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Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
13,075 posts, read 7,515,583 times
Reputation: 9798
Looks like you will have plan a trip, as I have been saying all along.
You could find an good, reputable Airbnb for ~$80-120/night, airfare on Alaska @$180rt.
or you can do a virtual tour on your phone.
I had lived in Seattle from 1994-2012, all over the city and Eastside, plus a short stint in 2014-2015. I moved away for work (to Austin, Chicago, LA), and considering moving back from LA for a few reasons (no state income tax, a major one). But also, my teenage son has a big friend group still there, and he's been lobbying for us to move back. (I'm a 40-something software exec for a company in CA, remote worker, and can live anywhere.)
I've followed a lot of the changes (mostly negative) in the city over the past few years, and have read that rental prices are starting to stabilize (or should start soon).
Is it really as bad as things seem there? Is homelessness as bad as LA? (I'm on the Eastside of LA, and it's pretty bad here - streets are trashed, folks living in vans or tents all over.)
I always enjoyed Ballard when I lived there, and have been thinking of moving back there, and looking for an apartment which is walkable to the Tractor Tavern and restaurants, etc.
Has the LA sun boiled my brain, or is Seattle still a reasonable option, even if being more expensive than it was 10yr ago?
So, besides your son's friend group and your understandable love of the Tractor Tavern, what are the things you miss about this place that are calling you back?
So, besides your son's friend group and your understandable love of the Tractor Tavern, what are the things you miss about this place that are calling you back?
It's a great question, and one I've been thinking a lot about.
Based on a ton of research, my short list of cities - beyond Seattle - right now is Austin (lived there 1yr), Chicago (lived there 1yr), Nashville (which I haven't yet visited), and Richmond VA (which I'm visiting next week for the first time).
One of my top variables is COL; since I can live anywhere as a remote worker, I want to take advantage of lower/zero state income tax, and lower rent than LA - since i'm not seeing any benefits of the high COL here.
So that's a major factor in considering Seattle.
Austin and Chicago have the negative of hot/cold extremes, and Seattle and the others have a more moderate weather which is a positive. Having a city with a great music scene is key, but all those cities fit that bill.
It's been tough to decide, but beyond COL, I'm leaning towards coming back to Seattle for its familiarity - lived there almost 20yr, my kids grew up there, I know the neighborhoods well - and even tho I'm not a huge fan of the rain, I know the summers are awesome. And I've stayed a Mariners fan, so being able to see games in person would be cool again (I used to have season tickets).
I know it sounds bad, but I'm not really being 'called back' to Seattle , it just fits most of the parameters of what I'm looking for, and I know it's not a bad choice since I did enjoy my time there. It's all a balance and there's not really one perfect city I can find - I've been researching like 25 options for a few months now. At least with Seattle, I know what I'm getting into, and less risk of moving somewhat blind to a new place, and not liking it and wanting to move again.
If it were purely about COL, Austin or Nashville would win heartily. But in my year in Austin, I felt like I'd seen all there was to see, and it wasn't a "pretty" city, and the heat was a bit much.
I really enjoyed the neighborhood feel of Chicago, and it has a ton to do, but not a fan of that much snow anymore either. I'm curious to learn Richmond next week, which seems like a middle-ground of all these things, and COL is about equal to Seattle - much lower rents, but mid-level state income taxes.
It's a great question, and one I've been thinking a lot about.
Based on a ton of research, my short list of cities - beyond Seattle - right now is Austin (lived there 1yr), Chicago (lived there 1yr), Nashville (which I haven't yet visited), and Richmond VA (which I'm visiting next week for the first time).
One of my top variables is COL; since I can live anywhere as a remote worker, I want to take advantage of lower/zero state income tax, and lower rent than LA - since i'm not seeing any benefits of the high COL here.
So that's a major factor in considering Seattle.
Austin and Chicago have the negative of hot/cold extremes, and Seattle and the others have a more moderate weather which is a positive. Having a city with a great music scene is key, but all those cities fit that bill.
It's been tough to decide, but beyond COL, I'm leaning towards coming back to Seattle for its familiarity - lived there almost 20yr, my kids grew up there, I know the neighborhoods well - and even tho I'm not a huge fan of the rain, I know the summers are awesome. And I've stayed a Mariners fan, so being able to see games in person would be cool again (I used to have season tickets).
I know it sounds bad, but I'm not really being 'called back' to Seattle , it just fits most of the parameters of what I'm looking for, and I know it's not a bad choice since I did enjoy my time there. It's all a balance and there's not really one perfect city I can find - I've been researching like 25 options for a few months now. At least with Seattle, I know what I'm getting into, and less risk of moving somewhat blind to a new place, and not liking it and wanting to move again.
