Any members familiar with Seattle area?
 

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?

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 fucking 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 :D

When are you coming up?

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 assholes but mostly good), and a beautiful city, Seattle is the place to be. Just get ready to pay out your ass 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.

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 fag cars. :giggle:

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.

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 asshole.

:fawk:
:makeout:

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

Oh yeah? :naughty:

Are you a liberal?

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.

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.

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!

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?

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 assholes. I was an asshole 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 Porn 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...

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

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.

Oh man I love Dicks.

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


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.

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.

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".

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.

Damn, $700 just in property taxes? I hope they pay up their reflects the jump in costs. Housing costs don't seem all that much higher though, around here a decent size 2 bedroom apartment runs anywhere from $650 for the very low end up to $1000-$1200 for the higher end. Property taxes surely aren't $700 though, holy shit. I will be renting at first, which makes the most sense to me, just until I get settled in and gives me a chance to finish up a little more school, then find and buy a house. Living close enough for public transportation would be cool, but I'd also like to be far enough out of the city to have prices go down, and hopefully have fine a piece of property with a little bit of a yard. I'll just have to see. I know there will be issues with a move, going almost as far as possible without going to Alaska, but I will take them as they come and deal with them then. Thanks for all of the input guys. I can say that I'm even more excited about the move after hearing so many good things from people.

Cost of living - I was paying $400 a month for my room with utilities, but as stated, 6 other roomates in a decent size house.

9% sales tax in king county iirc, probably higher now. Oregon doesn't have a state sales tax, but does have property tax. Washington has sales tax, but not property tax - or some weird arrangement like that. I just know my ex and I would save buying big purchases ( > $200, poor college students) then buy them in Portland while visiting friends.

Cost of living - I survived being a broke college student working 40 hours a week @ $12 an hour; granted there was very little fun money but there was so much free fun to be had - I got a $200 125cc 2stroke scooter off of ebay, got my MLS, and would just drive around exploring on my weekends getting 100mpg. Good times... </reminisce>

If you're in the IT field, or have any interested in just getting some work, Manpower is the contractor for Microsoft. I will say in 2003 I managed to go nearly 9 months without a job (no degree, no corporate stamp on the resume, no idea how to sell myself, living off my parents) in a tough market, plus there were always dot-com failures with trumped up resumes and offshored callcenter gigs and.. ohyea, sorry, that's when I became a bittertech.

The jobs are there, but it is a competitive market.

So.. uhm.. cost of living.. yes, more expensive than the south. But instead of walmart, you get fred meyer which is arguably nicer, unionized, more expensive and owned by Kroger. You get QFC instead of Kroger, which is owned by Kroger.... If you do get an offer for a job, remove 20% of the pay and assume thats the rough equivalent you'd make in the south.

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costo...tofliving.html

It's income tax you're thinking of, not property tax. Oregon has state income tax and no sales tax, Washington has sales tax but no income tax.

I lived up there (Bremerton/Shelton/Olympia) for 30+ years and I'd move back there (from the SF Bay area) in a heartbeat. Much lower cost of living, friendlier people, cheaper track days...

Wait... no income tax? Really? That kicks ass. That nearly makes up for the cost of living right there. I barely worked last year, and made low wages and still owed a little under a grand for state tax. Like 10% of my pay. That makes me even happier.

Yes no income tax, but you don't notice that as much. If you're in Oregon and you get a check every two weeks for $1000, and you get $1000. If you're in Washington and want to buy a $5 burger, you pay $5.35. As an Oregonian I hate it since I'm already paying the income tax.

I don't think you can get much of a better review than Hustler's. Don't in any way discount the beer and wine selection here. I don't want to live anywhere else. As for tracks though, there's Pacific raceway which is okay but a little boring, that's just south of Seattle. Or the south side of Seattle, I'm not sure. Then there's PIR which is roughly 2-2.5 hours south of Seattle, and ORP which is ~5 hours from Seattle, and well worth the trip. Supposedly there's a track in Bremerton, but it's really just a "paved" oval with a chicane in one of the straights.

Oh I know, just sounds nice. "No state income tax", like music to my ears.

I lived in Seattle from Jan 2004 until July 2007. Probably the nicest place I've ever lived. You get used to the clouds and light rain because it's better than living in some gulf coast sweltering armpit (lived in Houston before moving to Seattle) or someplace that regularly gets a ton of snow. And the summers are so glorious that it's worth the wait during the rest of the year. High 70s to low 80s, not a cloud in the sky, you're near the water but there's no real humidity, no mosquitoes in the city. Your legs will get in shape because they have these things called "hills" with which most southerners are unfamiliar. :laugh:

I lived in the Eastlake neighborhood which is real close to downtown. Rent there was about double what I paid in Houston, but it's a little cheaper than here in the DC area and a LOT cheaper than places like NYC, Boston, San Fran. Our 1200 sq ft 2bd/2ba apartment was $1400/mo, but that price included a view.

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Other end of the lake. That barge is where they launch fireworks on July 4.
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All the boaters gather to watch.
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Anyway, if you want to do much wrenching I'd recommend finding a place with a garage. When I lived there I was a poor grad student and couldn't afford that, so if it was raining I'd work on my truck in the parking garage under my lab building. They had electric outlets in there and decent lighting, not too shabby.

I moved away for career reasons but I could see myself winding up in the PNW again some day. There's good beer and tons of outdoor stuff to do. I never got around to climbing Mt Rainier but it's something I'd probably shoot for if I ever get back. If you're flying up there for a scouting trip, get a window seat so you'll have a good look at it.
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Bremerton is actually a runway/taxiway with joining pieces between them... there's more to it than just a chicane however it is pretty flat. Portland is fast, and has some interesting turns but it's also pretty flat. Pacific Raceways, IMHO, is much better than either Bremerton or Portland as it has lots of elevation change and more difficult turns. I haven't been to ORP yet, though it looks interesting from video I've seen, just a little bit narrow and not developed much yet.

I hope I'll be mostly built by the time I get there so I can try some of them out. Hope some of you guys can show me around the tracks. The only good thing about where I live now is that I am less than a mile from Barber Motorsports Park, a very nice track. Still haven't been there though :giggle: I'm all for traveling to a track on the west coast, it's too damn hot down here for me to be comfortable traveling much.

Yeah, PIR broke my track cherry so I'm not going to say anything bad about it. If you like drag racing and want to get into track racing, it is an interesting blend of the two, hope you have your brakes sorted out.

All the ORP videos I've seen are from when it was much less developed than it was when I was there last July, and they do most of their work during the off season, so it should be even better. Doesn't help that all the videos are also the shittiest quality I've ever seen. If you can find a HD video from this month or next since the weather is getting better, you'll be surprised how much they've done.

Ya I wouldn't be suprised to see ORP has done more work. This is kind of the way Reno-Fernley started out, very basic and not many amenities then they redid a bunch of it much nicer. Of course now they seem to have folded, hopefully ORP won't follow that part of the script.