Places to visit to get a feel for what it's like to be a local? Parks? Also Japanese and/or Vietnamese areas? (Seattle: house)

[kilikina119]

I'm trying to convince my hubby to think of the Seattle area as possible place to move. I've done a lot of research and although I've never visited, I like what I've read and seen. From what I've researched Bellevue and Sammamish seem to be nice areas, but I'm sure there are others. I'm also Japanese American and there aren't many places in the states (Hawaii and Cali are the only others that I can think of) that have very many Japanese Americans living there. This is definitely a unique aspect of the city that I like. I would also like to live somewhere that is a good place to raise a family. So, the culture (arts and education, laid back and non-pretentious), education system and safety are also very important to us. My husband is Vietnamese so I like that the city also has some Vietnamese influence as well. I'm open to suggestions to other cities.

So, we are visiting for the first time in April. I know the weather is a HUGE drawback to my husband and we should probably go in July, but we want to be realistic and see what the weather is like for the majority of the year. Sooooo...Does anyone have any recommendations on areas to visit besides the usual tourist spots that will give us a good feel for what it is like to live here? I even plan on stopping by the grocery stores in the neighborhoods we drive around just to get an idea of what it's like to live there and see what kind of people make up the city. Places in Bellevue and Sammamish in particular, but anywhere is fine. I would also like to know where the nice parks are, as we like to take walks and hikes. I also heard there is some huge off the leash dog park that sounded cool, where is this located? Scenic areas would be nice. Also, Japanese and Vietnamese shopping centers and restaurants????

Thank you!

[Dthraco]

Just about anywhere you go in the Bellevuew and Sammamish areas you will see many other Japanese Americans. Pretty normal for this area.

If the Weather is a huge drawback, you need to take that seriously. While summer is nothing short of amazing, light at 5am, dark at 10pm, it only lasts 3 months. You have to be able to be content the other 9 months where it can be very dark and grey with no sight of the sun for up to weeks at a time.

That being said, there are TONS of day trips for weekends. The moutnains, the ocean, ferry rides, Canada, etc.

[Ira500]

Kilikina,
The largest off leash dog park is Marymoor Park in Redmond, one of the largest in the US. The Seattle area has a ton of dog parks. Another really nice one is Magnuson Park in Seattle, which has trails for walking and an off leash doggie swimming beach on Lake Washington.
There are some great places to hike and walk. In the Newcastle area, south of Bellevue, are Cougar Mountain and Squak Mountain. They're not really mountains, and you can get a lot of good scenery without attempting to go to the top. To the top and back takes around two hours....
As far as neighborhoods, if you're going to be looking at Bellevue, check out the Somerset neighborhood. Insanely nice views from there.
Asian shopping area/restaurants?
Have to mention Seattle's International district. Not really international, but restaurants and stores include Japanese/Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai/Korean. Maneki is my favorite Japanese place in Seattle's International district. The place has been there forever. Lemon Leaf and Tamarind Tree are good Vietnamese restaurants in the International district. Lemon Grass is a small local Vietnamese chain which is very good, one just east of the International district and one in Renton, amongst others. The main branch of the Uwajimaya supermarket is in the International district, as is a branch of the Viet Wah supermarket. Uwajimaya also has a branch in Bellevue.
Vietnamese restaurants are far more common than Japanese...seems like there are almost as many pho places as there are Starbucks, but fast food ish teriyaki joints are also very common and popular ( and quite a few that serve both).
So I'm curious: Where do you live now? And why Sammamish? Sammamish is very nice, but maybe a little less known than other eastside towns like Bellevue and Kirkland and Redmond. They all have good schools. You might want to explore Issaquah also, just south of Sammamish...just avoid Front Street during rush hour.

[kilikina119]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Yes, we will have to get a feel for the weather when we are there. I don't mind it so much, buy my husband might. He tells me you never know till you experience living there. He has a good point. Right now we live in Vegas and are basically stuck in the house for half of the year during the summer. You can still go out in Seattle weather though right? I was told the clouds could have a psychological affect after a while.

We will definitely check out those parks. Especially Marymoor. Sounds awesome! Thanks for the tip on ID. I already googled it and am impressed. We will definitely stop by there as well.

The reason I mentioned Sammamish is because I read it is very safe there and it seems like a nice area with a good school district. I read good things about Issaquah too, I'll have to drive through the area.

[Inkpoe]

FYI... for the Bellevue Uwajimaya, they're going to move to a location closer to DT Bellevue in the next year where it'll be bigger, cleaner and nicer. Where it is right now is just... crap. A very old location. They've announced that when they move into their new place, they're also going to have a Asian museum of some sort.

Seattle also has an Asian Museum as well.

p.s. There is also a saying: "No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes."

[kilikina119]

haha...Like the quote Inkpoe! That's great. Thanks for the info!!!!

[Jeremiah256]

My wife is Japanese and when I decided where I wanted be stationed when my orders came up to return stateside, I chose Seattle over San Diego. A lot of people seem to feel it's hard to make friends in Seattle but neither of us had a problem when we lived there. There are plenty of Japanese and other Asian stores, at least one Japanese garden that I remember and I believe a Japanese Elementary school somewhere in town (it's been 7 years so I might be wrong). Plus, California is just a hop, skip and jump away so your husband has an excuse during those three day weekends during winter to take a trip. And it's not overcast 9 months out of the year.

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by Jeremiah256

My wife is Japanese and when I decided where I wanted be stationed when my orders came up to return stateside, I chose Seattle over San Diego. A lot of people seem to feel it's hard to make friends in Seattle but neither of us had a problem when we lived there. There are plenty of Japanese and other Asian stores, at least one Japanese garden that I remember and I believe a Japanese Elementary school somewhere in town (it's been 7 years so I might be wrong). Plus, California is just a hop, skip and jump away so your husband has an excuse during those three day weekends during winter to take a trip. And it's not overcast 9 months out of the year.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say a "Japanese Elementary school somewhere" but perhaps you mean that there is a public school named after a Japanese-American teacher.

Aki Kurose Middle School

Alki Kurose

kilikina, Seattle has quite a few Japanese-American news reporters and anchors. It was funny because one night, Lori Matsukawa was anchoring the King5 newscast and a Caucasian reporter just massacred the school's name. She pronounced it Achy (like in achy breaky heart) Kah-roas' Middle School.

You'd think Lori could have corrected that pronunciation before they went on the air!

[Jeremiah256]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

I'm not sure what you mean when you say a "Japanese Elementary school somewhere" but perhaps you mean that there is a public school named after a Japanese-American teacher.

kilikina, Seattle has quite a few Japanese-American news reporters and anchors. It was funny because one night, Lori Matsukawa was anchoring the King5 newscast and a Caucasian reporter just massacred the school's name. She pronounced it Achy (like in achy breaky heart) Kah-roas' Middle School.

You'd think Lori could have corrected that pronunciation before they went on the air!

No disrespect meant, was just going off memory from many years ago. Looking on the internet, it actually looks like I was trying to remember was: John Stanford International School.