime problem came from White Center up the hill. White Center is still sketchy, but you will find some great ethnic places up there. If you move there, keep an eye out for a salvadorean bakery. The only thing I miss about West Seattle was the restaurants, but I lived there in my bachelor days.

Now I live in Belltown (downtown, kinda). QFC is probably the best grocery in walking distance. Washington state has had an explosion of local distilleries. Many wine tasting spots now have menus of local liqueurs too. If it's your poison, I hear Dry Fly Gin from Spokane is quite the thing.

I've found many people from warmer and sunnier places here. We have lots of Hawaiians. My girl is from Phoenix and can't say enough good things about our abundance of cool cloudy days. Different strokes.

[naum]

…apartments are not that expensive, seemed cheaper to me than San Francisco or New York or Boston.

Its all relative, but ya, not as expensive as the three probably most popular cities in the US :)

I'm also curious about where in downtown you live that you have quick walking distance access to a supermarket, unless you mean the Whole Foods on Denny.

Lived right up from Elliot/Western -- perhaps that is not technically "downtown" -- there was a Safeway right up the hill (I believe it was 1st avenue W. just a street/block or two over from Key Arena / Space Needle / etc.… …and I used to walk to Pike Place Market, a brisk walk, but not more than a mile or so…

[Engels]

Is that technically Belltown? In any event, yes, I've had a friend or two living in that area. A bit higher rent than even Capitol Hill, but not insane like the actual downtown corridor. Not that I see any benefit actually living next to the Columbia tower or anything. At least in Belltown you're smack dab in the middle of decent clubs.

[Sand]

Is anyone who lived in Seattle old enough to remember a dance club down town during the 80's/90's called Oz?
I loved that place.

There was also a Trattoria Italian restaurant down town that served some of the best Tuscan Italian food I have EVER had at 4am that we would go to after Oz closed at 4am.

I have good memories of Seattle.

[WayAbvPar]

I do remember Oz. I only went there a couple of times,  since it was an underage club, and I would rather get drunk with my friends than sit around sobering up not dancing. GodDAMN I hate dancing.

[Furiously]

Amazon fresh also delivers to most areas in Seattle.

[Ozzu]

I moved from Dallas to the Seattle area in December.

Weather-wise, it rains almost everyday in the winter months and not much in the summer months. This summer was my first up here and I was very impressed. It seems like it rained, at most, twice a week and most of the time it was highs in the low to mid 70s and sunny. It's been awesome in comparison to Texas summers.

As far as places to live? In Seattle, I know that the White Center area is pretty sketchy. Outside of Seattle? You probably want to avoid most of the cities south of Seattle. East of Seattle, Mercer Island is very nice, but expensive and Bellevue is a good place to live. North? I'm not as familiar with.

[Chimpy]

My step brother lived in Bothell for a few years. I visited him there, and it was pretty nice but it was definitely a bit of a hike into the city.