Any Southern Californians regret your move to Seattle? (Bellevue: appointed, to rent)

[spotlesseden]

yeah, if you are happy with CA, you should stay.
You should only consider to move if you can find something better else where.

Remember the California sun is not free. You have to pay for it. like 5-10% of your total income.

[RVD90277]

Originally Posted by PNWGuy

If you are happy where you are living, what is the reason for wanting to move?

job. recruiter called and asked if i'd be interested in a job in seattle. i originally said no but he said it's with amazon and that it's a great opportunity. so i'm not seeking out a move to seattle, it just sort of came to me.

anyway, i'm still interviewing so we'll see if it's something we can make work. i like SoCal and have no real desire to leave but for the right situation and opportunity, i think i'm open to it.

as for the cost of living down here, yes i guess it's high but i don't think it's as bad as most people think. some things are very expensive (housing, taxes, income tax, etc.) but some things aren't so expensive (lawn care, house keepers, nannies, food, parking, etc.).

life is short. a decade goes by like the blink of an eye. you may as well live where you're happy.

i see seattle as a place that has its pros and cons as well. great nature. nice lakes. good skiing. fresh air. etc. on the bad side...gloomy weather, traffic, etc.

anyway, we'll see how it goes.

[spotlesseden]

I'm from Norcal. I only been to Seattle area for a week like a month ago. I got a job a Microsoft, I will be moving there next month.

I don't think the weather is that bad, atleast in Summer. I might argue that the summer weather is better than most of the CA. It's alot like SF bay area. Maybe when winner and spring come, it will have alot of rain.

I think it has better traffic than SoCal and Norcal. haha

The housing(500k for an averagehouse), food are about the same. Housing Seattle area is just as expensive as CA. Not sure about lawn care, house keepers. lol

[evergraystate]

Originally Posted by la_fuerza

Alki Beach in the summertime (photo by Pwright)

EWWW what a crowded zoo. Good luck finding parking or a place to sit down LOL

[steel7]

Originally Posted by RVD90277

I am also very concerned about this topic. We are possibly contemplating a move but we are very happy with our current lifestyle in SoCal. We live a block away from the beach so we are used to having a good amount of sun, jogging paths along the beach, easy walk to the pier, etc. We open up our french doors to the balcony and are greeted with ocean breezes and a nice view.

It would be a major pain to get over there, find out we are miserable, and have to move back after quitting our jobs, selling our house, etc.

We have discussed it more and I think it is more likely now that if we do move we will rent out our house here and rent up there in Seattle just to make sure we're happy there. If we really do like it, we'll consider buying after 1 year. Seems like the smart thing to do for anyone who moves up there from SoCal.

It sounds like some people love it up there and some really have problems adjusting. I think I'll be ok since I lived in various places like Michigan, Asia, and NorCal but I've been in SoCal for the past 14 years (gee, time flies like crazy huh?) so I may be more used to this area than I think.

It sounds like you're happy living in s.ca. I dont think you could deal with the endless days of cloudy weather esp during the rainy & cold (compared to ca) winters. Ca has over 300 days of sunshine just like colo & az.

[PNWGuy]

I'm not sure what kind of a gig you have right now, but from many sources, amzn works you like a dog, the budgets are penny pinching, and that is the culture they strive to keep. 75% of my friends that quit their job to work at amzn have already left, the rest are staying just to wait for their stock to vest before leaving. This from folks who come from a company with much different culture than they were used to. But the company is doing well, so something must be ok there, I just haven't heard of what iti is

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by PNWGuy

I'm not sure what kind of a gig you have right now, but from many sources, amzn works you like a dog, the budgets are penny pinching, and that is the culture they strive to keep. 75% of my friends that quit their job to work at amzn have already left, the rest are staying just to wait for their stock to vest before leaving. This from folks who come from a company with much different culture than they were used to. But the company is doing well, so something must be ok there, I just haven't heard of what iti is

This was my hubby's experience at Amazon, too. They basically don't care about their high turnover rate, they just want to get as much work out of you as they can before you decide you can't take it anymore.

V. =)

[Seacove]

That's kind of concerning. So Amazon floods the state with new people, who look for the first opportunity to get out of there? I hope people are checking Glassdoor.com and other job resources to make sure they actually want the job before pouring into Seattle.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by hgsummerville

I spent the next ten years in Oklahoma (like Wa, but with sun)

Oklahoma is like WA? Parts of E WA maybe. Otherwise nothing could be further from the truth.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by lovingthegreen

I honestly could not think of two places that are more different in terms of climate, culture, etc.

Yeah that's just crazy.