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Thinking about Moving to Seattle...

Jem

Veteran

We are considering moving to Seattle. I know some of you live in Seattle, so I'm looking for pros and cons to moving there.

I know one of the obvious cons is there are a lot of dreary, rainy days, but although we have a lot of sun, we also have to deal with snow and cold weather, here in Calgary.

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Latest reply was from Jem

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

HAH. Fun. Come on over, Jem.

I've lived in Seattle for almost 12 years. We live in the city - not on the East Side - and I find the two areas quite different. Public schools are MUCH better on the East side. If you live in the city, you'll probably send your children to private school which costs a fortune.

Well. It's beautiful here. We have the three things that make a city pretty: water, trees and hills.

You cannot FATHOM how much milder the weather is here compared to Calgary - although we have 4 very distinct seasons (unlike California). But yes - it's grey a lot of the year. And wet. But the rain is generally very light - not tropical. And as a result things look green all the time. Big bonus.

Lots of body piercecings and tattoos - after all, this is where grunge started.

Lots of boats - there is water EVERYWHERE.

Lots of good food.

Major head offices live here: Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Boeing and Nordstrom, (and YLF of course).

The city is small and manageable. Quaint.

If you are an outdoorsy person - (I'm not) - this is a GREAT place to be. Hiking and sporting around every corner.

It's cosmopolitan - with a strong Asian presence like most of the West Coast of the US. But it's not as cosmopolitan as New York.

It's a progressive, eco-friendly and liberal city. Marijuana is legal. Alas - it IS expensive to live here. And the economy is booming in this part of the country.

I'm sure others with chime in too.

Jem

Veteran

Thanks Angie! I actually grew up in Northern CA so am used to the rainy weather. I didn't really like it, but where I lived, we were far from any major centers. And, it was pretty much one season all year, not as much variety as Seattle.
The reason we'd come is because it is a tech center. Are kids are all in college and beyond and are in tech-y fields, as is my husband, so that's a big draw.

We see that housing is expensive, which is unfortunate with our weak Cdn dollar, but making US dollars instead of Cdn and lower taxes is definitely tempting.

I'm not outdoorsy person either, but my husband is. I like the Cosmopolitan side of it. I love NY, but don't want to live there, so maybe this is a good compromise. Plus, my parents live in OR, which would be much closer than they are now.

I sure appreciate your comments Angie! I keep thinking there are so many people who live there who really like it, so it can't be too bad! It's just a bit scary making such a big change. It helps to hear encouraging words!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You are very welcome, Jem. You'd have instant YLF family here too.

Seattle City housing is very expensive - and so is eating out. Oh well. I guess that's par for course.

YES. OR is very close, and nice too.

This photo was taken last week - Spring is HERE - THAT'S how much better our weather is than in Calgary:

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annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Yeah like Angie said, housing has gotten crazy expensive here. A new townhouse in my neighborhood sold for a million recently.
Plus traffic is getting worse and worse every year. Even the weekends are bad. There's no escaping it. I try and take the bus as much as possible to avoid it. Buses within the city limits are pretty good. However the further out you get, you're stuck with commuter hour buses.
Tech is having it's ups and downs. Recently Microsoft laid off a huge amount of people. I personally know someone who was laid off. Also Mircosoft uses a lot of contract employees. Which if I remember correctly is working 3 months at a time, then a certain amount of time off (unpaid), then you try to get on to another project. Amazon is growing and pays well but from what I hear they work you, a lot. It seems many bail after two years or so. Boeing seems to laying off people too.
Many people are complaining about the Amazon influence which is bringing a lot of new people with money and are changing many parts of Seattle.
Food scene is growing like crazy. The new thing is small distilleries. Wineries are on the eastside, mostly Woodinville. Breweries are around too.
But yeah there is a lot great here, which is probably why it's growing like crazy.

ETA we are also getting big city growing pains. Crime has definitely increased. We've always had a heroin problem, it's grown substantially. Homeless population is also growing. There's a tent city that has been bouncing around many locations, each one has been problematic.

rebekahphoto

Veteran

Hi Jem,
I've lived in seattle for over 35 years & second Angie's observations. We have had our house for almost 3 years and would call it our "forever house" While we love to travel & see the world, it is a lovely place to come home to.

many of us are pretty used to the rainy drizzle....

The mild weather means we don't have the hurricanes, mounds of snow, southern humidity or 100 degree heat waves like many parts of the country....The weather has been shifting over the last few years
noticeably....there was no snow this year to speak of (in the city), which also means dry summers might happen. My winter boots just sat in the closet this year

Generally you can expect grey/drizzle rain for most of the fall/winter days, but then when the sun comes out it is gorgeous.....our cherry trees are blossoming right now!

Seattle sells more sunglasses that any other city per capita...

It has changed a lot--as most all cities have,..from a laid back, NW city to a larger metropolis. We live in a nice neighborhood about 30 minutes north of the city downtown, can walk to the beach & several of our neighbors have large yards, gardens & chickens.....