If it were purely about COL, Austin or Nashville would win heartily. But in my year in Austin, I felt like I'd seen all there was to see, and it wasn't a "pretty" city, and the heat was a bit much.
I really enjoyed the neighborhood feel of Chicago, and it has a ton to do, but not a fan of that much snow anymore either. I'm curious to learn Richmond next week, which seems like a middle-ground of all these things, and COL is about equal to Seattle - much lower rents, but mid-level state income taxes.
Indeed, there is no better place to be a long suffering Mariners fan. Your reasons make sense to me, you just left out "the salmon and damn good beer".
Indeed, there is no better place to be a long suffering Mariners fan. Your reasons make sense to me, you just left out "the salmon and damn good beer".
Very true! At least I won't have to deal with blacked out games on MLB.TV, when they play *both* the Angels and Dodgers.
It's a great question, and one I've been thinking a lot about.
Based on a ton of research, my short list of cities - beyond Seattle - right now is Austin (lived there 1yr), Chicago (lived there 1yr), Nashville (which I haven't yet visited), and Richmond VA (which I'm visiting next week for the first time).
One of my top variables is COL; since I can live anywhere as a remote worker, I want to take advantage of lower/zero state income tax, and lower rent than LA - since i'm not seeing any benefits of the high COL here.
So that's a major factor in considering Seattle.
Austin and Chicago have the negative of hot/cold extremes, and Seattle and the others have a more moderate weather which is a positive. Having a city with a great music scene is key, but all those cities fit that bill.
It's been tough to decide, but beyond COL, I'm leaning towards coming back to Seattle for its familiarity - lived there almost 20yr, my kids grew up there, I know the neighborhoods well - and even tho I'm not a huge fan of the rain, I know the summers are awesome. And I've stayed a Mariners fan, so being able to see games in person would be cool again (I used to have season tickets).
I know it sounds bad, but I'm not really being 'called back' to Seattle , it just fits most of the parameters of what I'm looking for, and I know it's not a bad choice since I did enjoy my time there. It's all a balance and there's not really one perfect city I can find - I've been researching like 25 options for a few months now. At least with Seattle, I know what I'm getting into, and less risk of moving somewhat blind to a new place, and not liking it and wanting to move again.
If it were purely about COL, Austin or Nashville would win heartily. But in my year in Austin, I felt like I'd seen all there was to see, and it wasn't a "pretty" city, and the heat was a bit much.
I really enjoyed the neighborhood feel of Chicago, and it has a ton to do, but not a fan of that much snow anymore either. I'm curious to learn Richmond next week, which seems like a middle-ground of all these things, and COL is about equal to Seattle - much lower rents, but mid-level state income taxes.
came across this randomly - Richmond has a dramatically lower COLA than Seattle you'll find. Not even slightly close, including taxes. Moving to RVA from Boston I basically found my cost of living got cut in half. It's not just housing, it's cheap meals, 2.50 gas etc. etc. etc.
I had lived in Seattle from 1994-2012, all over the city and Eastside, plus a short stint in 2014-2015. I moved away for work (to Austin, Chicago, LA), and considering moving back from LA for a few reasons (no state income tax, a major one). But also, my teenage son has a big friend group still there, and he's been lobbying for us to move back. (I'm a 40-something software exec for a company in CA, remote worker, and can live anywhere.)
I've followed a lot of the changes (mostly negative) in the city over the past few years, and have read that rental prices are starting to stabilize (or should start soon).
Is it really as bad as things seem there? Is homelessness as bad as LA? (I'm on the Eastside of LA, and it's pretty bad here - streets are trashed, folks living in vans or tents all over.)
I always enjoyed Ballard when I lived there, and have been thinking of moving back there, and looking for an apartment which is walkable to the Tractor Tavern and restaurants, etc.
Has the LA sun boiled my brain, or is Seattle still a reasonable option, even if being more expensive than it was 10yr ago?
I made the same move. The state income tax was a jarring experience (putting it mildly), but we did a cost analysis and found that, even with the tax, LA was slightly cheaper than Seattle. Can't say if that holds true for apartments, but in terms of SFH, it's absolutely a thing.
I don't intimately know what homelessness looks like on the east side (we're west LA), but I've been in that area enough to where I can at least say there is no way Seattle's isn't worse. I still have to go up there for business with some degree of regularity (matter of fact, will be heading up there again tomorrow), and it's just unbelievable just how A) bad it's gotten in terms of scope and B) how aggressive and hostile the homeless there have become. They're just...they're frigging everywhere. What used to be one of the cleanest places in the country is now just utterly filthy, and there's an entirely unpleasant odor in the core areas now that you pick up on immediately if you aren't already used to it.
