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.
My wife and I visited Seattle last August and got great vibes. She fell in love. I did too but I know love at first sight is different from actual love. We're both excited for a change of location but I do have some concerns arising since I'm now applying for more and more jobs in the area.
I grew up in the Bronx just outside of NYC. I moved to a close suburb during teen-years and currently live there. My wife was born and raised in our current town.
I guess I would just like to here from some people who have moved from NYC (and close surrounding areas) to Seattle and how their experience has been. I love the history and culture of the east coast (especially Northeast), I love BBQ food along with delicious Italian meals. Pizza is delicious here and I haven't heard great things about west coast pizza. Europe is closer of a visit for vacation and the Caribbean offers many different islands and cultures on those islands to explore, whereas the west apparently only has Hawai'i and Mexico. I have no interest in seeing China or Japan. Being from the east coast, I'm an assertive person who is usually blunt, yet with polite manners. I worry that the west coast "laid-back" pace will drive me a little nuts. I hear its gorgeous and have seen it with my own eyes so I don't need to be sold on that.
Any stories and experiences are greatly appreciated. I'm very excited to move and Seattle seems great, but everyone knows there are always other sides to a coin so I just wanted to get some insight.
You are moving for the scenery. It's common. You visited in August, usually our best weather month, though this year we've already had warm dry weather before the Fourth, and Seattle is pretty in the summer with the views. Seattle is not the Northeast, and won't have some of the things you love about the Northeast. It's a trade off moving away from family/friends to try a new city that is on the other side of the country.
My wife's from Upper West Manhattan, we live near Green Lake. She likes to go up to Pike/Pine area near Capitol Hill, says it is the most "NYC" vibe in Seattle. Arts and culture wise, although far from the Big Apple, she says Seattle has gotten a lot better. When she needs a "big city" dose, we also bounce up north of the border to Vancouver BC regularly, a bit more cosmopolitan feel than Seattle. It is just 2.5 hours drive.
Don't swear off Asia. There is a lot more that direction than just China and Japan. Since moving here in '89 from the east coast, I've been to Asia probably 8 times: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, many great places to travel.
Regarding bluntness, things used to be more like that but people who appreciate straight talking are coming here from all over the world. You might get a few puzzled looks but it is a lot better than it used to be.
If you are a sports fan, like my relatives on Long Island and most New Yorkers I know, The Seahawks are great right now and our excellent Sounders (the pro soccer team) draw 45,000 people a match and are a lot of fun to watch.
Prepare for posts to follow of how much people hate the place. Just know, a lot of us love it.
Last edited by homesinseattle; 07-14-2015 at 02:41 PM..
I have a lot of family on the east coast (NYC and Philly) and travel back and forth a lot, so am I qualified to comment? Let's hope so...
Living in Seattle you're still just an overnight from London or Paris or Amsterdam, and you actually have time to sleep rather than take off, eat, lights off, lights on, eat, loo, land.
Pizza here is okay, but we're still seriously lacking in delis. If you move here please bring Sarge's. Our pho is world-class, however, as are the kalbi tacos at Marination Ma Kai.
Your state and local income tax bill will fall by 100%. Use the money to buy a pizza oven or a boat.
From the Bronx in a couple of hours you can be in Philly or somewhere in the Catskills. From Seattle you can be in a couple of national parks, or on the ski slopes, or at the Canadian border.
From the airport you're around 90 min. and a hundred bucks from San Francisco.
Yes, there will be some cultural differences. Inside taxi cabs especially.
Seattle's original name was New York Alki. "Alki" was the native American word for "by and by." We have our own Statue of Liberty, too. Not all that different.
I grew up in New Jersey. My mom was from the Bronx, and I had tons of relatives in the Bronx when I was growing up. I've lived in Seattle since 1978. A couple of things:
Culture shock? You'll feel it, it's a whole different world, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When I first came here, Seattle was a terrible pizza town. There were only a couple of good places, and the places that were beloved by locals were godawful. But it's different now. Big Mario's on Capitol Hill does a fairly authentic NY pie, as does Brooklyn Brothers in Everett. And now there are good places in many neighborhoods that aren't NY style, but still good.