Seems like everybody knows someone who works at Amazon, or Microsoft, or google or...lots of tech money has also brought in developers and a large workforce with a large population of young men

great craft beer & microbreweries, many wineries & distilleries as well

if you like sports, the Seahawks are pretty popular these days...lots of neon green and blue on the streets for "blue friday", soccer too has lots of fans

Cons: traffic-can be excruciating, Seattle drivers are known to be quite bad; public transportation is sub-par; the Seattle "passive aggressiveness" (I miss the directness of New Yorkers or Europeans) people can be difficult to get to know; High housing costs--especially rentals in the city have skyrocketed the last few years, many have been forced to move

Pros: Quite beautiful with mountains, trees & water all around......a growing healthy/farm to table movement, many local farmers markets all over town, growing tech industry means lots of jobs in that area, Close access to islands/national parks/cute towns for weekend trips--Lots of interesting neighborhoods to live in with distinct styles/flavors----interesting architecture, music, theater & arts.

Close to Portland and Vancouver, BC for more options!

Aziraphale

Veteran

I second what Angie and Anna said. I've been to Seattle and I've been to Calgary, and if I had to choose, the former would win by a landslide. I might be biased because I live just north, in Vancouver, and we have a similar climate (more rain than Seattle actually), lifestyle and overall cosmopolitan vibe. We visit Seattle regularly. It is lovely. One of my favourite cities. The pros are manifold. The only cons I can think of are (a) the cost of living, and (b) the relatively large number of grey days (which actually wouldn't be a con for me).

Jem

Veteran

You are right Angie, that picture shows that the weather is *MUCH* better than Calgary!! We won't have flowers until at least May. It looks amazing there!

Anna: I worry about the crime and things the increasing population brings. We have crime here in Calgary, but overall, it's pretty safe. DH travels to Seattle for work and knows alot of people there right now and can get transferred by the company where he works, so that makes the transition easier. My husband already hates the traffic here and it sounds like it would be worse there. We would have to pick some place to live where the commute wouldn't be too bad. I haven't even been there yet (well, since 6th grade-haha) so we wouldn't even know where to look for a house. There are several other people from here who have moved there and they are all really happy to have done it.

Rebekah: That's pretty interesting about the sunglasses! Maybe because people aren't use to seeing the sun? Thanks for your nice review of living there, though! Speaking of bad drivers, my husband almost got runover yesterday crossing a street. The light was green for him and cars were stopped both ways. Some car, 3 cars back, went around the stopped cars, though the intersection (right in front of my husband) through the red light and swerved back into his lane. That was crazy! And lucky he was a couple of steps back.

Aziraphale: I assume you mean that you would prefer Seattle? I know that alot of people in Canada love Vancouver and I thought that it was similar to Seattle. It would definitely be interesting to move back to the US after living in Canada for about 25 years. I'd be happy about the US shopping-haha!

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their thoughts! It's scary to make a huge change, but it seems there a lot more opportunities in Seattle than Calgary for all things technology, which would make my husband happy.
I'll keep you all posted on what we decide and if it works out.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Aziraphale - you come to Seattle frequently - and we haven't met yet ????????. What's going on.

Nice info, Rebekah.

Anna is right about the traffic, Jem. It is second worst in the country after LA I believe. Crime is higher too - but I feel safer here than I do in NYC and Cambridge.

The houses in Seattle are selling like HOT CAKES because the inventory is very low. This drives up the price. Things are cheaper on the East Side though.

The shopping is a whole lot better in the US than in Canada too. Our forum shows us that over and over again.

Aziraphale

Veteran

OOOPS. Changed it to 'former'.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Angie, when I say frequently, I we actually haven't been down in two years -- mostly because I'm way busier now that I'm a student again, and also because my parents' situation has been rapidly deteriorating and I've been getting more and more involved. Also, my husband's work is busy. Normally we go down about once a year. I'm not sure when we next plan to go, but I'd love to meet you.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

Pros: Beautiful, and lots of outdoors things to do - hiking, snowshoeing, swimming, snow sports (although not this year), camping, kayaking, etc.
Good restaurants, food trucks and farmer's markets
Close to other cools cities if you need a change of pace - Vancouver and Portland are both driveable
Cosmopolitan - lots of cool new startups service this area - like munchery.com, uber, car2go, amazon fresh, etc.
If you're in the right industry, jobs are plentious

Cons: Expensive. Check this out:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money.....kes-in-30-
traffic isn't great and getting worse.
public transit is pretty crappy - a train that basically just goes to the airport and downtown core, everything else is buses (and they get stuck in traffic and are generally overloaded...)
The Seattle Freeze is a thing, apparently.
http://www.urbandictionary.com.....e%20Freeze
The high schools in Seattle are generally not that great (as Angie mentioned), and daycare is ridiculous, BTW - $between 1-2k per month.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

Oh, and, I should add - yes, craft brewerys, cideries, etc., but ALSO, pot is legal here. LOL. Not sure if that's a pro or a con?

Jem

Veteran

Thanks Jenava! We were thinking about maybe living in Bellevue or one of the surrounding suburbs, but don't know that much about the area yet. The kids in college, so don't have to worry about the high schools.

