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I Want to be a Seattlite - Education, Employment, Housing
Incenjucar
VChatterSeattle, WARegistered User regular
VChatterSeattle, WARegistered User regular
Background:
My #1 goal in life right now is to get to or very near to Seattle. It's basically a mecca of my interests, has people who I might actually be able to hang out with, and is near my beloved Pacific Ocean. It is, if nothing else, NOT Fresno, and thus life there is almost guaranteed to be infinitely better than my life here.
Issues:
- I have a lease. It's not up until August 2008. So I've got about a year before I get anywhere.
- While I have a BA degree (see below), the masters equivalent can only be applied for for Fall semester, which means I will not be able to improve my existing education in that manner before I leave (I'm studying on my own, but employers won't care). It also means I have to try to start in an MFA program pretty much the instant I move up there, if it won't be too late already.
- I have little experience in my field of choice that can be applied to a resume. There is little opportunity for it here, so I'm stuck with solo projects and talking the talk.
- While I'm morally liberal, I have a pretty strong sense of ethics, so there's a limit to how much evil I can handle. So no working for Wal*Mart. :P (But Microsoft is okay)
Pluses:
- I have no dependents of any sort, so I only have to worry about my own survival.
- I have a BA in English, so while I'm not in demand, I'm versatile.
- When I leave, I'll have over two years of experience as an administrative assistant with some fairly heavy duties I can make sound heavier, so my resume isn't useless.
- I have family in the area in case something monumentally stupid happens, but I'd rather not rely on them.
--
Short Term Goals:
- Get (close) to Seattle.
- Get an apartment in a reasonably safe, affordable area that is not disgusting.
- Get a job that pays enough for me to survive as a bachelor. I currently make about 33k. Supposedly I would need about 39k in Seattle to live at the same level. I am willing to downsize a bit if needbe.
- Be in a position to -enjoy- Seattle. I want to be able to go to the shops and coffee houses and theaters and gaming events and all that jazz without having to make a day of it. If I can -walk- to some places, all the better.
- Get enrolled in a good university for an MFA in Creative Writing as soon as sanely possible. I'm probably not getting my MFA before I turn 30, but I want to get it as soon as I can so I can use it on my resume.
--
Long term goals:
- Get a proper career in a creative industry. Ideally, something where I can use my fantasy interests (WotC or whatever), but I'm cool with 'settling' for something like National Geographic magazine or the like.
- Find a nice neighborhood to settle in to long term. Not sure if/when I want to actually start a mortgage thing, but I'd like an area to call home eventually so I have a place to care about and work to improve.
- Get into a good group of awesome people, especially creative types who can appreciate the breadth of the arts from Hamlet to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. People I can share ideas with and maybe even collaborate with. Maybe some sort of creative community organization or something.
- Romance. I'm too melodramatic for a simple relationship. :P Gotta find women who aren't looking to become soccer moms.
--
--
Main Questions:
- Which university to go for for a decent MFA program that allows me to work full time? Note 1: Religious universities are not an option. Note 2: I'm a damned good English student, but I have no honor roll or anything going for me, nor any awards I can show off, so I'm not going to have professors begging me to join their school on their dollar.
- Where to live? What's a good place that isn't out in the boonies, but where I probably won't get shot or robbed, but which is still affordable under the assumption that I can't find/won't want roommates?
- Where to work? I'm aware of Seattle's major companies... Microsoft, Washington Mutual, etc, and its geek companies. My current worst case scenario is signing up as a Microsoft product tester, but that's a matter of desperation. Any suggestions, considering my creative goals? Note: I don't need to be rich, I just want to be well off enough where I never have to clip coupons or shop wholesale.
My #1 goal in life right now is to get to or very near to Seattle. It's basically a mecca of my interests, has people who I might actually be able to hang out with, and is near my beloved Pacific Ocean. It is, if nothing else, NOT Fresno, and thus life there is almost guaranteed to be infinitely better than my life here.
Issues:
- I have a lease. It's not up until August 2008. So I've got about a year before I get anywhere.
- While I have a BA degree (see below), the masters equivalent can only be applied for for Fall semester, which means I will not be able to improve my existing education in that manner before I leave (I'm studying on my own, but employers won't care). It also means I have to try to start in an MFA program pretty much the instant I move up there, if it won't be too late already.
- I have little experience in my field of choice that can be applied to a resume. There is little opportunity for it here, so I'm stuck with solo projects and talking the talk.
- While I'm morally liberal, I have a pretty strong sense of ethics, so there's a limit to how much evil I can handle. So no working for Wal*Mart. :P (But Microsoft is okay)
Pluses:
- I have no dependents of any sort, so I only have to worry about my own survival.
- I have a BA in English, so while I'm not in demand, I'm versatile.
- When I leave, I'll have over two years of experience as an administrative assistant with some fairly heavy duties I can make sound heavier, so my resume isn't useless.
- I have family in the area in case something monumentally stupid happens, but I'd rather not rely on them.
