what should I know about Seattle if I want to move there? (Tacoma: apartment, rent)

[TwistedStar]

I'm a teenager from Las Vegas. I'm a Junior in high school. I'm considering going to college in Seattle(which one i'm not sure yet), Seattle also seems like a really fun and interesting place to live, i'm considering Seattle as a city I would like to live in when I get older, as well as Portland and Atlanta too
so here's some questions I have?
is there a lot of racial diversity? many people say it's not very racially diverse, but I would like some more input
what are the housing and living costs like?
is it a reasonable place to work if you're a graphic designer/artist?
Is there a wide variety of things to do? such as art, poetry, ethnic dining(i'm talking about more than standard Chinese and Mexica), festivals, live music and museums
this information and anything else would be greatly appreciated....

[BoulderGrad]

is there a lot of racial diversity? many people say it's not very racially diverse, but I would like some more input

From your very own City-Data

• White Non-Hispanic (67.9%)
• Black (8.4%)
• Hispanic (5.3%)
• Two or more races (4.5%)
• Chinese (3.4%)
• Filipino (2.8%)
• Other race (2.4%)
• Vietnamese (2.1%)
• American Indian (2.1%)
• Other Asian (1.8%)
• Japanese (1.6%)
• Korean (0.9%)
• Asian Indian (0.5%)

It is fairly white bread, but its not really a white wash. There are many racial communities around. Also, The city as a whole seems to be pretty tolerant of just about everyone regardless of race, religion, or sexual preference. Anyone who isn't is looked down upon.

what are the housing and living costs like?

Through the roof, and still rising (albeit a lot slower than the last few months). Housing is expensive, Gas is expensive, and depending on where you shop, food can be expensive. It is very possible to live a comfortable life on modest means, but it takes more work and looking around than it would in other "cheaper" cities.

is it a reasonable place to work if you're a graphic designer/artist?

It's not my field, so I cant speak directly to graphic design, but the job market in general seems to be pretty good around here.

Is there a wide variety of things to do? such as art, poetry, ethnic dining(i'm talking about more than standard Chinese and Mexica), festivals, live music and museums

Galleries in every neighborhood, plenty of coffee shops with open mics, little indie theaters all over. For food, just looking out my window, i can see 2 indian places, 2 thai places, mexican, italian, Indonesian, sushi, German, and korean, and I'm in a smaller neighborhood (Ravenna/Roosevelt). Stroll down Broadway in Capitol Hill, or the Ave in the U-district, you'll see Pho, Ethiopian, Greek, Pizza, Pubs, Bistros, food joints that give drag shows, and endless non-starbucks coffee shops. You wont be bored here.

this information and anything else would be greatly appreciated....

If you can find a way to manage living without a car, that will be a huge load off your shoulders. Not just from sitting in endless traffic, but also one of the main crime problems in the city is petty theft and vandalism. I feel 100% safe walking around at night, but when I do, the one thing I see is graffiti and broken auto-glass. Get yourself a bus pass, a usable bike with a good lock and you'll be fine.

Lastly, I just want to be the first to say ignore the whole "Seattle Freeze" talk. If you're someone worth being friends with (of course most people are) you wont have a problem finding friends here.

[TwistedStar]

thank you so much
your information was very useful
Outside of the lack of racial diversity, you made Seattle seem like a totally awesome city to live in
I still would like to have some more input though

[Pittgal]

Originally Posted by TwistedStar

Outside of the lack of racial diversity,

You'd actually be surprised when you come here how diverse it really is. Some of those numbers seen low to me.

[scirocco22]

I agree with Pittgal. The numbers cited by BoulderGrad are from the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau figures. And they're also only for the city of Seattle and not the suburbs which combined now have a greater population than the city itself. It even becomes more diverse if you were to take into account the Seattle metropolitan CDA which would comprise the greater Seattle/Tacoma/Everett metro area.

My observations are that the Seattle area "feels" more "diverse" to me than Las Vegas. This especially hold true for the suburbs. Seattle's suburbs are much more diverse than those of Las Vegas. The Seattle area has a much bigger Asian population than the Las Vegas area also.

[wannabeaTexan]

Originally Posted by Pittgal

You'd actually be surprised when you come here how diverse it really is. Some of those numbers seen low to me.

Agreed. One thing I've heard about other cities in the country are that racial groups of people generally hang out with their same racial group. Here it's more like you will be friends with everybody from every group.

[TwistedStar]

hmmmm, that sounds interesting
Las Vegas actually is a very diverse place, there are black people living in the giant mansions in Summerlin and there are white people living in the hood, but here people seem to stray towards their racial group, at my school most of the crowds seem to be made up of people of one race, very few groups of friends that are actually diverse

[Tryclopss]

In regards to what are the housing and living costs like? What would be the proper salary amount for a family of five to have every year in order to live comfortably in Seattle - $50K a year, $75K a year, $100K a year or more?

[grastus]

^Apartment rent costs are pretty reasonable. But, that's probably more important to young singles who don't need a ton of space. For a family who wants to own a house...ugh, it's very expensive considering the quality of the houses. I get the feeling that the only people living in Seattle-proper these days are either condo-dwelling hipsters with rich parents, or older people who bought their houses before prices skyrocketed.

Developers are cashing in as much as they can by building tons of more condos and townhomes (think San Francisco; I expect Seattle to undergo a similar transformation during my lifetime), which makes for a very misleading "median home price" statistic.

Old people in Ballard and Queen Anne are piiiiiissseeedd.....

[dacx]

Originally Posted by Tryclopss

In regards to what are the housing and living costs like? What would be the proper salary amount for a family of five to have every year in order to live comfortably in Seattle - $50K a year, $75K a year, $100K a year or more?

$75K a year sounds reasonable if you want to live in the city of Seattle. You could make it on less if you consider the northern or southern suburbs. Stay away from the eastern suburbs though unless you have close to $100 k. (Although, that is where the best schools are)