Moving from Dublin to Seattle (sales, apartment, rent)

[ConorM]

Hey folks,

My wife and I are going to be relocating to the US in 2011.

Green cards etc are not an issue.

We're looking at a couple of cities, due to the nature of our work we can transfer to several US Cities, among them Seattle.

Seattle is our favourite on the list too, for that matter, though based on no experience in my case.

I've always been interested in Seattle as a city, and my wife has visited there, has friends there and has wonderful things to say about it.

I wonder if anyone here has ever lived in Dublin and now lives in Seattle? Sounds like a long shot but you never know. I'm from Ireland myself, my wife is American.

I suppose the stuff I'm interested in is:

What is the lifestyle and pace of living like? I've visited New York a lot and I lived in London for a couple of years, both of those cities were probably a little bit too fast paced for me. I like good movie theaters and parks and walking around in the city, so I'm hoping Seattle is a good place for that.

How expensive/inexpensive is the city to live in? A hard question to answer of course, but imagining a decent two-bed apartment in a relatively nice though not necessarily fancy part of town, how does it stack up against other American cities? I'd like to be quite central if possible.

How is public transport/is it a walkable city? Dublin is a city where it's easy to live without a car, and that's what I'd ideally prefer. I'm not unwilling to drive if I have to but I'd love to live in the city and walk/bus to work.

I don't expect one person to answer every single question I have here, but if anyone has any answers or suggestions, I'd be really grateful.

Thanks a lot,
Conor.

[SitoUK]

I've just moved from London to Seattle and I have been to Dublin (only as a tourist though), so I guess I should try and answer some of your questions:

Pace of living:
This is muuuch more relaxed than London and I must say I quite enjoy that. There are never as many people in one spot as in London (London Bridge in the morning rush hour, total horror) and I generally find people more relaxed and friendly. I am yet to meet a grumpy bus driver or sales person.

Cost of Living:
I found this website quite useful when comparing London to Seattle and according to this Dublin is quite a bit more expensive than Seattle: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

In reality I would say Seattle is not cheap, even if you've lived in London before. Going out for meals is approximately the same as London I would say. Some things are more expensive (communication in general, mobile phones, internet etc...), other cheaper (taxis, gyms). Crucially the rent is cheaper. I pay 1195 for a large One-bed in Capitol Hill which is quite central and one of the more expensive parts of town. For more than that I lived in a tiny flat in Tufnell Park in London. Also, I would say an average one-bed here is quite a bit bigger than an average one-bed in London (and probably Dublin as well), they've all got huge walk-in cupboards etc. My flat is in an 'old' (1920s) building which I like, if you want a newer 'executive type' flay, you'll probably have to pay a few hundred bucks more.

Public transport:
If you're used to a European City it's not great but manageable. The network is not nearly as dense as in London and you should have a bus schedule in your pocket, because there just isn't a bus every 5 minutes. But again, if you live centrally you'll be close to bus routes and during the day they run pretty frequently. This is a pretty car centered society, so in the buses you'll find a lot of 'interesting' characters (presumably those who can't afford a car) but so far I have not had any problems. Again, if you've lived in London you'll probably find a Seattle bus trip a pretty nice experience. Unfortunately there is a lot of traffic here and buses are stuck in it as well. That's where an underground system would be really useful.

Good thing is the place isn't very big. So if you like walking and live centrally within 30min you can cover a lot. On the other hand a car here is much more useful than it would be in London, simply because it's much easier to get to the outdoors or places outside Seattle. But they've got Zip-car here which is like Streetcar in London. I think it's an ideal solution if you don't need a car for a daily commute.

Anyway, I hope this gives you a bit of an idea. I am still settling in here myself but after 2 months it's already pretty obvious that this is a great city that offers a lot culturally (well, not nearly as much as London, but still a lot for a city of its size) and has fantastic nature on its doorstep.

[ConorM]

Hi,

What an incredibly helpful and informative response, thank you very much.

I used to live in Tufnell park myself! Delmany Avenue, I loved living so close to the city, and I was young so being so close to Camden was cool too.

We're looking at various cities but Seattle just looks by far the most appealing so far.

Thanks particularly for that cost of living comparison, that kind of nuts and bolts stuff is surprisingly helpful for getting perspective.

I'm definitely attracted to the Seattle rents, Dublin isn't much different from London in terms of rent costs and the lack of value you tend to get.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the time you took to write such a detailed reply.

[SitoUK]

Ah, yes, Tufnell Park is a nice part of town, close to everything but still pretty self-contained...10 minutes walk to the Heath which is fantastic. London is a great City and I do miss it in some respects but after almost 9 years there I was up for something new. Seattle is a bit of a lifestyle change but not necessarily a bad one!

Anyway, good luck with your decision, let us know how you get on!

[Waianaegirl]

The weather is much the same! I know that much.
It's funny, we live in Seattle and my husband wants us to move to London or Dublin. I've been to Dublin 4 times, he never has been there, and he's been to London once, and I have never been there.
The thing is, I hate the rain and clouds! I don't think I would be happy in either city, since I can't stand it here, in Seattle. Good luck, though!

[ConorM]

@SitoUK - Yes, nine years is a long time in London. I was there for two years and I found it to be a really wonderful city but I felt a little worn out at the end...

@Waianaegirl - I can sympathize, I sometimes consider just moving somewhere warm instead, and other cities aren't off the table yet. Seattle is where I'm most excited about though. Good luck if you move to London or Dublin! They're both cool cities, Dublin is a very small city though, as I'm sure you've noticed on your visits.

[Gaard]

SitoUK did a nice job answering your questions, but I thought I would add a little bit:

Regarding movies, Seattle has a few movie houses that show a good selection of quality independent films (one being Harvard Exit, which is near where SitoUK lives) and also has an annual film festival that is popular/well-attended.

As stated, you can get around the city by using public transport, Zip-Car and walking, though Seattle is big enough that having a car can come in handy if you need to run across town. Or, if you're into outdoor activities (water/mountains). You can easily find a decent yet inexpensive used car, and compared to many European countries gas, insurance and the cars themselves are relatively cheap.

The main point I wanted to make, and really the reason for my posting, is to say in my experience moving to a new city where you have a network of friends already in place is something to consider. Having a local social network can make a big transition like the one you're making much easier in a variety of ways. You may have thought of this already, of course, but thought it was worth stating.

All this said, I'm currently living outside the US but if I do/were to return I would move back to Seattle. I like the relaxed atmosphere of the place and it has a lot to offer. The winter is dark and rainy but the incredibly beautiful spring and summer Seattle has easily makes up for it.

It seemed to me that there were a good amount of Irish expats in Seattle and am surprised you didn't get any reponses from one or two of them, but then maybe they're still down at the pub (that's where I tended to run into them anyway .

Good luck to you, wherever you decide!

[SitoUK]

Hey, thanks for the info on the cinema I need to check that out!

Just one comment on the used car situation: Very much to my surprise second hand cars are actually quite a bit more expensive than in the UK. That's even more of a suprise if you know that new cars are quite significantly more expensive in the UK (although UK prices always include tax while US prices don't, you need to kep that in mind. God know why that is...

Also, while gas is no doubt cheaper over here, insurance is not necessarily. Some of my collegues who got car over here pay quite a bit more than they did in the UK. This has presumably to do with the fact that they don't have a US driving history....so if you're used to driving in the UK, you should not necessarily expect it to be much cheaper over here in Seattle (you'll also need to pay for a parking space...).