Is August a good month to move? (Seattle, Bellevue: apartment, rentals)

[chrisstie]

Well, the plane tickets are bought- hubby and I are visiting Seattle the first week of June. He works from home, I'm still on the job hunt but having a most difficult time with my resume's address still boasting Florida.

I can cope with a temporary commute, for when I do get my career going we can start looking into buying a house so we figure 6 months - 1 year renting to learn the city then finding somewhere to truly settle.

I'm used to 90 degree weather and 99% humidity in August so I'm hoping if we have everything packed and ready to ship out, the weather for unpacking will be perfect.

What's your take on this? And if anyone has any suggestions for an entry level computer engineer (who doesn't program) who may also be looking into getting her foot in the door in an entry level environmental engineering sort of way, please let me know!

We're also thinking of contacting a realty agent to help our search for a rental. I understand that most are snapped up toute suite but we've found some good advice on finding some not so obvious ones. We're just not sure if we're going to commit this trip or come back for a visit to finalize the living situation once we have all of the other moving details in place. Our first priority on our checklist is to make sure the feel of the city and nearby is agreeable to us. Everything else will come swiftly after. Otherwise it'd kinda suck if we didn't like it Just hoping its a better time to move than in the colder wetter season when our items may suffer for the weather.

[vegasrock]

i moved to seattle from las vegas last august and it was definetly the right time to move. packing sucked because it was still 115 degrees in vegas, but unpacking in seattle was nice and cool.

[pw72]

In Seattle you can almost guarentee good weather in July and August. June can be cloudy and cool, September can go either way.

[tortoisegirl]

Good time to move-best weather of the year, and high turnover for housing so you'll be able to find places easier. Are you looking for a rental house or apartment?

[70Ford]

I left left Georgia August 1st and got to Seattle around August 7th or so. It was so beautiful and cool and gorgeous. Little did I know...dum dum dum... it's the "most...wonderful time...of the year...!" Seriously though, it's a great time to move.

P.S. Check out SeaFair. Lot's of traffic that time of year, but it's pretty isolated to that area. The air show is something to behold.
Welcome to Seafair - Seattle's Summer Celebration

[chrisstie]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad to hear we planned the moving time in good weather. It's tolerable, here, but wanted to have the best weather for moving our belongings into a place out there!

As far as what we're looking to rent, its not *too* important whether it is a house or apartment, but it has to be cat friendly, we have three. We're hoping to stick around what we'd be used to paying here in Orlando, despite owning a home, rent for a decent place is ~ $1200-$1300 and so far searching has revealed that price range possible even close to the city, but more space as we move out from the city. Hopefully ~ 20 mins tops from downtown.

I wish I had a better idea of where I'll be working, but I can always start my search from closeby and move further out, and worry about settling into a house once we know the area better and where I'll be working. We have pretty hellacious traffic here, but I've heard of Seattles as well so as long as I can get to be near a bus route or close to my company-to-be in the long haul, I'll be happy. I'm trying to be realistic, so hopefully my research has been pretty accurate.

I think we're just waiting to land and visit the neighborhoods and surrounding towns like Bellevue etc and get an idea of what feels like "us"

I know within an hour or two theres so many diverse geographical themes, but I'd be happy with a good grocer, Uwajimaya (can't wait to visit this place and Pike Place in person!) mall, and a nice park or someplace to hike/exercise within a comfortable distance.

[tortoisegirl]

Chrisstie-From my experience, you can probably find a nice 1 bedroom apartment with that price. Probably not much larger unless you go way out of town though. Prices do vary drastically, and you may be able to find a good deal with everything going on (more rentals in the area due to people not being able to sell). My rent actually went down this year which is shocking for a managed community which typically raises it every year, predictably.

[chrisstie]

Thanks thats very good to hear! I don't necessarily need to be IN the city. I've heard some good things about the location and prices of north beacon hill and looking near that area on google maps and hotpads.com it definitely looks like there are some places available in our price range.

One of my other concerns is trying to figure out exactly when to go around with deposit on hand. Not sure if it will be this trip or if we will make one other to scout for whats available right then so it'll be a little closer to our move in date. its exciting but with a lot of unknowns at the same time!

[pqhost]

august too hot for me to move, but if you like hot weather, then it's perfect, our augusts are very warm

[MichaelinWA]

FYI, there is a new one opening soon in Renton, should you end up south of Seattle, where homes are more affordable than in the city proper.

Uwajimaya in Renton

Originally Posted by chrisstie

Uwajimaya (can't wait to visit this place and Pike Place in person!)