Moving from Cleveland to Seattle (Vancouver, Bellevue: apartment, rent, car insurance)

[ijoe13]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I, who are both in our mid-late twenties, have been discussing the possibility of moving to Seattle in two years. I know that two years is pretty far off in the future, but we thought we should start doing some research well in advance of our potential move.

A little background on us for reference. I work in the IT industry, and she is finishing her studies in Architecture. We own a condo in the Cleveland area, and do not have any kids. We're not planning on starting a family for a long time. A few months ago I received a job offer from a company in Bremerton, but we decided not to accept since they were only going to give me a month to relocate.

We live in the suburbs of Cleveland now, but would like to live in downtown Seattle when we relocate. I should mention, we have visited the city twice, once in October 2006, and during this past new year's. Although I have read a lot about the weather bothering people, especially those from sunnier climates, I doubt it would bother either of us too much. After all, we live in Cleveland where we have 90+ humid days during the summer, and negative temps during the winter. Not to mention, lake effect snow! We have some pretty dreary winters here as well.

My wife and I will likely look for work in the downtown Seattle area, and as I mentioned earlier, would like to live downtown as well. Does anyone here live and work in downtown Seattle? Currently, we have two cars, but would consider getting rid of one or even both of them if our commute in Seattle would allow it. I assume it is possible to live in the downtown area without the need for a car. I would rather pay more in rent, and live in the center of it all, than have to pay for car, gas, car insurance, etc. We liked the Belltown area, as well as Queen Anne, even though it is not exactly downtown. Any recommendations for other areas for us to research? It seemed to me that Seattle was a pretty dog-friendly town, so I assume we should not have a problem finding an apartment which will accept our Golden Retriever.

I was also wondering if anyone here commutes on a daily basis from Bainbridge Island to Seattle for work? We have looked into Bainbridge Island, and the cost of rent seems to be on par with much of the greater Seattle area. It seems like a car might be more of a necessity to live on Bainbridge, than in the city. We would not rule out moving to Bainbridge if the commute to work could be a plausible one.

Sorry for the long-winded message, but I am very eager to learn as much as possible about life in Seattle! Thanks in advance.

[ijoe13]

No takers?

[pwright1]

Actually Belltown/Downtown Seattle would be a great place to live, especially being young with no kids. It would be nice to get jobs downtown then you could walk or catch the bus for free within downtown Seattle. If you did work in Bremerton you could catch any bus along 1st or 3rd Avenues heading southbound (free within dt) and get off at Marion and hop on the ferry to Bremerton. Belltown has just about everything at your feet or a short walk. The Belltown area is a great place to live and I think would be fun for you and your wife. I think Seattle is waiting for you and your wife.

[ijoe13]

Originally Posted by pwright1

Actually Belltown/Downtown Seattle would be a great place to live, especially being young with no kids. It would be nice to get jobs downtown then you could walk or catch the bus for free within downtown Seattle. If you did work in Bremerton you could catch any bus along 1st or 3rd Avenues heading southbound (free within dt) and get off at Marion and hop on the ferry to Bremerton. Belltown has just about everything at your feet or a short walk. The Belltown area is a great place to live and I think would be fun for you and your wife. I think Seattle is waiting for you and your wife.

Thanks pwright1 for the info... as well as those wonderful photos you have posted. I know Seattle is waiting for me because I can't wait to move there. I have to sit here in Cleveland until my wife finishes her bachelors, and then I'll be heading out west very quickly!

I assume that we would more than likely be able to get around without a car? I have heard that Seattle is a car crazy city, but I wonder what percentage of it's residents do not own cars?

Thanks, Joe

[pwright1]

I lived in Seattle without a car for over 2 years and got around just fine. I bought a car last year but right now its in the shop so I'm without one again. As a Seattle resident I can honestly say I get around town just fine without a car.

[ijoe13]

Thanks for the info. I will definitely try to get rid of at least one of our cars, if not both, when we move there!

[tevis]

Joe,

A few thoughts which I hope will be helpful for you:

1. I would suggest you reconsider looking to live in downtown Seattle. Admittedly, that is quickly becoming a "hot" area (as Seattle tries to "catch up" with Portland and Vancouver--two West Coast cities with absolutely awesome downtown scenes). Still, Seattle is a city of neighborhoods, and in my humble view, the best quality of life is to be had living in some of those neighborhoods. After all, one of the really great and sort of unique aspects of living in Seattle is that you can have a home in a quiet, scenic neighborhood and yet live in a big city--how many people can say that? (For example, I live just a few blocks from a big park by Lake Washington where I regularly take walks and see bald eagles who nest near my house. Very cool.)