--
Short Term Goals:
- Get (close) to Seattle.
- Get an apartment in a reasonably safe, affordable area that is not disgusting.
- Get a job that pays enough for me to survive as a bachelor. I currently make about 33k. Supposedly I would need about 39k in Seattle to live at the same level. I am willing to downsize a bit if needbe.
- Be in a position to -enjoy- Seattle. I want to be able to go to the shops and coffee houses and theaters and gaming events and all that jazz without having to make a day of it. If I can -walk- to some places, all the better.
- Get enrolled in a good university for an MFA in Creative Writing as soon as sanely possible. I'm probably not getting my MFA before I turn 30, but I want to get it as soon as I can so I can use it on my resume.
--
Long term goals:
- Get a proper career in a creative industry. Ideally, something where I can use my fantasy interests (WotC or whatever), but I'm cool with 'settling' for something like National Geographic magazine or the like.
- Find a nice neighborhood to settle in to long term. Not sure if/when I want to actually start a mortgage thing, but I'd like an area to call home eventually so I have a place to care about and work to improve.
- Get into a good group of awesome people, especially creative types who can appreciate the breadth of the arts from Hamlet to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. People I can share ideas with and maybe even collaborate with. Maybe some sort of creative community organization or something.
- Romance. I'm too melodramatic for a simple relationship. :P Gotta find women who aren't looking to become soccer moms.
--
--
Main Questions:
- Which university to go for for a decent MFA program that allows me to work full time? Note 1: Religious universities are not an option. Note 2: I'm a damned good English student, but I have no honor roll or anything going for me, nor any awards I can show off, so I'm not going to have professors begging me to join their school on their dollar.
- Where to live? What's a good place that isn't out in the boonies, but where I probably won't get shot or robbed, but which is still affordable under the assumption that I can't find/won't want roommates?
- Where to work? I'm aware of Seattle's major companies... Microsoft, Washington Mutual, etc, and its geek companies. My current worst case scenario is signing up as a Microsoft product tester, but that's a matter of desperation. Any suggestions, considering my creative goals? Note: I don't need to be rich, I just want to be well off enough where I never have to clip coupons or shop wholesale.
Incenjucar on
0
Posts
I'm not sure what you mean by this.
However, I think it is safe to say that if you have any reasonable romance expectations whatsoever, Seattle will almost undoubtedly prove to be a disappointment. YMMV, of course.
The U-district. It's cheap, the population is young and, assuming your house isn't near Greek row, pretty intelligent and mature.
It's supposedly one of the best places on the West Coast, and it has to be better than where I am.
Mostly I just need to figure out where the twenties singles hang out, but that's a later issue than money and a roof.
Sounds good. I'll look into it. Thanks.
Greenlake area is a mix of 20s and early 30s, but they tend to be more fit and better looking since the trail around the lake attracts active personalities.
Capitol Hill is also 20s crowd, but the area is more "out there" in terms of culture. A lot of weird people who dress funny and smoke a lot of weed... and probably other things.
edit: Wallingford area, which is across the I-5 from the U-district, is also fairly affordable, and noticeably more quiet.
Awesome.
And I won't be in the area until I'm nearly 27, so early 30s isn't horrible :P
North Seattle doesn't suck either; without the low range college stuff, but not too absurd with a bit of legwork (food and lodging). Greenwood, Greenlake, Northgate... most areas of Seattle have small-town-like centers (minus the churches and farmers). I just bought a house between Greenwood and Northgate; a fifteen minute walk to the "center" of Greenwood (with some great restaurants, a coffee shop with a giant Serenity logo, a chill bar, and grocery store) and a bit more to Northgate (mall, Best Buy, etc...). Bus routes are generally solid through the "core" as well as North/South further out. Moving from Seattle to the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc...) is a bit more difficult, especially at night.
I've lived in or near Seattle my whole life, and I'd be pretty hard pressed to live anywhere else I've visited. Certainly no other city in the US. Just one look from Gasworks in Wallingford, at a city that looks like it's emerging out of the center of forested hills ('cause... it is, mostly), it'll get ya.
Oh, one downside, especially with the dating thing; Seattles tend to be distantly polite, but ultimately cliquish and occasionally passive-aggressive. It can take some time and effort to *really* get to know people. Not impossible, but it doesn't seem like anecdotal descriptions of other cities.
Dude, try getting a job at a campus newspaper. Newspaper layout is like creative bonsai - you're going for a set shape efficiently and blending a lot of creative elements. You'll probably end up editing copy and you'll get an offer to write something in fairly short order (when someone quits or sucks)
I host a podcast about movies.
I seem to have discovered a bit late that the only creative writing MFA in Washington that isn't in a Christian school is.. near Spokane...? Looks like I'll be getting creative in other ways. :P
With the dating thing, it really comes down to "has to be better than Fresno." - As far as I can tell meeting people requires church attendance or being drunk off your ass. I figure a geek mecca is about the best bet I have outside of one of the mega-cities like LA or NY, which I would need a damned good job to survive in.