As to the kid, can't say. Ours is young enough to where adaptability was simple, and kid is thoroughly enjoying the better natural environ (sun, sand, water you can go into without a drysuit, etc.). The summers in Seattle, for whatever reason, have become one giant rip-off the last few years. It's either oppressively hot or you can't breathe because the air is full of ash. Circle of friends for a teenager seems an odd thing to base a move on, since they're all going their separate ways soon, regardless. Kids always gravitate towards the familiar.
We're still not 100% sure LA is "it" for us, but we do know the answer isn't going back to Washington - we've come to acknowledge the place is a trap. Our backup city is Denver if we move again (actually, here right now evaluating some property we bought out here some time back)
I made the same move. The state income tax was a jarring experience (putting it mildly), but we did a cost analysis and found that, even with the tax, LA was slightly cheaper than Seattle. Can't say if that holds true for apartments, but in terms of SFH, it's absolutely a thing.
I don't intimately know what homelessness looks like on the east side (we're west LA), but I've been in that area enough to where I can at least say there is no way Seattle's isn't worse. I still have to go up there for business with some degree of regularity (matter of fact, will be heading up there again tomorrow), and it's just unbelievable just how A) bad it's gotten in terms of scope and B) how aggressive and hostile the homeless there have become. They're just...they're frigging everywhere. What used to be one of the cleanest places in the country is now just utterly filthy, and there's an entirely unpleasant odor in the core areas now that you pick up on immediately if you aren't already used to it.
As to the kid, can't say. Ours is young enough to where adaptability was simple, and kid is thoroughly enjoying the better natural environ (sun, sand, water you can go into without a drysuit, etc.). The summers in Seattle, for whatever reason, have become one giant rip-off the last few years. It's either oppressively hot or you can't breathe because the air is full of ash. Circle of friends for a teenager seems an odd thing to base a move on, since they're all going their separate ways soon, regardless. Kids always gravitate towards the familiar.
We're still not 100% sure LA is "it" for us, but we do know the answer isn't going back to Washington - we've come to acknowledge the place is a trap. Our backup city is Denver if we move again (actually, here right now evaluating some property we bought out here some time back)
I've been looking at SFH for a while now between Seattle and West LA, and WLA is WAY more expensive, so not sure how you're getting to that conclusion. Capitol Hill in Seattle, probably the most popular neighborhood right now, has an average of $630/Sqft for SFH. Culver City is $866, Santa Monica is $1,309, Sawtelle is $739. Queen Anne and other neighborhoods in Seattle are even lower than Capitol Hill.
I made the same move. The state income tax was a jarring experience (putting it mildly), but we did a cost analysis and found that, even with the tax, LA was slightly cheaper than Seattle. Can't say if that holds true for apartments, but in terms of SFH, it's absolutely a thing.
I don't intimately know what homelessness looks like on the east side (we're west LA), but I've been in that area enough to where I can at least say there is no way Seattle's isn't worse. I still have to go up there for business with some degree of regularity (matter of fact, will be heading up there again tomorrow), and it's just unbelievable just how A) bad it's gotten in terms of scope and B) how aggressive and hostile the homeless there have become. They're just...they're frigging everywhere. What used to be one of the cleanest places in the country is now just utterly filthy, and there's an entirely unpleasant odor in the core areas now that you pick up on immediately if you aren't already used to it.
As to the kid, can't say. Ours is young enough to where adaptability was simple, and kid is thoroughly enjoying the better natural environ (sun, sand, water you can go into without a drysuit, etc.). The summers in Seattle, for whatever reason, have become one giant rip-off the last few years. It's either oppressively hot or you can't breathe because the air is full of ash. Circle of friends for a teenager seems an odd thing to base a move on, since they're all going their separate ways soon, regardless. Kids always gravitate towards the familiar.
We're still not 100% sure LA is "it" for us, but we do know the answer isn't going back to Washington - we've come to acknowledge the place is a trap. Our backup city is Denver if we move again (actually, here right now evaluating some property we bought out here some time back)
Just saw from the other thread that you lived on Mercer Island and moved to Marina Del Rey. Story is the same though, it's $650/sqft for SFHs there. Nothing in the Marina Del Rey area is even close to that for SFHs; everything's closer to $850-900.
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, it just fits most of the parameters of what I'm looking for, and I know it's not a bad choice since I did enjoy my time there. It's all a balance and there's not really one perfect city I can find - I've been researching like 25 options for a few months now. At least with Seattle, I know what I'm getting into, and less risk of moving somewhat blind to a new place, and not liking it and wanting to move again.
