Out of stater moving to Seattle Do's and Don'ts? (Vancouver: apartment, lease)

[AT-AT28]

Hey all, back again looking for more advise for this early 30's gaming geek to get outa my homestate of Montana and small town and upgrade to Seattle to meet and be with fellow gamers and geeks like myself and hopefully find a geeky girlfriend as well in the process. I'll spare reposting everything if you wanna read up on my past history

Is Seattle or Portland a better place for a geek?


In any event, I'm thinking more now after much research that Seattle might be a better fit for me despite thinking of Portland all these years, a major one being that Seattles job market is healthier and stronger then Portlands, especially the IT sector that I am. I"m still working on securing work out of state before I move, but it looks like its gonna take some time sadly, but im pressing forward still.

After seeing what my sister went through in living in the core of Seattle and other peoples input, I think it would be best if I lived outside the core are of Seattle like Lynnwood or an area down south of Seattle as apparently its easier to travel North to South and vice versa vs East to West apparently. Can anyone elaborate on this further for someone who's not used to such a big city like Seattle and other smaller outlying towns that arn't as expensive as Bellavue as I know I simply am not gonna make that kinda money any time soon. I'll be looking at an apt, no house if that makes a difference.

Back to my main point, being born and raised in a smaller town of around 50k population through my life, a rural area that is Seattle of over 3 million people is a BIG upgrade for someone like me to adjust to, especially traffic which I keep hearing over and over and over is horrible. And yes, i've heard all about the crappy weather and honestly, I don't care. I'm used to unreliable and cruddy weather in Montana and having constant, gray weather would be an improvement in my book. I am not an outdoors guy like I used to be anymore, my gaming, computer and anime hobbies will have be indoors mostly so I'm not gonna let the gripes about Seattles weather deter from this. The traffic nightmare I know is gonna be a big shock to me, but I'm gonna gain so much from moving out of my hometown, the tradeoffs are worth it.

That all being said, can you give me some good Do's and Don'ts with adapting, getting around and meeting people in Seattle for a out of state bachelor newcomer in his early 30's? Thanks much

[west seattle gal]

Do -- be yourself. This is a place where people can just be themselves.

Don't -- buy an umbrella. No one uses them.

[AT-AT28]

So this Seattle "Freeze" I keep hearing about.... It essentially sounds like basically everyone is or "acts" like an introvert in public in general is what its sounding like? Guess i'm really gonna have to pull out all the stop signs with my introvertness to meet new geek friends, especially gals.

[Jalhop]

If you live near work the traffic needn't be as much of an issue. If you get an apartment before a job, do a short term lease.

[Capricorn_Resiliency]

Originally Posted by AT-AT28

So this Seattle "Freeze" I keep hearing about.... It essentially sounds like basically everyone is or "acts" like an introvert in public in general is what its sounding like? Guess i'm really gonna have to pull out all the stop signs with my introvertness to meet new geek friends, especially gals.

When I was in Seattle 5 years ago I noticed that some people didn't make eye contact much or say very much to strangers. But this was in the downtown area I kind of understand why with, all the homeless,drug addicts & gang bangers that can spotted in parts of downtown Seattle. I live 1,200 miles away in San Diego, CA & a sizable portion of the populous here exhibits those "introverted" traits as well. I've lived in other parts of the country & people on the West Coast tend to be more reserved & some what distant with strangers then the Midwest or parts of the South or East coast.

[eskercurve]

Do: get involved into the gamer community (which is large) here, especially among the Microsofties

Don't: Assume that the girls:guys ratio is any better here compared to many parts of the country for gamers, even among Microsofties

Do: put down the games and go into what's called the "outdoors" and enjoy the stunning natural beauty this place has to offer. at least in between games.

Don't: forget to prepare properly for some of these hikes, which can last all day and then some. Also don't forget to purchase a pass for $30 which lasts all year.

Do: be prepared for 7+ months of overcast skies and drizzle and temperatures hovering in the 40s-60s range.