Settling for National Geographic is a matter of my having little chance of rising high, quickly, in an area I have less experience in. I write about imaginary tribal peoples who sometimes throw fireballs, and so my archaeological and zoological background is more in theory than specifics.
It sounds like my best bet is to start out in the University area, and then explore from there. Probably a decent place to find a short-term lease so I'm not stuck for 12 months at a time like I have been here, especially good if I fail miserably at Seattle living for one reason or another.
School Newspaper sounds like a good idea to keep some variety in my work.
Thanks again, all. Really appreciate it.
I have read that Seattle is a hard place to meet and retain new friends and I wouldn't doubt it. I'm a huge nerd and it's true that nerds are not in short supply here. Think about it though, what are nerds stereotypically really bad at? Socializing.
Also, much like the rest of the west coast property costs are ridiculous here. If you want to settle here with a house I hope you have a really well paying job or a swarm of people you can rent to.
On the upside: the summers are amazing and there's tons of great hiking within driving distance.
Oh, most certainly.
It's called Seattle Freeze.
So, wait, people in Seattle don't even respond to social invitations?
You have to work extra extra hard to get people to commit to anything. Otherwise they'll just flake, no matter how willing they first seemed when you invited them.
Overall, maintaining a healthy social life in this city is extremely exhausting.
Is this at all related to Tacoma being the most sexually free but most anxiety-ridden city around?
No one goes there. It smells bad.
And yeah, it is exhausting. But not impossible, especially if you have an "easy in" like gaming or other not-just-hanging-out-getting-to-know-each-other activities. Seattleites don't often react well to direct confrontation (which is annoying as shit, sometimes, especially if you're pissed), but are laid back enough that, with some effort, you can get us to chill the fuck out and relax.
Also, there's a lot of functional addicts (booze, weed, smokes, coffee, adrenaline) in this town. I have no idea if that's typical, or how it compares to other cities, but people tend to focus on the what rather than who.
Seattle DOES have decently-educated people, right?
They don't evacuate?
Yeah, it's another possibility. I have family around there too, even.
It's a nice city.
I just figured that Seattle has, like, more big names going for it.
Portland also tends to rank much lower on all the little info-lists I'm finding.
Though I just found something saying it's very literary... which may be good.
Honestly at this point I'm considering just dedicating myself to moving to a new major city every year or two until I find a reason to stay.
I am really curious as to your lists that you have, I'd like to see how these cities rank.
Off the cuff: Hospitals are fairly equal, and both cities have university hospitals (OHSU in Portland, University of Washington in Seattle). While Seattle has a big-name college (UofW), Portland does have a good variety of smaller colleges, as well as a state college (Portland State).
Yes, Portland is a very literary city, as the amount of independent booksellers is huge, but Seattle also has it's own (although Seattle's largest independent, the Elliot Bay Book Company pales in comparison to Powell's).
Food choices abound in both cities, so you really wouldn't go wrong there.
Portland is closer to what people would actually consider "beach." Washington beaches tend to be rocky, northern forest affairs where the trees end and rocks run up to the water. Also, the actual pacific ocean is a good two to three hours away from Seattle. In Portland, it's about an hour and a half to Cannon Beach, and the entire Oregon coast is public land, with actual sand. You probably wouldn't swim in it anytime other than summer, but it's fun to walk and visit.
Seattle probably edges out Portland in regards to mountains and camping. They have the better part of the Cascade range, but Oregon has better state parks (almost all of the ones here have free showers).
Seattle has Mt. Rainier, which is awesome. Portland has Mt. Hood, still neat, but not as awesome as Mt. Rainier.
Seattle is much more dense, population-wise than Portland, but both have about the same population in the city alone. Seattle's metropolitan area has cities that are much larger than Portlands, but Portland's aren't too small either, usually hanging around 100,000 level.
Rent will be cheaper in Portland, I can't comment on houses though, but rent is definitely cheaper.
If you're continuing college, Seattle is probably cheaper on tuition alone. The University of Washington Medical school is about 40,000 for four years, which is a bargain.
Arts and culture: Both cities boast a high mix of ethnicities. The amount of people from Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan and India would probably not be different in either city. I love the multiculturalism.
That's all I can think of right now, hope it's been of help.
Money Magazine
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Older Forbes
With the beach, I grew up hanging in Monterey, so my idea of a beach is rocks being pounded by waves more than anything else. Tide pools>sand in your shoes. :P
Another big thing about Washington is Olympia Park. Because, seriously. Good lord.
But I may end up in Portland even if I do go to Seattle, if only because I want to eventually get an MFA in Creative Writing without dealing with private schools. I've never had a chance to spend much time in either place (Going to PAX this month partly to explore), but either location will be better than Fresno in thousands of ways, and I expect they're much easier to adapt to than San Francisco or LA or NY, especially since I have family in or near the northern cities.
This is so true. People in the Seattle area will never commit to anything, and even if they do, there's a great chance they won't show up or cancel at the last minute. Most of my good friends out here are transplants.