moving to Seattle in July from Maui (Tacoma, Bellevue: apartments, rentals)

[elenamarie]

Hi, I am leaving Maui in 8 weeks to move to Seattle to go to graduate school. I have a friend to stay with for the first month - then in August I need to find a place to live. I am excited and scared. I am not going to take my car, but catch the bus. I am looking for places to live near the SU campus. I appreciate any advise. I am bron and raised in Maui. This is me going off on a big adventure. I am also looking for a job.

[Monika Jelonek]

Good morning,

Congrats on your decision to want to finish Grad school at Seattle University! Don’t worry about not having a car out here, Seattle’s transportation system is great. You’ll do just fine! There are many neat places to go and see, all of which are accessible by bus or other means of public transportation. It’s wonderful to hear that you will be staying with a friend once you make the initial move, it'll be nice coming here to someone you know. What type of job are you looking for? I suggest looking online (an example of a good place to look is careerbuilder.com). As for finding a place to live, will you be looking for a place to rent or purchase? mod cut: soliciting removed.

I’m very excited for you, and you’re right, this is going to be a “big adventure” for you! You’ll find that the Seattle area is much different than Maui (the weather and scenery being the biggest differences), but I think it’s worth experiencing!

[allforcats]

Hi elenamarie. Aloha to Seattle! What an exciting adventure you are starting!

You'll love the convenient bus system in Seattle -- lots of service going in lots of directions all day and evening.

Seattle University sits on the south side of Madison St. A great place for you to find an apartment could be north of Madison St., in Capitol Hill. That neighborhood is fun and filled with shops, supermarkets and small grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, small clothing shops, bookstores and banks.

Here's the Seattle City Clerk's map of Seattle neighborhoods -- click on it to enlarge:
Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas
In the neighborhood called "Capitol Hill", the street that goes diagonally from southwest to northeast is Madison St.

Apartments:
NWSource is the combined Classifieds of the two leading newspapers for Seattle. This is the link for rentals:
NWapartments: Seattle apartment rentals, house rental listings, rental classifieds and other property rentals in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and other Washington areas, cities and neighborhoods | - Advanced search
Click on "Capitol Hill" on the map.
There's also:
Craigslist
rent.com
forrent.com
apartments.com.

Jobs:
http://marketplace.nwsource.com/jobs/

Have fun researching!

[Ira500]

Seattle University is roughly the border between First Hill, Capitol Hill, and the Central District.
The area around 15th through 17th and Spring Street has a number of very cool looking 1930's vintage apartment buildings.

[bkburbo]

Seattle public transportation is NOT good. It flat-out sucks.

[CityGirl72]

I quite disagree

Seattle Public Transportation is quite good, it goes just about anywhere you need to go and is economical...during rush hours it's only clean cut business people.

I know many people who do not own cars in Seattle

And I go to Seattle U for my Masters degree - I have greatly enjoyed my education experience and a very fond of the school. Ping me if you have any additional questions on the school

[DBM]

Elenamarie --

You're going to have a great time on your big adventure! I live on Maui now, but for most of the past 20 years lived in Seattle (my wife is from Maui). I worked about 1/4 mile from Seattle U. -- the public transportation system around there is good and the housing plentiful. You should be fine on those practical issues.

I'm not totally current on the job situation, but unemployment is generally low and you should be able to find something. If you post your field of interest/expertise, I imagine you'll be able to get some more practical advice and tips.

You may already know this, but Seattle is one of the stops for most of the Hawaiian performers when they go on tour. I saw Hapa, Brothers Cazimero, Keali'i Raichel, and a few other Hawaiian musicians in Seattle. It's a good time to meet up with all of the Hawaiian expats -- you get to see everyone get teary-eyed at the end singing Hawaii Aloha. Also, there is an active Hawaii Club at UW and I imagine there is one at SU as well.

Good luck, and have fun. Don't worry too much about the weather -- it's a great topic to complain about, but it doesn't have to get in the way of having fun and enjoying the Northwest.