Another city like Seattle? (Vancouver, Olympia: for sale, real estate, homes)

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

Pittsburgh was close, but the neighborhoods are much less developed in terms of independent stores and personal identity (ie. they have smaller business strips here and there); they also have a higher crime rate and extensive areas of housing badly in need of restoration.

I guess NOVA (or maybe Richmond?) and Pittsburgh are still our front-runners, but just wanted to see if there is any magic wonderland out there of which I'm not yet aware. Wish Seattle was on the East Coast...

Don't know, maybe we'll just stay.

Well for one thing Pittsburgh is a much Older City re-establishing itself from something Seattle never went through, this is what you're going to find in the East....There will be no true replica of Seattle in the East simply because of East vs West...Pittsburgh is going to be the closest...

If its one thing Pittsburgh is praised about is its very distinct neighborhoods..and that Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhood that could be individual towns in and of themselves, so I'm not really understanding the Bolded area unless you're talking about the Suburbs.

[cali3448893]

i miss seattle now i live in cincinnati and it is so republican conservative racist out in cincy

[Topaz]

I read the wish list to my husband (who is from the East Coast) and he immediately responded, "Burlington, VT."

[tickyul]

Portland, Oregon...........braided armpit-hair hippies and Patchouli oil.

[west seattle gal]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

I beg to differ about the boldened part. Austin is still VERY Texas. The inner inner core of the city may be zany and liberal and hip, but all the suburbs and outer neighborhoods are awash in typical Texas conservative politics and outlook. If you want a more forward progressive type of town, Austin is not it.

And don't forget, even on the East coast, there's some really "strange" conservatives too. Independents and libertarians abound in the suburbs of Vermont, New Hampshire, etc. Just because it's east coast, doesn't mean its liberal.

For what it's worth, the average salary in King Co. is ~75k, and is pretty much the same in Snohomish, though as you go further north into Everett and Marysville, etc., it drops. More affordable (much more affordable) housing exists out there, the schools ... are OK from what I hear, still a progressive attitude (slightly more conservative but no bible thumping Tea party shoe-licking drones as you'd find in Texas). Though it does depend on where you two work. If you two work downtown, yeowch! Don't live up north.

I would also consider Beacon Hill, and the Rainier Valley, especially near Colombia City. That last part is up and coming, they just renovated the schools there, and things are more affordable. Then there's places down south, like Des Plaines, Tukwila, Kent, Renton, Auburn, etc.

I guess all I'm saying is there's options. You don't have to leave if housing costs and general cost of living are your only issues. I think too many people want to relocate to where costs are, in general, lower instead of "compromising" on stuff. Like instead of daycare, do a co-op or join a church's daycare. Volunteering or working at a place will generally get you a discount if you can swing it. I'm just guessing the ages of your kids too btw... if they're older, they'll likely be somewhat traumatized by having to move and lose all their friends, especially if its to the opposite coast.

As far as colleges, surely you jest? UW is one of the best programs for business and engineering in the nation, and the local colleges are also nothing to sneeze at either. WSC is also pretty good, and if they want to go into trades, there's tons of highly skilled trade jobs out here that require training at some great colleges and technical schools out here. Finally, employers care more about practical experience these days as opposed to how advanced you got in classes. Make sure they work hard and get good grades but most importantly internships or co-ops. That will land them a job more than good grades. I knew a few people in college who got 4.0's but no practical experience, and they all spent at least 6 months till they found a job. I had a 2.8 out of undergrad (LOL, oh how I frittered away a couple semesters), but I had an internship every single summer and one semester of co-op. I had a job prior to graduation, and the big B also reimbursed me my final semester and gave me stock for graduating.

I guess my point about colleges are, pedigree are not the only thing to consider, as most employers really don't give a sh*t about that unless they're aiming to be investment bankers or something related to the financial industry, or a politician. You know, part of the "good ol' boys' club."

About the colleges part, yeah, I know we have a few nice schools. I'm currently a grad student at UW, and also know that many very good Seattle hs grads did not gain placement into UW's undergrad programs b/c there simply is not enough room -- thus, their choices are out-of-state tuition, private school, community college, or lesser ranked public. WA has limited options when compared w/ several states in on the East Coast. Three examples are PA, VA, and NC, all of which have multiple highly-ranked public school options.

We may have to look at areas surrounding Seattle, as you mentioned. There are cheaper neighborhoods in the city. We have ruled out the suburbs b/c, frankly, we don't want to live in the suburbs. I would rather have an urban experience in a smaller city (ie. culture, exchange of ideas, diversity) than a suburban experience here.