The problem with Italian food here is that unlike NY and NJ, there just are very few inexpensive family style Italian restaurants...The food's not all that different, but here they think it's exotic, and charge a lot for it. But there are some excellent Italian places in Seattle, just not cheap ones. And Gardyloo is 100% right about the lack of delis. And diners.
But the air is better. The trees are bigger, there's more elbow room. And it's not like the folks in Seattle are a bunch of dumb hicks. There's lots of smart folks around....I know a fair number of ex NYers who stayed. I also had friends who went back to NY because they missed it too much. So your mileage may vary. I like it here.
HuskyDawg - My wife and I aren't just moving to Seattle for the scenery, although it is definitely a plus point. I'm also pursuing a career in aerospace and as you know, Boeing is a huge employer there as well as there are better opportunities for education in those fields than in NYC.
homesinseattle - We liked the Pikes area as well and would love to see Vancouver also. We do like to take road trips and a 2.5 hour drive is almost average for our trips. Seattle seems like a great base for us to explore and discover new areas as well... California, Colorado, Oregon, Canada. We don't mind driving, in fact in the past 3 weekends we have driven to the Jersey Shore, Boston and Newport RI. I'll definitely check out all the pizza joints. I couldn't imagine there would be no good Italian food in an entire city and as far as price, no one wants to spend a lot of money but for everyday Italian we could just cook our own. I'm sure plenty will complain about Seattle, just like they do of NY. I love NY but am looking for a change of what NY isn't.
Gardyloo - Yeah the deli was another concern as we heard Diners and Delis are as popular on the West as they are in the East. We were trying to see if my parents would want to move there too considering the cooler, less humid climate and no tax (Father is looking to retire) I don't particularly take taxi rides (prefer to walk) so I won't mind that change lol. Thanks for the picture and I would trade Ferries for subways any day.
Ira500 - Good pizza tips and I'm looking forward to the air, trees and personal space. I also am for Seattle for the "smart folks" reasons as well. NYC is very competitive and I know I would miss that if too many people just said "yea, its cool man, no worries, nothing's a problem, everything is always cool..." The biggest thing I would miss in NY is the easy trips (in our eyes) to the beaches, the history of the east coast and my family. I'm hoping Seattle offers some great swimming beaches (within 1.5-2.0 hours drive) and that my family actually goes with their desire to leave NY and come to Seattle =). As far as history, I don't mind taking flights or trips to NY to see all the museums and culture and be done with it in a week or so.
Thank you everyone for the comments! Please, if anyone else has input please feel free!
From the airport you're around 90 min. and a hundred bucks from San Francisco.
Gardyloo - Would you know if the airports in Seattle area are "easier" to go in and out of than back in NYC. We don't mind flying at all. Our biggest problem with flying is dealing with JFK, EWK and LGA regarding getting there, expensive parking and dealing with huge lines and tight crowds. I always rather leave out of HPN (White Plains airport) just because you literally walk in, go through a security booth and sit down. It's not stressing at all to go through their airport.
Some more info from "Cousin Vinnie". my name is Vince . I'm off the the airport here today to fly to London, I find our Seattle airport (Seatac) MUCH easier to navigate than JFK, Newark or La Guardia. Here are some answers after your comments, Hope this info helps!
HuskyDawg - My wife and I aren't just moving to Seattle for the scenery, although it is definitely a plus point. I'm also pursuing a career in aerospace and as you know, Boeing is a huge employer there as well as there are better opportunities for education in those fields than in NYC.
**Boeing is doing very well right now and seems to be hiring if you have the right qualifications. Many of my clients and friends work there, they seem to like the culture.**
homesinseattle - We liked the Pikes area as well and would love to see Vancouver also. We do like to take road trips and a 2.5 hour drive is almost average for our trips. Seattle seems like a great base for us to explore and discover new areas as well... California, Colorado, Oregon, Canada. We don't mind driving, in fact in the past 3 weekends we have driven to the Jersey Shore, Boston and Newport RI. I'll definitely check out all the pizza joints. I couldn't imagine there would be no good Italian food in an entire city and as far as price, no one wants to spend a lot of money but for everyday Italian we could just cook our own. I'm sure plenty will complain about Seattle, just like they do of NY. I love NY but am looking for a change of what NY isn't.
