Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You don't want to be some mercenary, somebody who just moves here for a job to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible, and then splits to greener pastures.
I wouldn't mind the mercenaries so much. But Amazon is bringing a ton of people here who leave Amazon after a couple of years - but they stay.
I wouldn't mind the mercenaries so much. But Amazon is bringing a ton of people here who leave Amazon after a couple of years - but they stay.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: Wouldn't it be nice to come here for a two year job, and decide that you like the place so much you really don't want to leave?
And won't because she doesn't have a car. Apparently Seattle is supposed to supply that for her while also making our rents lower so she has more money while also being the kind of city that allows her fiance to get a job. They could always move to Portlandia and make jewelry.
Let's get one thing straight: I don't expect anyone or any form of social welfare to provide me with ****. I came to this forum to ask questions, partake in discussions and to read helpful advice from people who live in Seattle. Just because I mentioned I enjoy Portland doesn't mean you need to get all snippy and start a lackluster, BuzzFeed style argument with me.
And if you've seen the measly 400 sq ft studios I've seen for rent that range between $1100-$1500 you'd be outraged too. That's hardly enough space for most to feel comfortable, not everyone, but most. There's a thing called greed and that's what I was suggesting of landlords who pose these kind of prices on closet-sized homes.
My fiancee and I are moving to Seattle within the next month because he landed a job downtown. We were very excited about the news and change of scenery until we visited Seattle over the summer...
We live in Philly, have visited Boston, New York, Portland, DC, San Diego, so we're familiar with metros and cities, but we were greatly disappointed with Seattle. We assumed it would be similar to Portland (which we love) because of the proximity and constant comparisons, but I have no idea what audacity would cause people to compare the two. The city seems so cold and I'm not referring to the climate or people. It's basically one big cluster f*ck of condos, town homes, commercial buildings, commercial lots and condos in the process, and the regular homes and apartments are hidden away on these ugly plots of land where hardly any transportation reaches. And don't get me started on Aurora Ave - the most hideous stretch of road I've ever driven on. On top of this, it would probably be tolerable if the prices were reasonable, but $1100-$1500 for a STUDIO?? Outrageous! I know some major companies like Microsoft and Amazon are among the top careers for the area, but not everyone works there.
We visited a few areas that are suppose to be desirable like Ballard and Queen Anne and a less desirable area around Green Lake, and we couldn't differentiate the good from the bad. I don't mean bad as in crime wise, but none of the neighborhoods seemed walk-able; there are long stretches of blocks and blocks of homes until you could reach a restaurant/bar/shop - it just all seemed so commercial. Yes, Capitol Hill is a beautiful area that's more along the lines of what we're used to, but that small section can't make up for everything the city is lacking and demanding.
So what I'd like to know is, how do you guys deal with it? The commercialism, the lack of transportation, the ugly/unwalk-able neighborhoods - is there something I'm missing? I always heard generally wonderful things about Seattle, but I have no idea what people are referring to.
Sorry, I hope no one takes this personally. I'm not commenting on the people or the climate, which seems to be the usual complaints, I'm talking more so the layout.
You just described most cities in America! The condos all over the place are because of growth- this is a very popular city with a good job market, so people are moving here and condos are being built like crazy to keep up with the demand. Same with all the new commercial buildings, town homes, and single family residences.
So I don't get what the issue is- commercialism exists anywhere that is popular and has a good economy! and ugly unwalkable neighborhoods? Again the suburban areas are generally less walkable, but they are FAR from ugly- many are beautiful, especially in the newer suburban areas. They are almost perfect in a movie set type of way, and they have sidewalks for people who want to walk- and everyone has cars to drive where they need to go. It's a choice people make in living in those areas- which is the type of area the vast majority of Americans live in! So this is hardly unique to Seattle, the single family home with the yard and the attached garage is pretty much the default housing type one thinks of when they think of how Americans live.
So I guess I don't see what the issue is- the Seattle area in general is far nicer than the Portland area. I have spent time down there, it has an overall more run down look to it- most neighborhoods in the Seattle metro area are more tidy looking, higher end looking, and it just has the appearance of a place that is doing "better" financially.
Edit: And I forgot to mention it, but yeah the prices for rent do suck, but unfortunately it's not just greed, it's supply and demand. So many people with money are moving here and needing apartments to rent, that the rents get pushed up to the amounts you are talking about. Same goes for pricing on houses, in the city and out in the suburbs- not a lot of available land, tons of people moving here, that equals housing prices being high. It's what we get for living in a place that is popular. Rents are cheap in places like Kansas City or Omaha- but for good reason, they are lacking the beauty and excitement that Seattle and its surroundings have.
My fiancee and I are moving to Seattle within the next month because he landed a job downtown. We were very excited about the news and change of scenery until we visited Seattle over the summer...
Sorry, I hope no one takes this personally. I'm not commenting on the people or the climate, which seems to be the usual complaints, I'm talking more so the layout.
You've given up too easily, there are funky areas with tons of character proximal to one another. Just Sunday I walked Madison from north end of Arboretum into almost-downtown (Convention Station), and was astounded and pleased by the variety of eclectic stuff. About five miles of strolling, south and west.
