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Moving to Seattle
sarge1445
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So in late March 2013 I am moving to the Seattle area for a change of scenery, far better schools, far lower unemployment rate, and more opportunity (I currently live in Reno Nevada). Any advice from people who have lived or currently live in the area. I have gone on vacation for PAX and outside of PAX because I enjoy the city, but would like some advice from people that have lived or currently live in the area.
I AM THE VAMPIRE
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That is REALLY low. You'll probably end up in a less than desirable area of the Central District. It's been a few years since I've lived there, but that's low (e.g. not happening anywhere you'd actually want to live) for even Portland for a 1 bedroom and Seattle is more expensive than Portland. Your best bet is going to be checking the "Roommates Wanted" on Craigslist and live with someone else.
No idea. When I live in cities, I live in them, not in suburbs or outlying cities.
well damn, Guess I'll have to start doing research on the Kent area.
Or get a roommate. You could get a 2-bedroom in a not so bad area for $1,400 a month.
As Esh says, your budget is extremely low for a 1-bedroom apartment. I have a 1-bedroom on Capitol Hill that I pay $620/month for, and when I tell people that, I am met with a mix of disbelief and envy. The only reason my rent is so low is that my building is owned by people who live in it, and they have not raised the rent in over 14 years. It is a one-in-a-hundred-thousand situation. If you work hard, you may be able to find a studio (not a 1-bedroom) in a decent area for $800-900/month. Even that will take work and more than a little luck, unless you are moving to the outskirts, such as Northgate, or a fairly sketchy neighborhood, such as the Central District, as Esh mentions.
My suggestion is the same as Esh's: find a roommate. @Thanatos and his roomie have a pretty decent 2-bedroom place up in Greenlake (which is itself very close to the outskirts of the city, at least as I see it), for what I think is $1,400 a month, or thereabouts. Find a roomie, and you should be able to get closer to your budget.
Oh, and I would also avoid looking for anything south of Downtown. You will be let down, because those areas are not really Seattle, and are a tremendous pain to get to/from.
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Will keep this in mind, but lets say I have trouble finding a room mate what areas 15 miles or so outside of the city would you recommend
My first apartment on my own was a studio on Capitol Hill for $550. I still live on Capitol Hill in a Co-op Apartment my wife and I own so the cost is a bit trivial at this point (no mortgage).
Regardless, I would definitely recommend Capitol Hill if you have the money for it because you can
A. avoid using a car for anything provided you have a job downtown or by the 545 bus route
B. tons of good food and drink
C. lots of other people which can be fun
Other neighborhoods to consider: Greenlake, Montlake, Ballard, West Seattle, Queen Anne, Beacon Hill.
I would also recommend The Central District if you aren't afraid of a reputation.
In seattle it is not physical distance that matters but how hard it is to get around. Kent might as well be on the moon while some areas more distant are much more connected.
Look up the metro and sound transit websites for where the major transit centers are.
Look along Aurora ave and in Greenwood and Northgate. I would avoid Lake City because it is not as well connected as aurora or greenwood. Also worth looking in Maple Leaf, Greenlake, Ravenna and Rosevelt neighborhoods.
Even in a given neighborhood look real hard at where the place is compared to supermarkets and transit. It's not worth it saving 200 a month on rent if it means you have to own a car.
Seconded. It's full of UW grad students, and while there isn't much there, it's still central enough that getting around to other neighborhoods isn't that hard.
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The house I was renting was $1500 and damn cheap for the area though.
You might be able to find something in your price range up around Lynnwood or as others have said, along 99 (Aurora) in the northern areas. Lynnwood is your typical strip malls, big box stores, and corporate restaurants. They also have a park and ride up around there so you "could" get downtown to the neighborhoods if you're willing to make the 45-60+ minute trek.
I will also mention that Seattle is a very neighborhood focused town, where not a lot happens downtown other than work and Pike Place market. Should you move here, you'll find yourself spending a good portion of your time hanging out in one of the neighborhoods as opposed to downtown. I would also recommend Capitol Hill as well as looking for roomies.
You mention you're moving to Seattle for more opportunity. I left in 2011, and I don't think it was bursting with job opportunity then. This may have changed, but you should probably hit up the temp agencies when you get there, just to keep the income flow going.
Get rid of it. Get a ZipCar membership. Live in the city. Public transportation there is good enough that you only need a car for occasionally running errands. You'll save a ton on gas and insurance.
One thing that we can (and should) do is double-check the listing and ensure that any place that you find is actually what it claims to be. I've found a few "Capitol Hill" deals that were actually First Hill, or the Central District, or even Eastlake.
? That seems really high. Is that the going rate for parking permits? Most places outside of capital hill and downtown have decent enough street parking.
Also, Eastlake ain't bad and the CD (Central District) isn't horrendous, but this is coming from someone who grew up in Detroit, so my idea of bad is like Newark and the really shitty areas of Baltimore. The last time someone tried to rob me here, I laughed in his face.
Don't get me started about how nice it is here and how people are idiotic when they throw around the word ghetto to describe any place in Washington State.
No, there are definitely ghetto-esque areas in WA state. I've been to Yakima. But still, it's not like houses in Seattle are falling in on themselves and there are packs of wild dogs roaming the streets. Still, people do occasionally get shot in the CD, which again, isn't like Detroit where multiple people get shot every day. And South Park is a neighborhood I wouldn't idly wander around if I had spare time to kill. Hell, same goes for Cascade Park in SLU after dark, unless of course you need some crack at 2 am.
There is nothing like East St. Louis, Newark, Baltimore, Detroit, Philly or anything in WA.
No, but the militia zealots east of the mountains are a whole new kind of scary.
I live in Ballard and have been home when my gf's place was broken into, partly because they didn't lock the door, not that it would have stopped the guy. I still don't understand why "anyone" wouldn't lock their door when they go to bed or leave the house.
Everett is a dump. Uninteresting, unconnected. It's where people resign to sub mediocrity in their life.