It's too bad the public transit isn't good. My kids potentially would be working in Seattle and they would have to use the buses because they wouldn't have parking. So that's a definite con, although would be able to get a job, so that is a pro. haha

I'm not crazy about the legalized pot, but it seems to be going that way in a lot of places and I did grow up in Humboldt County (CA)...

On the plus side for us, is the jobs, and it would be nice to be a 4 hour drive to my parents instead of the current 14. Also, I'm American and it would be nice to be back after 25 years in Canada. (although Calgary is a very nice city)

There is lots to think about, thanks so much for the help!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I moved to Seattle from California 7 years ago. My DH has family here, and I had one friend from California here, so we had a network for getting acquainted. I feel completely at home here and love it. Angie's description of cosmopolitan but quaint seems apt. The city just seems like such an easy place to be, to hang out, get along, enjoy simple things like walking around the neighborhoods, having coffee, shopping, going to fitness classes, going to plays, eating out. I can pretty much go anywhere I want to go in a good pair of jeans and nice boots (though one can always create opportunities to dress).
The city and surroundings are gorgeous. As everyone says, green year-round, and water everywhere. On clear days, you can see Mt. Rainier. You can also look one direction and see the Cascades, and turn around 180 degrees to view the Olympics. I love(d) running here (when my problematic feet allow it), because on any given day I choose which lake I want a view of during my run, and whether I want to admire the neighborhoods or seek the serenity of a park trail.
I find the traffic much less scary than around the SF Bay Area in California. Drivers here don't go as much over the speed limit, there aren't as many freeways, and the ones we do have don't have as many lanes. But there just aren't enough major routes, so you can get stuck, as already noted, even on the weekends (or especially on the weekends, in fact), trying to get somewhere. That's not fun.
If you do move, you might want to rent for a year before buying, to become really familiar with the different feel of the neighborhoods and what your commute would be like.
If you like coffee and yoga, you'll be set here. Coffee shops and yoga studios abound.

Niki Lea

Veteran

Jem, I haven't lived in Seattle but have spent a number of weekend vacations there because it's an easy ferry ride between downtown Victoria (where I am) and downtown Seattle.

We go for the restaurant scene, which is incredible. Lots of choice and world class cuisine - the food alone is worth visiting Seattle for.

As for weather, it actually rains there less than you'd imagine. New York gets more rain every year than Seattle. It can be grey though, much like Vancouver and Victoria. So you'll need to take vitamin D every day in the fall and winter -that's super important. We don't get enough naturally here (Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle) from the sun until spring and summer.

I have family in Calgary, so I know your winters well. There are no -30 winters in this part of the world. Winter is basically one long Chinook without the blue skies.

Jem

Veteran

Thanks Firecracker and Niki! I have to run, so will comment later.

I'm wondering if anyone had any opinions on Shoreline? I'm trying to narrow down possible communities and it looks like the commute from there wouldn't be too bad. But, thought I'd see if anyone has any opinions on that neighborhood.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Shoreline has some very pretty homes. It has a suburban feel; it is not one of the neighborhoods with a little walkable downtown area. It has incorporated as a city, so it has its own parks, pool, & community center. (I used to swim with a master's team there.) It might be an easier commute to downtown Seattle than coming across one of the bridges from Bellevue. I-5 tends to get backed up from just south of Shoreline during the mornings, though. If you are looking for a house with more of a yard, you are more likely to find it in Shoreline than south of there in Seattle. For a similar feel and commute, but with a quaint downtown area, you might check out Edmonds. Depending on where you are in Shoreline, though, Edmonds can be a bit farther from the freeway.

Another thought: I don't know the south side of Seattle much at all, but if you are going to be heading south to Portland often, you might look at neighborhoods to the south rather than north.

Jem

Veteran

Thanks Firecracker! I like the idea of Bellevue (haven't been there yet) but Shoreline might be an idea. Dh would be working on the south side of downtown, though, so someone pointed out to me that it might be hard to get through downtown if he wanted to go by bike. I will look on the south side and see what I can find. thanks for the idea.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Bellevue is HUGE, Jem. Your address will read Bellevue, WA and not Seattle, WA. It has a very good mall (Belle Square), but lacks good restaurants (in my opinion any way). It's suburban - not "city neighbourhoodie" like Seattle. No grit if you know what I mean. There are lots of tall skycrapers and apartment blocks close to the main drag of Bellevue because the area is developing. Expedia's head office is there.

Kirkland - also an East Side suburb - is worth exploring if you don't want to live in the city of Seattle. It's close to the water and more "neighbourhoodie". A few good restaurants too. I have my haircut in Kirkland.

Jem

Veteran

Thanks Angie! I haven't looked at this thread for a few days. We/I am trying to get the house ready to list. Although we haven't made our final decision yet, it's heading that way.

I think we will probably end up living on the Eastside. We still have 3 kids living at home (when they aren't away at school) and want to be centrally located for them to work in the tech industry.

We would probably need to live in Bellevue, or some of the areas in Redmond, Kirkland or maybe even Newcastle to stay within a 15mi commute for my husband. I think I'm more of a suburb kind of girl, which is funny because before I got married, I was definitely a city type of girl! haha

Too bad getting a house ready to list is so much work!!!