Moving from NC to Seattle (real estate, apartment, rent)

[Dori&Jason]

First I think I'm going to start by apologizing as I'm sure these types of posts come up frequently, but the information there applies usually to the OPs, so if you're tired of seeing these, I do apologize.

As the title states, we're moving from NC to Seattle. My husband is in game development, and I am a social worker. We have no kids (and don't want any), and are looking for an apartment in the Seattle area that would be a good location for us to be able to travel by bike/bus, etc., and be able to live comfortably without a car (since we're flying across the country, sans car).

We were thinking living on the northern end of Seattle, but we're not sure where exactly to look since we haven't been. Our thought was to contact a real estate agent and a real estate agent friend of mine in DC recommended this site, but didn't know of any contacts in Seattle to call.

So here we are. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions in a location or even a real estate agent to contact to ask some questions about location for work/living in Seattle, where best to go for our career options, accessibility, etc.. I have a contact lined up but my husband doesn't (different industry and all that). But he's worked for Funcom, Vicious Cycle, and Red Storm Entertainment. He also has a Bachelors in Science in Game Design, Game Art, and was working Programming and being a Producer before we started getting ready for the move.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[amaiunmei]

A lot of this will come down to what you can afford. Rent is going to be quite a bit more expensive out here.

There are lots more game companies in the Seattle area, but games actually pays less than other sectors of IT (that's largely because so many people WANT to work for gaming companies and are willing to be paid less for the privilege). If he wants to work for a gaming company, he can do so ... but he'll make more money putting his programming skills to use in other sectors.

[Dori&Jason]

Yes we are fully aware as to how the industry works, him having a degree and 4 years of experience in it, it's worse here because of a lack of labor laws and options (and many other reasons). So can we get some info that will help?

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by Dori&Jason

Yes we are fully aware as to how the industry works, him having a degree and 4 years of experience in it, it's worse here because of a lack of labor laws and options (and many other reasons). So can we get some info that will help?

This industry is ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL about who you know. Of the people that I know in the industry, what I will tell you is that they never really have to look for jobs because their friend or a former colleague always has an offer for them in another role. And before you ask, this goes for all of the game media players ... Wargaming, Microsoft, Amazon, Big Fish, Wizards of the Coast, Disney, HBO, Bungie, EA, and others. There are lots of opportunities out there, but the best opportunities go to those who network.

There's some good feedback here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/com...ry_in_seattle/

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to start your networking here:

https://www.digipen.edu/

The area is full of current and former Digipen graduates and they tend to network.

[homesinseattle]

I live on the north side of Seattle, happy to help.