Thinking about moving to Seattle.... (find a job, living, vacation)

[city_412]

I have been thinking about moving to Seattle for a while from Minneapolis. I have started applying for jobs recently there, but I'm not sure I will have a chance to get hired since I'm based in mpls. I work in HR and I know with our organization we really only recruit or hire people out of the area for mid-management and up. I'm more of an entry level-mid range HR professional. I do have a decent amount in savings and could move there without a job, but I'm not sure it's worth the risk. Any thought?

[deckard9080]

I've moved around a lot and the West Coast is the best no matter where you are from. It's an easy town to find opportunities. If you are single, just save up some money and find a friend to stay with or just get an apt. and make it happen. Shouldn't take you more than a month to find a job. I say go for it! I risked it all a few time and even moved to LA. Nothing is impossible. It just makes it harder if you have kids to worry about.

[mrman78]

Agreed. I'm doing this in April as I can't wait any longer. I'm moving from Texas, so even further away! I've gotten some callbacks and phone interviews for jobs, but that's about as far as it goes. I figure if there's interest in me while i'm out of state, there'll be interest in me when I'm local. I'll also be enrolling in a graduate certificate program in the autumn at UW whether I have a job by then or not. As long as you plan it out, save enough and do your research, there's no reason not to do it if you are single!

[hubey21]

I'm leaving northern virginia for seattle in september 2012. i've done a lot of research and it just seems like a better fit for me. i'm not one to be effected by the rain so i don't think that'll bother me. if you're young and don't have children, now is the time to do it. i'm leaving a lot behind but i feel like i'll get a lot more out of it by trying than just staying here and being miserable without any idea of what could be as opposed to what already is.

[TRC2k11]

I was hired over the phone while in Savannah, GA last year for job with a local Boeing supplier running a CNC machine. I secured a place to live here, sold off the majority of my belongings and drove across the country with a car full of clothes, electronics and $2500. After being unemployed a year I rolled the dice... I did not get paid to relocate. It was "make the job work or bust"...

Here we are 9 months later and it's worked out better than I can imagine. After 4 months as a temp I was hired on permanent in October... benefits include 3 weeks of vacation, a week of sick time, monthly bonuses and year end profit sharing. Much better than a $330 weekly max Georgia unemployment check.

P.S. I'm currently in Georgia now for the week visiting family and friends... my first of 3 vacation weeks this year. I left everyone behind when I moved out here last year, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Living on unemployment isn't fun.

[The Siobhan]

Originally Posted by hubey21

I'm leaving northern virginia for seattle in september 2012. i've done a lot of research and it just seems like a better fit for me. i'm not one to be effected by the rain so i don't think that'll bother me. if you're young and don't have children, now is the time to do it. i'm leaving a lot behind but i feel like i'll get a lot more out of it by trying than just staying here and being miserable without any idea of what could be as opposed to what already is.

The whole "it rains a lot in Seattle" is rather misunderstood. It rains more in Illinois than Seattle by inches. What gives people the misconception about the constant rain is that in Illinois, you pretty much experience most of the rainfall in spring. Sometimes you get summer storms but it is usually in the spring when you get those huge thunderstorms that just rain buckets of rain for a few hours and then stops. In comparison, in the time that I lived in Seattle, I only remember two true rainstorms that included thunder and lightening. Otherwise, the rain situation is that it remains a rainy season much longer here than in Illinois. In Illinois, it is sudden and powerful. In Seattle, it is misty and disbursed throughout the day. It is just a light drizzle, I would say. It was the darn wind that had my hair standing up.

[TRC2k11]

Originally Posted by The Siobhan

The whole "it rains a lot in Seattle" is rather misunderstood. It rains more in Illinois than Seattle by inches.

In Seattle, it is misty and disbursed throughout the day. It is just a light drizzle, I would say.

Yep... that's pretty much it. Sure it's cloudy a lot in the winter but it's not raining every day and when it does it's just a mist or light drizzle.

Nothing compared to the heavy thunderstorms I experienced while a Georgia resident... and it rains more in Georgia too.