NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Some of you may recall me asking about a few cities over the last year or so, Portland and Greenville being the other two. I've pretty well decided on Seattle, and it's 95% a go for the spring. I'll be flying up there a few times in the next several months to scout the area and get a feel for the city. I can't recall if we have any members from the area, so I'm asking if anyone knows the area. Pretty sure it will be in the Federal Way area, but I will see more when I make the trip. Seattle just seems like a place I could actually enjoy. I hate the area I live in now. I hate the heat, the bugs, the absolutely ruined economy of the area, stagnant growth, and just need a change. Plus jobs here for my field are quite weak (IT, computer related, networking security, so on) and I read Seattle has a lot of IT career opportunities. Weather seems PERFECT for me, as I love overcast/rain, and I LOVE the temperature averages. Average low of 46 in the winter and average high of 76 in the summer. Sure beats 30's in the winter and 90's or 100's in the summer with brutal humidity. Enough rambling, what do you guys know about the city?

Jeff_Ciesielski

iTrader: (10)

I like it, my wife and I moved here so that she could attend Grad school at the UW and it has pretty much made us set on living on the NW coast for the rest of our foreseeable future. The weather is mild and there are SHITLOADS of job opportunities if you are qualified.

Pros:
Good IT job prospects
Hot women (bellevue/medina)
Mild temperatures
Beautiful scenery
Awesome roads within reasonable distance
The culture

Cons:
The ******* rain -> Seriously, you don't know how it will affect you till you don't see the sun for 200 days.
Shitty drivers, possibly the worst I've ever seen.
Traffic -> Seattle wasn't built to support this many people, and since its on the water, there isn't much room to expand now.

Also, we have a rather epic turbo miata community out here. Myself, JayL, TurboRoach, SKmetalworks, 90GTK450, Bbundy,Wayne_Curr,Curly,Cueball1, + others

Yeah, we ball hard .

Edit: Let me/us know when you are flying in, I'm sure everyone would love to show you what's up

JayL

iTrader: (12)

When are you coming up?

wayne_curr

iTrader: (8)

GREAT city. I moved to seattle from missouri as a sophmore in high school. Like jeff i'll be staying in western washington for the forseeable future.

Federal way is a decent area. The whole south seattle area is my old stomping ground and Federal Way is also where JayL happens to live.

If you dont think you can stand the rain, move up here to Bellingham which is 100 miles north of seattle. Awesome city and we get something like 100 more days of sunshine a year than seattle. Winters are a little colder but not bad. Right by the montains and by the water. You can be running around on the beach in your bathing suit and in less than 2 hours be in snow. Living expenses are a bit cheaper up here as well.

Anyway, if you like wine, coffee, food, beer, good people (some ******** but mostly good), and a beautiful city, Seattle is the place to be. Just get ready to pay out your *** for living compared to where you live now.

West coast is the best coast! Represent!

Edit: Also Seattle is a melting pot of ethnicities. Whites are the minority at most public schools around seattle.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Damn, I guess there are more Seattle guys. Not sure how I forgot all of you guys. Yeah, I've been reading up on the city as much as I can, and so far I have seen very little to not like. It all seems like my kind of place. I've always felt out of place in the SE, and for several years the NW has been calling my name. When I know exactly when I'll be coming up with a friend, I might give some of you guys notice and get someone to show us around the town, and see some slow boosted *** cars.

How is the cost of living there? Or how do jobs pay? Seems like out of everywhere I've been, the Birmingham area has a very low income, but also a very cheap cost of living compared to most places.

wayne_curr

iTrader: (8)

Yes all of us on this forum are very friendly and enjoy meeting new people. From the one day I spent with the south seattle turbo miata crew we all seem to have similar senses of humor and get along pretty well.

Except that Jeff guy, he's such an *******.

Jeff_Ciesielski

iTrader: (10)

edit: Wait, which one, there are two of us :P

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Oh yeah?

JayL

iTrader: (12)

Are you a liberal?

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

No. If I had to pick, I would say in the middle. I try to stay out of that realm of things the best I can.

JayL

iTrader: (12)

You won't really be bothered by the mentality out here then. Besides the rain and the cool temps, that's my biggest problem with the area.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

I try to flip up my blinders and plug my ears when I hear politics being discussed. I'm a free thinker and don't like to follow one group, or be grouped with one group. I'm psyched!

TurboRoach

iTrader: (3)

Fixed.

It does keep your reflexes sharp though. Just about every time I drive the miata someone tries to run me over.

I've lived here most of my life and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

If you're going to work downtown then try and find a place near either the Sounder (commuter rail) or the light rail (stops at seatac). Commuting into downtown blows if you work regular hours. Housing is significantly cheaper when you're out of the city though. Like 2x the house/apartment for the same $$$

We've only met once. Is it that obvious?

gooflophaze

originally from Atlanta, lived in Seattle for 3 years (2001 - 2004). Housing is expensive, at least by southern standards. I was renting with 6 college aged roomates (I was old at 22). 2 bath, 7 room house was 460k in Greenlake (bank accidentally sent mortgage note to us once..)