Good point about conservatives in Austin & on the East Coast...

[west seattle gal]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

Well for one thing Pittsburgh is a much Older City re-establishing itself from something Seattle never went through, this is what you're going to find in the East....There will be no true replica of Seattle in the East simply because of East vs West...Pittsburgh is going to be the closest...

If its one thing Pittsburgh is praised about is its very distinct neighborhoods..and that Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhood that could be individual towns in and of themselves, so I'm not really understanding the Bolded area unless you're talking about the Suburbs.

The neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are older & multigenerational, with families well-rooted to any given neighborhood, and in that way very defined and established. Your neighborhoods are defined by familial/ethnic/labor history. People identify strongly w/ neighborhoods b/c they are part of their personal history. If I were to move to Pittsburgh, we would always be considered "outsiders" b/c we don't have generations of family living in any given urban neighborhood. There is a lot of discussion about this on the Pittsburgh forum...

I was instead referring to the neighborhood main business districts. In Seattle, these largely define the urban neighborhood, or give it some personal identity. Any given neighborhood has blocks and blocks of independent shops, with people spilling onto the sidewalks both day and night. Since most people here are transplants, this is where many of us feel any sense of community. Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, etc... have business districts that are tiny in comparison, though close...

Anyway, I also love Pittsburgh. Just not sure how easy it would be to assimilate.

[west seattle gal]

Thanks to all the responses, it looks like I have a lot of research to do! I love city-data...

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by FrostyThe2nd

This may seem far fetched but I think San Diego has some similarities with Seattle. Admittedly I don't know much about San Diego but during my last 2 visits, the downtown area is almost Seattle-like, except with plenty more sun. They also have an excellent local university and you can enjoy tons of activities from shopping and dining, to nature. They have museums, zoos, huge parks, theme parks and watersports for the family. I don't know the stats on crime, jobs, and public school, but the friends that I have living there says they're pretty decent as well. Plus you'll be living in the Southern California megalopolis so most likely you won't be bored living there.

True there are some similarities between SD and Seattle. However these similarities are rather superficial. If we're going to talk about west coast cities, Oakland Ca is a good choice. I love both cities for similar reasons. Both have a large Asian influence, both have old squares with older brick buildings; Jack London Square and Pioneer Square. The infrastructure is rather similar as well as the neighborhoods being well planted and having similar housing types. Seafood is easy to find in both places although better in Seattle. Oakland has pretty good public transportation but not like an east coast city. Better than Seattle's though.

[mea-oh]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

The neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are older & multigenerational, with families well-rooted to any given neighborhood, and in that way very defined and established. Your neighborhoods are defined by familial/ethnic/labor history. People identify strongly w/ neighborhoods b/c they are part of their personal history. If I were to move to Pittsburgh, we would always be considered "outsiders" b/c we don't have generations of family living in any given urban neighborhood. There is a lot of discussion about this on the Pittsburgh forum...

I was instead referring to the neighborhood main business districts. In Seattle, these largely define the urban neighborhood, or give it some personal identity. Any given neighborhood has blocks and blocks of independent shops, with people spilling onto the sidewalks both day and night. Since most people here are transplants, this is where many of us feel any sense of community. Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, etc... have business districts that are tiny in comparison, though close...

Anyway, I also love Pittsburgh. Just not sure how easy it would be to assimilate.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, and it's still my home in my heart even though I now live in Seattle. I LOVE Pittsburgh. I'm a die-hard Steelers fan. But I agree with you assessment of the city. It does not have the unique neighborhoods that Seattle has, and you may indeed feel like an outsider for at least the first few years.

But I definitely think it most closely matches your interests. Pittsburgh is far less blue collar than it used to be, although it's still more blue collar than Seattle. The Strip District rivals some of the market-area shopping in Seattle. The city isn't as big as Seattle, and it lacks the majesty of the mountains and Sound, but the three rivers and small mountains are still quite lovely.

And for anyone who has't experienced driving through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and coming out to see the skyline, you're missing out. Still my favorite entrance into a city in the world!

Pittsburgh offers a lot to do, including state-of-the-art sports venues, fantastic theatre and performing arts, museums, restaurants, etc. It's smaller in scale to Seattle, but it's a great city with great character, distinct personalities, and beautiful scenery.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

Crime really isn't that big an issue if you just figure out which neighborhoods to avoid, and what to look for (lately it's large mobs of black youths who are flash-mobbing areas and basically ransacking a place, then casually walking away).

Profile much????