Don't: complain about the weather when you're here. Just, don't. People here have problems just like everywhere else in the world, and complaining about stuff they can't control is sure to have folks label you as a sh*t magnet.

Do: get to learn about organic foods, environmentalism, and the nerdy girls they attract

Don't: expect southern-belle levels of makeup, etc. (just covering all bases here)

Do: learn to take mass transit because traffic here sucks

Don't: feel like you have to live in Seattle proper to have good mass transit

Do: learn to walk to your local grocer, mom and pop restaurants, and patronize them

Don't: patronize the major national chains (too much, not saying NEVER go, but just learn that the mom and pop places here, by and large, are far superior to the chains).

Do: learn to pick up one of the weeklies in Seattle that are for free

Don't: be embarrassed by lingering on erotic or marijuana ads in The Stranger ... have to admit, some of them are pretty nice/cool.

[AT-AT28]

Good incite esker. I also am really excited on the dating scene in the Seattle area as i've always been very attracted to asian woman and I hear Seattle and Vancouver has a lot of mature minded asian ladies, so i'm really hoping I can find the right, maybe even geeky gal for a life partner.

The big thing i'm fighting is that I have no desire to have children which I won't get into here. Needless to say, my dating pool in my homestate is VERY small, so hence one of the big reasons why I wanted to move to a larger urban area like Portland or Seattle was more of a chance to meet a gal who also has no desire to raise a family. Needless to say, i'll be using online dating a lot to help me find them when I finally do move out there.

Can you give me incite into what other smaller outlying towns like Lynnwood would be a good choice for apt dwellings for a yearly incoming of around $44k? That's just a rough estimate of what i'll be making, depending on what job I can secure, it may be more or less. Needless to say, I know Redmond and Bellavue are not possible.

And no, roommates are NOT an option. Period. I'll live in a slum studio if I have to, but no roommates.

[AT-AT28]

Originally Posted by Jalhop

If you live near work the traffic needn't be as much of an issue. If you get an apartment before a job, do a short term lease.

Do you know if any particular apt complex/renting agencies I should look into and or avoid? There are SOOO freaking many places to rent after searching on Craigslist, its mind numbing! Again, i'm still securing work in the area but I DO NOT want to live in the core are of Seattle, way too expensive and congested, I wanna live in a smaller outlying town either north or South of Seattle for ease of driving.

Public transportation? Not in your life. I have a nice tuned up Honda Civic, i'll pay whatever the gas cost is before I do daily commutes using public transport. NO freaking thanks.

[Luv2byte]

Umbrellas are used only for women, in a big downpour, to walk from car to office. Rarely anything more than that. We all even walk the dogs in the rain without an umbrella. Rain happens. Rain dries.

Portland is tree huggers, nerds, hippes, executives & corp wannabes with a splash of redneck. Women wear little to no makeup, on avg, walk or run at lunch & try to decide what to do for their next "kindness" or activists activity. All love the outdoors - parks, zoo, camping, walk, hike, bike...organic is the way of life.

Seattle is geek, freaks & yuppies. If not one of the three then they at least look the part of a yuppie. Shopping, walking, hiking, boating, electronic tech toys, saving the earth.

I grew up in Seattle, live near Portland now & work out of Portland. I like the Portland area more. Both are accepting of all lifestyles, nationalities & genders but I like the chill, relax vibe of Portland over the Seattle hustle. Also, people in Portland are a bit friendlier. Do expect to have a door held for you in each city & people willing to help if you ask for help.

Btw I'm a mix of yuppie with redneck so it's easy for both cities to suit me well but I love the variety of Portland better.

[Luv2byte]

Originally Posted by AT-AT28

Public transportation? Not in your life. I have a nice tuned up Honda Civic, i'll pay whatever the gas cost is before I do daily commutes using public transport. NO freaking thanks.

That is more of a Seattle mentality. Portlanders love their max.