The drivers aren't ********. I was an ******* driver for about 6 months, coming from Atlanta where everyone goes 20+ over and when there's traffic they dive off the interstate and take backroads until those clog up too. When I moved back it took me 6 months to start speeding and changing lanes without signalling, etc...

You will learn to love RainX, as the rain is just above the intermittent setting, but not quite the continuous wipe setting for your windshield wipers.

Buy a hoodie. You won't need an umbrella, but you don't want to get your hair wet.

My ex spent a week with me in Atlanta once, and freaked out of a thunderstorm we were having - somehow thinking the world was going to end with a bolt of lightening. That's when I realized, despite living in Seattle for 2 years, I had only heard thunder once there.

Seattles traffic problems come from two basics - 1, road funding is set by state referendum. Which means that the east side has to vote for a tax raise to get the west coast improvement, thus, road improvement projects rarely happen. You'll find out that they really should have divided Washington and Oregon east west instead of north south. People from Idaho are straight up scary. They have their own version of redneck up there, too - they typically live on houseboats and don't bathe though.

2 - its surrounded by water, bridges. There is rarely an opportunity to dive and take a back road. That said, people are pretty chill in traffic, there's nothing noone can do about it so sit back and hope it clears soon.

I noticed something weird too - when my father came to visit, he would keep running out of road / into a lane that turned into streetside parking. I figured out that coming from a rural area, we typically watch the right side of the lane, whereas the city peeps watch the left side of the lane. This might not make sense until you're there though..

I'm a gun carrying liberal douchebag, so I was a little right of center up there but it made for some interesting discussions around beer.

BTW - if you are not a beer snob - you will become one. I weep for the loss of all the local breweries and awesome west coast beers I can't get back in Atlanta now. Deschutes black butte porter is awesome.

Make sure you find the Fremont troll. Find out about the Fremont street fair. Find the 'Ave and drink with college kids. Go to pioneer square and drink with fratboys. Drive down the Alaskan viaduct. Take a ferry to whidbey island, find Deception Pass. Eat a big bag of greasy Dicks at 2am in the morning. Find Kurt's park, visit Bruce Lee's grave. The drive up Mt. Saint Helens is pretty awesome in the winter, and epic if you've never been there. Watch the fish tossers. Go to the... viaduct that goes into washington from.. bellevue locks? Hell, hang out in bellevue - highest number of churches in the US, as they made a law stating you can only have 1 bar per church; solution? Open a church in the attic of the bar.

Watch Almost Live, which has tons of local humor you'll understand after you've been there a year. For example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cclhqdQqbeQ

Does Mike ---- sill do **** Wednesday on cable access?

BTW - I lived in the U district, just south of Greenlake.

I miss Seattle terribly - if it wasn't for being gainfully employed in a decent career in this crap economy, I'd move back there in a heartbeat. I secretly hope to get fired so I can take the opportunity before I have a mortgage...

Jeff_Ciesielski

iTrader: (10)

Greatest advice yet given in this thread. Only someone from Seattle could understand why this actually sounds incredibly appealing.(no homo)

curly

iTrader: (25)

No one has answered his cost of living question. I think. It's way way more than Portland, that's for sure. I dunno about federal way though. My buddy's renting half a condo for $850 a month on a waiter's job, and that's cheap I think, his friend bought the condo.

wayne_curr

iTrader: (8)

Oh man I love Dicks.

By the way to all the Seattle Jeffs out there, I was just joshin ya. You're not ********.


So cost of living. Federal Way apartments are not bad at all. My girlfriend's mom lives in a 2 bedroom for about 900 a month. A one bedroom would likely be 700-800. Up here in Bham my girlfriend and I pay 825 for our own house with a yard and a garage...no roomates.

My biggest gripe about seattle is the car thieves. I cannot tell you how many times my Integra has been stolen or broken into.

JayL

iTrader: (12)

It really depends on the neighborhood that you are in for what it will cost you. Will you be renting or buying? I pay around $700 just in property taxes each month and I'm not far from Federal Way.

Blaize

You will love the place. I am from New Orleans and moved there after Katrina. Lived there three years in Ballard. The place is amazing. As has been stated you really need to experience the 6 months without sun to see if it drives you nuts. Never bothered me much. I was paying 1250/month for a place that in New Orleans would have cost 800 tops. But, I was getting paid ALOT more than New Orleans for the same job (I am a Mechanic) so it all works out in the end.

I won't go on as everyone alse has pretty much nailed it already. Only chiming in to say I am another southerner who never fit in down south. And I miss Seattle much more than I "miss New Orleans".

hustler

iTrader: (6)

I loved Seattle. The people were cool, good wine, good food, lots of summer activities, and supposedly there are a few tracks up there. I loved that place, one of my top-3 in the nation.