I haven't prowled Portland, in the details, because I don't really care to and it's inconvenient slogging 180 miles of nothing to get there. Nothing I'd want to see there justifying the trip, other than their gorgeous racetrack (PIR).
What I deal with is that there is tremendous opportunity here (metro area) for those with somewhat-specific skills. I'm not leaving until that's done, and may not leave after either (TBD). Obviously growing in leaps and bounds in opportunity for tech in-particular, per the news. I could care less about the commercialism, pretty clearly that's what's feeding the economic engine that pays for social services. My tax dollars. Fine, whatever.
Taking a bus to various points of the compass, walking around a bit, I'm consistently charmed in the details of Seattle-proper. Hell, I'm charmed in the details of Eastside, too, because it's quieter with fewer bums and vagrants. More open spaces, too, though there are plenty in Seattle all things considered.
I suppose you could be right, in the layout of things. I'll list four interesting points, inconveniently located from one another, all eclectic and non-commercial. Two you've already mentioned. SE-NE-NW-SW of the city proper.
1. Capitol Hill, just about any of the streets in the heart of it.
2. UW campus and surrounding area
3. Lower Queen Anne, ditto
4. Georgetown.
If someone forced me to visit all four in an afternoon, I'd be challenged to do so by-bus. It may be possible, just not necessarily convenient. I'd spend an afternoon knocking around the interesting local scene in any of the four, in a hot second, and indeed have on numerous occasions.
Let's get one thing straight: I don't expect anyone or any form of social welfare to provide me with ****. I came to this forum to ask questions, partake in discussions and to read helpful advice from people who live in Seattle. Just because I mentioned I enjoy Portland doesn't mean you need to get all snippy and start a lackluster, BuzzFeed style argument with me.
And if you've seen the measly 400 sq ft studios I've seen for rent that range between $1100-$1500 you'd be outraged too. That's hardly enough space for most to feel comfortable, not everyone, but most. There's a thing called greed and that's what I was suggesting of landlords who pose these kind of prices on closet-sized homes.
It's just market demand. If you've lived in NYC, you've seen far worse. Costs are less the further out you live, just like any other city. If you want to live right in downtown, it will cost you in money and space. I live on the Eastside where there's plenty of space. Of course, it still costs. If you owned a Seattle property and several people were competing to rent it, are you saying you would say "No, no, $700. is all I'll take" when five people would happily pay twice that? You'd take the money.
Much of this information is very help, so thanks everyone! I guess I hadn't considered what a newer city Seattle is, but isn't the ambulatory of a city what's meant to define it? You know, separating it from a suburb.
Regardless, I'm taking all of this into consideration. Of course we're hoping we'll eventually fall in love with the city, but all I have to go off of is our few days spent frantically apartment hunting. Moving from one coast to another is never an easy task unless money is no concern. However, our income isn't amazing.
His job is a tech job for the government, but will still be making far less than he's used to. He's mostly doing it for the experience. After that we'll decide if we're Seattle people or not.
A city is what the people who live in it make of it. Walkability sometime exists and sometimes doesn't. You mention that you've visited places like San Diego so this can't be the first time you've seen something beside Philadelphia. In point of fact, the core of Seattle is very walkable, you can take a look at walkscore maps to get a feel for it. What makes this different from the east coast are the geographical realities of living on an isthmus with lots of hills. We don't have a lot of connecting streets that go the length of the city because they tend to hit a lake/bay/cliff/river etc. So the various neighborhoods are a bit less connected to each other and sometimes when they are its along a single route. Portland is basically flat on its east side and doesn't have this issue. On the other hand, this gives a lot of our neighborhoods really cool views and they have relatively strong individual identities. You just have to understand where the commercial axes are in each place. For example: Ballard revolves around Market St./Ballard Ave or Queen Anne around Queen Anne Blvd etc. Then structure your housing search to reflect that.
Its also important to realize that Seattle is growing very quickly and that means construction and transition especially around the urban villages and downtown. My analog is try to think of it like Manhattan during the 19th century. If you moved to the Upper West side for example you would have seen a hodgepodge of finished blocks, construction and prior farmhouses etc. We're not as extreme as that but its the same type of process.
FWIW: Your initial post sounded really down on the move. If I felt that way, I'm not sure I would make the transition myself.
Sounds like you're only moving here because of your fiance.
Winter's coming and if you think you hate Seattle now, when the weather has been warm and sunny, just wait for November through April.
My recommendation is that you try to be open to a new experience and place, instead of simply rejecting it out of hand, like you are doing now.
Don't worry, if you're fiance is working downtown and isn't provided parking, he'll be commuting on the bus, leaving the car at home. Even without a car, however, there is no need to be, or feel, trapped in your apartment - you can get pretty much everywhere in Seattle using transit.
the waterfront in Seattle is so ugly, nothing like Portland, Vancouver, San Francisco or even Baltimore. Hope, it gets better after the demolition of the 99 bridge.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