2. Think very hard before considering Bainbridge. Don't get me wrong, it's great. But it's very quiet and probably best if you have kids. If you live there, you're also married to the ferry schedule, and it's very hard to work on the Eastside (where 5 percent or more of the jobs are in the area) if you live there.

3. Definitely DO NOT get rid of both cars! I applaud your desire to be car-free, but Seattle is just not the place to do it. Why? First, public transportation is good and, honestly, you really need a car to get around. But even more importantly, in my view, the biggest reason to live in the area is so that you can enjoy all of the great things AROUND Seattle--Vancouver, Portland, the San Juan Islands, the Oregon Coast, the Cascades--the list goes on. You just need a car to do all of these things. Put differently, Seattle is fine but the real benefit to living there is all of the things around you--and for those things you need a car.

4. If you are an IT person, the vast majority of jobs in that field are on the Eastside--not just Microsoft, but most of the tech companies are over there. It's fine to live in Seattle. I'm a lawyer and do the "reverse commute"--living in Seattle and working in Bellevue. But in considering your arrangements you should factor in the possibility of working on the Eastside.

Hope that helps.

[ijoe13]

Originally Posted by tevis

Joe,

A few thoughts which I hope will be helpful for you:

1. I would suggest you reconsider looking to live in downtown Seattle. Admittedly, that is quickly becoming a "hot" area (as Seattle tries to "catch up" with Portland and Vancouver--two West Coast cities with absolutely awesome downtown scenes). Still, Seattle is a city of neighborhoods, and in my humble view, the best quality of life is to be had living in some of those neighborhoods. After all, one of the really great and sort of unique aspects of living in Seattle is that you can have a home in a quiet, scenic neighborhood and yet live in a big city--how many people can say that? (For example, I live just a few blocks from a big park by Lake Washington where I regularly take walks and see bald eagles who nest near my house. Very cool.)

2. Think very hard before considering Bainbridge. Don't get me wrong, it's great. But it's very quiet and probably best if you have kids. If you live there, you're also married to the ferry schedule, and it's very hard to work on the Eastside (where 5 percent or more of the jobs are in the area) if you live there.

3. Definitely DO NOT get rid of both cars! I applaud your desire to be car-free, but Seattle is just not the place to do it. Why? First, public transportation is good and, honestly, you really need a car to get around. But even more importantly, in my view, the biggest reason to live in the area is so that you can enjoy all of the great things AROUND Seattle--Vancouver, Portland, the San Juan Islands, the Oregon Coast, the Cascades--the list goes on. You just need a car to do all of these things. Put differently, Seattle is fine but the real benefit to living there is all of the things around you--and for those things you need a car.

4. If you are an IT person, the vast majority of jobs in that field are on the Eastside--not just Microsoft, but most of the tech companies are over there. It's fine to live in Seattle. I'm a lawyer and do the "reverse commute"--living in Seattle and working in Bellevue. But in considering your arrangements you should factor in the possibility of working on the Eastside.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering though, what makes Portland or Vancouver's downtown life so much better than Seattle's?

As far as cars go, here in the Cleveland area we're overly dependent on them. Without a car, it's hard to do anything here since everything is so spread out. When we visited, liked the compact feel of dt Seattle, and it seemed like parking would be an issue. Not to mention car insurance, since it seems like car theft seems to be a popular crime out there. What will most likely happen is we will end up taking one car with us and see how we manage with that. Seattle seems to have a decent public transit system (free bus rides are a plus) as well as an abundance of cabs, so getting around the city should not be a problem. It is true that we are not sure where our jobs will be, so that will have a big affect on where we end up living. Don't you think that with all the development planned for the Seattle area, driving will become even more impractical in the years to come?

Joe

[pwright1]

Originally Posted by ijoe13

Thanks for the info. I was wondering though, what makes Portland or Vancouver's downtown life so much better than Seattle's?

I would like to know also. I think they were talking about Vancouver B.C. because its downtown is awesome. In fact I find all three, Seattle Vancouver B.C. and Portland to have lively downtowns.

[tevis]

It's difficult to answer your question briefly, but basically Portland and Vancouver have far better urban planning. So they are great "walking" cities in their downtown areas--both are rightly held up as models for urban development. Seattle has an OK downtown, but beyond the Pike Place Market and some shops and restaurants in Belletown, there's not a lot. Basically, Seattle just has more of a boomtown mentality, so it has historically permitted and pursued a sort of reckless development while Portland and Vancouver have pursued much more thoughtful development policies.

Just visit the three towns and you'll see what I mean--or ask anyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest and they'll confirm it for you.

That said, Seattle still has a nicer downtown area than most US cities.

Hope that answers your questions.