It is really cool having Vancouver BC nearby, strikingly beautiful and undoubtedly one of the best cities in the world. Whistler (2 hours north of Vancouver) is exceptional skiing, great year round activities and a wonderful village (cafes, pubs).
Gardyloo - Yeah the deli was another concern as we heard Diners and Delis are as popular on the West as they are in the East. We were trying to see if my parents would want to move there too considering the cooler, less humid climate and no tax (Father is looking to retire) I don't particularly take taxi rides (prefer to walk) so I won't mind that change lol. Thanks for the picture and I would trade Ferries for subways any day.
Ira500 - Good pizza tips and I'm looking forward to the air, trees and personal space. I also am for Seattle for the "smart folks" reasons as well. NYC is very competitive and I know I would miss that if too many people just said "yea, its cool man, no worries, nothing's a problem, everything is always cool..." The biggest thing I would miss in NY is the easy trips (in our eyes) to the beaches, the history of the east coast and my family. I'm hoping Seattle offers some great swimming beaches (within 1.5-2.0 hours drive) and that my family actually goes with their desire to leave NY and come to Seattle =). As far as history, I don't mind taking flights or trips to NY to see all the museums and culture and be done with it in a week or so.
**I know East Coast beaches, have spent time in the Hamptons, Jersey Shore, Cape Cod. They are fabulous. If you think of the beaches here in the same way, you will be disappointed. First, the water at the Pacific Ocean and cold and is always cold. That being said, it is gorgeous, some places are very sandy, you can drive on the beach. Other beaches are rugged and out of this world beautiful. I have buddies who are hard core surfers out there. Google Long Beach, La Push, Shi Shi Beach. Ocean Shores would be the most like a Jersey Beach town, Long Beach a little too. Both are complete with the requisite tacky souvenirs, salt water taffy and go-carts.
If you want to swim (as we often do) here are the options. There is one Puget Sound beach (called Jetty Beach) in Everett where a jetty was created years ago, the water is quite shallow around it. It is actually lovely, natural, you take a little 5 minute foot ferry to get there. They call it Washington's warm water beach because there is quite a tidal shift, when the water goes out (in summer), the sand that is exposed is warmed, when the water comes in, it meets the warm sand and is actually pretty nice. Here is the link: https://everettwa.gov/Facilities/Fac...etty-Island-82.
Other good options are the lakes and rivers around here. Some of my clients buy places on lakes for this very reason. There is quite a boating, water skiing culture and some very good options, including little 1 1/2 trips over the Cascade Mountains****
Gardyloo - Would you know if the airports in Seattle area are "easier" to go in and out of than back in NYC. We don't mind flying at all. Our biggest problem with flying is dealing with JFK, EWK and LGA regarding getting there, expensive parking and dealing with huge lines and tight crowds. I always rather leave out of HPN (White Plains airport) just because you literally walk in, go through a security booth and sit down. It's not stressing at all to go through their airport.
Well, SEA is not HPN, but it's not LGA or EWR either (thank God.) Generally, Seatac flows pretty well, although it can get congested during cruise season; that's largely avoidable if you plan your travels to avoid the peak days/hours. Access is improving with the addition of a light rail line from the airport to downtown, extending soon to the University District and Northgate areas. Parking runs between $15 and $20 a day off-airport; lots of coupons out there. Taxi and limo fares from the airport to most parts of Seattle city run between $40 and $50, so comparable to JFK or EWR to Manhattan (again, depending on where in Manhattan.)
Air service is improving and expanding - Alaska and Delta are currently in a pi**ing match to see whose is bigger, but there's good transcon service, LOTS of service up and down the west coast, and plenty to Asia. British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa, Icelandair and Emirates have Europe/ME service; lots of premium cabin demand from certain software, airplane, and online retail corporate types hereabouts. Seatac is not JFK, of course.
There's talk of upgrading Paine Field in Everett to commercial status (that's where the main Boeing factory is located) but for the time being SEA is the only working airport in driving distance. Sometimes I use YVR (Vancouver) for longhaul trips - around a 3-hour drive or a 30 min. flight in a puddle jumper. But overall I think Seattle is a much easier airport scene than NYC.
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.
. I'm off the the airport here today to fly to London, I find our Seattle airport (Seatac) MUCH easier to navigate than JFK, Newark or La Guardia. Here are some answers after your comments, Hope this info helps!
